Using Tivo along with Concast DVR

[JohnMazz]

I currently have a Comcast DVR system, and am happy with it, but the one problem is that with multiple people using the system, all haveing shows set to record, it fills up too quickly. What are my options to resolve this? I was thinking about getting a TiVo 180-Hour box, but my dad wanted me to check if this was possible:

What I was thinking was, could I keep my Comcast DVR, and then get a TiVo as well? That way I could have some shows set to record on comcast, and others on tivo.

What about dumping my comcast dvr all together and getting, maybe two 180 Hour tivo boxes?

Thanks a bunch.

[aadam101]

Personally I would dump the Comcast DVR. Two Tivo's work much better together than one Tivo and a Comcrap DVR.

[gastrof]

Yes, you can have a TiVo in the same building as a cable company DVR.

Will it all work out? Depends on where you put it and how you wire things up.

Some people have thought about hooking up the TiVo to the Comcast box as its signal source.

Not a good idea if the Comcast box will be changing channels and recording its own stuff.

You could do what some people do, namely put a cable splitter on the cable , and feed one to the Comcast box, the other to the TiVo. The Comcast box will record any channel it can get, the TiVo will likely be able to record the analog channels still on your cable system. (Double check on this by feeding the cable directly into a cable ready TV, bypassing the cable box. See what channels you get. If you get decent results, that's what you'd be getting on the TiVo's cable ready tuner.)

Some people have wanted the TiVo to also get EVERY channel, and have thought about getting a Comcast box without DVR, and using that to feed the TiVo.

Fine.

What do you do about the two Comcast boxes in the same room, possibly using the same remote signals?

Not a good idea.

If you really want a second DVR in the same room, better to use the cable company DVR, and also have a TiVo.

There's always the option of a Dual Tuner TiVo, which can record two shows at once, but it'd still need a cable box to get channels only the cable box can get. It'd also only be able to record one of the box channels at a time.

There's also the Series 3 TiVo, which is also a dual tuner model, but with a difference.

It can record OverTheAir TV, both analog and digital, and on cable it can tune any unscrambled analog channels. By way of "cable cards", it can also tune digital cable. (You get the cable cards from your cable company, and they allow the TiVo...or any other device that takes them...to work on your cable system without a cable box, getting stuff a cable box would normally be needed for.)

Most TiVos (except for some older models you might find on eBay) require a monthly fee to work. Otherwise, they're giant paperweights.

Not sure if there's anything else you'd need to know....can't think of anything. Any questions?

[retired_guy]

I had the Comcast DVR and two TiVos hooked to the same 62" HD TV for about a year, since it was the only way then to get HD. Used a powered splitter to get the signal to all three. No problems in doing it, and in fact having a TiVo "dual record" things I was recording on the Comcast I found was a good idea since the Comcast wasn't nearly as reliable as a TiVo at recording and keeping programs. But when the Series3 came out, I replaced the Comcast (IGuide version) with the Series3, upgraded the Series3 to 768GB, and am very happy what I now have---the Comcast box was extremely frustrating at times and had an interface which made it largely unusable by my wife. But if the Series3 doesn't fit your budget, the Comcast box coupled with a Series2 may be the right option for you.

By the way, I also had a Comcast DVR on my bedroom TV, which is only a 30" HD model. I found that on a small set, SD is about as good as HD, and hence I replaced that box with a Series2.. Better user interface, more reliable, and MRV were the main advantages for me. The Series2 also costs a bit less for me, although cost wasn't a significant reason for dumping the Comcast box.

One problem with using a STB into a Series2 along with the Comcast DVR is that they use common remote codes. Hence, you have to box off the STB so that commands to the Comcast DVR don't screw it up. Easy to do, although a bit unsightly.

[ashu]

I have a 6412 HD Comcast DVR and DO use it as a 'slave' to my S2 TiVo. Neither has a plethora of Season Passes/regular recordings. My new TiVo S3 is the HD & SD workhorse recorder :)

The 6412 is my "Ooohh - nice movie/miniseries, let that danged unreliable 6412 catch that, preferably on a late-night repeat, so even if I miss it - no big deal". On the whole, the 6412 plays well with the S2 TiVo controlling it over IR - even when the S2 changes channels by IR, and the 6412 has a coincidental scheduled HD recording to do, it does THAT recording on the 2nd/background tuner, spitting out the expected A/V signal to the S2 TiVo to do its thing.

As soonas I can afford a second S3 (and TiVo says something concrete about SDV AND enables MRV between S3s), the 6412 goes back in the trash heap (Comcast office). Unless it gets TiVo software first, which I might play with for a few more weeks before still deciding to get an S3 anyway ;)

[astrohip]

Not a problem at all. Check my sig; I have two TiVos, and two Time Warner DVRs. On three different TVs. At one point, during the testing of my new-at-the-time Series 3 TiVo and my new-at-the-time HD-TV, I had three units on that one TV. FIVE recordable streams at once, on one TV.

Yes, you can do it :)

[ashu]

Not a problem at all. Check my sig; I have two TiVos, and two Time Warner DVRs. On three different TVs. At one point, during the testing of my new-at-the-time Series 3 TiVo and my new-at-the-time HD-TV, I had three units on that one TV. FIVE recordable streams at once, on one TV.

Yes, you can do it :)

5, eh? rookie :p