Q about upgarding to TIVO HD

[latazyo]

I am a faithful tivo customer and have a series 2 right now, but as you can imagine the picture i horrible on my 50" TV

additionally I have just switched from blockbuster to netflix and am excited about the netflix live streaming through the new Tivo

I just purchased the TCD652160 on amazon and am awaiting shipment

right now I am having some serious buyer's remorse for a few reasons

1. I have been reading about the horrors of cable card installation, so my question is, if I dont mind keeping my current cable box and tivo, do I even need cable cards? Will the tivo install and work without them? My service is charter HD. I do not have digital tier channels 100-500, but I do have basic 1-99, premiums 500-700, and HD channels

2. (I realize this question is not related to tivo) I have recently read that Charter has imposed download limitations of around 100GB/month. If I am streaming movies from netflix, would that be relevant?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide to ease my worries about upgrading to this HD tivo

[latazyo]

looks like the FAQ may have answered question number one, which is somewhat disheartening

You will need one (1) Multi-stream CableCARD or two (2) Single-stream CableCARDs to receive HD Digital channels. Without CableCARDs, you will still be able to receive standard definition analog channels, as well as analog and digital antenna channels.

[Polekat]

latazyo,

I too have Charter Cable. I have their DVR and am thinking about picking up a Tivo HD and switching, but the cableCARD issue has me concerned as well. Will you please update here when you get up and running so that I may use you as a guinea pig?

Thanks

[latazyo]

yeah, I actually tried to cancel my amazon order, but it was too late, we'll just have to see how it goes now I guess

I really should have researched first, but I had no reason to not assume it would be plug-n-play

basically the only reason for the upgrade is so that I can stream netflix movies and also for HD tivo capabilities

unfortunately charter is the only company in st louis and apparently Uverse and TivoHD don't go together, so I dont have that option either


I should clarify : currently I have a series 2 tivo and just a regular HD cable box, I do not have DVR from Charter, I have always liked TIVO's UI and hated charters

[slowbiscuit]

I don't see what the big deal is. Get a cable card and find out how it works for you, it might be an easy and low (or no) cost experience. There's no reason to bail on the HD until you find out.

[latazyo]

slowbiscuit, read the charter cablecards thread and you'll understand the skepticism I am having

I am currently engaged in a live chat with charter rep right now, trying to get some preliminary questions handled

I have found out so far that the cost is $2 and they do have M-cards

edit: ok my conversation is over with charter, here is a summary

- M-cards available for $2
- if you want to keep on demand you need to keep the cable box as well
- professional install is mandatory, you can not do it yourself, and costs $29.99

my tivo arrives wednesday and I will get it setup and then call charter and hopefully have the cable cards installed the following week

I will update this thread

[Bob723]

I have Charter and I suspect things will go pretty well for you. Here is my story:

1. I got my first HD TiVo in October 2007. It took 2 visits of over an hour each to get things working. They installed 2 S-Cards. Once they did start working, everything was great - and the picture on the tv was amazing compared to the old S2. Install charge was $20 back then.

2. One of the cable cards malfunctioned after about 6 months. Charter came out and replaced both S-Cards with one M-Card. Took them less than 1/2 hour and things have been working great ever since.

3. Got another HD TiVo for the bedroom in December 2008. Charter came out to do the install of one M-Card. Took over an hour. To the tech's credit, it seemed like the issue was more about the order number for the install. The number the guy had on his paperwork did not match what Charter had in their system and it seemed like that was creating some chaos. The charge this time was $35 which shocked me a bit.

All in all, I think you can feel confident that Charter will get things working for you. My first install was a bit challenging but I think cable cards were still relatively new then. Ever since that time, it seems that Charter has sent well qualified techs to do the job. Good luck and keep us posted.

[latazyo]

thanks for the ray of hope, bob

I plan on asking them to bring a few M-cards to be sure that one of them works and Im going to make sure to have the tivo setup a few days in advance like the cablecard instructions say to do so

[Polekat]

I have the Charter dvr and used to have DirecTivo. I really prefer the Tivo interface and that's why I have been thinking of switching. It would be about the same cost. Right now it's $15/month for the Charter DVR and Tivo would cost me $2/month for the cableCARD and $13/month for Tivo (although I would probably pay for a year which would drop it to $10.75/month)

I read that thread about all the nightmares of the Charter cableCARD install and it scared me off too. I don't really care about not being able to use the on demand. I do like that I would be able to add my own hard drive for more storage.

[latazyo]

can the HDD be external?

[bkdtv]

can the HDD be external?You can add expansion using the external 500GB Western Digital My DVR Expander ($115 at Newegg.com). That will give you ~92 HD hours.

