S2 DT w/ cable box?

[paladin732]

Hi,

I currently have a dvr provided by cablevision (scientific atlantica 8300 i believe) and it is AWFUL. We used to have directv service and the directivos.

I was considering buying a S2 DT unit, however, I am not quite sure how it works with cable boxes. If my understanding is correctly, none of the S2 units have cablecard slots, so how would I record two digital channels at the same time?

[hitbyatrain]

They can't record two digital channels at the same time. It'll resolve the conflicts between channels that are both on digital and analog feeds, but not conflicts between two digital channels.

[ah30k]

You can't.

The S2-DT is advertised as being able to record two analog or one analog and one digital. The digital is tuned through an external STB via IR blaster.

[paladin732]

So, I would use a cable splitter to split the signal before it hits the STB, send one of them (which would be analog then) to the tivo, and one of them to the STB which then gets sent to the tivo?

The tivo will auto resolve conflicts of say chanel 7 and channel 300 (sending 7 to analog and 300 to digital?

[ah30k]

So, I would use a cable splitter to split the signal before it hits the STB, send one of them (which would be analog then) to the tivo, and one of them to the STB which then gets sent to the tivo?via composite video cable. Yes.

The tivo will auto resolve conflicts of say chanel 7 and channel 300 (sending 7 to analog and 300 to digital?So they say. I haven't done it to prove it.

[ZeoTiVo]

That is how it works. ANd if you have two analog channels to record and no digital channel then it will record both analog channels for you.

So if you say record a lot of shows off of HBO and also from network channels you will be Ok
but if you record a lot of stuff from digital only channels - say HBO and Cinemax that would conflict then that will be a problem.

[Dan203]

FYI TiVo will be releasing a new "Series 3" unit within the next few months that will have CableCARD slots and can record two digital channels at once. It can even do HD. :)

Dan

[paladin732]

i keep hearing about it, but will it actually be released by the end of the year? if so can cable companies block it?(like prevent their cards from working in it?) also... how much more $$ will it be?

[Dan203]

Yes it will be released before the end of the year. (official statement is "second half of 2006")

No the cable companies will not be able to block it. (that's against the law)

As for how much... No one knows for sure. But the current guesstimate, based on rumors from CES, is $500-$800. Although it could come in higher or lower and I wouldn't be surprised because nothing official has ever been said about the price.

Dan

[nycityuser]

I thought of waiting for the S3 but decided to take the plunge with the 180 hour DT. I figured the cost of the S3 would start out prohibitive and I don't have an HDTV set anyway.

The dual tuner works great and I'm glad I bought it. With the $150 rebate it ended up costing only $134. I initiated it with a prepaid 3 year service agreement at their $299 special which is only $8.31 per month.

I'm thrilled. I had used TIVO at my parents' home with DirecTv and the ability to record two shows at once and avoid conflicts was wonderful. Now I have that ability with my DT. I have all the digital and premium channels but conflicts have not been a big problem. Most shows on digital/premium air so many times, including in the middle of the night, that conflicts have not been an issue.

[gastrof]

...No the cable companies will not be able to block it. (that's against the law)...

Unless they decide to do what one cable company did recently (TWC?), telling people they will NOT support TiVo, will not provide cable cards for it, and will use a channel switching method that even a TiVo with cable card wouldn't be able to make use of (if I understand correctly). :(

[paladin732]

one last question: would these boxes fall under "units starting with 110 130 or 140 serial numbers" or the other ones (want to get a WG111 but want to make sure it will work)

[nycityuser]

My serial number begins with 649.