OK, what's the latest and easiest TIVO??

[marcb515]

We have an older Sony SVR3000 with lifetime, and from answers to my previous posts, it looks like we should be looking to upgrade to a newer unit.

We live in NJ, and have Comcast Digital with the Comcast digital cable box, and our Tivo has been great to date, but will not record the digital channels unless we hook up the IR blaster cable, and if we do that, we nust leave the cable box on 24 hours a day(which we're not crazy about) and use the Tivo remote for everything. Pretty soon all the channels will be digital, so we will have no other option anyway.

We pay $5/month for the cable box, and we were to go to a Comcast DVR we would be able to get rid of the cable box, and replace it with the Comcast DVR for an additional $8/month.

We would rather get another Tivo, so what does Tivo offer that is simple to use in conjunction with a Comcast digital cable box?

Thank you,.....marc

[steve614]

With a TivoHD or S3, you wouldn't even need a cable box.
These units use cable cards and are designed to replace the cable box.

[dylanemcgregor]

To expand on what Steve said, the cable cards are rented from your cable company just like a cable box, but they should cost less than renting a digital cable box. The card is inserted into a TiVo HD (or TiVo S3) and allows the TiVo to tune all the digital cable channels.

A couple of things to be aware of.

1) The cable cards do not allow the use of VOD or PPV.
2) A number of cable companies around the country are moving to what is called Switched Digital Video (SDV). This is a way of transmitting cable channels that reduces bandwidth useage. So far they are mostly only using this method of transmission on the least popular channels. Currently the TiVo does not have a way to tune to these channels, but they are working with CableLabs to get a SDV dongle that will allow the Tivo to tune these channels. Hopefully this will be out fairly soon (few months?). Check out the TiVo HD section of the forum for more up-to-date info on SDV.

[markjrenna]

I know that Comcast in NJ is going to SDV this year. It won't effect every channel but it will effect TiVo until the SDV TiVo fix is implemented. Ans at this point I have no idea how the fix will be implemented.

I would not let it stop me though. Go get a TiVo HD or 3. Good luck with getting your Cable Cards to work.

[markjrenna]

Read this:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/363734_tivo20.html

[classicsat]

Cable box on vs cable box of doesn't matter in the bigger picture, they draw about the same amount of power in any case.

If you choose to keep on the Series 2 line, and will require the box for a lot of channels, you will not be much ahead upgrading to a Series 2 DT, for it can only work with one box anyways, and at that, no different than the Series 2 you have now.

That all said, I concur with the recommendation you get one of the Cablecard capable HD models, you will get all digital dual tuner, with just the cablecard(s), and can also use it for digital OTA, if the need arises.