If you require more capacity than that, you'll want to replace the built-in drive. Many replace their built-in drive with a 1.0 TB model for about $100. That gives 157+ HD hours.

More information on upgrade and expansion options can be found in the Drive Expansion and Drive Upgrade FAQ (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=370784) stickied at the top of the forum. A direct link is also in my signature.

[Mr Flippant]

Yeah there is a Comcast thread full of CC horror stories. I have been through 3 installation experiences and only one was bad taking 10 days to get right. Eventually it gets straightened out and when it does it is completely worth the effort. If you have never had two tuners you will not believe what you had been missing. Anyway the best thing you can do is becme familiar with the difficulties of CC installation in your area and to prepare as best you can for it. The process is really not that hard. Getting good help from the cable company may.

Netflix streaming is pretty good if you do not mind th selection of movies they have. I have seen some great novies I would not have normally watched. The good part about it is you can try any movie available and if it is not so good, stop watchng and try something else.

R$eally I look at our old Series 2 now and sudder at the thought of going back to it.

[M3 Adjuster]

I have the Charter dvr and used to have DirecTivo. I really prefer the Tivo interface and that's why I have been thinking of switching. It would be about the same cost. Right now it's $15/month for the Charter DVR and Tivo would cost me $2/month for the cableCARD and $13/month for Tivo (although I would probably pay for a year which would drop it to $10.75/month)

I read that thread about all the nightmares of the Charter cableCARD install and it scared me off too. I don't really care about not being able to use the on demand. I do like that I would be able to add my own hard drive for more storage.

I just switched from a Direct Tivo to Verizon Fios. There were lots of horror stories in the past about their cablecard issues as well but it seems like the M cards are more popular now, so hopefully things go well with the OP and you as well polekat. I did what Mr. Flippant recommended, scoured the threads looking for people in my area that had no issues and found that things were fine.

Polekat.... you may be able to find a Tivo HD for $199... Act Quickly!

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=418518

Definitely consider the lifetime option for service... I found a person that was activating lifetime for $329 (search ebay) and the transaction went smoothly. I had my DirecTivo for 8 years and did not do lifetime, and not only would my device actually be worth something now, I would have saved money on the service to boot.

[Polekat]

M3 Adjuster, That Sears sale got me looking into picking one up. Unfortunately my Sears didn't have one. I figured if I wait, I may be able to snag one for $200 or less and if I can I will probably buy it.

The thing that frightens me about a lifetime service is that it's only for the lifetime of the unit. I fear with my luck my unit might die after 1 1/2 yrs and I would take it on the chin.

[bkdtv]

The thing that frightens me about a lifetime service is that it's only for the lifetime of the unit. I fear with my luck my unit might die after 1 1/2 yrs and I would take it on the chin.When TiVo says lifetime of the unit, they really mean lifetime of the model. TiVo has no problem transferring lifetime to a replacement of the same model.

The only thing TiVo will not to do is transfer lifetime to a new model [for free]. When TiVo released the TiVo Series3 and TivoHD, they gave Series2 owners the option to transfer their lifetime subscription to the new high-definition model for $199. This $199 fee also included a one-year subscription on the old DVR.

[ThAbtO]

1. I have been reading about the horrors of cable card installation, so my question is, if I dont mind keeping my current cable box and tivo, do I even need cable cards? Will the tivo install and work without them? My service is charter HD. I do not have digital tier channels 100-500, but I do have basic 1-99, premiums 500-700, and HD channels

Cable cards are not needed if you do not have digital cable. The cable box is not needed with the HD, just plug the cable straight to the 'cable' coax, not the 'antenna' coax.

And, yes, you can have antenna and cable on the HD at the same time, if you are wondering.

2. (I realize this question is not related to tivo) I have recently read that Charter has imposed download limitations of around 100GB/month. If I am streaming movies from netflix, would that be relevant?

I think each movie is about as much as the size of a double layered DVD or 8.5gb.

[bkdtv]

I think each movie is about as much as the size of a double layered DVD or 8.5gb.Actually, a two-hour Netflix HD movie (VC1 @ 3.8 Mbps) is closer to 3.4 GB.

[Polekat]

Thanks for the clarification bkdtv

[latazyo]

Cable cards are not needed if you do not have digital cable. The cable box is not needed with the HD, just plug the cable straight to the 'cable' coax, not the 'antenna' coax.

And, yes, you can have antenna and cable on the HD at the same time, if you are wondering.



I think each movie is about as much as the size of a double layered DVD or 8.5gb.

I would like to clarify this more

here is my subscription
I have channels 1-99, then I have premiums 500-750ish, then I have HD channels 750-799 ish

I do not have the 100-500 channels