Does the S3 have any sort of "auxiliary input" recording?

[That Don Guy]

I am considering getting an S3 in the near future, but I would like to know something about it first.

Does the S3 have any sort of capability to connect it to a "non-channel" source (say, a cable box) and then be able to do manual recordings from that input?

Or, do you have to jump through some hoops like you do with the S2 (for example, set it up as "cable plus satellite", then delete all of the satellite channels except for one, and make it think the external input is coming from a satellite dish)?

-- Don

[SeanC]

It only has 2 inputs Cable, and Antenna. If your source can broadcast on a standard TV channel, like 3 or 4, then you're all set.

[TiVo Troll]

But there's no way for S3 to control an external STB of any kind.

[That Don Guy]

But there's no way for S3 to control an external STB of any kind.
That wouldn't be a problem (I could always set the cable box manually). I just wanted to know if there was a separate input that did not have to be tied to the guide.

(Wait a minute...there's no way of TiVo sending a signal to a STB (even with an IR Blaster)? How does someone with a cable box but no CableCards get an S3 to work?)

-- Don

[Zrealm]

That wouldn't be a problem (I could always set the cable box manually). I just wanted to know if there was a separate input that did not have to be tied to the guide.

(Wait a minute...there's no way of TiVo sending a signal to a STB (even with an IR Blaster)? How does someone with a cable box but no CableCards get an S3 to work?)

-- Don

You can't - the Series 3 is not compatible with cable boxes.

[CharlesH]

You can't - the Series 3 is not compatible with cable boxes.Or stated another way, the S3 is a replacement for the set-top box.

[lessd]

Or stated another way, the S3 is a replacement for the set-top box.

No way can you record HD (on a Series 3) from anything but a direct cable input, you can't go from a HD cable box to a Series 3 in HD. There are only two ways to record HD, on a Series 3 directly, or the cable co. HD-DVR box (I not talking about PC-Vista HD recording that is possible with cable cards in your computer). Why would one spend the money on a Series 3 and even think about using a Cable Box. If you want a cable box the Series 2 will do the recording job at much less cost.

[TiVo Troll]

That wouldn't be a problem (I could always set the cable box manually). I just wanted to know if there was a separate input that did not have to be tied to the guide.

(Wait a minute...there's no way of TiVo sending a signal to a STB (even with an IR Blaster)? How does someone with a cable box but no CableCards get an S3 to work?)

-- Don

It's not practical to use S3 in conjunction with a cable STB unless each has a separate input to a TV/monitor.

S3 can access all unscrambled cable channels w/o a cable card, but digital channels will have no EPG info.

OTOH, an S2 works well in conjunction with a hi-def cable STB and records hi-def channels from the STB in high quality standard-def.

As far as TiVo Service prices, standard or hi-def service costs the same.

TiVo's big price difference between hi and standard def is caused by the (mass market standard-def) S2's highly subsidized price while the premium hi-def S3 price is close to its incremental manufacturing cost; currently a difference of at least $300.