TitanTV Help Topics
Welcome to TitanTV.com, an online television listings guide created for private, non-commercial use in the United States.
What's New in This Version of TitanTV
Below is a summary of the changes in this release:
Share Channel Lineups
A new feature has been added that allows lineups to be shared between
TitanTV members.
While all channel lineups are available for sharing between members, an
example of when sharing a lineup would be most beneficial could be in a large
apartment/condo complex or college dormitory. Locations like these often have
their own unique cable lineup but TitanTV does not offer a pre-defined lineup
for the location.
With the lineup sharing feature, a TitanTV member could create a custom
lineup then make it available to other TitanTV members at that location.
Those members could create a new lineup by importing the data from the
source. Once created, the new lineup is an exact copy of the original and
available for viewing in those members' individual TitanTV accounts.
The ability to share custom channel lineups is available only between
TitanTV members. See the Sharing Custom Channel
Lineups topic for more information.
Over-the-Top Channel Lineups
TitanTV has added Over-the-Top (OTT) content providers as a new
broadcast source option when adding a new lineup or creating a customized
lineup.
A developing technology, OTT is a service for receiving live television,
video-on-demand, games and other content on your television online rather
than through a traditional cable or satellite feed. In many ways, OTT
combines the experience of watching live TV channels and video-on-demand
programming with accessing internet-based content on your TV set.
Like cable and satellite, OTT providers charge a monthly fee for access to
their programming and services. The amount of content available and the cost
vary by provider. While all OTT providers feature movies and television
programs from which you may choose to view on-demand, a growing number now
also offer channels airing regularly scheduled programs.
TitanTV now includes pre-defined channel lineups with schedules for
several OTT providers. The 'a la carte' nature of OTT programming allows you
to choose which regularly scheduled channels you subscribe to. Due to OTT
allowing you to choose which channels to receive, the pre-defined lineup in
TitanTV for a content provider may contain more or fewer channels than are
actually in your subscription.
For this reason, a pre-defined OTT lineup may be used as the starting
point for creating a lineup that matches your subscription. TitanTV contains
tools that allow you to easily customize any lineup by adding new channels
and removing unwanted ones.
See the Editing an Existing Lineup topic
for more information.
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page.
Visiting TitanTV for the First Time
When you visit TitanTV for the first time, a process automatically detects
the IP (Internet Protocol) address of your internet provider. The process
assumes the location of your internet provider and your own physical address to
be within the same general area.
From this information, a schedule grid for the most commonly selected
broadcast source among other TitanTV visitors in that location is displayed.
The name of the source and its location are displayed in the drop down box in
the center of the navigation bar above the grid.
The available sources are:
- Broadcast (Over the Air)
- Cable
- Digital Cable
- Satellite
- Over-the-Top
To select and display the schedule for a different broadcast source, or for
another location, click the plus symbol + icon in
the center of the navigation bar. This control allows you to choose a new
lineup to display for the desired location. See the Creating a New Lineup topic below for more
information.
If no default lineups can be determined when TitanTV opens initially, the
lineup for DirecTV - Eastern Time Zone will appear by default. See the Creating a New Lineup topic below to create a new channel
lineup for your location.
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page.
Creating a New Lineup from the Schedule Page
TitanTV allows you to create multiple channel lineups from the available
broadcast sources to suit your needs.
To add a lineup from the Schedule page, click the plus symbol + icon in the header above the schedule. A popup box will
open displaying icons for each of the available programming sources
(Over-the-Air, Cable, Satellite, etc.):
- Broadcast (Over the Air)
- Cable
- Digital Cable
- Satellite
- Over-the-Top*
Adding a lineup is a two-step process:
Step 1: Click on the icon corresponding to your desired source. The
popup box will redraw to display a ZIP Code prompt.
Step 2: Enter the ZIP Code of the location you want the new channel
lineup for. The contents of the popup will refresh to list the available
options serving that ZIP Code for the selected source.
Depending on how extensively an area is served by over-the-air broadcasters
and cable providers, the chosen source may present you with several market and
cable options.
The Broadcast source, for example, may present you with two or more local
markets to choose from. Selecting Cable may present you with several
programming packages from the cable providers serving that ZIP Code.
From the list of available options for that source, select the desired
market or lineup then click the Save button to close the popup box.
Choose the desired option/package and click the Save button to close
the popup and add the new lineup to the Schedule page.
*Adding an Over-the-Top (OTT) Lineup
When Over-the-Top is selected as the source for a new lineup, the
choices for the various providers are limited to your current time zone,
regardless of the ZIP Code you enter. Your local time zone is determined from
the IP (Internet Protocol) address of your internet provider. When adding an
OTT schedule, lineups for a time zone other than that of your current location
cannot be selected.
Choose the desired OTT provider from the list and click the Save
button to close the popup and add the new lineup to the Schedule page.
Due to OTT allowing you to choose which channels to receive, the pre-defined
lineup in TitanTV for a content provider may contain more or fewer channels
than are actually in your subscription. A pre-defined OTT lineup may be used as
the starting point for creating a lineup that matches your subscription.
TitanTV contains tools that allow you to easily customize any lineup by adding
new channels and removing unwanted ones.
See the Editing a Lineup topic for more
information.
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page.
Schedule Page and Its Controls
The Schedule Page displays the listings for the selected lineup in a
grid format. The grid is divided into rows for each station and columns for
each 30 minute segment of programming.
Each program in the schedule appears in a cell within the grid with its
title and, when available, other pertinent information about it, such as:
New/Repeat indicator, episode title, genre, TV Rating, and more. The width of a
program's cell is sized dynamically in relation to its scheduled duration. (A
long program is displayed in a proportionally wide cell, for example.)
Additional information may be viewed about a program by opening its
Program Details Box. Click on a desired
program's cell in the grid to view its details.
Schedule Page Controls
The box above the schedule grid is divided into sections to group
logically-related schedule controls. These controls allow you to easily make
temporary changes to the display of your listings. Permanent changes to many
of the grid's default settings may be made on the My Preferences tab of the Site Preferences
page.
- Date Time Section
- Date - Select the desired day's schedule to view; you may choose
any day from the previous day up to two weeks into the future
- Time* - Changes the schedule to display the programming for the
selected hour
- Now* - Click this button to display the schedule beginning with
the current hour
-
Channel Lineups Section
- Lineup - Select the desired channel's lineup to view from this
drop down box
- Add - Click the plus symbol
+ icon to add a new channel lineup to the drop
down box
- Manage - Click this button to add, edit, delete, and customize
your channel lineups
-
More information about maintaining your channel lineups may be found in the
My Channel Lineups topic below.
Tools Section
- Print - Allows you to print the current schedule in a
printer-friendly format
- More - This control expands and contracts the schedule grid
header to display the additional Advanced Grid Controls
-
* The default settings of the controls indicated above with an
asterisk may be changed on the My
Preferences tab of the Site Preferences page.
The Other Schedule Grid Controls and
Conventions topic below describes the additional controls on the
Schedule page you may find useful when viewing your television
lineups.
Back to the top of the Schedule Page
and Its Controls topic.
Other Schedule Grid Controls and Conventions
The grid header and leftmost columns contain the following controls for
navigating through the schedule.
- Date Display and Navigation Arrows - These controls at the top
of the Station column allow you to traverse through the Schedule page 24
hours at a time. Clicking the left arrow moves the schedule back one day;
the right arrow advances the schedule by one day. Up to 15 days of
programming (yesterday's plus the upcoming two weeks') may be viewed in
TitanTV. The date display will change to reflect which day's programming is
currently appearing on the Schedule page. Clicking the date will return the
schedule to the current date and time. For easy access in lineups with a
large number of channels, these controls appear after every tenth channel
in the grid.
-
- Jump to Top of Grid Control - This control, appearing as a short
flat line with an arrow pointing up at it, may be used to return or jump to
the top of the Schedule page with just one click. It also appears after
every tenth channel in the grid.
-
- Left and Right Arrows - The header in the top of the schedule
grid displays a column for every 30 minutes of programming. The left and
right arrows on either side of the header allow you to traverse forward and
backward through the schedule with each click by the number of hours you
have chosen to display. (TitanTV's default is three; however, you may
select a different number of hours in the My Preferences tab of the
Site Preferences page.) For easy access in lineups with a large number
of channels, the header and its controls are repeated after every tenth
channel in the grid.
-
- Station and Channel Number - In the Station and Channel Number
columns on the left side of the schedule, each station's call sign and its
channel number also serves as links to display only that station's complete
daily schedule. When a station's call sign or channel number is clicked,
the Schedule page redraws to display that station's full 24-hour schedule
spanning three days. See the Daily Schedule
View topic below for more information.
-
The Station column gives you the choice of displaying station and
network logos and call signs or text-only labels. The display is
controlled by the Show Channel Logos
setting on the Site Preferences/My Preference page. When this option is
disabled, call sign and network affiliation is display as text.
Back to the top of the Schedule Page and
Its Controls topic.
Daily View Page
The Daily View grid displays only a single channel's schedule. It is
opened for the selected channel by clicking on its logo/call sign in the main
grid page.
The Daily View provides two options for viewing a channel's schedule:
- 3 Day - Displays the channel's full 24-hour schedule over a
three day span
- 14 Day - Displays 3-hour blocks of the channel's schedule for
each of the next 14 days
The number of days the Daily View grid opens to by default is determined
by a setting in the Daily View Page Default: section of the Site
Preferences/My Preferences page.
