DirecTV website TV Planner

[skottey]

Like many, I have been enjoying scheduling recordings to my HD-DVRs. I thought I would give the "TV Planner" a whirl today. What a joke... maybe I am doing something wrong.

Based on my four star rating of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and my not rating Underworld since I have not seen it, the planner has decided what they think I would like. Oh yeah, they asked me my age and a few basic questions too, but certainly not enough to determine what I like.

Really, what am I doing wrong? Why don't they take some movies they know I have recorded, or some mainstream movies, and ask me what I think of them, and base my predicted likings on that?

Is this piece of crap so new and in beta that they only list two movies for me to rate?

I really like the idea of the rating system (like so many others have had for years) and enjoy the scheduling online, but this TV planner is a joke.

Any thoughts?

 

[Jimbo]

Like many, I have been enjoying scheduling recordings to my HD-DVRs. I thought I would give the "TV Planner" a whirl today. What a joke... maybe I am doing something wrong.

Based on my four star rating of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and my not rating Underworld since I have not seen it, the planner has decided what they think I would like. Oh yeah, they asked me my age and a few basic questions too, but certainly not enough to determine what I like.

Really, what am I doing wrong? Why don't they take some movies they know I have recorded, or some mainstream movies, and ask me what I think of them, and base my predicted likings on that?

Is this piece of crap so new and in beta that they only list two movies for me to rate?

I really like the idea of the rating system (like so many others have had for years) and enjoy the scheduling online, but this TV planner is a joke.

Any thoughts?

Interesting, when I first saw the thread, I thought you were talking about the DVR scheduler, which I think works pretty well.

Sorry, I have not used the "TV Planner" i guess, so I won't be any help to you

Jimbo

 

[skottey]

Interesting, when I first saw the thread, I thought you were talking about the DVR scheduler, which I think works pretty well.

Sorry, I have not used the "TV Planner" i guess, so I won't be any help to you

Jimbo

Yes, the DVR scheduler works fantastic. But try the TV Planner (it takes 2 minutes) on the DirecTV website and you'll see what I am talking about. It could potentially be a fantastic feature, if it worked right.

 

[Jimbo]

Yes, the DVR scheduler works fantastic. But try the TV Planner (it takes 2 minutes) on the DirecTV website and you'll see what I am talking about. It could potentially be a fantastic feature, if it worked right.

I really like the guide on the D* rec's set up,one of the reasons I chose D* over the local cable company , way back when.
Local cable gives you a 1 hr window and you have to wait till it gets to your channel, no way to go directly to the channel for guide info.

Seeing I like the guide on the HR20-700 I really have no need for the Planner they use, but I may look into it to see what it does.

Jimbo

 

[egnlsn]

It's just a VERY generic thing -- I wouldn't waste my time (although I already did). It just offers suggestions on things you might like based on gender, age, types of movies/programs you typically watch, etc. Its accuracy is probably less than 5%.

 

[HDinCincy]

Like many, I have been enjoying scheduling recordings to my HD-DVRs. I thought I would give the "TV Planner" a whirl today. What a joke... maybe I am doing something wrong.

Based on my four star rating of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and my not rating Underworld since I have not seen it, the planner has decided what they think I would like. Oh yeah, they asked me my age and a few basic questions too, but certainly not enough to determine what I like.

Really, what am I doing wrong? Why don't they take some movies they know I have recorded, or some mainstream movies, and ask me what I think of them, and base my predicted likings on that?

Is this piece of crap so new and in beta that they only list two movies for me to rate?

I really like the idea of the rating system (like so many others have had for years) and enjoy the scheduling online, but this TV planner is a joke.

Any thoughts?

Call me old fashioned, but I don't really want "HAL" to be able to figure out what I would like to watch. All for now.

 

[atp1313]

The 1-5 star rating system on Netflix works pretty well. It finds me movies based on what I thought of the one(s) I most recently returned and rated. Granted, it brings up some duds', but it also flashes some close-to-the-target choices that I haven't seen in a few years or had forgotten about. If the D* "Planner" worked as well as the Netflix rating/"Movie's You'll Love" feature, then I think this would be a good way to attract otherwise uninformed viewers to shows they may not know about on channels that they don't ordinarily watch. I would imagine the various networks would love to have this kind of "power" to target their audience and drive new interest in current/upcoming shows.

Maybe not the best example, but if you like American Idol, you may like "Country Star" or whatever it's called on CMT. CMT is not in my favorites list, so I never see it in the guide. But since D*'s version of "HAL" knows that I like signing competitions, it might recommend it. And I am sure that CMT would love it if while I was on their channel for Country Star, I might find and fall in love with something else they show.

It's all a good idea for the networks and those of us who spend probably too much time in front of the TV by opening our eyes to things we may not have been aware of before. Are all the suggestions going to be homeruns? Probably not, but think of the pleasure you might get from finding that gem on a channel you never watched before.

It's all basically like the Thumbs Up/Down feature in Tivo. The more data you provide (thumbs up or down) the more it can hone in on what it is you like about the show you just gave a thumbs up to.

 

[jcrandall]

To be honest - I'm suprised the TV planner is even working. Every time I clicked it over the past couple months it didn't work, just a timeout error.

I agree with you though, it is nothing special.

 

[skottey]

The 1-5 star rating system on Netflix works pretty well. It finds me movies based on what I thought of the one(s) I most recently returned and rated. Granted, it brings up some duds', but it also flashes some close-to-the-target choices that I haven't seen in a few years or had forgotten about. If the D* "Planner" worked as well as the Netflix rating/"Movie's You'll Love" feature, then I think this would be a good way to attract otherwise uninformed viewers to shows they may not know about on channels that they don't ordinarily watch. I would imagine the various networks would love to have this kind of "power" to target their audience and drive new interest in current/upcoming shows.

Maybe not the best example, but if you like American Idol, you may like "Country Star" or whatever it's called on CMT. CMT is not in my favorites list, so I never see it in the guide. But since D*'s version of "HAL" knows that I like signing competitions, it might recommend it. And I am sure that CMT would love it if while I was on their channel for Country Star, I might find and fall in love with something else they show.

It's all a good idea for the networks and those of us who spend probably too much time in front of the TV by opening our eyes to things we may not have been aware of before. Are all the suggestions going to be homeruns? Probably not, but think of the pleasure you might get from finding that gem on a channel you never watched before.

It's all basically like the Thumbs Up/Down feature in Tivo. The more data you provide (thumbs up or down) the more it can hone in on what it is you like about the show you just gave a thumbs up to.

Regarding the Netflix thing.... that is everything this thing could potentially be. I am sure they are planning to develop it further. I can't see that they would leave it the piece of crap it is now forever.

 

[atp1313]

I hope not!! Would be willing to explore it further if it were set up like Netflix.