Comcast analog on Tivo/HD - any CableCards required ?

[ps56k]

our Chicago Comcast is dropping most of the analog,
and our S2DT will not be able to record the new digital channels....

BUT - just for info - I looked at the Tivo website, and they are offering the Tivo/HD upgrade for $199 to basically replace my S2DT.
https://www3.tivo.com/store/upgrade.do
hmmm - are these new units, or the factory refurbs they are also selling here...
https://www3.tivo.com/store/boxes.do?type=renewed

My question - if I just keep using the very basic Comcast analog channels (local stuff) ... but may upgrade in the near future...
will a Tivo/HD without installing any CableCards see and record the analog Comcast channels (like my S2DT)

SO - are CableCards only for decoding the digital channels,
or are they like the satellite auth cards, and are required for analog + digital ?

[gastrof]

"...our S2DT will not be able to record the new digital channels...."

Not quite true.

Comcast is offering, in most areas, free cable boxes to people who'd been "analog only" customers.

Your TiVo DT should be able to work with that cable box, control the channel changes, and its onboard analog tuner will apparently still have a few channels it can work with until those go dark too.

[bkdtv]

The "upgrades" are new (unlike the refurbs).

In virtually every market, Comcast provides digital versions of all its analog channels whenever a CableCard is installed. The digital versions typically offer better quality than their analog counterparts. If you buy a TivoHD, you'll want to get a CableCard.

With the TivoHD, one CableCard (M-CARD) supports both tuners, so you can record any two SD/HD channels while you watch a third, previously recorded SD/HD program.

[ps56k]

"...our S2DT will not be able to record the new digital channels...."

Not quite true.

Comcast is offering, in most areas, free cable boxes to people who'd been "analog only" customers.


ok.... true enough - thanks -
but I was thinking of the native S2DT dual tuner solution
or the Tivo/HD dual tuner, but without getting the CableCards installed...

[ps56k]

If you buy a TivoHD, you'll want to get a CableCard.

With the TivoHD, one CableCard (M-CARD) supports both tuners, so you can record any two SD/HD channels while you watch a third, previously recorded SD/HD program.

my question concerning the Tivo/HD is very basic;
Can I view and record 2 analog channels without getting CableCards installed ?

And then later - get the Comcast digital channels, along with the CableCards ?

[ThAbtO]

You can use the s2dt with a digital cable box concurrently and receive digital channels, but your s2dt would become a single tuner. A digital box would use a card inside but you can't use it in a Tivo because its part of their equipment.

The THD will record both analog and digital channels, cards are needed for decryption and a tuning adapter would be needed when they start using Switched Digital Video or SDV.

[yesno]

my question concerning the Tivo/HD is very basic;
Can I view and record 2 analog channels without getting CableCards installed ?

And then later - get the Comcast digital channels, along with the CableCards ?
Basic answer
Yes
Yes

[ewilts]

our Chicago Comcast is dropping most of the analog,
and our S2DT will not be able to record the new digital channels....
True - a S2 will *not* record digital channels. All the new adapters do for you is convert digital to analog so that you can record them. But they're still analog with all of analog's faults.

will a Tivo/HD without installing any CableCards see and record the analog Comcast channels (like my S2DT)
Yes - a TiVo HD (and Series 3) work just fine with analog inputs. I ran mine for a week or before the CableCards were installed.

SO - are CableCards only for decoding the digital channels,
or are they like the satellite auth cards, and are required for analog + digital ?
They decrypt the encrypted channels
They map channels

If your provider distributes both analog and digital signals for the same programming - and Comcast typically does - then the CableCARD will give you the digital version of the channel instead of the analog version. So, for example, 2 TiVos, one with a CableCard and one without, may both see channel 4 but the first will be digital and the 2nd will be analog. The one with a CableCARD will usually get a better quality signal.