Click on the Days icon on the left side of the header bar to toggle
between the 3 and 14-day views.
The Daily View grid contains many of the same controls and conventions as
the regular schedule grid. Clicking on a desired program's cell opens its
Program Details box. Controls in the view allow you to toggle between the 3
and 14-day view of the selected channel, display the schedule for a different
channel, change the range of dates covered, switch channel lineups, print the
schedule and more.
The text in this view's sidebar provides tips on how to use the controls
on the page. The sidebar is not displayed when the 14-day view is selected
due to the width of its grid.
When returning to the regular schedule grid, two options are available for
leaving the Daily View:
- Click the TitanTV Listings link at the top of the page to go to
the top of the schedule grid
- Click the station's Call Sign to return to the grid with that
channel as the topmost displayed
Back to the top of the Schedule Page and
Its Controls topic.
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page.
Program Details Box
The Program Details are displayed in a popup box that contains the
information available about the selected program. The box may be opened by
clicking on the desired program's grid cell or, if the Hover option is selected
in the My Preferences tab of the Site Preferences page, when the mouse
is held stationary over a cell for approximately three seconds.
The details include the show's title and the available additional
information about it, such as episode name, cast and crew data, New/Repeat
indicator, ratings, genre, channel, air date and time, duration, and more.
The selected program's genre color from the grid is echoed in the background
of its Details box. Carrying the genre color scheme into the Details box is
controlled by the Use Grid Coloring in Details
popup setting on the Site Preferences/My Preference page. When this
option is disabled, program information in the Details box is displayed with
black text on a white background.
Clicking the Additional Airings link opens a page displaying a list
of when the program appears again within the next 14 days. Click on a program's
name in this list to view its Details box.
The box also contains icons that allow you to take advantage of the
Favorites, Add to Calendar, Reminder, and PVR
Functions built into TitanTV. More information about using a PVR may be
found in the PVR 101 topic below.
Add to Favorites
The Add to Favorites icon is used to designate a program as a
Favorite. Once selected, a star is displayed in the program's grid cell to
provide a visual indicator that is a Favorite whenever that program appears
in the schedule. Click the icon again to de-select a favorite program. The
Favorite designation may be applied to program titles only.
The programs you have selected may be viewed by clicking on the
Favorite Shows & Movies link at the top of the page. They may also
be maintained on the My Favorite Shows & Movies tab of the Site
Preferences page.
If you have created multiple lineups, a program selected as a Favorite in
one lineup will display its indicator whenever that program appears in the
schedule in any of your lineups.
See the Favorite Shows & Movies
topic below for more information about the Favorites feature.
Add to Calendar
The Add to Calendar feature allows you to create a new entry for
the selected program in the Calendar function in your computer's email
application. Adding an entry to the Calendar about an upcoming TV program is
similar to using that application to create a new appointment.
Clicking the Add to Calendar icon creates a file named reminder.ics
and exports it to your email client's Calendar. When opened, the file
instructs the Calendar to create a new appointment using the selected
program's starting time and date.
Depending on your computer's security settings, the browser may open a
prompt verifying that you intend to create a new entry in the system's
Calendar application. When you confirm that you do, the Calendar's new
appointment interface will open. Its fields will be pre-populated with the
program's title in the Subject field and the appointment's start and end
times match those of the selected program.
Just like when using the Calendar to schedule a meeting or create a new
appointment, you may choose to have it open a notice onscreen a few minutes
prior to the program's start time.
Click the Calendar application's Save button to save the new
appointment and return to TitanTV.
Set Program Reminder
The Set Program Reminder icon is used to send a reminder to about
this program to the Current Reminders page. The icon appears only in
the Details boxes of programs starting more than one hour later than the
current hour. The Reminder is not displayed for programs that are currently
airing.
When a Reminder has been added, it will be added to the total displayed
with the Current Reminders link at the top of the page. Click the
Current Reminders link to view a list of all current and past
reminders.
The Reminder feature does not display any reminder messages over the grid
prior to the show's starting time nor does it export any data outside of
TitanTV. See the Calendar topic above for information about how to
schedule an entry in your email client's Calendar function about an upcoming
program. Its Calendar function may be instructed to open an on-screen prompt
a few minutes before the program starts.
DVR and PVR Functions
Watch this Program - Click to watch a program on your computer
with the TV tuner function of your PVR product. This icon appears in the
Program Details box only while the program is airing.
Record this Program - This icon schedules the recording of this
program to your hard drive with your PVR.
Add to Remote Schedule Queue - Click to schedule the recording of
a program by a PVR-equipped computer from another computer at a different
location.
Record this Program to DVD - Click to record the program directly
onto DVD.
The display of the above icons is controlled by the settings in the Site
Preferences/My DVR Options page. For more information, view the My DVR Options topic below.
For more information about using a PVR with TitanTV, view the PVR 101 topic below.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Favorite Shows & Movies
The Favorite Shows & Movies page allows you to view a list of the
upcoming airings of the programs you have selected as Favorites. A maximum of
200 (500 for registered members) programs may be selected as a favorite.
TitanTV receives its programming data from a third-party provider. Due to
the varying amount of additional information between one program and another in
the data TitanTV receives, the Favorite designation may be applied
only to program titles. A program's title is a constant and will
always be present in the data while other information about a program, such as
an actor's name, may not.
To locate scheduled programs containing a particular cast member or certain
keyword in the program's description, the Search function described
below may be used.
By default, the Favorite Shows & Movies page displays a table containing
all of your favorite programs in the current lineup, up to a maximum of 20
airings, which are scheduled within the next 48 hours. If more than 20 airings
are scheduled in that period, the total number of airings appears in a link at
the bottom of the list. Click the link to re-draw the table to display all
scheduled favorites in that period.
The current time is also a factor when the contents of the Favorites table
for today's schedule are viewed. Only the favorite programs currently airing or
are scheduled to air later in the day are displayed. A favorite program that
aired earlier today and is already over when the Favorite Shows & Movies
page is opened will not be listed in today's favorites.
The controls above the table allow you to choose which favorite or favorites
to display, select the desired time frame, maintain your master list of
favorites, view the airings of your favorites in another lineup, and apply
filters to the list.
- Favorite - Use this drop down box to display the airings of all of
your favorites or just one specific program
- Manage - This link takes you to the My Favorite Shows &
Movies tab of the Site Preferences page to view and maintain the list of
all of your favorite programs
- Time Frame - This control allows you to view the airings of
favorite programs on specific days
- Channel Lineup - If you have created multiple channel lineups,
this control allows you to view the scheduled airings of your favorites in
another lineup
- Add and Manage - These buttons allow you to add and
maintain channel lineups as described below in the My Channel Lineups
topic
- Tools - Click this control to view the available filters that
allow you to further refine the list of favorite programs:
-
- Movies Only - Selecting this check box will cause the grid to
display only the movies in the schedule
- HD Only - Selecting this check box will cause the grid to
display only the HD programs in the schedule
- New - Selecting this check box will cause the grid to display
only that are new and have not aired previously
Favorites Summary Box - Also above the Favorites table, the heading
of the summary box shows the selected channel lineup and time frame. Inside the
box, the title and number of airings for each favorite program in the selected
time frame are displayed. Depending on the programs you have selected as
favorites, the contents of the summary box will likely change from day to day
and even from hour to hour.
To show only one favorite program's airings in the selected time frame,
click on the desired program's title in the summary box. The table will re-draw
with all other favorites filtered out. To view all of your favorites again,
click All Favorites option in the Favorite drop down box
described above.
The Favorites table contains the call sign, channel, title cell, date and
time each favorite program is schedule to air during the selected time frame.
As on the Schedule page, clicking a program's cell will open its Program
Details box in which you may view its description and cast information, access
the PVR icons, etc.
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Current Reminders
The Current Reminders page allows you to view a list of the reminders
you have created about television programs. The Upcoming Reminders tab
on the page displays the programs you have created reminders for that have not
yet aired. The Recent Reminders tab displays the programs that have
aired between when the reminder was created and the present time.
Clicking the Printable Version link on the page creates a
printer-friendly version of each upcoming reminder in a new browser window.
This reminder may be printed or copied to your computer's clipboard for pasting
into other applications for further manipulation.
Important Note: This feature does not open a reminder message
onscreen prior to a desired program's starting time.
If you want to have a message appear on your computer's screen about an
upcoming show before it starts, see the Add to
Calendar topic. It contains information on how an entry about an
upcoming program may be exported from TitanTV to your email client's Calendar
utility. Like when scheduling an appointment, the email client's Calendar may
be instructed to open an on-screen prompt a few minutes before the desired
program starts.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Search
TitanTV provides two search functions that allow you to quickly locate a
desired program or actor.
- Basic Search - Returns every
matching program in all schedules within the next week
- Advanced Search - Refines the
search to return a more narrowly-focused set of results
-
Basic Search
A Basic search looks through all schedules in the upcoming seven days
and returns every program in the next week that contains the title or actor
in your query.
To perform a Basic search, enter the desired text into the Search field
and click the magnifying glass icon. The search will launch and the page
will redraw to display the Results page.
Each program matching the search query is listed on the Results page
with its title, description, air date and time, and the station carrying
it. Click on a title to view that program's Details box.
