What should I buy now, before TiVo has dual tuners?

[Sussex Place]

Please help a novice who is trying to figure out what to buy! We have Comcast and I got the box for Comcast DVR, but after a couple of weeks my husband disconnected it in frustration because (1) if I was recording something he couldn't watch something else (I didn't know at the time what a "single tuner/double tuner" issue was; and (2) half the time we couldn't figure out how to turn it on and get where we wanted to be. It was truly frustrating, but I am conviced I would like a device like TiVo. However, if it has only a single tuner it seems we will have the same problem with TiVo of not being able to record one program and watch another at the same time.

So, what should I buy that gives me the TiVo experience I keep hearing is so great, but lets us record and watch different things at the same time?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me. I don't understand half the things on this website except that there are a lot of people on here smarter than I am so I figure if anyone can help, you guys can!

[stevel]

Well, you can do what many people do. Split the cable signal, run one to your cable box and then TiVo and the other directly to the TV. If the TV supports CableCARD (has a slot for it), the you can rent a CableCARD from Comcast and use the TV to watch something while TiVo records something else. Otherwise you can watch any analog, unscrambled channel.

You can also rent a second cable box just for the TiVo and then be able to watch all channels.

[HDTiVo]

I'm curious how you managed to get a cable (Comcast) DVR with one tuner!

[Sussex Place]

Thank you -- but for someone like me who doesn't know how to "split the cable signal" and has an an old television so no CableCARD slot (I have no idea what that is, but my television is at least 15 years old so I imagine it doesn't have such a slot), and doesn't want to rent two cable boxes (my husband had such a bad experience with my Comcast DVR attempt I will be lucky to convice him to rent ONE box!), is there any option I can buy and plug in and have give me the TiVo experience I hope to get? (Eliminating the Comcast DVR problems we didn't like).

Or, is the answer there is no such product now? Will the "Series 3" device I've seen mentioned in these forums be such a device?

Obviously I am WAAAAAAY less technologically savvy than anyone else posting here and have no business on this forum except you guys sound like the experts and I knew you would know the answer.

[Sussex Place]

HDTiVo -- Comcast delivered the box and when I discovered we couldn't record and watch something different at the same time, I called Comcast and was told because I didn't ASK for a dual tuner box (I didn't know enough to ask for one) they delivered the single tuner because they have a lot of those on hand. They said the dual tuners were in high demand and not available everywhere....that they could check availability and I could drive fast to the location and see if was still there but there was no guarantee of that.

However, even if I were to get a dual tuner box from Comcast now, the other problems we experienced would still be there. I was hoping TiVo was more user-friendly.

[ZeoTiVo]

the TiVo series 3 will be the answer to what you want but it will not be out until second half of 2006 and may cost 500 to 800 dollars.

if you do not rent a dual tuner DVR from comcast or else rent a second cable box to hook up to a single tuner DVR as suggested above

right now all the TiVo DVR models are single tuner
what SteveL was trying to tell is - you have the black coax cable that comes from the wall. this currently hooks to the Cable box that has some other connection to the TV. you can go to lowes or radio shack or best buy, etc.. and get a small "splitter" it has a cox connection on one side for the cable from the wall and then two or more connections on the other side for a coax cable to the cable Box and then one to something else.

What you can do with this is either
1. one coax cable goes to the cable hook the DVR to the cable box and then the DVR to the TV. the other coax cable goes to the TV and it can then see the unscrambled channels (typically these are the channels under 99 and do NOT include premiums like Cinemax or pay per view)
So the DVR can record everything but premium channels can only be seen via the DVR and if it is recording something else .......

2. once coax cable goes to cbale box and cable box is hooked to TV - all premiums and so forth can be tuned at any time.
the other coax cable is hooked to the DVR and it can record the channels under 99 only. hook the DVR up to the TV on some open TV input from the DVR.

[ZeoTiVo]

However, even if I were to get a dual tuner box from Comcast now, the other problems we experienced would still be there. I was hoping TiVo was more user-friendly.

the dual tuner boxes from comcast are integrated - no cable boxes needed to record all channels (under 99, over 99) and you can watch one thing via DVR while recording another or record two things at once while having a cable box to watch "live TV"

now the user interface is till what it is for comcast and it seems you had a pretty bad interface on the single tuner, which is no surprise. That is the advantage of TiVo with its very easy to use interface

[HDTiVo]

Two other options:

Later this year - perhaps close to the time the S3 is available - there will be a Comcast DVR (Dual Tuner) that runs TiVo software. Perhaps if the final product is done well, it will suit your needs at a reasonable cost.

