Have S3, dumping Comcast, but where to?

[BOMOON]

Hi Everyone,

I have an S3 unit, and thanks to my usual stupidity I completely overlooked the fact that it doesn't receive satellite signals (last time I looked, anyway. I could be stupid about that too).

At the time I was signing up for Comcast, so it wasn't an issue. Now however I would like to dump Comcast for numerous reasons I won't go into here.

Unfortunately my favorite service of all time has been DirecTV. I had it when they were using TiVo converters, of course.

I'm way behind on the current events in this industry. I want to use my S3 as a receiver, but it seems I have to go with some kind of cable service in order to do that. Satellite is out of the question unless I want to feed the satellite receiver output into the TiVo and... what? Use the S3 for HD recording only? The newer satellite receivers have HD DVR capabilities anyway. Wouldn't an S3 just be a redundant component in a system like that?

I guess I'm asking if the S3 is nothing more than an expensive boat anchor in a satellite system. Is anyone out there using the S3 in a satellite system? If so how is it set up?

Among other things I didn't realize is that the lifetime support & subscription for the S3 is tied to that particular piece of hardware. Even if TiVo were to come out with something like an S3 that could receive satellite signals, my existing subscription wouldn't cover the new unit. Could I transfer it from the old S3 to the new?

Or, is there any possibility that TiVo can or would upgrade the S3's to receive satellite signals, and allow us to retain our existing subscriptions after the upgrade?

BTW I know that TiVo was supposed to be brokering some kind of deal with Comcast. Both companies made all kinds of optimistic announcements about "rolling out" the new service and that it would be "in your area soon". That was a year ago. I'm in the Boston metro area as far as cable/satellite service goes and there's no sign of it anywhere. We're still using our S3's with Comcast's cable cards, which... well, those are among the many, many reasons for dumping Comcast that I said I wouldn't go into here.

I have a lousy feeling that I'm out a thousand bucks. Yeah, that's about what I paid for the S3 with the lifetime subscription. Close enough, anyway.

Sorry for these uncoordinated questions. It's late and Comcast has me in a sour mood.

Thanks for your patience in reading this,

[rocko]

Hi Everyone,

I have an S3 unit, and thanks to my usual stupidity I completely overlooked the fact that it doesn't receive satellite signals (last time I looked, anyway. I could be stupid about that too).

At the time I was signing up for Comcast, so it wasn't an issue. Now however I would like to dump Comcast for numerous reasons I won't go into here.

Unfortunately my favorite service of all time has been DirecTV. I had it when they were using TiVo converters, of course.

I'm way behind on the current events in this industry. I want to use my S3 as a receiver, but it seems I have to go with some kind of cable service in order to do that. Satellite is out of the question unless I want to feed the satellite receiver output into the TiVo and... what? Use the S3 for HD recording only? The newer satellite receivers have HD DVR capabilities anyway. Wouldn't an S3 just be a redundant component in a system like that?

I guess I'm asking if the S3 is nothing more than an expensive boat anchor in a satellite system. Is anyone out there using the S3 in a satellite system? If so how is it set up?

Among other things I didn't realize is that the lifetime support & subscription for the S3 is tied to that particular piece of hardware. Even if TiVo were to come out with something like an S3 that could receive satellite signals, my existing subscription wouldn't cover the new unit. Could I transfer it from the old S3 to the new?

Or, is there any possibility that TiVo can or would upgrade the S3's to receive satellite signals, and allow us to retain our existing subscriptions after the upgrade?

BTW I know that TiVo was supposed to be brokering some kind of deal with Comcast. Both companies made all kinds of optimistic announcements about "rolling out" the new service and that it would be "in your area soon". That was a year ago. I'm in the Boston metro area as far as cable/satellite service goes and there's no sign of it anywhere. We're still using our S3's with Comcast's cable cards, which... well, those are among the many, many reasons for dumping Comcast that I said I wouldn't go into here.

I have a lousy feeling that I'm out a thousand bucks. Yeah, that's about what I paid for the S3 with the lifetime subscription. Close enough, anyway.

Sorry for these uncoordinated questions. It's late and Comcast has me in a sour mood.

Thanks for your patience in reading this,

If your only option is satellite then I have one word for you. eBay.

TiVo HD/S3 models will not work with satellite or cable boxes. There's no input for them or method to control them. Sorry.

[cmontyburns]

DirecTV and TiVo have announced a partnership to re-introduce DirecTiVo boxes, but no hardware is expected until later next year. And that doesn't help with your current box, anyway.

You can still use your current TiVo box for a few things:


Stream media from your computer to your home theater/sound system
Use it for Amazon Video on Demand, Rhapsody, YouTube and other online content on your TV
Hook an antenna up to it and use it to record all the OTA content you watch (CBS, NBC, ABC, etc.).

[tiassa]

I'm assuming you don't have an alternate cable provider like Verizon FIOS or RCN that you can hook up to, because if yo udid you coudl use your S3 there.

[jlb]

You could always downgrade your Comcast service to the lifeline package and still get the clear QAM local HDs. That's what I do and I only pay $10/month. That way you are giving a lot less money to Comcast, you still would be getting good use of the S3, and then you can choose to sell it when the new DirecTiVos come out next year.

[BOMOON]

I'm assuming you don't have an alternate cable provider like Verizon FIOS or RCN that you can hook up to, because if yo udid you coudl use your S3 there.

Verizon sold out to Fairpoint last Spring. They bundle their phone and internet services with DirecTV. Technically I could go with them because DirecTV isn't a cable company and thus not restricted by all the stupid municipal cable TV contracts around here.

But as other folks in the thread have pointed out, DirecTV "has plans" to re-introduce TiVo units "sometime next year". IOW it's pure vapor. Until then, which may be forever, I would have a non-TiVo system and an S3 that I could only use for the things cmontyburns suggested:

* Stream media from your computer to your home theater/sound system
* Use it for Amazon Video on Demand, Rhapsody, YouTube and other online content on your TV

I left off the OTA option because that is no option around here. Reception is crappy, HD or not.

I forgot about Amazon Video On Demand. That's a strong possibility. Also, I've already networked my S3 to my LAN via Wireless-G. Setting that up and actually having it work was cool! What??!?? I did that??!??!?? And it WORKS?????

Ahem.

Thanks to all who've responded here so far. I picked up some good points and new ideas about how to use that Fairpoint bundle: DirecTV, phone, Internet. The Internet service needs a little more research. It looks like either DSL or fiber-optic technology. They claim to offer both for my zip code, but there's no way I'll believe that they've run fiber-optics up the hill where I live. Looks like I would be stuck with DSL again.

Yet, somehow Comcast has managed broadband speeds around here. There must be only one cable line here, and they have dibs on it?

I'm getting confused again. Time for my meds.

Thanks again to everyone,