If more than 10 matches are found, click the Previous and
Next buttons at the bottom of the list to traverse through the
results.
The matching programs on the Results page may be sorted by Air
Date, Title, or Channel by clicking on the preferred sort
order's link.
If no program matches your query, a message is displayed on the Results
page. Enter another query to perform another Basic search, click the
More Search Options link to create an Advanced search, or
return to the grid by clicking the TitanTV Listings link.
Advanced Search
The Advanced search allows you to create a custom query by using the
powerful operators that
are supported by the search engine. These operators may be used refine an
Advanced search by limiting its scope to a specific channel, performing the
search through a wider (or narrower) timeframe, searching in program titles
only, choosing text to specifically exclude from the search argument to
avoid unwanted matches, and more.
To perform an Advanced search, click on the More Search Options
link. The page will redraw to display the Advanced Search template.
Each field and control is labeled to describe its function.
Enter each element for the desired query into the appropriate field,
select any additional filtering options then click the Search button
to launch the Advanced search. The results for an Advanced search are
displayed with the same format and content described in the Basic Search
topic above.
Creating an Advanced Search Manually
As each element of the search query is entered, you may notice it is
displayed in a box at the top of the page. This display may be used to
illustrate how a complex search query is constructed. After performing a
number of Advanced searches and becoming familiar with how the operators
are used, you may choose to begin performing such searches by manually
entering the query string with the desired operators directly into the
Search field on the guide page.
For information regarding how to use the syntax in TitanTV's Advanced
Search, please refer to the Search feature's Help page.
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page.
Becoming a TitanTV Member
Creating a free TitanTV membership allows you to take advantage of
TitanTV's advanced features. Those features include:
- Create Fully Customizable TV Lineups
- Access Your Lineups from Any Computer, Anywhere
- Access Your Custom Lineups on Mobile Devices
- DVR/PVR Scheduling and Recording Capabilities
- Create Reminders and Lists of up to 500 Favorite Programs
- Customizable Schedule Grid Color Schemes
- Retain Your Customized Display and Member Settings Between
Visits
To become a TitanTV member, click the Become a Member link at the top
of the page. The page will redraw to display the Sign Up page containing the
following fields and controls.
- Email - Enter the email address you wish to use for your TitanTV
membership
- User Name - Enter a unique user name containing at least four
characters but no spaces or tabs
- Password - Enter a password containing at least seven characters
but no spaces or tabs
- Confirm Password - Re-enter your password to verify it was entered
correctly in the Password field above
- Agreement - Select the check box after viewing TitanTV's Terms
of Use and Privacy Policy pages.
The user name and password associated with your TitanTV membership are case
sensitive. If you are prompted for your user name and password when you return
to TitanTV, enter them using the same mix of upper and lower case characters
used on the Sign Up page.
Click the Sign Up button to submit your membership information. If
your User Name and/or email address do not already exist in TitanTV's database
of existing members, the page will redraw to verify your membership has been
created. Click the Continue button to go to your Schedule page.
If any of the information you entered is found to conflict with an already
existing TitanTV member, a message will appear onscreen to notify you of the
conflict. Make the necessary changes to your information to make your
membership info unique and click the Continue button again to re-submit.
See the topics in the Site Preferences
section below for more information about the customization options available to
TitanTV members.
About Cookies
Cookies are small text files written to your hard drive by many of the Web
sites you visit. Typically, a cookie stores your preferences when visiting a
particular site. When you return to that site at a later time, the site's
cookie allows it retrieve important information about you from your previous
visit.
Cookies must be enabled on your browser in order take full advantage of
TitanTV's features. TitanTV stores a local cookie that contains information
about your membership count such as the login, DVR/PVR selection, and any
guide customization settings. Without a cookie present, TitanTV cannot recall
the member-specific information such as your login and preference settings
between sessions and treats each subsequent visit as if you had not been to
the site before.
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Logging in to TitanTV
After creating a TitanTV membership, you will be able to take advantage of
these features:
- Create Fully Customizable TV Lineups
- Access Your Lineups from Any Computer, Anywhere
- Access Your Custom Lineups on Mobile Devices
- DVR/PVR Scheduling and Recording Capabilities
- Create Reminders and Lists of up to 500 Favorite Programs
- Customizable Schedule Grid Color Schemes
- Retain Your Customized Display and Member Settings Between
Visits
For more information about each of these features, see the topics in the
Site Preferences
If you are not logged in on your next visit to TitanTV, click the
Login link at the top of the page. You will be prompted for your user
name and password when you return to TitanTV. The User Name and Password
fields are case-sensitive. This means they must be entered using the same mix
of upper and lower case characters you used on the Sign Up page.
By selecting the Remember Me Next Time* check box when
you log in, TitanTV will keep you logged in between visits to the site. The
next time you visit TitanTV, you will be taken to the current day's Schedule
page for your default channel lineup.
*Cookies must be enabled on your browser in order take
full advantage of TitanTV's features. Your TitanTV login credentials are
stored between visits in a local cookie file.
Without a cookie present, TitanTV cannot retain the member-specific
information such as your login and your customization and preference
settings between sessions. Subsequent visits to TitanTV are handled as if
you had not been to the site before.
If you have selected the "Remember Me Next Time" check box but are
prompted to enter your login when returning to TitanTV, this means your
cookie has been deleted from your browser since your last visit.
Forgotten Password
If you have forgotten the password for your TitanTV membership, click the
Forgot Your Password? link button on the Login page to go to the
Reset TitanTV Password page.
On this page, enter your User Name in the top field. Next, enter the text
from the Captcha image in the Verification Code field. This code
contains a block of randomly generated letters and numbers that is used to
prevent unauthorized access to your membership's login credentials.
If the characters in the Captcha image are hard to read, click on the
speaker icon to hear each character spoken through your computer's speakers.
You may also press the F5 key on your keyboard to refresh the page with a
new, and perhaps easier to read, Captcha code.
When the User Name and Verification Code have been entered, click the
Submit button. Within a few minutes, an email will be sent to the email
address associated with your TitanTV membership. Follow the instructions in
the email on how to reset your password.
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Site Preferences
The Site Preferences page uses a tabbed interface. Each tab is
associated with the following specific functional areas within TitanTV:
The features and controls under the tabs designated above with the
* are available only to TitanTV members.
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My Preferences Tab
The controls on the My Preferences tab allow you to select the
program default settings of TitanTV's Schedule page:
- Default Channel Lineup - Selects the specific lineup the
Schedule page opens to when you return to TitanTV
- Default Time Zone - Specifies the schedule's default time zone;
this setting may be overridden by new lineups, if desired
- Default DST Observation: - Select this option to automatically
adjust the schedule when Daylight Savings goes into and out of effect
- Default Grid Time - Allows you to choose the hour of the day the
Schedule displays when opened
- Default Grid Duration - Determines the number of hours (1 - 6)
of programming to display on the Schedule page; default setting is 3
hours
- Grid Font Size - Choose the grid's default font size
Programming Grid Options - The options in this section control the
following grid default settings:
- Show Advanced Menu by Default - Controls whether to display the
Advanced Menu by default in the Schedule page headings
- Use Full Screen Width by Default - Opens the Schedule page to
the full width of the browser window
- Allow Cell Text to Wrap - Causes the display of long program
titles and/or descriptions to wrap to a new line instead of truncating at
the right edge of the program's cell
- Use Fixed Height Grid Cells - Determines whether all cells are a
uniform height or are sized dynamically according to cell containing the
most content per station
- Show Program Details on Hover - Opens a cell's Program Details
box when the mouse is held over that cell for approximately 3 seconds
- Show Channel Logos - Displays network and station logos in the
Station column in the grid instead of plain text
- Use Grid Coloring in Details Popup* - Carries the
current grid color scheme to the background and text of a program's Details
box
*TitanTV provides several pre-defined grid color schemes
from which to choose. In addition to those schemes, a Grid Color
Scheme editor feature allows TitanTV members to create custom schemes
using their choice of color combinations for cell colors, titles and
descriptive text for program genres and types. For more information, see the
Grid Color Scheme topic.
Programming Grid Fields - The options in this section determine the
amount of data to be displayed in each program's grid cell:
- Descriptions - Displays each program's description, when
available
- HDTV Indicator - Displays an indicator when a program is in
HD
- Program Genre - Displays each program's main and sub-genre
- Movie Rating & Stars - Displays a movie's original MPAA and
"stars" rating, where applicable
- Program Type - Displays each program's color-coded type or
category
- Episode Titles - Display a program's episode title, when
available
- New/Repeat Status - Displays an indicator whether a program is
new or being repeated
- Year of Production - Displays the year the program was produced,
when available
- Include TV Ratings - Displays each program's rating, when
available
Daily View Page Default - This control determines the number of
days of programming that appear by default in the Daily View page. This page
displays the schedule for only a single channel. It is accessed by clicking
on the desired channel's logo/call sign on the main grid page. The page
allows you to view the selected channel's full 24-hour schedule for the next
3 days or display 3 hour blocks of the channel's schedule for each of the
next 14 days. The Days icon on the Daily View page allows you to toggle
between the 3 and 14-day views.
TitanTV Hints - This check box controls the display of the TitanTV
Hints that appear on the Schedule page. These hints may be used to introduce
you to TitanTV's features and functions. All of the hints may be viewed at
once by clicking the Usage Tips link at the bottom of every page.
