Idiot needs Series 2 Help with Standby

[DTimmy9]

Just bought my parents a series 2 for christmas, and there seems to be no way to turn it "off" or put it into standby. ive had an old svr-2000 myself and its got a power button to turn off the tivo. the remote for the series 2 has no such button only a tv power button (its the remote with the Window(??) button). this is a big issue as their tv only has one video input and the tivo shares it with the dvd player. there must be a way to "turn it off". if not that is the stupidest thing ever.

[ScottUrman]

Tivos are designed to not turn off - they run 24x7 to record stuff and perform background maintenance. You can put it in standby, which will pass through the RF signal from the cable unchanged (while still recording). How exactly do they have it hooked up?

[DTimmy9]

yeah, i know they dont turn off, but they should be able to be put into standby but there is no button on the remote to do that.
like i said on my svr2000 there is a power button to turn it off and it cuts the video and audio feed to the tv. there isnt anything like that on their remote and obviously there isnt any buttons on the front of the unit to put it into stand by.

they have basic cable, so i just have it hooked up with the coax in and rca cables to the tv's only input. the simplest hook up ever.

breezing though ebay i see that all the peanut style remotes dont have a power or standby button. so how do you put it into standby?

[chocophile]

You're right, there is no "off" or "standby" button on the remote. Standby is hidden pretty well if you don't know where to look. You can get to standby by going from the main menu ("TiVo Central") to "Messages & Settings."

Even though the tivo is designed to never be shut off, we routinely put our unit in standby mode.

[DTimmy9]

i assumed it would be under the Message & Settings, but i didnt see it anywhere in there. what sub-menu is it under?
There is no mention of it in the manual either. this little thing will bother me til i can get it fixed, so ill just go insane! part in parcel in being an engineer i guess.

[RoyK]

On mine its the last item in the Messages & Settings menu.

[jjberger2134]

i assumed it would be under the Message & Settings, but i didnt see it anywhere in there. what sub-menu is it under?
There is no mention of it in the manual either. this little thing will bother me til i can get it fixed, so ill just go insane! part in parcel in being an engineer i guess.

There is nothing broken to be fixed. The TiVo was designed that way and will work perfectly fine if you simply just turn off the TV. My SVR-3000 has the power button as well, and I usually push the button to turn off the Blue nightlight on the SVR-3000, but with my S2 540 I just hit the power button on the TV.

Here is the link to the TiVo Support page....

http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=1a9709d5-db52-4ce6-98a8-f0df0ceff2b1

[DTimmy9]

thanks for the help, stand by was in the message and settings menu, it wasnt the last one as i assumed it would be as i breezed through there, its above troubleshooting.. thanks to all for the help. my parents thank you!

[WayneCarter]

You do realize that a TiVo in Standby is virtually the same as one that is in its normal operating mode - right? In other words, you are accomplishing very little by putting it in Standby.

Why are you so intent on putting it in Standby?

[chocophile]

We put our TiVo in standby as a matter of course when we aren't watching anything. No harm is done. It will still phone home, record items in the to do list and suggestions. Two differences that I can see: the light on the front is out (this behavior can be changed in settings) and you can use the tv without the tivo. This is also helpful if you want to watch one program while the TiVo records another.

My guess is that DTimmy's parents are accustomed to turning off a VCR when they are done with it. IMHO, there's no harm if they want to continue doing the same thing with the Tivo.

[WayneCarter]

... you can use the tv without the tivo. This is also helpful if you want to watch one program while the TiVo records another.This only works if the TV uses the RF output from TiVo. OP stated the TiVo to TV connection is by composite cables - they do not output when the TiVo is in Standby.

[DTimmy9]

Like I said in my original post, their tv is an older one and only has 1 rca input, so its being shared with the dvd player. so to be able to watch a dvd, the tivo needs to be placed into standby so cut the video and sound so the dvd can come in clearly.
i tried everything before posting as i knew anything posted on the topic would turn into the "why use standby at all debate". it needed to happen or id have to go buy my parents a component switch so they could use their tivo and dvd player.
my statement to every "why use stand by when you can just turn off the tv" people is this: sometimes a setup demands it, but if nothing else, we as users should require such options from engineers. i can tell you if you dont, we engineers get lazy ;)

[WayneCarter]

... i just have it hooked up with the coax in and rca cables to the tv's only input. the simplest hook up ever."RCA cables" are A/V (Red, White, Yellow). From your other posts, it sounds as if you are using RF cables. TiVo switches its RF input to its RF output when in Standby. TiVo outputs nothing thru its RCA (A/V) outputs when in Standby.

[classicsat]

If it has only one A/V input, oyu need an A/V selector, if you want to connect both the TiVo and DVD player to that input. If you have to turn whatever is connected to that connection of to use another connection, something is not connected to an input, but an output.

[WayneCarter]

We still don't know for sure whether he's using RF or A/V interconnects.

[ZikZak]

Like I said in my original post, their tv is an older one and only has 1 rca input, so its being shared with the dvd player. so to be able to watch a dvd, the tivo needs to be placed into standby so cut the video and sound so the dvd can come in clearly.

You are doing something wrong. How exactly are the Tivo and DVD player connected to the TV? RCA connectors cannot be "shared." What are you talking about?

The solution to your problem is to get an RCA multiswitch for $15 from Radio Shack.

[RonDawg]

Like I said in my original post, their tv is an older one and only has 1 rca input, so its being shared with the dvd player. so to be able to watch a dvd, the tivo needs to be placed into standby so cut the video and sound so the dvd can come in clearly.

In that case, use the single A/V input for the DVD player. Connect the TiVo to the TV using the RF input set to channel 3 or 4 depending on what is not being used by a local station.

Not the most ideal, but saves the only separate A/V input for the DVD player which has superior picture quality over the TiVo.

The best solution, short of buying a newer TV, is to use an inexpensive (under $30) switcher box.