Really newbie question about TiVo....

[collegebound]

Backstory (for anyone who cares): I will be transferring from a community college to a four year college this fall. Looking over my class schedule I will be in class during prime time 2 or 3 days a week, and I guess I should go to class instead of watching TV. While I was jokingly complaining about this, my grandparents (God bless them) offered to pay for a year worth of service of TiVo, if I were to buy the unit.

Question 1: I do not know if the cable company the college uses (or who it is) offers any HD service. Would I be wise to just buy a series 3 TiVo? If they do offer HD channels, great, if not, just more room for SD programs.

Question 2: Do I NEED to connect the unit to a phone line? It wouldn't be a problem, seeing I am living by myself in a studio apartment. I have just heard two different stories from people.

[bp888]

Question 1: I do not know if the cable company the college uses (or who it is) offers any HD service. Would I be wise to just buy a series 3 TiVo? If they do offer HD channels, great, if not, just more room for SD programs.

I think you answered your own question. :)

Question 2: Do I NEED to connect the unit to a phone line? It wouldn't be a problem, seeing I am living by myself in a studio apartment. I have just heard two different stories from people.

If you have WiFi then there's no need for the phone line. Just make sure you order the WiFi adapter along with the TiVo. BTW, the current model is TiVo HD. S3, while superior to HD IMO, has been discontinued.

Also with WiFi you could do a lot more like remote scheduling, video on demand, etc. Check out the TiVo website for these additional services.

[bkdtv]

Enter your new zip code at zap2it.com (http://www.zap2it.com); that'll give you the same list of cable provider/lineup choices that you'll have on the TivoHD. Select the lineup used at your new location to see if it offers HD service. I would not bother with a TivoHD for analog cable unless you are planning to use it along with OTA.

TiVo hasn't required a phone line in seven years. Even wireless is unnecessary if your apartment has an ethernet connection. You'd connect the ethernet connection to a router and then connect the TiVo (which has an ethernet port) to a port on the router. If you're not in range of the ethernet connection, then do as the previous poster suggested and use wireless.