Going HD Cable - Do I Need to Keep Leasing My Old Box?

[Unix_Beard]

Hello -

My cable company finally offers HD. I'm sure they will bring a new cable box.

My question is how can I keep my existing Tivo uninterrupted? I currently have a digital cable box and get HBO. Since one cannot use a Tivo to record HD shows, will it connect to the new cable box and record the non-HD channels as usual or do I need to keep my old cable box and run off two inputs? One input with the HD box and no Tivo and another with the Tivo/Cable Box combo.

Thanks.

[bkdtv]

Unix,

You should be able to connect your Tivo to the new box to record SD programs and downconverted versions of HD programs.

[Unix_Beard]

I'm assuming the box will connect to my TV with HDMI. I'm also hoping it can also send out composite video ports as well.

[Stephen Tu]

It really depends on what you want to do. Does the cable company also offer HD-DVR now? That is really by far the best option (at least until series 3 comes out), HD-DVR to view & record all HD + standard digital shows, Tivo for the rest.

If not, there are three basic options, all with their own benefits + drawbacks:
1. Have Tivo record off of HD box's composite/S-video output. Return old cable box
Benefits:
- can record all channels, including downconverted HD, to the Tivo
- no rental fee for 2nd digital box
Drawbacks:
- while you are watching something live in HD, cannot record any other show onto the Tivo.
- need to record the HD shows or turn off suggestions to prevent Tivo from flipping the channel on you while watching in HD.

2. Keep two cable boxes, use old box to feed Tivo:
Benefits:
- can record digital channels, but not the HD ones, to the Tivo
- can watch something live in HD while recording different show to the Tivo
Drawbacks:
- rental fee for 2nd box
- may need some strategic positioning/shielding/electrical tape to prevent Tivo IR blaster from changing channel on HD box, or the HD box remote from changing channel on the std box.

3. have Tivo record analog only
Benefits:
- no IR blasters to deal with
- record independently of what you are watching in HD
- no rental fee on 2nd box
Drawbacks:
- can't record digital/HBO/HD channels.

Before the HD-DVR came out, I essentially used option 1 on one Tivo, option 3 on my second Tivo. Now I am down to 1 Tivo + 1 HD-DVR. I don't watch the digital channels much, and I find Netflix to be a better value than HBO, personally, with wider selection of movies + new releases available sooner. I rent the HBO series I am interested in on DVD, thus lag behind on those instead.

[Unix_Beard]

Stephen - Thanks. Yes, my cable co offers an HD-DVR. Are you suggesting I use the HD-DVR for most of my viewing and use the Tivo just to record analog only shows?

My wife will freak if she has to give up the Tivo. Geez. I need the Series 3, like now.

I wonder if I can do Option 1 but with the HDDVR. Record as normal to the Tivo via composite connections but also have the ability to record HD content to the HDDVR. Any potential snafus?

[Stephen Tu]

Stephen - Thanks. Yes, my cable co offers an HD-DVR. Are you suggesting I use the HD-DVR for most of my viewing and use the Tivo just to record analog only shows?

My wife will freak if she has to give up the Tivo. Geez. I need the Series 3, like now.

Yes, this is my suggestion. How close the HD-DVR comes in usability to Tivo varies depending on which software + hardware platform your provider is using. It will take a bit of time to get used to differences in the interface. There will be things that are improvements, some annoyances, and some annoying bugs you may have to learn to avoid. But whatever annoyances you have with the different software, they would likely pale in comparison to the annoyance of only being able to view in HD live, instead of being able to watch on your own schedule & being able to skip past commercials / parts of the program. Or the annoyance of watching on Tivo knowing the audio/video would be 5x better live.

I wonder if I can do Option 1 but with the HDDVR. Record as normal to the Tivo via composite connections but also have the ability to record HD content to the HDDVR. Any potential snafus?

This won't work. You'd be recording what the DVR was playing, not necessarily what it is tuned to at the time, plus any OSD overlays. If you want to do digital channel recording beyond the 2 channels you get on the HD-DVR (hopefully your provider using a 2 ch model like most), keep the old cable box. I can't imagine having to do this; most shows on the digital tiers have enough additional airings that you can record at least one show out of a 3-digital ch conflict at a later time. It's preferrable to record digital channels on the digital box because of picture quality & not using IR blasters. The only big loss vs. using Tivo is not being able to use Wishlists to say record off HBO. Need to find some other way to search for programs on the digital channels, on the cable boxes it is often rather cumbersome to do much other than search by title.