S3 cable cards...do i need 2

[Stinkweed8]

Cable cards in tucson (C0X) are $4 each per month ($50 install for 1st card $15 for second). Question is, do i NEED 2 cards to record 2 channels? I believe the card is tuning hte digital and HD channels. perhaps I can use 1 card and still tune in sd channels without the card...so I can record 1 channel in hd/digital tier, and another channel in sd / non digital...so still getting dual tuner functionality with the s3 and one card.

hope my question is clear...i didnt feel clear(lol)

Z

[ebockelman]

The answer is clear too: YES. You need two.

[ah30k]

The answer is clear too: YES.Well, two or none.

If you only insert one CableCARD, the entire unit reverts to single tuner mode.

By the way, those charges are ridiculous.

[Stinkweed8]

By the way, those charges are ridiculous.


Agreed...that is what is preventing me from buying hte s3...

it will still save me almost $5 / month to get the s3 w/ 2 cable cards.


NOW: $6.95 tivo service
$12.00 cable box (digital/hd)

total $19.95 / month


with S3: $8.00 (2 cable cards)
$6.95 tivo service

total $14.95 / month


However, with teh install fees of $65 (about $5.41 per month / divided by 1 year)
I am paying a bit more....not to mention the $400 cost of the unit...

im not sure the wife will go for this (hmmm but maybe she wouldnt have to know?!)

MZ

[HIHZia]

Cox in OKC quoted me $30 new install per card or $15 if an "Upgrade". The service person put me down as an upgrade so I was happy with that. She also said the cards were $1.99 each per month.

Sounds good to me.

[jtown]

If you want to make full use of your S3, you will need 2 cable cards. If you could afford to spend all that money on the S3 itself, you can afford to configure it properly.

And the price for cablecards from Cox is $1.99/month/card unless they raised their rates recently. That's $3.98/month for both cards. Not that it should make a difference considering how much money is involved.

Why do people try so hard to justify the S3 economically? You can't! It's a luxury item. It's expensive to obtain. It's expensive to install. It's expensive to operate. You're fooling yourself if you think there will ever be a financial advantage to owning a Tivo. The advantage is the wider range of features, the larger capacity, and the reliability. People buy a Tivo for the same reason the buy a Lexus. Yeah, a Yaris can get you from one place to another. But an LS460 is a nicer way to get there if you can afford it.

[mattack]

If you want to make full use of your S3, you will need 2 cable cards. If you could afford to spend all that money on the S3 itself, you can afford to configure it properly.

Maybe one "can" afford to pay for the cablecards, but it's yet another monthly fee that we'd like to avoid..

(Gee, what percentage of the S3 users here have lifetime S3s? I bet most of us.)

[rmassey]

You're fooling yourself if you think there will ever be a financial advantage to owning a Tivo.

I disagree. I just ordered an S3 and will use it for OTA HD only. I get no value from other content. Even with the $600 OOP + $299 pre-pay fee, with the rebate, selling off my HR10-250 and savings of $60/mo canceling D* - It will pay for itself after 7 months and I will be cable, Sat ( both garbage IMO) and monthly fee free for 2.5 more years. This time next year, I'll be saving $60/mo (prob $70 by then) and have a nice way of recording OTA HD. :)

S3 - $607
3 yr - $299
Total $906
less $200 rebate
Less $300 (sale of HR10)
$406 / $59 (current D*/mo) = 6.8 months payback

by Jan. I break even and have zero $/mo. YMMV

Besides that, I hate the monthly fee hungry cable and DBS providers. By the time you sub to cable, upgrade to a digital tier, pay install fees and monthly CC fees, you're right back up to $60-$70/mo and what's the point. :confused: Of course if you cannot live WO this content, then you have no choice but to pay the providers. The only thing I am willing to pay for now that FREE OTA HD is avaiable is Tivo service and the HW to get it.

[jtown]

Maybe one "can" afford to pay for the cablecards, but it's yet another monthly fee that we'd like to avoid..

(Gee, what percentage of the S3 users here have lifetime S3s? I bet most of us.)

There's a saying for that. Penny wise, pound foolish. "I'm saving $24/year by crippling my service." $600 for S3, $200 to transfer lifetime (which cost $200-300 (plus the cost of the original tivo to which it was attached)) or $300 for 3 years of tivo service. After spending all that money, you're going to severely reduce the functionality of the product in order to save such a pittance? That's less than 1/4 of the monthly cost of the service fee (totally ignoring the minimum $900 in sunk costs). It doesn't make sense.

And, rmassey, did that HR10 fall out of the sky? Unless you got it for free, add that $300 back to your S3 cost if you want to be honest about the total price. And you're not saving money by buying the S3. You're saving it by canceling your satellite subscription. If you were really going for economy, you would have purchased an OTA HD tuner and connected it to your existing PC. There are several free and inexpensive DVR software packages for a variety of operating systems. You could have hit the break even point in a couple of months with one of those.

[moxie1617]

................... There are several free and inexpensive DVR software packages for a variety of operating systems. You could have hit the break even point in a couple of months with one of those.

Unfortunatly for a lot of us there is the WAF, PC based solutions just won't pass. Before I got the S3, I looked at our season passes(DTivo) and 83% were local network offerings. So went with S3 for OTA only. We dropped cable 10 yrs ago and refuse to go back. Also won't consider a D* HD solution until their their DVR's again have Tivo.

[Jerry_K]

Moxie1617,

Anything but a TiVo will not pass for my lovely wife. And I agree with her on that point 100%. The local cable guy was trying to push thier service and DVR. When I told her it was not a TiVo she said, "Why would they use anything else?" When I explained the Series 3 to her vice the new HD boxes from DirecTV and said, they are not TiVo, she said now I understand why you need the new boxes for HD.

The TiVo interface and functionality blow away any and all competitors.

[rmassey]

And, rmassey, did that HR10 fall out of the sky? Unless you got it for free, add that $300 back to your S3 cost

$199 + a buttload of programming credits from D* and I have used it for two years, so I think I've got $200 worth of value from it. Considering I can sell it for $250-$350 two years later is not bad IMO. So yes it does play into my 'cost savings' evaluation. Maybe not for you, but it works for me. It certainly is better than those that pay $2-300 to lease a DVR (E*) and then have to return it to the DBS provider.

BTW, I do have an HD card in my PC (see my sig) - frankly it's disappointing and not reliable IMO. I really prefer a CE device in my HT rack rather than messing with windows, drivers, blah, blah, blah when I just want to watch TV. ....and I am a SW engineer, so I wouldn't consider myself a technophobe by any means.

You're saving it by canceling your satellite subscription. Yes and prior to the S3 the only CE device to record HD was the HR10-250 followed by the Dish VIP 6xx. Both of these are tied to DBS and $60-$70/mo fees. Given that the S3 is now available for $400 after rebates coupled with my locals now available in HD OTA, I will be saving money after the payback. Not being tied to the money grubbing content providers is priceless IMO.

All I know is come Jan, when my payback is done, I will be 'free' of TV bills and will have paid for service I value and not locked into a pointless 2 yr contract for content that I do not watch.

Rock on if you just gotta have ESPNHD, HDNET or whhatever, I don't :up:

BTW. what did you pay for your S3 and how much is your monthly cable bill? :D