3rd Party Content - This check box controls the display of the
3rd Party Content links displayed throughout TitanTV.
After making any desired changes on the Site Preferences page, click the
Save Changes button. A message will appear to confirm the changes have
been put into effect. Click the TitanTV Listings link at the top of
the page to return to the Schedule page.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
*My Login/Email
The controls under the My Login/Email tab allow you to review and
edit the email and location information associated with your membership.
After making any desired changes on the My Login/Email page, click the
Save Changes button to put your changes into effect. Click the
TitanTV Listings link at the top of the page to return to the Schedule
page.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
*My Password
The controls under the My Password tab allow you to change the
password associated with your TitanTV membership.
To change the password, enter your current password in the Old
Password field. Then, carefully enter your new password into both the
New Password and Again fields.
After entering your new password, click the Save Changes button to
put your changes into effect. Click the TitanTV Listings link at the
top of the page to return to the Schedule page.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
My Channel Lineups
TitanTV allows you to create multiple channel lineups from the available
programming sources (Over-the-Air, Cable, Satellite, etc.) to suit your
needs. The My Channel Lineups tab displays your available channel
lineups and the controls for maintaining them. On this tab you may also add
new lineups, delete unwanted ones, select a default lineup and more. A
description of each control follows.
My Channel Lineups Tab Controls
When creating a new lineup from the My Channels tab, two options are
available:
Create New Lineup Option
To create a new lineup that contains the channels from an existing
source, click the Create New Lineup button. A popup box will open
displaying icons for each of the available programming sources:
- Broadcast (Over the Air)
- Cable
- Digital Cable
- Satellite
- Over-the-Top*
Adding a lineup is a two-step process:
Step 1: Click on the icon corresponding to your desired
source. The popup box will redraw to display a ZIP Code prompt.
Step 2: Enter the ZIP Code of the location you want the new
channel lineup for. The contents of the popup will refresh to list the
available options serving that ZIP Code for the selected source.
Depending on how extensively an area is served by over-the-air
broadcasters and cable providers, the chosen source may present you with
several market and cable options.
The source, for example, may present you with two or more local
markets to choose from. Selecting Cable may present you with several
programming packages from the cable providers serving that ZIP Code.
From the list of available options for that source, select the desired
market or lineup then click the Save button to close the popup
box.
* When Over-the-Top is selected as the source for a
new lineup, the choices for the various providers are limited to your
current time zone, regardless of the ZIP Code you enter. Your local time
zone is determined from the IP (Internet Protocol) address of your
internet provider. When adding an OTT schedule, lineups for a time zone
other than that of your current location cannot be selected.
Choose the desired option/package and click the Save button to
close the popup. The lineup will be added to the list of saved
lineups.
If you want the new lineup to always be displayed every time you go to
the Schedule page, click its Set as Default button.
To permanently delete an unwanted lineup, click the red X that serves as the Delete icon in the top
corner of that lineup's box. At least one lineup is required by TitanTV,
so the icon is displayed only when two or more lineups are present.
Back to the top of the My Channel
Lineups topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Create Custom Lineup Option
The Create Custom Lineup feature allows you to build a new
lineup that initially contains no channels. The new lineup starts as a
blank slate that you fill with only the channels that you want it to
contain. Those channels may even be from multiple programming sources. A
custom lineup may be created to display your favorite over-the-air and
cable channels, display only the premium movie channels to which you
subscribe, be dedicated to sports channels only, and so on.
Creating custom lineups is an exclusive feature for TitanTV members.
To take advantage of this and the other features available only to
TitanTV members, see the Becoming a
TitanTV Member topic for more information about creating a
free TitanTV membership.
To create a custom lineup, click the Create Custom Lineup on
the My Channels tab. A popup box opens prompting you to enter a name for
the new lineup. Enter a meaningful name then click the Save button
to create the new lineup and close the popup window.
The page redraws to display the lineup's contents, which is initially
empty. To add a channel, click the Add Channels button. This opens
a popup box prompting you to:
- Find a Channel to Add by Name - Manually search for each
channel to be added
- Choose Channels to Add From an Existing Lineup - Select
channels to add from within an existing lineup
When you choose the Find a Channel to Add by Name option, a
window opens in which you search for the desired channel by entering its
call sign/network code. This code is a four to nine character identifier
that is generally an abbreviation of the network's full name. Click on
the desired channel code from the list of matching names to select it.
Next, enter the channel number it will occupy in your lineup then click
the Add Channel button to close the popup window and add the
channel to your lineup. Repeat for each channel you want to add.
With their abbreviated nature, call signs can sometimes be cryptic and
locating the correct one that matches the schedule of the channel you are
adding may require a bit of trial and error. If a wrong call sigh is
entered when adding a channel, it may also be easily removed from the
lineup. The topics below describe how to remove a channel from a
lineup.
When the Choose Channels to Add From an Existing Lineup option
is selected, a window opens in which you are presented with a list of the
other lineups you have saved. Choose the lineup from the drop down box
that contains the channel you want to add.
When the lineup is selected from the list, the popup window refreshes
to display all of the channels on the selected lineup. Scroll through the
list and click on the desired channel to add. The background of the row
the channel is on turns from white to green to indicate that it has been
selected. Multiple channels may be selected with this method by clicking
on each channel. Click on a channel again to deselect it and return its
background to white.
When the desired channels have been selected from the source lineup,
click the Add Channels button to close the popup and add them to
the edited lineup.
Channels added to the lineup using either of the above methods are
displayed in the list on a green background to indicate that they were
originally in that lineup.
When the desired channels have been added, click the TitanTV
Listings link at the top left corner of the page to return to the
grid page and view the contents of the edited lineup. Some
experimentation may be needed to ensure the lineup contains all the
correct channels.
Remove a Channel from the Lineup
To remove an unwanted channel from the lineup, locate it in the list
of channels and click its Remove button. A confirmation box will
open prompting you to verify you want to remove the channel Click the
OK button to confirm the action and close the box. The selected
channel will be removed from the list of channels in the lineup.
As you add and remove channels, the changes are automatically saved
and the lineup updated as each action is performed. No explicit save
command is needed to put changes into effect.
If you want the new custom lineup to be the one TitanTV opens to every
time the schedule page opens, click the My Channel Lineups tab to
return to the list of saved lineups. Locate the new custom lineup in the
list and click its Set as Default button. Click the TitanTV
Listings link at the top of the page to return to the schedule page
and view the new custom lineup.
Sharing Custom Channel Lineups
Each lineup a member saves under his or her account - regardless of
whether it is a stock, pre-defined lineup or one that is completely
customized - is assigned an ID called a token. The token is a
combination of letters and numbers that is specific to that lineup.
The Create Lineup from Token button allows you to create a new
lineup by importing its data from a token created by another TitanTV
member. The feature creates a copy of the channel lineup contained in the
source token. The token contains no personal information about its creator's account.
Tokens may be exchanged with other TitanTV members via email or by
posting on a community online bulletin board. No mechanism currently
exists in the site to facilitate the exchange of lineup tokens between
members directly from within TitanTV.
To create a new lineup using another member's token, click the
Create Lineup from Token button. A popup window opens that prompts you to enter the
token's ID. A token is a string of letters and numbers that uniquely
indentify a particular lineup that is available for sharing. Given its 54-character
length, it may be best to copy and paste the token into the field rather
than manually key it in.
With the token in place, click the Save button to close the
popup. The new lineup will appear on the My Channel Lineups page with the same
name and channel roster as in its original lineup. The newly created
lineup is immediately ready for selection and viewing.
To share a custom lineup that you have created with other members,
copy the Share Token string of the desired lineup and send it in
an email to the desired recipients. The recipients then follow the
instructions above for creating/importing a new lineup from your
token.
The sharing of custom lineup tokens is available to TitanTV members
only.
Back to the top of the My Channel
Lineups topic.
Edit Information Button
Clicking the Edit Information button allows you to change that
lineup's display name as well as specify its time zone and Daylight Savings
settings, if different than your own. The default time zone for your
lineups is determined by the setting in under the My Preferences
tab.
The Use Default Time Zone/DST Settings control may be used if one
of the lineups you frequently refer to is in another time zone. Such would
be the case if you travel between time zones regularly and wish to create
one or more lineups for each zone.
Click the Save Changes button to put your changes to the lineup's
display name and time zone settings into effect.
Back to the top of the My Channel
Lineups topic.
Edit Channels Button
Clicking the Edit Channels button allows you to make potentially
sweeping changes to that lineup. With this control, you may:
- Change the display order of the channels in the lineup
- Manually add one or more channels to the lineup
- Change a channel's call sign, channel, network affiliation, and
source
- Hide a channel so it will not appear on the Schedule page
Color coding of each channel's background is used on this page to
illustrate the changes made to a lineup.
- White - The channel has not been altered
- Yellow - The channel has been modified in some way
- Green - The channel has been manually added to the lineup
- Pink - The channel will be hidden on the Schedule page
After making and saving the desired changes to the lineup, click on the
My Channels Lineup tab to return to your list of lineups or on the
TitanTV Listings link at the top of the page to go to the Schedule
page.
Back to the top of the My Channel
Lineups topic.
