New Tivo User - 3 Questions...

[Sturmie]

ok, i am a long time ReplayTV user and took the plunge to the Tivo S3 mainly for the HD and eSATA expansion options. after a little headache with my cable card setup, everything seems to be good now, but i have some questions though:

1) what is the best way to power off the unit (with eSATA drive hooked up)? standby and then unplug? i have to re-cable my components behind my TV and have to take everything down first.

2) i've seen a lot of threads on a/v dropouts, but i seem to only have it on one channel with Insight Communications (my provider)--HBOHD....according to the signal strength meter within the S3, all of my channels have a 90+ signal, but for some reason HBOHD is ~73...any ideas on how to fix this? is this a Tivo or an Insight problem?

3) is there any way to create your own folders in Now Playing list? i understand that all shows are grouped together, but is there any way to make my own? i really liked how on the ReplayTV's you could create custom categories.


thanks for the help...i look forward to being an active member in this community :).

sturmie

[classicsat]

1: Just unplug. Make sure the drive is on before you plug in the TiVo.

3:Folders are created based on guid data, there is nothing you can do to make your own folders and direct recordings into there.

[RandyDtg]

I would take it to standby before unplugging it.

[Sturmie]

great...thanks...i see no one wants to touch #2 ;)...i did just talk to the most technical resource at Insight in Columbus here and he suggested probably having someone come to take a look. since he wasn't sure were the S3 was getting its "signal strength" from, he wasn't sure what to do to fix it. he did suggest trying an HD channel on the same EIA(?) channel as HBOHD, which, according to his notes, would be something like ShowtimeHD (i only subscribe to HBO). he also mentioned that ESPNHD is only one EIA channel off, so that would be similar...however, ESPNHD is working fine. oh well, guess i'll have a tech come out.

thanks for the replies.

[DancnDude]

Is your cable split a bunch of times? I had a 3-way splitter that a cable box was using that couldn't get a signal to any HD stations. I switched it out with an amplified 4-way splitter and now it gets a great picture. TiVo says the signal strength is better than it was before (all channels are at about 95-99).

It's probably signal strength. You can troubleshoot it by having the cable guys come out or just try to amplify yourself and see if it helps.

[Sturmie]

It's probably signal strength. You can troubleshoot it by having the cable guys come out or just try to amplify yourself and see if it helps.
thanks...yeah, it is split a few times, but i do have a booster on the line that was installed by Insight...the weird thing is, all HD channels are fine except HBOHD...unfortunately, i didn't have the HBO sub before i got the S3, so it's hard to tell if it's the S3 or the line...i assume it would be the line though.

i got an appt scheduled for saturday...i'll update this thread this weekend with info...i know you guys are all on the edge of your seats with this one ;).

thanks again.

[AbMagFab]

You need a quality amp, and you need to put it in the right place (usually closest to the source, before the splits). I like Viewsonics brand, personally.

[bown]

try taking out the amplifier. I used one for the Comcast HD box to get the signal strength up to a usable level. The Tivo is just fine with a lower strength signal. My amplifier crapped up my signal, and taking it out for the tivo worked fine.

[Sturmie]

ok, i re-cabled everything within my home theater setup (removing some cables that were no longer being used...including a 2 way splitter that basically went no where) and everything is fine now with the S3...HBOHD comes in perfectly.

thanks for all the help/answers.

sturmie

[DancnDude]

Glad that helped! Now you can enjoy it! :)