Tivo HD - do both tuners buffer ?

Yes.

When watching Live TV, Use the "Live TV" button to swap tuners.

 

So if I understand this correctly then I swap between two channels, having a buffer on each that I could rewind by 30 minutes. Switching between the 2 channels won't clear out the buffer for each?

 

exactly. I often watch two football games at once, pausing and jumping back and forth for commercials. 2 independent buffers.

 

Just curious...is this true for the S2 dual tuner also?

 

yes, the S2 DT does this too.
--
Alan

 

My Series 2 doesn't. The buffer clears out when I change channels.

 

Changing channels, or changing tuners? With the button top right. Bottom right button changes channels on the same tuner. Changes to the previously viewed channel. A 'jump' or 'switch' function like on a television tuner.

 

I meant changing to the previously viewed channel.

 

use two buffers by utilizing the Live TV button to jump between them.

 

If you change to the previously viewed channel on the same tuner, you will loose your buffer. I think you are getting confused because you are assuming that the Prev button on the remote is switching tuners.

The way around this is to set one tuner to the first channel, hit the "Live TV" button to switch tuners and then set the second tuner to the second channel.

Use the "Live TV" button to switch between them, NOT the "Prev" button. That is what is giving you all your problems.

 

Now I am really confused. I thought the Live TV button just bring you farther up in the buffer on the same channel.

 

No, if you have a two tuner TiVo the Live TV button will swap to the other tuner. (Assuming you were watching live TV* to begin with)

* By 'live TV' I just mean in the live TV buffer (as opposed to in a menu or watching something from the now playing list). You don't have to be caught up to realtime for this to work.

 

I'm sorry but I am still not getting it. I thought that dual buffers meant I could swap between channels and still rewind back on each channel what I missed being on a different channel. Pressing the Live TV button does nothing on my Series 2. It only works if I am watching a pre recorded program. It then takes me out of the recorded program to live TV.

 

You have to think tuners, not channels. Dual tuners, each with it's own 30 min buffer. Live TV button swaps tuners. More than likely there will be a different channel on the second tuner.

Does your Tivo have two tuners?

 

Normally when you change channels on the TiVo it stays on the same tuner (so it doesn't dump the buffer of the other tuner).

This lets you pause a show, swap tuners, and channel surf without losing the buffer for that first show. [Note: if you channel surf past the channel you paused on you will end up dumping that buffer]

If you want to buffer two specific channels at once you need to explicitly do that by setting the first channel, swapping tuners, and setting the second channel.

 

My Tivo is a Series 2, so yes it has two tuners.

I assume when I change channels it is changing tuners and the reason I am not holding the buffer for each channel. When I press the enter/last button the buffer is cleared, just as if I pressed the channel button.

Again...the Live TV button does nothing unless I am viewing a recorded show or I have rewound a live show.

Can someone give me a step by step procedure for comparison. I will follow it and report my results.

 

Only if it's a Series 2 DT, or a Series 2 DirecTiVo.

My Series 2 (see sig) only has one tuner, therefore only one buffer.

Both my Series 2 DirecTiVo's have two tuners and two buffers, but you use "down" to switch between them, not Live TV.

Series 3 uses Live TV to switch between them, "Down" does nothing except when in a menu.


phox

 

Only if its a Series 2 Dual Tuner ("DT"). Series 2 were made for many years with only one tuner.

 

When then maybe my stand alone Series 2 Tivo only has one tuner. I could have thought for sure it had 2 tuners. How would I know for sure?