Humax Series2 DVD + 42" Plasma with CabelCard installed?

[macsamurai]

Since TiVo still hasn't shipped the Series 3 that I ordered Tuesday morning with overnight delivery and I already had a Time Warner cable appointment scheduled for today to get my CableCards installed, I'm wondering if the following is feasible...

Can I keep my Series 2 setup exactly the way it is now but still have the TW installer put the CabelCard in the TV (my tv has a cablecard slot) and then just switch inputs when I want to watch a Hi Def program "live" while TiVo records it's usual stuff? OTA HD isn't an option because we are in an apartment building and the indoor antennas don't work.

I just want to get a taste of HD for a week or so before scheduling TW to come back to do the real install on the TiVo, but I don't want to interfere with our existing TiVo setup until the Series 3 is in place.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Stephen Tu]

Sure, you could do this, just have to split line direct to TV other line to the Tivo. They would be working independently of each other.

But when the S3 gets here you'll need new cablecards, they get "married" to the equipment so the one in your TV will have to be returned. You'll also be paying two install fees but I assume you are OK with that, essentially you are just paying high rental fee for live HD for a week or two while you wait.

[macsamurai]

Thanks, Stephen! I assumed it worked like that but I wanted some reassurance that it was really that simple :)

I'm not concerned with the additional fees since they are nominal here. I've waited so long for the S3 and HD that I decided I owed it to myself to be spoiled for a week or two before the "grand finale."

[Steve_Martin]

That's pretty much how my setup is right now. I have the cable split with one leg feeding a STB and the Series 2 TiVo, the second leg goes directly to the TV whihc has a CableCard installed. The TiVo basically has its own STB.

[megazone]

Note that if they have to do a truck roll to install CableCARD they'll probably require one just to move the cards to the TiVo. So you'll pay twice. It'd be cheaper to just cancel and wait a week and have them installed once.

[macsamurai]

Thanks for your input, megazone. TW was here last Friday and I got lucky in that the installer was very cool and was really interested in learning about TiVo. As far as the need for 2 CableCards in the one device, he "got it" right away. He even took the CableCard installation sheet I had printed out from TiVos site for him so he could show his colleagues and supervisors. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, the S3 TiVo I'd ordered on Tuesday didn't even SHIP until Friday so I only had my S2 TiVo here for him to drool over :)

Anyway, he had 2 cards with him since that was amazingly correct on the order, and was happy to install just one of them in my TV and let me reschedule for the proper TiVo hookup at my convenience. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it - we couldn't get either CableCard to do its job in the hour+ he was here. He called the relevant IDs and numbers into his dispatch and they confirmed that they were processing it right away, but no amount of waiting would get the status in the CableCard CP screen to change from "Waiting for authorization" so no channels ever tuned in or populated the regular TW guide data with the card.

The good news is that since he was unsuccessful in that visit, he called in to his supervisor while he was still here and scheduled a "Foreman visit" for tomorrow (Wed), which I will not be charged for and both he and his supervisor (she was on speakerphone) assured me that it would be no problem for the foreman to install the 2 CableCards into the TiVo when he's here. I just hope she wasn't referring to GEORGE Forman :) All in all it worked out well... I got a dry run of a CableCard install so I know what to expect tomorrow and in the future and I converted another naive TV watcher into a TiVo fan :)

My TiVo did finally arrive on Monday and I already had my lifetime sub transferred through the VIP line. I called TW this evening to confirm my appointment for tomorrow and it all seems ok - the appointment is on record and the rep confirmed that the order for 2 CableCards to be provisioned for the TiVo is on there.

I don't want to jinx it, but with luck, by this time tomorrow I will be enjoying my primetime lineup in TiVofied HD!

[dubluv]

i'm just curious how this all went down. i abandoned the CC after cablevision could not get it to work properly with my sharp aquos. i would get small blue error screens that would only disappear after i cold booted the tv. 3 new CC's and the same crap. they finally blamed it on the tv, which woudl require a firmware update at 250 bux. i bought a component splitter and will feed the aquos a shared signal from another stb that's hardly used.