problems with a dual tuner TiVO where CBL & BOX have different channel lineups

[zycki]

I quickly looked through the official TiVo support site & this one and couldn't find a solution. I hope someone can help me.

First some background. My cable company (Time Warner, NYC) has a different channel lineup when you bypass the box. In other words, CBS is on channel 2 BOX but channel 12 CBL, CNN is on channel 10 BOX but channel 8 CBL, etc. This is causing me major headaches.


Problem #1:
When you type in a number, it automatically changes it to the CBL version of the channel. If I want NBC, which is on channel 4 BOX, and type 4, it changes to 4 CBL (a local access channel) even if I was watching a BOX channel (like say 7 BOX for example). This is extremely annoying for many reasons, but chiefly I'm used to cable box lineup channel (which TWCNYC considers the normal channel lineup). I should note that if I enter the channel twice [4 enter, 4 enter], the first time I get the CBL channel and the second time I get the BOX channel. Is there any way to change this so the BOX lineup is the default when entering channel numbers manually, or is this just the way it is?

Problem #2:
The default recording for a season pass is the CBL channel and not the BOX channel. Let's say I want to get a season pass for The Office, which is on 4 BOX and 14 CBL. The season pass automatically defaults to record 14 CBL when I want it to record 4 BOX. [The reason is that the picture quality on the digital BOX channels is superior to the analog CBL channels.] Does anyone know how to fix this?

Problems #3 & 4: (not so much problems as in things I would like to do)
First, is it possible to set one tuner to BOX and the other to CBL? If so, then can I change the guide so it only displays the BOX or CBL channels respectively?


I know that Time Warner is the major problem, but it doesn't appear (to me) that TiVo is flexible enough to do what I am looking to do.

Thanks in advance for all help and advice.

[JimSpence]

I'd delete all of the duplicate channels from the Channels Your Receive List. Which set is up to you. Then the unit won't try to record the one you don't want.

[nyactor]

I was on the phone 3 different times with TIVO.

I am so lost here. I also have TIME WARNER CABLE (nyc) and everything is hooked up correctly.

The first guy had me tell the TIVO that I only get basic cable channels through CBL and all other channels including premium on my BOX.

When it was all changed, now all my CBL channel info was right but had the wrong channels listed :

It would say Channel 1 - CBL= NY 1 news, but would be blank
Channel 3 - CBL = TNT, but would have NY 1 news on it

The second guy told me to wait for my TIVO to possibly finish and correct itself.

The third guy told me that I could not use the DUAL TUNER with digital cable and would have to just use the single tuner option?!?

Is he right?!?

The main problem is having Tivo recognize all these channels....

I was told that Time Warner has a set of channels for the cable box and a different line-up for basic analog cable?!?
That makes NO sense to me b/c CBS-2, Fox-5, 7-ABC in NYC would not only be those channels on the cable box but be different channels on basic cable?!?

Can the feed coming out of the wall be digital only...I thought the box made it digital?!? This is all so confusing..but I've been able to have two tuners..

I had to run ALL my channels through my BOX -- some CBL channels were left but
the TIVO program information was wrong for the actual CBL channel showing.

After 3 calls with tivo...my tivo is in limbo -- I would rather know without a doubt I can only have the single tuner before I fix it..

Anyone know how to help me?!?

[jellynyc]

From what I could figure, Tivo Series 2 DT does not play well with TWC NYC digital cable. Due to the way TWC provides/scrambles its signal, you can only use your Tivo DT as a single tuner (the digital feed coming from the cable box). As a result, you can't use many of the benefits of the Series 2 DT: you can't watch live TV while Tivo is recording (except for the station you're recording) and you can't tape two shows at once (so your library will be limited). Bottom line is you're left with a very basic DVR if you use the Series 2 DT here in NYC. I think you might be in better shape if you upgrade to the series 3 with cable cards, assuming you have a HD TV and want to spend the $$ to buy a new Tivo. Intentionally or not, TWC is making it very hard for Tivo in NYC.

Sadly, as much as I love Tivo (I used it happily for a year off the free basic feed coming into my apt), after subscribing to digital TWC last week, my Series 2 DT has proved too frustrating and limiting to enjoy. I just got a TWC DVR today. It's unsophisticated and ugly, but it works. So long, Tivo. sniff. sniff.