Call Comcast and say I want to downgrade my cable service to X (which costs $Y less per month) and return the single tuner DVR (an additional $Z monthly reduction in your bill.) Then see if you get transfered to a "customer retention" person and say something like "Gee, if you send someone to the house with a dual tuner DVR, and he hooks everything up and shows us how to use it, and there is no service charge, since we already paid to get the first DVR, then OK we'll keep our service as is." You end up with the user interface you don't like but get everything else for now. When the S3 or Comcast-TiVo come out you can switch.

[goony]

If you aren't tied to Comcast then the DirecTV/Tivos are an option - they have dual tuners.

[LifeIsABeach]

If you are using coax from the cable box to TiVo and from TiVo to the TV then you can just put the TiVo in standby to watch one show while recording another.

[Dnamertz]

Two other options:

Later this year - perhaps close to the time the S3 is available - there will be a Comcast DVR (Dual Tuner) that runs TiVo software.

Is that true that Comcast is actually going to start offering TiVo on their DVR's. If thats true, I just might switch from DirecTV.

[HDTiVo]

Is that true that Comcast is actually going to start offering TiVo on their DVR's. If thats true, I just might switch from DirecTV.
Believe it or not that was one of my serious comments. :up:

[Dnamertz]

Believe it or not that was one of my serious comments. :up:

Great, I might just switch back to Comcast since my one year commitment with DirecTV ends today. I'm just getting my first HDTV and its going to cost a lot of money to upgrade to a DirecTV HD-DVR with TiVo, plus they don't even broadcast my local channels in HD (Comcast does according to their web site). Comcast looks to be a lot cheaper to get set up with HD and if their adding TiVo service soon, then that would be great.

One question, until they add TiVo, how is Comcast's own DVR? Does it have Season Pass or some of the other great features that the DirecTiVo has?

Also, any idea what Comcast might charge per month for TiVo?

[ZeoTiVo]

Great, I might just switch back to Comcast since my one year commitment with DirecTV ends today. I'm just getting my first HDTV and its going to cost a lot of money to upgrade to a DirecTV HD-DVR with TiVo, plus they don't even broadcast my local channels in HD (Comcast does according to their web site). Comcast looks to be a lot cheaper to get set up with HD and if their adding TiVo service soon, then that would be great.

One question, until they add TiVo, how is Comcast's own DVR? Does it have Season Pass or some of the other great features that the DirecTiVo has?

Also, any idea what Comcast might charge per month for TiVo?

the time and cost are unknown parts
speculation is 4th quarter of 2006 and that Comcast will charge some premium over typical DVR rental fee.

the software will be downloaded and run on the motorolla hardware that is the Comcast DVR today

[litzinger]

Thought I'd share this. I emailed Comcast asking about the Tivo...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments: When is the Tivo-based DVR going to be available to Comcast
customers? The only news I can find is your March 15, 2005 news
release.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for contacting us regarding your Comcast cable service.

Thank you for your patronage. This should become available within your
area around july of this year. However, we do not guarantee that it
will be out around this time.

Sincerely,

Bill
Comcast Customer Care

[Sussex Place]

Thanks to everyone for your great advice. I've decided to actually enter the current century and have bought a Sharp Aquos 37" LCD TV with cable card, Comcast is coming out to install the cable card and upgrade us to HD, and I've ordered the 80-hour TiVo Series 2 from the TiVo website and prepaid a year of service. During the next 12 months I'll learn TiVo, play around with trying the splitter thing you guys were so kind to try to walk me through, and let TiVo and Comcast figure out how to offer a dual-tuner easy interface experience at a reasonable cost, let them get some bugs out and enough units out there to see if they really work, and then I'll probably buy 2 of whatever looks best, add lifetime service if it's TiVo, and hopefully never watch another commercial again unless it's during the Super Bowl. And even those aren't that great anymore.

