Will my new S2 Tivo work with DirectTV?

[apdowdle]

I have read through all the articles regarding the S2 standalone with DirecTV, but I still am not clear as to whether or not it is possible. I was given the S2 standalone Tivo with pre-paid service so I cannot switch to the DTivo at this point, and the building I am in requires all tenants to use DirecTV.

When I called Tivo the said I was fine, but when I called DirecTV to setup my service they told me it was not compatible, so I am clueless and very frustrated.

I also read somewhere on the internet that I will need to buy all sorts of converts and complicated boxes simply to make it work, but does anybody know what I can do? I am really desperate since I don't want the gift of Tivo to go to waste and I have no choice but to use DirecTV. Thanks and I would appreciate ANY help!!!!!

[goony]

It sound like you talked to a clueless CSR at DirecTV.

If you have a standalone S2 Tivo, then you also need a DirecTV receiver which your Tivo box will control. You go through the setup procedure in your Tivo and you tell it you have a DirecTV box. You will likely need to setup an "IR blaster" that will mimick you pressing the buttons on a remote control for channel changes.

Once you have the above setup you put your DirecTV remote aside and do all of your channel changes with the Tivo remote.

If you have a newer "DT" (dual tuner) standalone Tivo, then the following applies:

* Record from two basic cable channels, or one basic cable and one digital cable channel, at once. Does not support recording from two digital cable or satellite channels at once. Supports recording from cable and satellite sources only; does not support recording from over-the-air antenna.

[apdowdle]

I have the 80hour Dual Tuner. So does simply mean that I cannot record and watch live at the same time? Because I am fine with that, I just want to make sure the overall and important functions will be compatible.

The DirecTV rep said that they changed their signals and Tivo no longer can receive them, so I was very confused.

[goony]

Originally Posted by apdowdle

I have the 80hour Dual Tuner. So does simply mean that I cannot record and watch live at the same time?

Correct. The 2nd tuner will be useless for DirecTV... it is possible it could still do OTA (over-the-air), but I'm not sure how the box behaves with respect to the 2nd tuner when the primary is setup for DirecTV (I doubt it would properly handle this split program source).

You can download a manual from http://customersupport.tivo.com/UserGuides.aspx for more info.

Originally Posted by apdowdle

The DirecTV rep said that they changed their signals and Tivo no longer can receive them, so I was very confused.

Psst, don't tell the millions of us that still have "DTivos" (dual-tuner DirecTV receiver with integrated Tivo DVR) that are functioning well.

The rep you talked to has been under the influence of some kind of "signals" for sure - or they slept through their training.

About 18 months ago DirecTV phased out Tivo-based DVRs in favor of their own "in house" DVRs. They still activate and support them, but they just don't supply them as new.

[John T Smith]

Your standalone box will not work DIRECTLY with the DirecTv signal... since it is MPEG and works only with a DirecTv box, either regular (non-Dvr) or the DTivo box

What you MAY do (based on other messages I have read, I do not do this myself) is use a DirecTv receiver to connect to DirecTv, and then connect the output of that to the input of your standalone box

You change channels with the DirecTv box and use it as a signal pass-thru to the standalone

Some more reading
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...d.php?t=339691
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...d.php?t=308737
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...d.php?t=292229

[JimSpence]

Note that your apartment complex probably has a stacked signal. So you will either need a standalone DirecTV receiver that can accept a stacked signal or a destacker for use with other DirecTV receivers. If you get a DirecTV DVR (either TiVo or not) then you'll need a dual destacker to enable the dual tuners.