Comcast Tivo compared to Tivo Tivo

baba44 · 03-06-2008, 11:38 PM

I have a Comcast DVR (not Tivo version). I just got a real Tivo and quickly found an operation that is unacceptable. I hope someone can tell me if the Comcast Tivo does the same thing.

I will explain the issue by example. I have two Season Pass programs scheduled to record sequentially, one from 5:00-6:00 and the other from 6:00 -7:00. I am watching live TV before 5:00. Just before 5:00 I get a popup message to allow the channel to change on the other tuner to record. I don't like this since the decision is obvious, I am not using the other tuner anyway. So so far just an annoyance. Then just before 6:00 I am still watching live TV and the other tuner is recording the 5:00-6:00 program. Now I get a pop up to allow recording on the tuner I am watching live for the second recording. I have to say Yes. Then at 6:00 I have to to swap tuners and change the channel to what I was watching live. The Tivo is not programmed to record sequential scheduled programs on the same Tuner and leave you alone if you are watching live TV on the other. Dumb.

I called Tivo and they said the decision on which tuner to use is made 3 minutes before recording starts. This explains why it does this but I think it is a real problem.

The Comcast DVR does not do this. It doesn't pop up any messages at all. It just records the two programs on the other Tuner and lets you use the first tuner live.

What does the Comcast Tivo DVR do?

HiDefGator · 03-07-2008, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baba44

I don't like this since the decision is obvious, I am not using the other tuner anyway.

How would Tivo know that you aren't user the other tuner to bounce between two football games? And maybe the scheduled recording is of the 5000th Dora the Explorer episode your kids scheduled.

tivogurl · 03-08-2008, 01:09 AM

In a similar vein, TiVo treats consecutive overlapping shows on the same channel as if they were on different channels, and allocates two tuners to them, bumping lower priority recordings that it could have recorded if it treated the overlap properly. Yes, this was a real situation. NBC consistently gave Heroes and Journeyman a minute of overlap. I reported it to TiVo, but it wasn't fixed.

jamesbobo · 03-08-2008, 09:35 AM

Comcast DVR doesn't use pop-ups? I find it annoying that a pop-up appears telling me that my recording has finished while I'm watching the recorded program. I do not need to know this.

doopstr · 03-15-2008, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baba44

It just records the two programs on the other Tuner and lets you use the first tuner live.

No it doesn't do that.

holee · 03-18-2008, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesbobo

Comcast DVR doesn't use pop-ups? I find it annoying that a pop-up appears telling me that my recording has finished while I'm watching the recorded program. I do not need to know this.

The Comcast HD DVR I recently used had a big blue pop-up, probably 1/2 the size of the screen, whenever it would start or finish a recording. The popup would go away after ~10 seconds.

TonyD79 · 03-20-2008, 02:26 PM

Hard to make any generalizations about Comcast DVRs as they use different hardware and different software and even different settings from location to location. I think the OP was asking about the Comcast Tivo not the generic DVRs.

SilentBob420BMFJ · 03-25-2008, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baba44

I have a Comcast DVR (not Tivo version). I just got a real Tivo and quickly found an operation that is unacceptable. I hope someone can tell me if the Comcast Tivo does the same thing.

I will explain the issue by example. I have two Season Pass programs scheduled to record sequentially, one from 5:00-6:00 and the other from 6:00 -7:00. I am watching live TV before 5:00. Just before 5:00 I get a popup message to allow the channel to change on the other tuner to record. I don't like this since the decision is obvious, I am not using the other tuner anyway. So so far just an annoyance. Then just before 6:00 I am still watching live TV and the other tuner is recording the 5:00-6:00 program. Now I get a pop up to allow recording on the tuner I am watching live for the second recording. I have to say Yes. Then at 6:00 I have to to swap tuners and change the channel to what I was watching live. The Tivo is not programmed to record sequential scheduled programs on the same Tuner and leave you alone if you are watching live TV on the other. Dumb.

I called Tivo and they said the decision on which tuner to use is made 3 minutes before recording starts. This explains why it does this but I think it is a real problem.

