TiVo Learning and Support Resources

Press the TiVo button on your TiVo remote control to get to the home screen, the starting point for all of TiVo’s amazing features. It’s here where you can access your recorded programs, interactive guide, settings, Apps and access the What to Watch menu. 

What are some functions I can access from TiVo home screen?
- Discovery Bar
- My Shows
- What to Watch
- VU-IT On-Demand
- Apps 
- Search
- Settings Menu
- The SmartBar

To control your TiVo box with your voice, you must use a TiVo voice remote that is paired correctly with your TiVo box. If your remote is paired, the activity light will flash yellow with each button press. If it’s not paired, the activity light will flash red with each button press. To issue a voice command, press and hold the voice button, and speak naturally into the remote. Release the button when you have finished speaking. 

Here are some things you can do with voice:
- Search by title, actor, or keyword: “Find Modern Family” or “Show me some action movies.”
HINT: Add on to your initial command to get more specific.  For example, after the command, “Show me some action movies,” you could add “From the 80s… just ones with Bruce Willis.”
- Watch a show: “Play the latest episode of Modern Family.”
- Launch an app: “Launch Netflix.” 
- Change channels: “Go to NBC.”
- Go to a TiVo menu screen: “Take me home,” or “Show me the Guide.”

The SmartBar predicts shows to watch based on what your household usually watches at a particular time or day. For example, if you normally watch the previous night’s late-night talk show the next morning, you’ll see it in the SmartBar when you wake up. If the kids tend to watch shows while dinner’s cooking, those shows will be waiting in the SmartBar at that time each day. 

Use the DOWN arrow on your remote control to move to the SmartBar, then select a show to go to the Series or Movie screen, where you can choose to watch it.

All of your recordings, plus links to your streaming videos from VU-IT On Demand or apps like Netflix, and more appear in the My Shows list.  To get to the My Shows list from the Home screen, just press the TiVo button and select “My Shows”. To get to My Shows from any other menu screen or from live TV, just press the TiVo button twice.

What to Watch lets you browse shows available to stream, watch live, bookmark, or record. From the Home screen, select “What to Watch” or press 2.

A OnePass search gathers every available episode of a series (whether streaming, on demand or live TV), every game or match from a specific tea, or every sporting event in a league and adds them right to your My Shows list to watch instantly. Forget about knowing when the show will be airing or wondering which streaming video service has it available: the TiVo service does it for you, so you can start watching right away!

Yes. To turn TiVo suggestions on or off: From the TiVo Home screen choose the Menu icon, then choose “Settings” > “User Preferences” > “TiVo Suggestions”. Highlight Yes to record TiVo Suggestions, or No to turn them off, and then press Select.

Want to take a quick look at what else is on? Simple. While you’re watching live TV or a recorded show, QuickView lets you see what else is playing now or coming up without missing the action on the show you’re watching.

QuickView panels appear over the video you’re watching, with just a click of your remote control:

- UP shows you what’s coming up on live TV with a condensed guide.  To close this panel, press Back. - 
DOWN displays the SmartBar, with quick access to the shows you watch regularly, based on the current time and day of the week.
- LEFT brings up your favourite channels.  You can set your favourites by selected the Menu icon from the Home screen and then choosing “Settings” > “Channel Settings.”
- RIGHT shows you what’s playing on other tuners.

In each panel, use the UP/DOWN or LEFT/RIGHT buttons to move around. Press SELECT to switch to channel, tuner, or show that’s airing, or to set up a recording.

Are there parental controls for TiVo?
Yes. You can restrict access to shows based on their ratings or simply restrict certain channels. Please note that TiVo’s parental controls do not cover streaming content and it’s possible for a minor to stream a show from a TiVo PVR that was restricted by parental controls. 

How do I set up parental controls?
From the Home screen, select the Menu icon then choose Settings > Parental Controls.

A WishList search finds shows that match your search criteria on any channel you receive – and it keeps on searching for as long as you keep the WishList search.  If you choose to auto-record matches to your WishList search, you’ll find any recorded matches in your My Shows list.

Creating a WishList search

1. From the Home screen, choose “Search” or press 3 on your remote
2. Without entering any letters, move to the right side of the screen to select “Create a WishList Search.” Alternatively, you can enter a search term before selecting “Create a WhishList Search,” and this term will be treated as a keyword (see below)
3. Next, start choosing criteria for your WishList search.  You can choose any or all of the following:
- Title Keyword Search for shows with specific words in the show or episode title
- Keyword Search for shows with specific words in the show title, episode title, or description.
- Actor Search for shows with your favourite actor.
- Director Search for shows by a specific director.
- Category Search for specific categories and sub-categories of shows (for example, action movies or nature documentaries).
4. After entering your initial search criteria, you’ll return to the WishList screen.  Continue adding as many search criteria to your WishList search as you like. 
For instance, you could create a WishList search like this:
- Keyword: Ocean
- Actor: George Clooney
- Category: Movies
Your results would include only “Ocean” series movies starring George Clooney.
5. When you’re finished entering search criteria, select “Done entering terms.”
6. Choose to save the WishList (which will tell your TiVo to start searching), change your search terms, or change recording options.  When you’re ready, choose “Save this WishList Search.” 
Note: If you want your TiVo box to record matches automatically, be sure to choose “Modify Recording Options” and turn “Auto-record” to “Yes.” If you’ve turned on auto-recording of WishList matches, each auto-recording WishList search and its upcoming recordings will appear in My Shows, the To Do List, and the OnePass Manager.  

 To access Netflix on your TiVo box, you must have an AccessInternet connection of at least 25 Mbps and a Netflix subscription.  

Two simple ways to access Netflix on your TiVo when you have a Netflix subscription:

1. Press the TiVo button on your remote from the Home screen, select Apps > Netflix. OR
2. From your remote simply click the Netflix button.

Log in
If you are a Netflix subscriber, continue with the following steps:
- Select Member Sign In on the screen using your remote
- Sign in with your Netflix username and password

How to watch
When you have a Netflix subscription and search for shows on your TiVo box, your results will include shows available from Netflix. Or, you can search Netflix directly for any show. You can use the VU-IT! App on iOS or Android to search for movies and TV shows, and if a movie or show is available on Netflix, the App will indicate its availability. 

Not a Netflix subscriber? Visit www.netflix.com/signup to sign up.

You can program your TiVo remote to only have to use one remote to control your TV or sound system. From the Home screen, choose the Menu icon, and then select “Settings” > “Remote, CableCARD, & Devices “> “Remote Control Setup.” Follow the on-screen instructions.