Set as Default Button
When two or more lineups are present, the Set as Default control
allows you to specify one as your preferred lineup. After a lineup has been
selected, it will then appear by default when you open the Schedule
page.
After you have selected a default lineup, any of your other lineups may
still be viewed by selecting the desired non-default lineup from the drop
down box in the Channel Lineup section on the Schedule page.
The Set as Default button appears only when two or more lineups have
been created. When only one lineup is present, it becomes the de facto
default lineup so there is no need to display a control that allows you to
select it as the default.
Delete Lineup Control
To permanently delete an unwanted lineup, click the red X that serves as the Delete icon in the top corner
of that lineup's box. At least one lineup is required by TitanTV, so the
icon is displayed only when two or more lineups are present.
Back to the top of the My Channel
Lineups topic.
Click the TitanTV Listings link at the top of the page to return to
the Schedule page.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
My Grid Colors
About Grid Color Schemes
The My Grid Colors tab displays a list of the available grid color
schemes.
A grid color scheme determines the overall look of the programs that
appear in the schedule grid. Each scheme contains one or more sets of rules
that are used to color code the programs in the schedule grid according to
their genre (Children's, Drama, News, Sports, etc.).
The genre color coding scheme is also echoed in each program's Details
box. When this option is enabled, the background of a program's Details box
will use the same color assigned to the program's genre.
The color coding of the Details boxes may be disabled by deselecting the
Use Grid Coloring in Details Popup check box on the Site
Preferences/My Preferences page. All Details boxes will then appear with the
traditional black text against a white background.
Pre-defined Grid Color Schemes
TitanTV provides four pre-defined grid color schemes that users may choose
from. Each contains rules for different background and text color
combinations. The schemes also specify different numbers of genres to color
code in the schedule.
The pre-defined schemes are:
- TitanTV Standard - Assigns a unique color to the background of
each genre
- TitanTV Guide - Contains the same color palette that many TV
stations use on the program guides on their sites
- Movies, News & Sports - Assigns distinct background colors
to only Movie, News and Sports programs
- Monochrome - The same background and text color combination is
used for all programs, regardless of genre
Selecting the Default Grid Color Scheme
The settings in the grid color scheme selected as the Default is
the one TitanTV will use whenever the grid page is displayed. The grid page
also displays a legend at the bottom containing a color sample and label
for each genre and program type combination in the Default scheme.
To select a different color scheme from the list, click its Set as
Default button. The schedule grid will then be displayed according to
the settings in that scheme.
The color combinations in the Default color scheme are also reflected in
the Details box that opens when a program's cell is clicked. The Details
box contains that program's extended description, cast information and
more.
For example, if the Default scheme has specified all programs associated
with the Nature genre to be displayed in the grid with a green
background, the Details box of every Nature program will also have a green
background.
The schemes provided by TitanTV cannot be edited or deleted.
Custom Grid Color Schemes
In addition to the pre-defined schemes, TitanTV members may create
custom grid schemes using their choice of color combinations for cell
colors, titles and descriptive text.
For example, a sports fan may create a custom scheme that displays all
Sports programs in one background color to make them stand out from all
other programs in the grid.
Parents could make a custom scheme with rules that highlight all
Animated and Children's programs with the same color combination to make
them easy to locate in the grid.
Unlike the pre-defined schemes that are based only on Genre, custom
schemes may be created to also highlight combinations of the available
Genres and the Movie program type.
With this new capability, a movie buff could create a custom scheme
featuring several rules dedicated to movies. One rule would apply to movies
that are dramas and display them in one combination of colors, a second
rule that displays comedy movies in another combination and a third that
applies to movies of all other genres.
A demonstration of how to create each of the rules described above may
be found in the Custom Movie Rules
Example topic in this Help page.
To take advantage of this and the other features available only to
TitanTV members, see the Becoming a TitanTV
Member topic for more information about creating a free
TitanTV membership.
See the next topic for more basic information about creating a custom
grid color scheme.
Back to the top of the My Grid
Colors topic.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Creating a Custom Grid Color Scheme
Unlike the pre-defined schemes that are based only on Genre, the
Custom Grid Color Scheme feature allows TitanTV members to create
custom grid color schemes based on their choice of Genre and the Movie
program type. A custom scheme may contain as many - or as few - genre/movie
combinations as desired.
A simple custom scheme may be monochromatic and display all programs in
the grid in the same background color. Or, at the opposite end of the
scale, a complex custom scheme could contain a unique combination of color
codes for every available program genre and program type combination.
In a typical custom scheme, however, distinct color combinations are
generally chosen for the 8 to 10 specific genre and program type
combinations the member cares most about. The rest of the programs will be
displayed in the grid according to the set of rules that TitanTV internally
maintains that determines the background and text colors for all
unspecified genres and program types.
When creating a new custom scheme, two options are available:
- Option #1 - Create an empty scheme and manually select new
each genre/type and text color combination you want to be in it.
- Option #2 - Create a copy of an existing scheme as the
starting point and edit the new one as needed.
Both of these options are covered in more detail in the next topic.
To create a custom scheme, click the Create New Color Scheme
button at the top of the list of schemes. This opens a popup box containing
these controls:
- Name - Enter a unique name in the Name field.
- Copy From - To use an existing scheme as the basis for the new
scheme, select it from the drop down box. Otherwise, select
None.
Click the Save button to save the new scheme and close the popup
box.
The new scheme is added to the list of available grid color schemes and
ready to be edited to suit your preferences. See the next topic for more
information about editing the settings in a custom grid color scheme as
well as how to add additional colors to the scheme.
Back to the top of the My Grid
Colors topic.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Editing a New Color Scheme
To edit the settings in the new scheme, click its Edit Color
Scheme button. The page will redraw to display the current settings in
the new scheme and the following controls:
- The Add New Rule button is used to add another color
combination to this scheme
- The Set As Default button allows you to select this scheme as
the grid's default
- The Change link that returns you to the list of available
schemes
- The Summary panel shows the Genre and Program Type associated
with this color combination
- The Sample cell provides a view of what the cell will look
like in the grid for this combination
- The Delete control is a red X in the top right corner of the box that removes
this combination
- The Edit button allows you to specify a genre and/or type and
change the colors of one or more of the cell's contents
- The Return To TV Listings link returns TitanTV to the grid
page
Editing a New Color Scheme - Option #1
If the new scheme was created using Option #1 in the topic above,
you may notice that it will contain one rule. In it, the Genre and Program
Type is set to All. This means every program in the grid, regardless
of its genre and/or type, will appear with black text against a grey
background.
To change the settings in this rule, click its Edit button in its
box to activate the Edit controls. The box will redraw and the Genre and
Program Type fields become controls from which you may choose specific
criteria. The Color Picker squares are activated for each cell element.
Clicking on a square will open its Color Picker from which you select a
different color for that particular cell element.
For example, to change the rule to apply to all programs in the News
genre only, click the Genre drop down box to display its contents
then click on News in the list.
The background color of the cells for the News programs may also be
changed. Click on the color square between the Background label and the
Sample box to open the Color Picker. The Picker contains two sets of
pre-defined color palettes, named Theme Colors and Web
Colors, from which you may choose. Select a new background color by
clicking on the desired color. When another color is selected, the Sample
box will change to reflect how the News programming will appear in the grid
with the new background color.
Depending on the color you selected for the cell's background, you may
want to also choose different colors for the Title and other text elements
to make them stand out for easier readability. Click on the Color Picker
square for each text element to choose its new color.
When you are satisfied with the new settings in this rule, click the
Save Changes button to close the Edit view and retain your
choices.
If you are ready to put this custom into effect, click the Set As
Default button to make it the scheme TitanTV will use whenever the grid
page is displayed. Click the Return To TitanTV Listings link to go
to the guide page. The grid will redraw according to settings in the
Default new custom grid color scheme.
For any genre and type combinations that are not specifically identified
by a rule in a custom scheme, TitanTV internally maintains a default rule
that directs all programs for the remaining genres and types to be
displayed with black text against a grey background.
To add new rules to this custom scheme using other genre/type and color
combinations, see the Adding a New
Rule to a Scheme topic for more information.
After viewing the schedule grid according to your new custom scheme, you
may easily fine-tune its rules and settings by returning to the Site
Preferences/My Grid Colors page and editing the custom rule as
needed.
Editing a New Color Scheme - Option #2
If Option #2 in the Creating a Custom Color Scheme topic
above was selected when creating the new grid scheme, it will contain the
same set of rules that were in the original scheme that was copied. The
settings in the new scheme may be edited as needed to meet your
preferences.
To edit a specific rule, click its Edit button to activate the
edit controls. The Genre and Program Type fields become controls from which
you may choose specific criteria and the Color Picker squares are activated
for each cell element.
Make the changes as needed to the genre and/or type selection. Change
the color of the cell's background and text elements if needed by clicking
on the color square between the field labels and the Sample box to open the
Color Picker. When satisfied with the new settings and combination of
colors, click the Save Changes button to close the Edit view and
retain your choices. Repeat these steps for each existing rule you want to
change.
See the Adding a New Rule to a Scheme topic that follows for more
information about adding a new rule and color combination to your custom
scheme.
If the new custom scheme contains any unwanted rules that were copied
from the source scheme, click on the red X in the top right corner of its box to delete the
rule.
