Comcast and using a splitter

Did you connect the DTA to a TV first (no TiVo involved) and phone Comcast to activate the DTA?

Despite the name "Digital Transport Adapter" the thing isn't some type of filter that magically changes digital to analog.

All it is is a cheapo cable box that can tune digital channels and output them in a format an analog device can use.

Since it's a cable box, it has to be activated. That's how Comcast does things now.

Once you know it's working at all, THEN put the TiVo between the DTA and the TV, and do Guided Setup on your TiVo as you would with any cable box.

 

The splitters attenuate the digital signal causing all kinds of problems

I eliminated all splitters with home runs from every TV

Comcast then installed two of their 6 port splitters in the basement along with their amplifier and took signal measurements at my TIVO's.
I have had no more signal problems. I do not use the DTA's that they gave me.
My three Series 3 TIVO's all have a single M Card

 

Advertisements

The problem with most splitters you buy at home improvement stores is the loss they have. A 2 way has a 4 db lost and a 4 way is as high as 7. When you start to piggy back then the loss thru each one are added together. So if you have a 4 way in the basement and one leg from that goes to a 2 way you have now incerted 9 db of signal lost. Best thing to do is to buy a amplified 8 port splitter and run home runs to each device. I have one room where I ran 3 home runs to the same spot.

 

The stuff about the splitters is BS. I have two Tivos, one HD and one S2 both setup in the living room using a splitter. The blinking light on the DTA means you need to have it reauthorized. Switching it from one room to another disrupts the service requiring it to be reactivated. I had this problem when I set mine up. I unplugged it to move it and then it wouldn't work so I had to call Comcast again.

 

Have you tried running the emitter under the DTA, perhaps securing it to the cabinet or shelf with tape, or a little RTV silicone sealant, and aiming it up at the DTA's sensor? I recently saw a picture somewhere online of that setup, so I'm not the genius here.

 

One should work just fine. I think that was actually recommended somewhere. I use one on top of the DTA and then have an XBox controller battery pack on top of it to hold it in place. No problems.

 

That sounds like the cable that same with the TCD649080, the Series 2 stand alone double tuner.

I haven't had occasion to use it, but apparently it's designed in a "Y" configuration so that you can control two different components as long as they're close enough together.

You do know that TiVos also emit/re-transmit IR remote commands out the front of the unit as well? If your TiVo and DTA are positioned "right" relative to each other and the stuff around them which might reflect IR, you might not even need the wired emitters.

 

It has two LEDs to double the amount of light emitted, not to control two different devices. No TiVo can do that.

AFAIK, the Series 1 TiVos were the only models that had an IR blaster on the front panel.

 

I yield to your superior knowledge. I may have gotten the two devices notion in part due to the ability of the remote to turn the television on and off and switch inputs and to control either its volume or that of an AV receiver.

 

I am pretty sure S2 Tivo's allow to control 2 devices if you select that you have cable AND satellite. You can't record from both at the same time but you do need an emitter on each, that is why there are 2.

 

Yes, Series 2s never had IR blasters in the front. Only Series 1s did.

And yes, the two eye in the IR cable can be used to run two different boxes, but only on single tuner units, and so long as one box is a satellite box, or to increase IR coverage for a one box configuration.