The Comcast DVR does not do this. It doesn't pop up any messages at all. It just records the two programs on the other Tuner and lets you use the first tuner live.

What does the Comcast Tivo DVR do?

i have a comcast dvr, and i want to help you, but since you use the word tivo for both tivo and the comcast dvr, i am confused.. i hate how people call all dvrs tivos, because they are not.. that is like calling all mp3 players ipods.. tivo is a dvr company, not a general word to refer to a dvr

gastrof · 03-25-2008, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentBob420BMFJ

i have a comcast dvr, and i want to help you, but since you use the word tivo for both tivo and the comcast dvr, i am confused.. i hate how people call all dvrs tivos, because they are not.. that is like calling all mp3 players ipods.. tivo is a dvr company, not a general word to refer to a dvr

Ummm...

This is the forum for Comcast TiVos.

Comcast is now using TiVo software in some of their DVRs.

That's why this forum exists.

Apparently this is the type of Comcast DVR the OP is talking about. A Comcast TiVo DVR.

You know...

The type of machine the forum is named for.

weymo · 03-25-2008, 10:58 AM

+1

rbenotti · 03-25-2008, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doopstr

No it doesn't do that.

The Comcast DVR does do this. The only time it prompts you is if you have an overlap with two shows.

Then it will record on both (prompting you) until one program is done.

The TiVo HD isn't smart enough to record two sequenced show on the "background" tuner?

First - can't record QAM via the guide.
Now - this?

How on earth did Comcast (Motorola) figure this out (dual tuner recording), and TiVo hasn't? Or is it a CableCard issue?

bowis · 03-25-2008, 03:24 PM

We recently got both our Comcast Moto boxes "upgraded" to the Tivo OS. We previously had Tivo with DirecTV when that partnership still existed. So we expected to get a similar experience once our Comcast box was upgraded. Unfortunately, we were very disapointed. The OS looks like Tivo, and comes with a Tivo remote, but clearly it's just not optimized for the Moto box. Everything is ridiculously slow (press a button and wait 10 seconds), and is extremely buggy. Sometimes the picture just displays in the top right corner, and sometimes it doesn't display at all. We have the same problems on both boxes, so clearly it's not an anomoly. We're looking at buying an HD Tivo box, and using cable cards. But don't be fooled by the marketing BS. If you like Tivo on OEM hardware, you won't like it on your existing Comcast box.

SilentBob420BMFJ · 03-26-2008, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gastrof

Ummm...

This is the forum for Comcast TiVos.

Comcast is now using TiVo software in some of their DVRs.

That's why this forum exists.

Apparently this is the type of Comcast DVR the OP is talking about. A Comcast TiVo DVR.

You know...

The type of machine the forum is named for.

does this mean it is tivo? like is there even a difference? well regardless, you still cant be using tivo to refer to both comcast dvr with tivo software, and tivo boxes themselves, its too confusing.. its still comcast, not tivo, as your not paying for the tivo, which is way more than comcast

Arcady · 03-27-2008, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baba44

I am watching live TV

What is live TV?

HiDefGator · 03-28-2008, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcady

What is live TV?

CNN, CNBC, the football game with a house full of guests, ...

craiz · 04-01-2008, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiDefGator

How would Tivo know that you aren't user the other tuner to bounce between two football games? And maybe the scheduled recording is of the 5000th Dora the Explorer episode your kids scheduled.

I think this is a point worth expanding on as some people may not be aware of how "real" Tivo boxes work with regard to dual tuners. There are dual live tv buffers. So that you actually can bounce back and forth between two different channels and have the buffer for each of them. I often use this to channel surf. I press the "Live TV" button to switch tuners and then hop around to see if there is something else on that I want to watch. If not, I can just press the "Live TV" button again to switch back to the other tuner and then rewind to where I was.

I used a Comcast DVR for a month (not sure which one, but it didn't have Tivo software) and while it had two tuners, it only had one live tv buffer.

I agree that the sequential show recording scenario is a serious problem. I hope they fix it. Luckily for me it hasn't been too much of a hassle and has only happened a couple of times.