Once you have created the rules for the new scheme and are ready to put
it into effect, click the Set As Default button. TitanTV will then
use this scheme's settings whenever the grid page is displayed. Click the
Return To TitanTV Listings link to go to the guide page and view how
it appears in the Default new custom grid color scheme.
After viewing the schedule grid according to the rules your new custom
scheme, you may easily fine-tune its rules and settings by returning to the
Site Preferences/My Grid Colors page and editing the custom rule as
needed.
Back to the top of the My Grid
Colors topic.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Adding a New Rule to a Scheme
To add a new rule with its own settings and color combinations to a
custom scheme, click the Add New Rule button. A popup window opens
containing the same controls and basic layout as when editing an existing
rule.
In the popup window, select the desired Genre and/or Program Type you
want the new rule to apply to. Then click on each of the color squares to
open their respective Color Pickers to select the rule's background and
text colors. Click the Save button to close the popup and save the
new rule's setting.
If a new rule contains the same combination of genre and/or program type
as another rule in the custom scheme, a message box will open advising you
of the duplication. Change the new rule's Genre and/or Type selections to
avoid the duplication and click Save again or click Cancel to
discard the new color and return to the rules list page.
Back to the top of the My Grid
Colors topic.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Custom Movie Rules Example
These instructions demonstrate how to create a custom scheme containing
a combination of rules that specify different genres within the Movie
program type.
As mentioned in the section introducing custom grid color scheme
options, a scheme may be created for movies in which all dramas will appear
in the grid in one background color, comedies in another color and all
other movies in a third combination of colors. This section illustrates how
to create this set of rules.
*If you have already created a custom scheme and want to follow along
with this example in it, click its Edit Color Scheme button to
open its Edit mode.
**If you have not yet created any custom grid color schemes, click the
Create New Color Scheme button at the top of the list of schemes.
This opens a popup box containing these controls:
For this demonstration, various shades of blue will be used to
distinguish movies in the schedule grid according to their genre. Any other
combination of colors may be used.
The first step is to create a rule that sets the background and text
color for movies that are dramas. To begin, click the Add New Rule
button. A popup window opens containing the controls used for creating a
new rule. In the popup:
- Select Drama from the Genre drop down box
- Select the Movie Program Type check box
- For the Background, click on its colored square to open
its Color Picker and select a dark shade of blue
- For the Title text, click on its colored square to opens
it Color Picker and select a contrasting color to make it stand out
from the background, if necessary
- For the Details text, click on its colored square to open
its Color Picker and select a contrasting color to make it stand out
from the background, if necessary
- For the Other field, click on its colored square to open
its Color Picker and select a contrasting color to make it stand out
from the background, if necessary
The box to the right provides a sample of what this rule will look
like in the grid. If you are satisfied with your color choices, click the
Save button to close the popup and save the new rule's
settings.
The next step is to create a rule that sets the background and text
color for movies that are comedies. Click the Add New Rule button.
In the popup:
- Select Comedy from the Genre drop down box
- Select the Movie Program Type check box
- For the Background, open its Color Picker and select a
medium shade of blue
- For the Title text, open its Color Picker and select a
contrasting color, if necessary
- For the Details text, open its Color Picker and select a
contrasting color, if necessary
- For the Other field, open its Color Picker and select a
contrasting color, if necessary
When satisfied with your color choices, click the Save button
to close the popup and save the new rule.
The last step is to create the rule that sets the background and text
color for all movies that are not dramas or comedies. Click the Add
New Rule button. In the popup:
- Select All from the Genre drop down box
- Select the Movie Program Type check box
- For the Background, opens its Color Picker and select a
light shade of blue
- For the Title text, open its Color Picker and select a
contrasting color, if necessary
- For the Details text, open its Color Picker and select a
contrasting color, if necessary
- For the Other field, open its Color Picker and select a
contrasting color, if necessary
When satisfied with your color choices, click the Save button
to close the popup and save the new rule.
The custom scheme will have three new rules in it. One dictates that all
Dramas that are also a Movie will appear in the schedule grid
with a dark blue background. Another rule indicates all Comedies
that are also a Movie will appear with a medium blue background. In
the third rule, the All setting determines that all Movies that are
neither Dramas nor Comedies will appear in the grid with a light blue
background.
The All selection in the Genre drop down box means the rule's color
combination will be applied to all the other genres within the Movies
program type that have not been specifically chosen in any other rules. In
this example, explicit rules were created specifically for Dramas and
Comedies within the Movie program type. Therefore, the All genre
selection and its particular rules do not apply to them.
To view how the grid will look under the rules of the new custom color
scheme, click the Set as Default button that the top of the custom
scheme's list of rules. Then click the Return to TV Listings link at
the bottom of the set of rules.
The schedule grid page will be redrawn. The movies in it will appear in
it with their backgrounds in shades of blue. Dramas will be dark blue,
comedies medium blue and all other movies in a light shade of blue. All
other programs that are not movies will appear against a grey background,
TitanTV's default for all unspecified genres.
If you scroll down to the bottom of the schedule grid, you will see the
legend contains - in addition to any other rules you have created in the
custom scheme - the background and text color samples for each of the rules
in this custom scheme. It will list Movie on a light blue
background, Comedy:Movie on a medium blue background and
Drama:Movie on a dark blue background.
Back to the Custom Grid Color
Schemes topic.
Back to the top of the My Grid
Colors topic.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Using Custom Colors in a Scheme
The Color Picker tool TitanTV provides contains two pre-defined color
palettes, Theme Colors and Web Colors, from which you may
choose. Between these palettes, nearly 200 pre-defined colors are available
for use in custom grid color schemes.
In addition to the pre-defined colors from which you may select, TitanTV
also allows you to use create custom colors by manually entering HTML Color
Codes into the color fields.
The HTML Code format is based on the hexadecimal numeral system. In HTML
Code, each color contains a "#" symbol and combination of 6 letters or
numbers ranging from 0-9 and A-F. The first two digits in the
HTML Code represents the intensity of Red in a color, the second pair
represents the intensity of Green, and the last two the intensity of
Blue.
00 is the least intense value the Red, Green and Blue components in a
color may have and FF is the most intense.
The color Black is created when all the Red, Green and Blue components
in the HTML Code are at their lowest intensity (#000000) and White is
created when all of the components are set to their maximum intensity
(#999999). Between the lower and upper limits of this range thousands of
color combinations are available.
For example, the HTML Code for Bright
Green is #00FF00. The first two digits (00) in this code
represent the Red component at its lowest intensity in this color. The next
two (FF) indicate the highest intensity for the color Green. The last two
digits (00) represent the Blue component is also at its lowest possible
intensity.
In the HTML Code #009900, Red and Blue are still at their lowest
possible intensities (00) while the Green component is at a less intense
value (99). The color this combination creates is a Medium Green.
By changing the HTML Code to #001100, the colors Red and Blue are still
at their lowest possible intensities (00) while the Green component is at a
much less intense value (11). This combination creates is a somewhat darker
shade of Dark Greenthat may look like
Black on most computer monitors.
By selecting different combinations of intensities for the Red, Green
and Blue components in a color, the HTML Code may be used to select from
thousands of available colors for use in your custom grid scheme.
Back to the top of the My Grid
Colors topic.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
*My DVR Options
If you are a TitanTV member, the options on the My DVR Options page
allows you to choose which PVR-related icons, if any, you want to appear in
the Program Details boxes on the Schedule page. This feature allows you to
display only the icons for the particular functions your PVR supports or, if
you do not have a PVR installed, hide all the PVR icons completely.
For example, if you have a PVR product installed on your computer that
only allows you to record programming, selecting just the check box
corresponding to the Record function on the My DVR Options page will cause
only the Record icon to appear in the Program Details box.
If you do not have a PVR, not selecting any of the check boxes will cause
the display of all PVR-related icons to not be displayed at all.
After making the desired changes to the settings on the My DVR Options
page, click the Save Changes button to put them into effect. Click the
TitanTV Listings link at the top of the page to return to the Schedule
page.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
*My Favorite Shows and Movies
Every program you have designated in any of your lineups as a Favorite
appears on this page. This page also allows you to maintain your master list
of favorite programs. A maximum of 200 (500 for registered members) programs
may be selected as a favorite.
To add a new favorite to the list, carefully enter the program's exact
title in the field and click the Add Favorite button. The Favorites
function does not recognize partial matches of show and movie titles. The
program will then be added to the master list and its scheduled airings will
appear when appropriate in the Favorite Shows & Movies page.
To permanently delete a favorite, click the red X in the unwanted program's box. A confirmation box
will open prompting you to verify your intent to remove that favorite.
Back to the top of the Site
Preferences topic.
The features indicated with the * are available only to
TitanTV members.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Editing an Existing Lineup
TitanTV includes a tool that allows you to edit any channel lineup. You may
choose to edit a lineup to add more channels to it or remove unwanted channels
from the grid.
To edit a lineup, click on the Manage Lineups & Channels icon in
the center of the header bar above the grid on the Schedule page. Its icon
looks like a red tool box. This takes you to the My Channel Lineups page
that lists all the channel lineups that you have created.
Locate the lineup to be edited in the list and click its Edit
Channels button. The page will refresh to display the number and network
for each of the channels in the lineup.
Add a Channel to the Lineup
To add a channel to a lineup, locate the desired lineup in the list and
click its Edit Channels button. The page will refresh to display a
listing of the assigned channel number and call sign/network for each channel
in the lineup.
