removing $12.95 comcast dvr service won't affect tivo?

[diegosalinas]

Just got TiVo and love it.

I know this is an obvious scenario but just wanting to be sure

canceling the comcast DVR $12.95 service has absolutely no impact on my TiVo service i.e. scheduling/recording/et al, correct?

if i cancel do i have to return the motorola cable box I got when I ordered DVR service...or does comcast just "turn off" the DVR capability?

thanks!

[RonDawg]

Unless your TiVo is one of the ones provided by Comcast, as they do in a few areas, their DVR has nothing to do with TiVo.

You have to return the box as it remains the property of your cable provider...you only rented it.

[gastrof]

Correction.

You do NOT have to return the cable box, unless your Comcast outlet requires you to use a different box if you don't have DVR.

You'll continue being charged a monthly rental.

If your TiVo is a Series 3 or a TiVo HD, then you should return the cable box and have cable cards from Comcast installed in it. This will let the TiVo serve as its own cable box, and it'll get all your channels, except for PPV and On Demand.

If you have a Series 1 or 2 TiVo, you'll need the cable box to get any analog channels that are scrambled or any digital channels. The TiVo will have to control the channel changes of the cable box. See your TiVo owners manual if this applies.

[RonDawg]

Correction.

You do NOT have to return the cable box, unless your Comcast outlet requires you to use a different box if you don't have DVR.

You'll continue being charged a monthly rental.

Then Comcast has a rather strange policy to let you continue keeping a DVR that you have no intention of using nor paying for.

With my company (Charter), if you have a DVR-enabled box, you will be charged the full DVR rental fee, regardless if you plan on using it or not. If you don't want to pay the full fee, you have to return the box. If you want the ability to tune the digital channels, but not necessarily time shift them, you have to exchange the DVR box for a non-DVR version.

[jayfest]

When I get my TiVo HD (very soon, I hope), I will not be returning my cable box. I like the OnDemand stuff. It keeps me from having to fill my DVR with all the HBO/Showtime series and specials, as well as CSI and The Closer in HD. I do plan to cancel the Comcast DVR service and if I have to trade my box for a less powerful box from Comcast, then I will do that. It's not clear to me that I would save any money by not having a box, anyway, at least according to the bill. It looks like I am paying for the delivery of the particular set of channels, not the box (possibly a charge for the remote).

[mattack]

jayfest: You likely will be charged an extra 'digital cable outlet' or somesuch fee if you have your cable box/DVR *and* Cable Cards for your Tivo HD.

(I autopay my cable bill, and only recently realized I was paying for a "free" Comcast DVR that I got around June of last year when they were giving them out I believe because of the cable company cable card requirement.. I suspect I'm being charged because there IS a cable box downstairs... I haven't yet called up and tried to get it off.. ironically, I only got it to try out their bad DVR because it was 'free'.. and it's actually been unplugged most of the time I've had it.)

[bicker]

It depends -- on a lot of things. If the two boxes are side by side serving the same television, then technically the technician can have the additional outlet fee waived. However, it is something that they have to see set up visually that way to make that recommendation, and it isn't automatic. The default condition is that the "included" cable box will be "used up" by their DVR you have, and you'll pay the rental fee, and the additional outlet fee on the CableCards, if you don't return their DVR.

[tootal2]

When you return it make sure they dont turn off your hd channels. That happen to me when i returned my dvr. She thought i could not get hd-channels on cable
cards.