Some shows don’t qualify for a Season Pass because they lack a specific title.
For instance, you might want to record every movie with Katie Holmes, or all films directed by Akira Kurosawa. Circus confection lovers may crave shows discussing “cotton candy.”
That’s where a WishList comes in handy. Created much like a Season Pass, they’re just as easy to set up.
1. Press the TiVo button to bring up TiVo Central, the starting menu for most TiVo operations. Then select Pick Programs to Record.
2. Select Search Using a WishList.
The Search Using a WishList screen appears, as shown in Figure 6-6.
Below the menu, TiVo lists your previously created WishLists.
Figure 6-6:
The Search Using a WishList menu lists your current WishLists, and lets you create new ones.
Feel free to highlight an existing WishList to edit or delete it.
3. Choose Create new WishList.
The other option, View all upcoming WishList programs, displays every show matching your existing lists, letting you pick the ones you want to record.
4. Select the type of WishList you want to create.
TiVo lets you automatically record any show featuring a certain Actor, Director, Category, Keyword, or Title. Here’s the rundown:
Actor: TiVo locates any show where that actor participates:
movies, TV shows, talk shows, comedy shows — anything.
Director: TiVo locates movies created by your favorite director.
Category only: This jumps to Step 5, letting you locate shows fit
ting a specific category — animated children’s shows, for instance, or specific types of sporting events.
Keyword: The most versatile search, this records shows contain
ing certain words in their description. Enter “James Bond,” for instance, to catch any James Bond movie, no matter who starred.
Chapter 6: Recording and Watching Favorite Shows 105
Title: Can’t remember a movie’s entire title? Enter the words you do remember to see a list of matches.
Always enter a person’s last name first, followed by a comma, a space, and their first name.
5. Select the Category.
Narrow your search, if you want, to certain categories: Kevin Bacon’s Historical Drama Movies, for instance.
Or, if you chose Category Only in Step 4, here’s your chance to grab cooking, mystery, or romance shows, or shows from hundreds of other categories. (Sports fanatics can choose among 93 subcategories, includ
ing football, baseball, arm wrestling, and table tennis.) 6. If desired, tell TiVo how to record your new WishList.
Automatically grabbing every show your WishList locates can be risky. A particularly prolific actor could fill up your TiVo’s hard drive in a single day. To control the amount of shows TiVo records, choose between sev
eral options, shown in Figure 6-7.
Figure 6-7:
Tell TiVo how to record your new WishList.
View upcoming programs: The safest option, this lists every show found by your new WishList. This not only confirms that your WishList catches what you want, but it also lets you pick and choose, weeding out the awful Gregory Peck movies and seizing the ones you’re after.
When viewing a list of show descriptions, press the Channel Up or Down button to move quickly from one description to the next.
Auto-record WishList programs: A dangerous option, this tells TiVo to automatically record every show matching your criteria.
(TiVo then places that new request at the bottom of your Season Pass list.)
Edit Actor or Director WishList: This lets you adjust an existing WishList to meet different needs.
Delete this WishList: After a WishList grabs everything you want, feel free to delete it.
Ok, don’t change anything: Finished? Select this to wrap it up.
After creating a new WishList, always choose “View Upcoming Shows” to make sure the WishList works the way you intended.
Choosing to Auto-record a WishList item lets you select its Recording Options, just as for Season Passes. I explain Recording Options, shown in Figure 6-5, earlier in this chapter’s “Creating a Season Pass to Record a Series” section.
Visit your WishLists often to see what they’ve turned up. Select an indi
vidual WishList, or choose View all upcoming WishList programs to see everything ferreted out by all your WishLists. When you spot something good, select its name to record it.
If a newly requested show conflicts with other scheduled recordings, choose Cancel. Then select the View Upcoming Episodes option to find a rerun of the desired show. Most networks repeat their shows several times throughout the week, and choosing to record a rerun often resolves the conflict.
If TiVo’s Now Playing list shows too many shows with the same actor, director, or category, an Auto-recording WishList may be the culprit.
They’re particularly susceptible to “marathon” programming, where a station runs episodes or thematically linked films continuously for a day or two.
Chapter 6: Recording and Watching Favorite Shows 107
When you create an Auto-recording WishList, TiVo places it at the bottom of your Season Pass list. To give it a higher priority, see the upcoming section “Handling Scheduling Conflicts with the Season Pass Manager.”
Add upcoming travel destinations to WishList to prepare for your trip.
Unlike Season Passes, WishLists are made to be deleted. When TiVo has granted your wish — found all the shows you wanted — feel free to delete the WishList without remorse.
The WishList’s Auto-record option has nothing to do with the Save to VCR feature. I explain how to save a recorded show to your VCR in the
“TiVo’s Now Playing List” section, later in this chapter.