Can Tivo work with a cable DVR?

[seagulldc]

Hi all,

I was using a first generation TIVO and switched to the Surewest (cable) whole house DVR (Motorola VIP1216) to record more than 1 channel at once and watch in any room. So far, the only complaint I have is memory. The Motorola holds A LOT less than my TIVO unit. Now it's the Olympics and I want to record a ton of stuff, in addition to my normal shows. Is there any way to have them both connected? Can I connect them in series or in parallel? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Please note, I'm not very techy. I get by but if there's a technical solution, I might need some solid detail.

Thanks

[jrtroo]

Sorry- I'm not quite sure what you are asking.

I think you are saying:
You have a moto box from your cableco and it has limited storage for shows.
You have an old Tivo in a closet someplace.
You want to use the Tivo for a little while to record Olympic coverage.

Well, it is no issue to use a combination of TiVo and another DVR. It just needs its own signal. If the unit is lifetime, it may take a call to tivo to get it going as it may not have called in for a while. If it was monthly, you cannot just sign up for 30 days of service.

If your cable system is all digital, then it will not pick up the signal. I'm not sure if a S-1 can work with a digital tuning adapter box, I'm sure someone can answer that if germane. Newer tivos can do this without a box, but I'm guessing you are not looking to spend any $$.

[seagulldc]

Right, no additional $ would be ideal. or at least limited add'l $. It's a lifetime service box so that's good. Do I need a splitter or something or could I run a line from the cable Motorola box to the Tivo?

[cannonz]

If it's a series 2 or older will only get analog on it's own (if you have any analog) would need a cable box to get digital channels. If it's a 3 up will get analog on it's own, will need cable card for digital. And yes just remove input for DVR connect 2 way splitter run to tivo and DVR.

[jrtroo]

If you are looking to use two boxes at the same time, the signal would need to be split.

[cannonz]

After looking at Surewest site looks like they are all digital everywhere, will need a box or card depending on which tivo you have. Should not cost too much.

[seagulldc]

Yup. Surewest is all digital. I have a series 2. Any idea what I'm going to need to get? I actually still have the old cable box from before I went to their DVR. Some Amino thing. I wonder if that would work.

[seagulldc]

Also, since the TIVO had the limited functionality of 1 channel at a time, does that mean that I'll need to split the incoming line so that it feeds directly from the wall to both the cable DVR and the TIVO?

[cannonz]

Originally Posted by seagulldc

Also, since the TIVO had the limited functionality of 1 channel at a time, does that mean that I'll need to split the incoming line so that it feeds directly from the wall to both the cable DVR and the TIVO?

Since your using box will need to split cable one to DVR other to input on cable box the output on box composite (yellow,red,white RCA's) to tivo input, tivo output to TV. Will need the IR blaster hooked to tivo to control cable box, guided setup will tell you which IR code you need.

[jrtroo]

As I noted above, to use two different DVRs you will need a split the cable. If you use a DTA with the tivo, THAT will output to the tivo.

[seagulldc]

Dta?

[jrtroo]

Digital tuning adaptor- its the little box that your cableco makes available for those without digital TVs so they can receive service once they ditch analog. Its the cable equivalent to the ~$40 boxes the government subsidized for the over the air digital transition.