We picked up the new TV last night, retiring the 15-year-old 26" model we had been using. The kids are beyond thrilled.

Thanks to the people posting here who give so much help to those of us who need it!

[davezatz]

Who going to be the bearer of bad news here? I ain't going do it...

[Sussex Place]

Uh oh, what did I do wrong?

[stevel]

CableCARD and TiVo don't currently mix. You will need a cable box.

[Sussex Place]

Oh. Well, earlier this comment was made: "If the TV supports CableCARD (has a slot for it), the you can rent a CableCARD from Comcast and use the TV to watch something while TiVo records something else."

Then what does that mean?

[ZeoTiVo]

Oh. Well, earlier this comment was made: "If the TV supports CableCARD (has a slot for it), the you can rent a CableCARD from Comcast and use the TV to watch something while TiVo records something else."

Then what does that mean?


it means you keep the cable box and split the cable

one cable to the cable box and hook the TiVo up to the cable box as per standard instructions. And then hook the TiVo to the TV via s-video or whatever. Now the TiVo can record any channel and you simply hide the cable box remote in a drawer.


the other cable you hook directly to the TV for the cable card in the TV to use and now the TV can tune to whatever channels you get.


so your husband can sit down with the TV remote and switch the TV to the cable card input and surf away without even a thought of a cable box or a TiVo.

or you can pick up the TiVo remote and switch to the s-video input(or whatever the TiVo is hooked to the TV with) and then use the TiVo remote to hit now playing, etc.. and enjoy some TiVo goodness.


I think the Uh-Oh squad :) was forgetting the cable box you mentioned in the first post. Actually a pretty slick way to make husband happy and live TV easy without having two cable boxes to deal with :up:

edit to add - if you have HD channels the cable card in the TV will display them just fine. The TiVo will record them in SD (Standard Definition) so you do not have to worry there unless the High Definition ensnares you into wanting recording in HD as well - in that case the sereies 3 or Comcast DVR will be needed to record in HD)

[davezatz]

I think the Uh-Oh squad :) was forgetting the cable box you mentioned in the first post.

I assumed she would dump the cable box since her LCD has a CableCARD slot and her TiVo would be stuck with analog channels after a split cable. But if she keeps the box and rents a CableCARD as you described, it would get all the channels (though the ones coming through the TiVo won't be HD.)

Given their familiarity with this stuff, I probably would not have suggested this route with splitting the signal and flipping TV inputs and such. I'd more likely have gone with HDTiVo's suggestion pushing for a dual-tuner Comcast DVR. Then again I'm generally adverse to extra cables and boxes... :)

[ZeoTiVo]

all good points Dave - and if Comcast could have gotten her a dual tuner DVR she might not have had to even post here. Oddly though Comcast told her the dual tuners were hard to get. HDTiVos suggestion to call to cancel unless they got a dual tuner to her house, now that might work ;)


anyhow barring that I assumed she would keep the cable box for the TiVo and hopefully she gets the point that she can not tune the TiVo from the cable card in the TV.

I have my two TiVos on different inputs and my wife only accasionally grumbles now over which input to be on :p

[HDTiVo]

anyhow barring that I assumed she would keep the cable box for the TiVo and hopefully she gets the point that she can not tune the TiVo from the cable card in the TV.

Not to be too picky, but right now she doesn't have a plain cable box, she's got that nasty single tuner DVR. That might work fine with the TiVo - using it as an ordinary cable box - but maybe involves a couple extra bucks a month over switching to an ordinary cable box

[Sussex Place]

OK, let me see if I have this right. First, I do not have the Comcast single-tuner DVR box because my husband disconnected it. When I discovered that Comcast was charging me for it because we had not returned it, I took time off from work and returned it, and then set about looking for a better solution, which is why I discovered this forum and asked for help.

So, given that I do not want to rely on my ability (read: lack thereof) to install splitters and the like, would you recommend this route:

I have purchased the LCD TV with cablecard. Rightly or wrongly, I did it, so it's done. Comcast initiated HD service last night. I have also puchased the 80-hour TiVo with a year's worth of service, and it should arrive soon. I guess I will install it on an old television we rarely use but the children do use sometimes, and let the kids record their shows on that, and I will try again with Comcast to get a dual-tuner box. I am worried though about the "user interface" with that box, because that's one of the reasons my husband disconnected the other box in the first place (besides the can't watch and record different channels at the same time) -- we had constant problems turning it on and getting it where we wanted it to go. Should it work better now that we have a new television? If it doesn't work, is there anything else I can do short of changing to DirectTV or learning how to be an electronics buff?

