I watch all my TV with Tivo, and of course fast-forward through the commercials. Every once in a while, when going through a particular commercial I hear three short chimes. It doesn’t matter whether I’m going through forward or backward, but there’s nothing unusual when viewing the commercial in real-time.
What’s with this?
First of all, it’s a TiVo, so we would need to know if it’s saying ding ding ding or dong dong dong. Second, what happens if you pause during that commercial or FF on the 1st speed instead of second or third. I wonder if it’s a commercial that TiVo is trying to give you a chance to learn more about. If you slowed down perhaps there would be something along the lines of “Press thumbs up to learn more about the Chevy Silverado” or what have you.
Update: I just experienced this again, and there’s a surprising new element. It was during a Brinks Home Security commercial. If you watch the commercial at normal speed, there’s nothing unusual. But if you fast-forward or rewind, you get not only the ding-ding-ding, but there’s a special offer from Brinks in the middle of the screen, that’s not visible at normal speed. The actual commercial is behind it.
2nd update: I just tried it again, and found another surprise. I got the chimes and the Brinks offer when fast-forwarding through regular programming, not even through a commercial. This happened on CNN at 10:38.
3rd update: Now that I’m actually recording it, it’s only happening during the Brinks commercial, not during the programming. The one at 10:38 is gone.
Yeah, it’s the sound TiVo makes when it gives you a message during a fast forward. Sometimes it’s an ad that shows up during the FF, and you can usually press the Thumbs Up button to learn more.
–Cliffy
I’m not about to give up my TiVo since it costs me nothing (I got the unit for free and bought a lifetime subscription years ago), but I’m getting more and more annoyed with the ad escalation and other useless “features.”
What’s been getting my goat lately is the big prompt that reads “Learn more about Gilligan’s Island” when I freeze-frame. Covers at least a quarter of the screen. Sometimes I’ll pause to get a better look at something, but I can’t because it’s hidden by the prompt. (It does go away after about a minute, but still.)
***Edit: *I know that didn’t help answer the OP’s question, but I suddenly felt the need to rant for a moment. Sorry…
Just press down or clear and it goes away. As for Tivo’s ads. I always feel that TiVo does a GREAT job of generating ad revenue in a very non intrusive way. Who cares if something pops that you can get rid of with the push of a button* or if a banner show up while your fast forward or a yellow star at the bottom of the TiVo menu.
*If you get annoyed over “Learn about…” banner I’d hate to see how you react when the network puts those big huge moving ads over the bottom of the screen during your show.
Oh, one more thing, that Learn About banner isn’t even an ad. It’s a link to TiVo’s swivel search, clicking on that is almost like going to IMDB for whatever show you’re watching.
ETA just realized your weren’t complaining about any ads TiVo might be showing. So ignore everything other then 'press the down arrow of clear button to get rid of that banner"
3 little words will change your life:
30 second skip.
Which TiVo’s have these ads during FF and freeze frames? I have a TiVoHD, and have not seen any of these ads.
They’re pretty rare, and I believe they’re attached to particular programs (or maybe particular genres), so you might not be seeing them at all.
–Cliffy
I only get those tones maybe once a month. They’re rare.
Although like Wheelz, I am annoyed by the “Learn more about” banner. Since it is basically an ad for their swivel search service, I should be able to turn it off. I know about SS. I choose not to use it. So stop telling me- “HEY! Guess what- check out our new service! It’s the coolest!!11!111!!”