Click the Add Channels button at the top of the list. This opens a
window that gives you two options:
- Find a Channel to Add by Name - Manually search for each channel
to be added
- Choose Channels to Add From an Existing Lineup - Select channels
to add from within an existing lineup
When you choose the Find a Channel to Add by Name option, a window
opens in which you search for the desired channel by entering its call
sign/network code. This code is a four to nine character identifier that is
generally an abbreviation of the network's full name. Click on the desired
channel code from the list of matching names to select it. Next, enter the
channel number it will occupy in your lineup then click the Add
Channel button to close the popup window and add the channel to your
lineup. Repeat for each channel you want to add.
With their abbreviated nature, call signs can sometimes be cryptic and
locating the correct one that matches the schedule of the channel you are
adding may require a bit of trial and error. If a wrong call sigh is entered
when adding a channel, it may also be easily removed from the lineup. The
topics below describe how to remove a channel from a lineup.
When the Choose Channels to Add From an Existing Lineup option is
selected, a window opens in which you are presented with a list of the other
lineups you have saved. Choose the lineup from the drop down box that
contains the channel you want to add.
When the lineup is selected from the list, the popup window refreshes to
display all of the channels on the selected lineup. Scroll through the list
and click on the desired channel to add. The background of the row the
channel is on turns from white to green to indicate that it has been
selected. Multiple channels may be selected with this method by clicking on
each channel. Click on a channel again to deselect it and return its
background to white.
When the desired channels have been selected from the source lineup, click
the Add Channels button to close the popup and add them to the edited
lineup.
Channels added to the lineup using either of the above methods are
displayed in the list on a green background to indicate that they were
originally in that lineup.
When the desired channels have been added, click the TitanTV
Listings link at the top left corner of the page to return to the grid
page and view the contents of the edited lineup. Some experimentation may be
needed to ensure the lineup contains all the correct channels.
Remove a Channel from the Lineup
To remove a channel that was original to the lineup, locate it in the list
of channels and click its Hide button. The row's background changes to
red and the label on the button changes to Show. This action does not
explicitly delete the channel from the lineup but prevents it from appearing
in the grid. The display of the channel in the grid may be re-enabled by
clicking the Show button. The row's background returns to white and
the button label also changes back to Hide.
Remove an Added Channel from the Lineup
To remove a channel that has been added to a lineup, locate it in the list
of channels and click its Remove button. A confirmation box will open
prompting you to verify you want to remove the channel Click the OK
button to confirm the action and close the box. The selected channel will be
removed from the list of channels in the lineup.
As you add, hide or remove each channel, the changes are automatically
saved and the lineup updated as each action is performed. No explicit save
command is needed to put changes into effect.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Using TitanTV with a PVR
TitanTV has been designed for use with most current PVR (Personal Video
Recorder) products. With a PVR installed, the recording of shows may be
scheduled with a single mouse click.
The use of a PVR is optional and it is not necessary to have a PVR in order
to use TitanTV to provide you with television listings.
Similarly, if you have a PVR installed, it is not necessary to use TitanTV
to schedule the recording of a program. A recording may be scheduled by
manually entering all the relevant information directly into the PVR's
interface.
However, TitanTV provides a one-click alternative to streamline and simplify
what is otherwise the multi-step process described in the topics below.
Click the desired link to view its topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
PVR 101
A PVR (Personal Video Recorder) is a combination of computer
hardware and its accompanying software. The hardware includes connections for
incoming signals such as an over-the-air antenna, coaxial cable for cable or
satellite programming, and so on as well as jacks for other audio/video input
and output. Its software provides the application's onscreen interface and
also controls the PVR's interaction with the computer's operating system.
Depending on the make and model, a PVR may be internal, meaning it is
semi-permanently installed in an expansion slot on the computer's
motherboard, or it may be external with its own housing and is connected to
the computer through a USB or FireWire port.
A PVR is a stand-alone application that includes its own unique interface
and controls that support its feature set. These controls allow you to enter
the information necessary to schedule the recording of a desired program.
Once installed, a basic PVR allows you to record television programs onto
your computer's hard drive in much the same way a VCR records to a video
cassette.
Depending on model and manufacturer, a PVR may also support such advanced
features as:
- Watch Now - Allows live television to be viewed in a window on
your computer's monitor
- Burn to DVD - Allows television programs to be recorded directly
onto DVD
- Remote Scheduling - Allows a computer at one location to
schedule the recording of a program on a PVR-equipped computer at a
different location
Refer to your PVR's documentation for more information about its features,
minimum computer memory and processor specifications, hardware and operating
system requirements, and other applicable details.
Back to the top of the Using TitanTV with a
PVR topic.
Scheduling a Recording Manually Through the PVR
A PVR is a stand-alone product that includes its own unique interface
and controls that support its feature set. These controls allow you to
enter the information necessary to schedule the recording of a desired
program.
With a PVR installed, you can manually schedule the recording of a
desired program by:
- Locating and opening the PVR's interface on your computer's Desktop
or in its Programs menu structure
- Finding the appropriate scheduling controls within the PVR's
interface
- Entering which channel the PVR is to tune to
- Entering the desired day
- Entering the time the PVR is to begin recording
- Entering how long the PVR is to record that channel
- Saving the instructions so the PVR can act upon them at the
appropriate time
Of course, before you can begin entering all this information, you must
first locate the information from a source such as the TV listings in a
newspaper or from an online program guide.
The next topic compares the steps needed to manually schedule a
recording against the ease in which the same process is performed in
TitanTV.
Back to the top of the Using TitanTV with a
PVR topic.
Scheduling a Recording With TitanTV
As an online programming guide, TitanTV already contains the information
about the program you want to record. To schedule the recording of a
desired program with TitanTV:
- Select that program in the schedule to open its Program Details
box
- Click its Record icon
With just a single click, all the instructions that were manually
entered in the "what channel, which day, what time, and how long"
process described in the previous topic are sent to your PVR by
TitanTV.
TitanTV does not contain a "season pass" feature that
automatically schedules the recording of all current and future instances
of that program. The ability to schedule the recording of an upcoming
program applies only that single instance of the selected program. Each
program to be recorded must be scheduled individually.
Back to the top of the Using TitanTV with a
PVR topic.
How TitanTV Works with a PVR
When you click a program's Record, Watch Now, Burn to DVD, or Remote
Scheduling icons, TitanTV sends a set of instructions in a standardized file
format internally through the computer's operating system to your PVR. The
file contains information about the specific actions you have instructed the
PVR to perform (for example, which channel to record, what day, what time,
and for how long).
This is the only interaction TitanTV has with your PVR. The PVR does not
pass any information back to TitanTV.
When the file is received by the PVR, it reads in those instructions and
automatically adds to the PVR's scheduling interface. The PVR then executes
the instructions at the appropriate day and time.
Back to the top of the Using TitanTV with a
PVR topic.
What a PVR Can Do
With a PVR installed, TitanTV may be used to schedule the recording of a
television program to your hard drive with just a click on the program's
Record icon in its Program Details box.
Other PVR products also include additional advanced features with the same
one-click convenience on the desired icon in a program's Program Details box.
These available features include:
The available features, hardware and operating system requirements,
supported browsers, and prices of PVR products vary by manufacturer and
model. Check your PVR product's documentation to view its features and
capabilities.
Back to the top of the Using TitanTV with a
PVR topic.
What a Supported PVR Cannot Do
The capability to record and/or watch television programs on your computer
with a PVR applies to only the over-the-air, cable, and satellite channels
you can normally receive at your location. These channels are delivered to
your location via an antenna (for over-the-air broadcasts) and/or through an
active subscription with your selected cable and/or satellite programming
providers.
A PVR will not enable you to view and/or record television programs online
from outside your normal viewing area or from any online sources.
Also, a supported PVR and TitanTV - used either in conjunction or
separately - will not serve as a descrambler or converter for viewing
regularly encrypted programming from any source.
Back to the top of the Using TitanTV with a
PVR topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Trouble Shooting
The topics in this section provide possible solutions to the most common
problems others have encountered when using TitanTV or a PVR product.
Click the desired link to view its topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
Problems Within TitanTV
Unable to Login
Your TitanTV membership contains information that is unique to you, such
as your location, choice of cable and/or satellite provider and programming
package, your PVR product, and any customization you've done to your
lineups. This information is used by TitanTV when you log in to display its
guide pages according your preferences.
The information about your membership is protected by a login process.
Most users will probably have to login to TitanTV only once and that will
be on the first visit. By default, TitanTV allows the login to remain
active between sessions so it will not necessary to login again on
subsequent visits.
If, however, you logged out on your last visit, are accessing TitanTV
from another computer for the first time, have disabled the persistent
login function, or your local cookies have been deleted, it will be
necessary to login again to view your television listings.
Below are the primary reasons why you would be unable to login to
TitanTV.
- Wrong Login Name and/or Password - When the wrong login name
or password is entered while attempting to login, a message is displayed
indicating which field is incorrect. The User Name and Password fields
are case-sensitive. Carefully re-enter your login and password and try
again.
If you do not remember your Password, click on the "Forgot Your
Password?" link on the TitanTV Login page.
A new page will open where you are prompted to enter your TitanTV User
Name and the Captcha Verification Code. Your password will then be sent
to the email address you entered when you created your TitanTV
membership.