All I wanted to do was add the TiVo experience into our normal lives, and now, thousands of $$$$ later, I'm still not sure I'm going to get what I'm hoping for! However, we do have a shiny new huge HD television and it did make watching the Olympics last night more enjoyable!

If you see problems with what I am proposing, PLEASE let me know!

[davezatz]

I think watching HD on your sexy new LCD via CableCARD and no additional boxes is an elegant solution. True, you won't have DVR functionality but you will have a beautiful picture and less clutter (one of my top priorities).

If you feel like giving the dual tuner Comcast box a shot at a later time you can try it... the interface isn't perfect, but I found it to be sufficient for most stuff. The Comcast box interface isn't perfect as I said, but it should most definitely turn on, change channels, record or pause shows, etc. If it's not, have Comcast give you a new box or show you how to use it.

I think your plan to put the TiVo on another TV is good... You'll get to see what it's all about and can have it record tons of shows for the children that are always on hand for them, regardless of day or time- you won't even have to worry about when they're scheduled.

If you decide you don't want the new TV, I'll be happy to help remove it from your home. ;)

[timckelley]

I have RCA cables from TiVo to TV, and I also have coax between the two. The only reason for my coax is in case I want to go to StandBy and use my TV's tuner. But that almost never happens because I have almost zero use for live TV. I'd rather watch everything after it's been recorded into NP.

[samo]

I have purchased the LCD TV with cablecard. Rightly or wrongly, I did it, so it's done. Comcast initiated HD service last night. I have also puchased the 80-hour TiVo with a year's worth of service, and it should arrive soon. I guess I will install it on an old television we rarely use but the children do use sometimes, and let the kids record their shows on that, and I will try again with Comcast to get a dual-tuner box. I am worried though about the "user interface" with that box, because that's one of the reasons my husband disconnected the other box in the first place (besides the can't watch and record different channels at the same time) -- we had constant problems turning it on and getting it where we wanted it to go. Should it work better now that we have a new television? If it doesn't work, is there anything else I can do short of changing to DirectTV or learning how to be an electronics buff?

All I wanted to do was add the TiVo experience into our normal lives, and now, thousands of $$$$ later, I'm still not sure I'm going to get what I'm hoping for! However, we do have a shiny new huge HD television and it did make watching the Olympics last night more enjoyable!

If you see problems with what I am proposing, PLEASE let me know!
In my honest opinion you should return TiVo within 30 days or since it didn't cost you that much keep it for kid's TV. TiVo and high quality HDTV just don't mix. If you connect TiVo to your LCD HDTV the difference in picture quality between direct HD cable feed and what you'll get from TiVo will be so sharp that your husband would want to throw your TiVo out of the window. Picture quality on your old TV wouldn't be that bad. Not as good as what you get from cable box, but half way acceptable. If you connect TiVo to analog cable (connect cable directly to TiVo without a cable box), the difference in picture quality will be hardly noticeable on your old TV. So what you are planning to do is probably the best compromise. Just don't connect your TiVo to your new TV - you will be very disappointed if you do.

[ZeoTiVo]

I have purchased the LCD TV with cablecard. Rightly or wrongly, I did it, so it's done. Comcast initiated HD service last night. I have also puchased the 80-hour TiVo with a year's worth of service, and it should arrive soon. I guess I will install it on an old television we rarely use but the children do use sometimes, and let the kids record their shows on that, and I will try again with Comcast to get a dual-tuner box.

Opps - I thought you had gone back to a cable box from the single Tuner DVR when you disconnected it.

well now that you have added HD into the picture there is most likely no going back. The only things that will make you happy for your new TV is either a dual tuner from comcast that records HD or else the dual tuner TiVo series 3 that will come out later that records HD.

so hook up the TiVo to the old TV and see what the old stuff looked like. This will at least give you a look at a good user interface for a DVR to compare to the ones you see from Comcast so you can make a fair comparison on usability