HD Tivo + Comcast

[elrothir]

I'm sure this has been asked somewhere, but I sure can't find it.

I've currently got Comcast and a Series 2. I've noticed that several of my channels have disappeared from my lineup as a result of Comcast starting to convert to all digital. I've been debating getting a Tivo HD for awhile. My question is: Can the Tivo HD tune the Comcast digital channels without a Cable card? I don't have any premium channels and don't want to do any PPV, so I don't think I should need the cable card, but not sure. I have a comcast set top box that receives the digital channels, but I really don't want to use it and was hoping the Tivo HD would be able to tune those channels.

Thanks for any replies.

[LoREvanescence]

Yes, but only those not encrypted by comcast. Which leaves you with the basically with only your Locals HD and SD, PPV Previews, and some local cable networks such as cn8 and NECN in New England. Other then that, everything else needs a cable card.

[bmgoodman]

Can the Tivo HD tune the Comcast digital channels without a Cable card?

Yes, it can tune unencrypted digital channels without CableCards, but it won't have guide data for them. This would force you to do everything as a manual recording.

There are already threads on the topic of why Tivo hasn't done anything to improve this situation. For now, the bottom line is that you're really going to want to go through the pain of CableCard installation if you move to a Tivo HD.

[lastdeadcat]

Yes, but, No. 2. These channels will not be mapped and there will be no guide data for them. You can only record them manually by time and channel. The CableCARDs allow you to get the data by mapping the channels to the guide data correctly.

[jrm01]

It actually depends completely on how your local Comcast office handles the encryption. There have been some reports from some users that they can get several digital cable channels (TNT, A&E, etc.). In most areas however, you are usually limited as described above.

On a side note, many report that they are able to pick up Music Channels and usually the PPV program that any of their neighbors are watching at that moment.

However, none of the digital channels (including local HD) are included in the TiVo program guide material, so you are limited to only being able to use Manual Recording by Time&Channel for them.