622 Interface Clunky

[s8ist]

For those of us familiar with Tivo or ReplayTV, the 622 interface is extremely clunky and unintuitive. Anyone know any workarounds? These are the things that annoy me:

-Random shows that I did not schedule sometimes record. I am the only one who schedules recordings in my house.

-Searching themes or movies is a pain and brings up channels that I don't subscribe to, and lots of PPV material, forcing me to scroll through a lot of stuff I couldn't get in the first place. Replay just gave me a list of selectable content..

Other stuff that I can't really change:
-Crappy-looking GUI.
-Not able to schedule recordings over the internet.
-Can't rip/burn shows to DVD.
-Recordings aren't categorized.
-Limit on Event Timers!!??! (I hate this the most)

Overall, I think it would have been nice if the DVR wasn't simply an afterthought to the program guide layout, which is basically what we have with the 622 interface.
Are there any plans to change these shortcomings?

 

[dfergie]

-Can't rip/burn shows to DVD.

archiving to 55xx from mine right now...

 

[Miner]

Strangely,

I find the interface better than TIVO. Quicker and more straightforward. Something about setting up a TIVO with the sounds and obscure menu layout. I have had E* for so long most keystrokes are ingrained into my memory.

Perhaps just different strokes!

 

[navychop]

It's certainly faster than a Tivo.

 

[downriver]

Why can't you record to a DVD??

 

[iKramerica]

Just because you are used to one thing doesn't make the other thing crap. I am used to the 721 interface, the precursor to the 622, and when I see a TiVo, I find it cumbersome. So just take some time to get used to it, and you'll be fine.

Random recording is not as random as you think. If you have a timer, and then the network changes their schedule, you get shows you didn't record. I get this late night all the time, as some networks can't even keep things consistent from week to week. Not Dish's fault. It's really, really, really easy just to erase them.

I agree that I wish searches would only show channels you subscribe to. But I think that they don't enable this feature because it promotes a viewer to never know "what they are missing" and think about upgrading their package. TiVo doesn't have this issue because they only make money off the monthly service. They could care less what channels you have.

But I hate how TiVo downloads suggestions, the poor picture quality, the lack of 30 second skip, the annoying noises it likes to make whenever you do anything, etc. There are pluses and minuses, but my 721 has been working for me for many years now, so once you get used to it, you'll be fine. Just don't expect things to work 100% perfectly 100% of the time, and you'll be happy.

 

[iKramerica]

Oh, and to make sure your interface stays fast, reboot the unit at least once a week. A reboot (hold down power button on unit) will always make the interface faster. I believe there is some leaky software in these units that very slowly eat up all available system memory as time goes on, so rebooting cleans it up...

 

[riffjim4069]

I've used all three and actual prefer the 622; loved ReplayTV; couldn't stand Tivo due to the slowness. Most hard core Tivo folks get the hang of the 622 after a few weeks...and I've rarely had problems with my two 622 or 942. It could be worse, you could be stuck using a Scientific-Atlanta or Motorola cable HD DVR.

 

[dishrich]

But I hate how TiVo downloads suggestions, the poor picture quality, the lack of 30 second skip, the annoying noises it likes to make whenever you do anything, etc.

Hmm, interesting - EVERY one of the Tivo's I've ever put in for clients, as well as my own:
-do NOT do suggestions (hint, you turn it OFF - really hard to do)
-have just as good picture quality as E*'s (maybe BETTER, but I'm not getting into a pi$$ing contest over E* vs D* picture quality, as that's what it REALLY comes down to - frankly, neither one is outstanding these days)
-do 30 sec skip just fine (a simple 6 keystrokes you do after starting up)
-make NO noises whatsoever (another simple one-time keystroke)

Sometimes if a person actually learns how to work something, you might find it to not be so annoying.

 

[navychop]

Hasn't Tivo disabled the 30 second skip on new units? I believe they have. It was never officially supported, anyway.

 

[Dish VIP]

Oh, and to make sure your interface stays fast, reboot the unit at least once a week. A reboot (hold down power button on unit) will always make the interface faster. I believe there is some leaky software in these units that very slowly eat up all available system memory as time goes on, so rebooting cleans it up...

Doesn't it reboot every night during system upgrade check?

 

[dishrich]

Hasn't Tivo disabled the 30 second skip on new units? I believe they have.

You're getting REALLY bad info - works to this day

It was never officially supported, anyway.

Who cares - its WORKS, that's ALL that matters...

 

[PowerMax]

I have been a user of both technologies and TiVo is way better than the 622 (IMO) just because it is more intuitive, the 6.2 software is way faster then the 622's and I could archive off to my local network, and even stream to other units. But I have dumped D* and will wait until I can get a real TiVo for satellite again. The best thing about TiVo is the opensource model supported. The 622 is a linux box too but E* will never make anything cool work because their hands are tied by hollywood and they cannot risk re-opening the TiVo lawsuit for infringement.

Bottom line with the TiVo, I can do with one key press what the 622 makes me hit 4 keys for ... what a waste.