Strange multi-room viewing behavior

ptrhead99 · 03-24-2011, 01:32 PM

I'm trying to get help with a weird behavior I'm seeing with multi-room viewing. I have 3 Tivos (TivoHD, Tivo Premiere, and Tivo Premiere XL). All 3 have video downloads and transfers allowed on my account. All 3 of the Tivos can each "see" the other 2 and all of the content on the other 2. So far, so good.

However, I'm unable to transfer programs from the Premiere XL (which happens to be my main Tivo unit) to any of the other 2. Most (but not all)shows show up as protected content (with red indicator next to program name). However, both of the other 2 units have very few (if any) programs marked as protected content.

I could understand if things were marked as protected in a consistent manner. However, there have been times where I've recorded the same show/channel on 2 different Tivos (ex. Premiere XL and Premiere). I'm able to transfer the program from the Premiere to the TivoHD OK - however, the same program/channel from the Premiere XL is marked as protected. It's almost as if content is being protected at a per-Tivo level.

I have Comcast service in the South Jersey area. All 3 units have multi-stream cablecards installed.

Any ideas ?

andyf · 03-24-2011, 05:39 PM

Did you record the same show on different TiVos at the same time?

ptrhead99 · 03-25-2011, 09:26 AM

Yes, both at the same time - sometimes because one is picked up by season pass and one automatically as a Tivo suggestion. Other times (like just last night), my wife and I individually set up the recordings on 2 different Tivos.

windracer · 03-25-2011, 09:29 AM

That's really strange ... and all three TiVos are configured exactly the same (CableCARDs, no TAs, channel lineups, etc.)?

ptrhead99 · 03-28-2011, 09:12 AM

Yes, as far as I know they are the same (at least according to what Comcast bills me). Not too big a deal - just inconvenient. Requires planning ahead of time for where to record vs. where we might want to watch shows. Particularly annoying since the problem Tivo is the one with largest hard drive - however, I'm planning on upgrading drives in other Tivos sometime in the future.

Thanks.

unitron · 03-28-2011, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptrhead99

I'm trying to get help with a weird behavior I'm seeing with multi-room viewing. I have 3 Tivos (TivoHD, Tivo Premiere, and Tivo Premiere XL). All 3 have video downloads and transfers allowed on my account. All 3 of the Tivos can each "see" the other 2 and all of the content on the other 2. So far, so good.

However, I'm unable to transfer programs from the Premiere XL (which happens to be my main Tivo unit) to any of the other 2. Most (but not all)shows show up as protected content (with red indicator next to program name). However, both of the other 2 units have very few (if any) programs marked as protected content.

I could understand if things were marked as protected in a consistent manner. However, there have been times where I've recorded the same show/channel on 2 different Tivos (ex. Premiere XL and Premiere). I'm able to transfer the program from the Premiere to the TivoHD OK - however, the same program/channel from the Premiere XL is marked as protected. It's almost as if content is being protected at a per-Tivo level.

I have Comcast service in the South Jersey area. All 3 units have multi-stream cablecards installed.

Any ideas ?

Any correlation between whether the shows are SD or HD?

Of which cable company are you a victim?

ptrhead99 · 03-29-2011, 02:14 PM

Tivo 1 = Tivo Premiere XL
Tivo 2 = Tivo Premiere
Tivo 3 = TivoHD

Each of the 3 can "see" the other 2, including the recordings on them. Problems are with transferring most shows from Tivo 1 to either of the other two. All 3 have m-stream Cablecards (motorola, I believe). Cable provider is Comcast. Both Tivo 2 and Tivo 3 have HD service - Tivo 1, even though the cablecard is HD-capable, only have SD service (no HD TV yet) - controlled on Comcast's end.

All shows recorded on Tivo 1 are SD. At first, I thought that there was a pattern - seemed like all the problem shows were higher-tier (extended tier?) channels and it seemed like recordings from the lower 2-13 channels were okay. However, there are a few programs recorded on higher channels that are transferable - weird ! Cannot get programs via FTP or by Tivo Desktop either. I guess it could be a problem with Comcast or the cablecard - I've had issues with both before.

wood252ota · 03-29-2011, 04:02 PM

ptrhead99,
You may think you are recording the same channel, but you may not. I have a tivo HD -no cable card, and a tivo premiere cable card/tuning adapter. The tivo HD only sees the analog signals sent down by TWC (my cable company). The premiere see the digital signals sent down by TWC. So when I tune both to to say Channel 60, one is seeing an analog 60 and the other is seeing a digital 60. You can tell the difference by doing DVR
diags and see what freq and signal type is displayed for each tuner. Usually the analog signal is not copy protected, but the digital signal is. That is why you can copy one and not the other.