Newbie confused about TiVo w/ BrightHouse

[davidng150]

Right now I have "Standard" Cable in BrightHouse Central Florida, where I connect my T.V. directly to the outlet in the wall.

1) I don't think that I need to get the "CableCards" since I don't have a digital converter tuner box. Am I right? Will I still get guide data?

2) Will I be able to record two T.V. shows at once, either with the TiVo Series2 or HD?

3) Should I get the HD one even though it is about $100 more than the Series2 because of the "futureproofing"? Is it worth it?

Thanks for your time!

[longball07]

First, if you have Tivo HD or S3 XL you will need cablecards.

[newskilz]

Right now I have "Standard" Cable in BrightHouse Central Florida, where I connect my T.V. directly to the outlet in the wall.

1) I don't think that I need to get the "CableCards" since I don't have a digital converter box. Am I right? Will I still get guide data?

A) You do NOT need a digital converter box, that is for OTA (over-the-air) reception only when using an older tv or not HD tivo as in the series2 model.

B) If you set up the tivo for cable with that company, you will _receive_ guide data for that company; recording is what will be under discussion.

C)Most of the time you will need cable cards/cable boxes to tune certain channels or all channels (depends on market and company right now-but my understanding is everything is moving towards needing cable cards/boxes to tune to anything).

For now, sounds like you should be able to plug the cable directly to the Series2 or Tivo HD. But, perhaps now or in the near future, your series 2 will require a cable box to tone to some cable channels, which would then require control from the IR blaster that came with your S2. TiVo HD would not have that problem , simply would need cable cards installed, Specifics to your area someone else will need to help you with.


2) Will I be able to record two T.V. shows at once, either with the TiVo Series2 or HD?

Again, depends on what your cable company is doing. If its all free and clear then either tivo can record two shows assuming your Series 2 is a dual tuner, some are single tuner. A lot of cable companies are switching to where you would need a cable box for the series 2 to see some stations, or all stations, as stated above. Tivo HD and XL, and series 3 models can record two cable channels at once with appropriate cable cards installed.


3) Should I get the HD one even though it is about $100 more than the Series2 because of the "futureproofing"? Is it worth it?

Thanks for your time!

Have you bought any tivos yet? Sounds like you haven't and want to know which one to buy. Personally, I'd go with the Tivo HD or HD XL, way newer technology and you can put cable cards directly in unit, keeping it a dual tuner; while the series 2 would become a single tuner if it required cable card/box tuning.

Perahps you need to look at getting the HD unit from someplace like Amazon? they are around $225 or so recently, unless you can find one in a Sears near you, they are around $150 recently, and have been lower than that; in factory sealed boxes, never used.

So... sounds like you just got cable and want to buy a tivo to go with, but haven't actually bought one yet? Then definitely the TiVo HD model, otherwise you will if not now, fairly soon end up with a single tuner tivo, unlike the HD that stays dual tuner. Trying to be clear here, sorry if it's more like mud. :)

[davidng150]

C)HMost of the time you will need cable cards/cable boxes to tune certain channels or all channels (depends on market and company right now-but my understanding is everything is moving towards needing cable cards/boxes to tune to anything).

Right now BHN requires a "cable box" to tune to channels above 100, whereas we don't need one to tune to channels from 2-99. So I assume that I will need the CableCard to see the channels above 100, right? And even without the CableCard I will still get guide data for the ones from 2-99? Thanks!

Also, I currently have a DVR with my cable company, but have been really interested in switching to something that doesn't crash or freeze up so often. I am downgrading to just the "Standard" channels (2-99) b/c I have found that my family doesn't really watch the ones above channel 100!

[RonDawg]

Right now BHN requires a "cable box" to tune to channels above 100, whereas we don't need one to tune to channels from 2-99. So I assume that I will need the CableCard to see the channels above 100, right? And even without the CableCard I will still get guide data for the ones from 2-99?

If you hook up a Series 3/TiVoHD/XL to your current cable setup without the use of CableCards, this is what you will get:

1. Any analog cable channels (the 2-99 you are speaking of)
2. Unencrypted digital cable channels, but you will not get guide data for them, and the stations will not be at the channel numbers that you expect them to be. Most cable providers will encrypt all digital channels except the OTA rebroadcasts.
3. OTA analog and digital channels, if you also have connected an antenna

CableCards are required for the following:

1. Encrypted digital cable channels
2. Unencrypted digital cable channels for which you want guide data

Hopefully this will answer your question about CableCards.

As far as whether to stick with a Series 2 or go for the newer models, unless your TV provider is not compatible with the Series 3/TiVoHD/XL models, you should go with the newer units as they have greater capabilities than the Series 2 models, such as the ability to watch streaming content from YouTube and NetFlix.

If the ability to record two programs simultaneously is important to you, it makes more sense to go with the newer models. The reason for that is the Series 2 Dual Tuner cannot record from two digital sources simultaneously, and if your cable provider decides to convert formerly analog channels to digital (as many have), your ability to tune two channels at once with a S2DT becomes severely limited, or even eliminated completely.