Rovi - More Daft The More You Use it

Posted by: Jon Myles on 22 April 2013

I'm fully aware Naim are paying Rovi to use their database - but the more I use it, the more I have to ask why?

Some of the reviews are strictly ridiculous and often wrong. Similar albums is obviously algorithm-driven. And as to useful information....might as well look up on the interweb.

I'd have no issue here apart from the fact that it is obviously factored into the price of every Naim streaming product......and it's not very good.

Discuss.

Posted on: 22 April 2013 by PinkHamster

My Sony TV gets its programme information from Rovi. I wsh it didn't. Slow, full of gaps, misleading to wrong. Awful!

Posted on: 22 April 2013 by Simon-in-Suffolk

John - I must admist I enjoy Rovi - apart from being a little selective which is hardly suprising I have only come across one review that was very poor.. (it was for a Bill Evans compilation).

I agree the similar artists and albums is weak and machine driven - I don't use that at all as it is useless.

Simon

Posted on: 22 April 2013 by jobseeker

For some reason I'm getting an increasing number of mis-identified albums, with the correct one not even presented in the list of alternatives

Posted on: 25 April 2013 by Olek_K

Same for me. Recent example: mbv by My Bloody Valentine. There were more.

Posted on: 25 April 2013 by Jasonf

Chaps,

Agree with all the above, suffice to say as with Simon I also rather enjoy the reviews now that I have learnt to accept its faults.

I would say though, isn't this just symptomatic of the way we are going with 'loose' information and spurious facts being peddled on the web and by databases and facilities just like this? Similar artists/albums can be very condescending...as they are often absurd.

One really simple fact missing is 'album release date' why is this not available? Damn annoying.......

Jason

Posted on: 28 April 2013 by Jon Myles

Originally Posted by jobseeker:

For some reason I'm getting an increasing number of mis-identified albums, with the correct one not even presented in the list of alternatives

That is happening frequently with me - and some of the suggestions are, frankly, so preposterous as to be almost laughable. Do Rovi ever test their stuff, I wonder.

Posted on: 29 April 2013 by adca

With classical music, I get the wrong albums quite often. The correct album, however, can be found easily, and, on the iPad, the rectified information stays (why not on the iPod?).
Nonetheless, I still wish I could switch off rovi and use my own meta data.