- Browser Not Configured to Accept Cookies - To use TitanTV,
cookies must be enabled on your browser. Cookies are small text files
written to your hard drive by many of the Web sites you visit. Typically,
a cookie stores your preferences when visiting a particular site. When
you return to that site at a later time, the site's cookie allows it
retrieve important information about you from your previous visit.
TitanTV stores a local cookie that contains information about your
membership such as the login and any guide customization settings. The
TitanTV cookie plays a vital role in the validation process. When a
cookie can't be stored on your computer, all attempts to login to TitanTV
will fail.
- The Cookie Has Been Damaged - It's remotely possible for a
cookie to be damaged. When this occurs with TitanTV's cookie, the login
information in it will no longer match your correct username and password
and the login process will fail. The solution in this rare situation is
to delete the damaged TitanTV cookies.
Rather than simply delete all the cookies stored on your computer (and
thereby remove the cookies for all the other sites you visit), here's how
to delete only those for TitanTV.
Use your operating system's Search function to perform a search
on .titantv (be sure to include the preceding period). Delete each
cookie the Search finds. Next, perform a search on @titantv and
delete the cookie or cookies this returns.
Since TitanTV will no longer be able to locate its cookie on your
computer, it will assume this will be your first visit and prompt you to
enter your username and password when you return. Enter them as you
normally would and TitanTV should perform normally for you once
again.
Back to the top of the Troubleshooting topic.
Login and Password Not Remembered Between Sessions
The Remember Me Next Time check box on the Login page
allows the settings and preferences unique to your TitanTV membership to be
automatically recalled on your next visit to the site without having to
login again.
When this box is selected, a small text file called a "cookie" is
created on your computer. This file contains information that is specific
to your user name, such as your preferences, the default channel lineup and
other lineups, your Reminders and the programs you have selected as
Favorites, and so on.
When you access TitanTV, part of its initialization process looks for
the presence of this cookie. If it cannot be found, TitanTV assumes this is
your first visit and will prompt you to enter your username and password
when you go to the Login page.
If you have selected the Remember Me Next Time check box but are
prompted to login when you return to TitanTV, this indicates the site's
cookie has been deleted at some time after your last visit. The cookie may
have been deleted by you or someone else instructing the browser to remove
all temporary files and cookies from your computer or perhaps by running
third-party products designed to enhance browser security.
If this is the case, check the browser's or the utility's documentation
to determine if and how it can be configured to exclude cookies from
specific sites (such as TitanTV.com) as it executes its maintenance
functions.
Back to the top of the Troubleshooting topic.
Email Already in Use Message
Every TitanTV membership is internally associated with the email address
the TitanTV member entered while registering.
During the registration process, a validation routine compares that
email address against those already in TitanTV's database to ensure it is
unique. If no matches are found, the process advances to the next step in
the registration process.
However, when the validation routine detects the email address is
already associated with an existing TitanTV member, an "Email Address
Already in Use" message is displayed onscreen and the registration
process is halted.
If you receive this message while creating a TitanTV membership, it
indicates either you or another member of your household with knowledge of
your email address has become a TitanTV member at some point. This is the
only circumstance under which the message can appear.
Retrieving Your Password
If you do not remember your password, click on the Forgot Your
Password? link. A new page will open where you are prompted to enter
your User Name and the Captcha verification Code. The password associated
with your User Name will then be sent to your email address.
Once you've successfully logged into TitanTV, you may then review and
update your membership information as needed in the pages under the Site
Preference menu.
If you want to create a new TitanTV membership, you must use a different
email address than the one on record with your original membership because
each must include a unique email address.
Back to the top of the Troubleshooting topic.
Report Incorrect Missing Lineups or Providers
TitanTV receives its programming information and channel lineups from an
outside data provider. In some instances, the provider may be supplying an
outdated or otherwise incorrect channel lineup.
To report this, click on the Contact Us link at the bottom of the
page.
A new page will open containing a report form. Enter the necessary
details describing the problem and click the Send Message
button.
We will pass the report to our data provider so they can correct the
problem as quickly is possible. It generally takes a few days for the data
provider to correct the problem from the time we receive your report.
Back to the top of the Troubleshooting topic.
VCR Plus+® Codes Not Available in TitanTV
There are a number of data providers in the market that sell and
distribute television program listing information. The developers of
TitanTV purchase its information from one such provider and a long-term
contract exists between the organizations.
The VCR Plus+® data is offered by yet another data
provider and this proprietary information is not available in the
programming data supplied by TitanTV's current provider.
Obtaining rights to the VCR Plus+ data would require a substantial
additional expense while a contract is in force with TitanTV's existing
data provider.
If the programming data that appears in TitanTV were to be purchased
from multiple sources, TitanTV could possibly no longer be offered as a
free service to its members.
Additionally, the daily acquisition, merging, and processing of
programming data from two dissimilar sources presents technical challenges
that could affect the timely and reliable delivery of programming
information to TitanTV's members.
VCR Plus+ is a registered trademark of Gemstar
Development Corporation.
Back to the top of the Troubleshooting topic.
Problems When Using a PVR
An Error Message Appears When a PVR Icon is Clicked
When you click a program's Record or Watch Now icon, TitanTV sends a set
of encrypted instructions about that show to a location on your computer's
hard drive. This is the only interaction TitanTV has with your PVR. The PVR
does not pass any information back to TitanTV.
The software that was shipped with the PVR then detects that set of
instructions, properly decrypts and interprets it, and launches the PVR
accordingly.
If the PVR is unable to successfully execute those instructions for any
reason, the PVR will generate an error message and display it onscreen. The
message may concisely describe the problem and even offer a solution or it
may be cryptic and not instructive.
The PVR manufacturer is entirely responsible for the content of the
error messages its PVR product generates. The content of the message is
beyond TitanTV's control and TitanTV plays no part in the creation of these
error messages or in their usefulness in providing a solution.
If you receive an error from your PVR when using the Record or Watch Now
functions, it may be due to one of several causes. Below is a list of the
most common solutions.
Clear Your Cache - Delete the contents of your browser's
temporary internet files folder. This is also called clearing the
cache. Doing so may remove old files that prevent the PVR from
working correctly. This also frees hard drive space for your computer to
use.
The process for clearing the cache varies between browsers but, as a
rule, pressing the Ctrl and the F5 keys at the same time
will generally clear the current page's cache. Please refer to your
browser's Help file for specific details on how to clear the cache for
that particular browser.
Uninstall/Reinstall - Uninstall your PVR software. This should
remove all traces of any damaged or corrupted PVR-related files from your
computer. A damaged file could prevent your PVR from working
properly.
Reinstall the software that came with the PVR then download the latest
update, if applicable, from the web site of the manufacturer of your PVR
product.
Software Updates - Verify you have the latest software updates
installed for your PVR product. The software that was bundled with your
PVR may have been updated in the interim and no longer work properly with
the current version of TitanTV.
Check Hard Drive Space - Ensure your hard drive has enough free
disk space to record the scheduled programs onto. The file sizes of
recorded programs can be quite large. Recording a number of programs may
quickly fill the available space on your hard drive and prevent the PVR
from working properly without notice.
Back to the top of the Problems When Using
a PVR topic.
Locating the Files the PVR Creates
When you use TitanTV to schedule the recording of a program, the logical
location of the recording on the computer and the folder structure to get
there are determined by the PVR's supporting software. Check your PVR's
documentation to determine where on the hard drive it places the video
files and whether it permits you to override that default location and
folder structure.
Back to the top of the Problems When Using
a PVR topic.
Naming the File a Scheduled Recording Creates
When a PVR records a program, it creates and stores the video file on
your computer according to the selected video format and the PVR
manufacturer's naming conventions.
If desired, the completed video file may be moved to another location on
your computer and/or renamed to a more descriptive title for easier
retrieval later. Refer to your PVR's documentation to determine where on
the hard drive it places the video files.
Back to the top of the Problems When Using
a PVR topic.
Computer Prompts it Cannot Read/Interpret .TPVI and/or .TVVI
Files
When you click a program's Record or Watch Now icon, TitanTV sends a set
of encrypted instructions in a .TPVI or .TVVI file format (depending on the
desired action) through the computer's operating system to your PVR. The
PVR's software detects the instructions, properly decrypts and interprets
it, and launches the PVR accordingly.
The computer's operating system continuously maintains an internal file
association table. This table contains the programs that have been
installed on your computer and the types of files that can be opened by
each particular program.
When you attempt to open a file of a given type, your computer checks
its association table for that type. If a program has been installed that
is associated with that file type, your computer will first automatically
launch the program then open the desired file within that program's
interface.
If you have a PVR installed but are being prompted by the operating
system to select the desired program to read the .TPVI and/or TVVI file
types, this indicates the system's file association table has become
corrupted.
To resolve the lost association, re-install the software that was
shipped with your PVR. This will update the entries in the system's file
association table for the PVR file types and the PVR should begin working
normally again.
If a PVR has not been installed, the computer's operating system does
not know which program to use with these file types and will open an
onscreen prompt asking you to select the desired application.
The .TVPI and .TVVI files can be opened, decrypted, and read only by a
PVR. They cannot be read or interpreted by any other applications on your
computer.
Back to the top of the Problems When Using
a PVR topic.
Back to the top of the Troubleshooting topic.
Back to the top of the Help Topics
page.
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