About xgrep

Asking for feedback is a commonly used technique to give the impression that you care. One company that I worked at used annual feedback surveys to "increase employee engagement'. They never did anything with the feedback except to give employees who complained the impossible job of solving the very problem they complained about with no resources of any kind. So quite obviously it was a way to punish people who complained. It worked exceedingly well - the feedback just kept getting better. I'm not making this up. ... View more

@Englishfreak200 wrote: Did Directv & DISH also lose this capability? I have been a customer of both those companies and remote DVR recording was an option offered by both. No, according to others here (and you could find out by calling), both are paying TiVo to license the patents so that they can continue to offer the feature. ... View more

@DMCRAW wrote: So this appeal is taking awhile and I really miss this option. Is there any news? Why is Verizon still able to offer the record option on their app?f Verizon and others are paying TiVo/Rovi for the right to offer the feature. Comcast refused to pay and decided to appeal the ruling.   Obviously, this appeal, and the related infringement suit filed by TiVo in January, could be decided in either direction. But I will say this: I had some knowledge of the attorneys who wrote the TiVo patents, and while Comcast has a lot more money, I would place my bets on TiVo. Again: anything could happen, but my money is on TiVo.   Now if Comcast loses, what do you think will happen? Will they cave, pay up, and restore the feature? I don't know anything specific about Comcast's management, but their behavior throughout their history suggests that they won't pay, and that Comcast customers will never see this feature again.   So there you have it: one moderately-informed person's personal opinion based on no direct knowledge. I'd give my prediction about a 65% chance of coming to pass (i.e., 2 out of 3 odds). It's worth what you paid for it, right? ... View more

@JMPG wrote: Where is this issue currently? It is very inconvenient that you cannot program the dvr from the app.  Is Comcast working on the ability to supply this technology? Yes, they've appealed the court decision that ruled that they couldn't import X1 boxes that support the feature. If/when they win the appeal, they will probably restore the feature. That could take a while. Don't go on a starvation diet; you'll be dead before it comes back. ... View more

@McRickster wrote: VERY troubling as this was plugged by salesperson selling Xfinity. How recently was that? The feature was removed last November. ... View more

@RobertWy That was removed because of a licensing issue.  We all have to use our DVR's to schedule recordings. https://www.geekwire.com/2017/comcast-subscribers-lose-ability-set-dvr-recordings-via-xfinity-remote-app-cable-giant-loses-patent-fight-tivo/ Thanks for the link to the geekwire article. Fairly complete and accurate. Unfortunately, it didn't discuss other defendants in the suit and what they've done. Some of them have chosen to pay license fees, allowing them to continue to offer the feature. Some of those vendors will pick up Comcast customers who choose to migrate. Others will capture new business that Comcast won't get. Comcast will still get some new business - people who don't need the feature, or don't realize that Comcast doesn't offer it anymore. ... View more

wrote: This was one of my favorite things from xfinity. They better resolve their issues! What will you do if they don't? Will you vote with your wallet? Or will you bend over? We can easily guess what their calculations were, because they chose not to pay to license the technology from TiVo. If you want to make a difference, vote. Failing that, you can make some noise on social media to discourage new customers. Just make sure your posts are factual (i.e., quoting publicly available reports). Otherwise, you open yourself to a libel/defamation suit. ... View more