HD Wishlists?

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I've read some other threads about this but can't seem to find a definitive answer.

Q: Is there a way to tell a KEYWORD wishlist to DEFAULT to the HD version of a show if there is one available?

My situation is that I have a "UFOs" keyword wishlist in which I have all sorts of keywords such as "UFO," "ALIEN," "AREA 51," etc...

The problem is that if, for example, the same exact show appears on History HD and on History, I'll always get the SD version unless a recording conflict forces the Tivo to grab the HD version at a later time.

Is there a way to tell my Tivo "Please record the HD version if it exists?"

I don't want to set the Wishlist for ONLY HD, because I would be missing a lot of shows, and I don't really want to create two wishlists for the same thing (though could that be an answer without recording duplicate shows?).

I appreciate any suggestions!

 

Unfortuantely not a solution, since the HD versions of channels are actually not EXACTLY the same as the SD versions, so I'd still be missing shows.

(Actually I tried that once and then added the SD channels back in due to what I just mentioned.)

For the most part they do have the same shows, but there are indeed some differences. Not with local channels, but with cable networks like History and Discovery.

Good thought though.

 

Thanks for the info, but as I mentioned, it's not really a solution since I'd still be missing some things.

Maybe the SD/HD works differently where you are, but where I am there are differences in line-ups. Some shows will only appear on SD and not on HD. (I don't know why... I find it generally confusing, actually.)

Also your suggestion of season pass priority also doesn't work because where I am the SD and HD line-ups are never at the same time when the same show appears on both channels, so that's not a solution either.

What I really want is a way to tell the Tivo to record the HD version if it appears at a later date in the programming guide. But of course, there is no way to do that.

 

I don't mind having two folders, I can mark one as "HD."

But my real issue with that method is that I would get duplicate shows, taking up space on the hard drive.

I don't think there is really a solution at this time, as far as I can tell.

 

Actually not simultaneously, as the HD version almost never appears on the HD channels at the same time as the SD version.

 

I won't do that because the line-ups are almost never the same. Even when both versions of the channel do air the same show, they never air at the same time.

Maybe this is something to do with Comcast or just the fact that I'm on the west coast, because from what I can tell by reading the forums, viewers in other areas seem to get identical line-ups. (???)

 

I guess my solution will be to go with 2 separate wishlists, one which only records HD and ones which records anything.

There are pros and cons of this:

Cons:

More space taken up on hard drive due to duplicate shows being recorded.

Takes forever to set up this wishlist because of the number of keywords I'm using. (PLEEEEEAAASSSEEE TIVO!!! Give us a way to connect a PC keyboard to type in stuff!!!)

Pros:

I'll get the HD versions a lot of time

I'll also have the SD versions for transfer to my series 2 boxes

 

I hadn't thought of that but you're right! Good tip!

I'm going to try the 2 wishlist idea... it just takes so damned long to enter all the keywords.

 

Unfortunately not where I live. They almost never air at the same time.

So contrary to what I posted before about my solution... if the sd versions airs first (and it usually does) I'll never get the HD version.

Oh well... it's not that big of a deal really but I was hoping someone had found some sort of nifty hack or something to make it work the way I want it to.

 

In my experience it's actually far more rare that the SD and HD versions air at the same time. And on some channels (For example, TBS, History, Discovery, even Disney!) the line-up seems completely different, not just time-shifted.

Another issue with this is when Comcast adds new HD channels that appear in the Tivo program guide but when you tune to them there is nothing but a black screen (not "channel not available," just black screen). When this happened with Disney, I asked my friend that works for Comcast and she told me it wasn't coming on for another couple of weeks, yet Tivo automatically added it and started recording things from it which turned out to be a recording of nothing.

How this happens I have no idea, but it's just another wrench thrown into the works of the SD/HD fiasco.

(Yes, I am aware I can take those channels out of my list but then I wouldn't know when the damned thing actually turns on. I'm having this issue right now with FX!)