[marct]

I have been on and off contemplating Tivo and DirecTV for about 2 years. We are moving to a new house and I am jumping...

So I have a few questions... I will state my situation up front. I know a bunch about video distribtuion TV formats, remote controls, IR distribution, and all that, etc. Where I am lacking is in Tivo unit knowledge and the DirecTV stuff. I have read the multiswitch stuff and have that pretty much down.

I will be putting my Tivo's centrally located in the basement. I was thinking 1 per TV, but that seems excessive as we would only watch 2 or 3 TV's at a time. So I will be planning on either 2 or 3 Tivos. I will be using a modulator to put them on a specific channel of the in-house cable and the TV will always be tuned to one of the TIvo's. The remote will then control the Tivo associated with the channel that you are currently watching. So that is all dandy.

I would like to be able to modify my Tivo's so that they do some of the fancy things described in some of these other forums like being able to dynamically read the now playing list of the other Tivo and press a button to start watching that show. (with a background copy.)

Where I am missing information is about what model of Tivo's I should buy and whether I need to get them up front, or if I can sign up for DirecTV get the receivers, and buy the Tivo's seperately and then move an access card to the Tivo?

What models of Tivo will suit my needs to be able to accomodate the modifications? Is this a series 1/2 question or something else?

Thanks for any help you can give me,

marc.

 

[Stoystown]

If I understand what you are describing (and I likely do not) you will be better served by Series 2 standalone Tivos, instead of Direct TV Tivos (which are becoming harder to find anyway). The standalones can transfer between units - the Direct TVs don't talk to each other.

In any case, it looks like you are going to be making a substantial investment. If you believe the CES hype, the Series 2 are going to be outmoded (not obsolete, but leapt over) by a new Series 3 some time this year. Since you've waited this long, you might want to wait a little longer.

 

[JimSpence]

One thing to consider. Do you have an A/V receiver that supports digital audio? If so, then you need to get that signal from the TiVo to the A/V receiver. And, unless you use more expensive modulators, you won't get stereo.

If you have all DVRs in the same location and they are on separate channels using modulators, what is the purpose of transferring between units?

 

[marct]

If you have all DVRs in the same location and they are on separate channels using modulators, what is the purpose of transferring between units?

To be able to watch on 2 different TV's and be able to access 2 different shows on the same Tivo. (I think)

To the first poster, series 3 appears to only be HD, and I am still Standard Def for some time to come. I figure about 1-2 years yet. SD does not go away until 2009. HD is not quite compelling enough yet.

-marc.

 

[morgantown]

To be able to watch on 2 different TV's and be able to access 2 different shows on the same Tivo. (I think)

-marc.

You can only watch one show at a time on a TiVo. While you can record two shows while watching a recorded show the DTiVo, all TiVos (including SA TiVos) only have one output. So, Jim's point is very valid with the set-up you describe.

If you can already watch any of the TiVos on any TV in the house, hacking just seems to be overkill (IMHO).

Edit. To your original question: Look at the non-R10 series two and google Tivo Zipper.

 

[marct]

I thought with the mod I had seen I could see the now playing contents form another Tivo, and select to watch that show and a network copy would put the show on the Tivo that requested it and then that Tivo could play the show.

thanks for the other Info. Non-R10 series 2's then it is.

marc.

 

[enoch root]

One thing to consider. Do you have an A/V receiver that supports digital audio? If so, then you need to get that signal from the TiVo to the A/V receiver. And, unless you use more expensive modulators, you won't get stereo.

If you have all DVRs in the same location and they are on separate channels using modulators, what is the purpose of transferring between units?

Jim (hello, I'm from spencer, originally) --

what do you mean about the modulators? I recently purchased an onkyo 603 a/v receiver and am running the audio & video thru the receiver...am i not getting true stereo? I'm confused with that.

Thanks.

 

[JimSpence]

What I'm saying is that when you input the red and white audio into most modulators, they don't output MTS stereo on the RF (ch x). In your case, you are inputting the red/white audio into an audio receiver. Your output should be stereo. If your Onkyo has optical input for Dolby Digital, then you that to get even better sound.

Spencer, NY?

 

[enoch root]

Hi, Jim.

Yes, Spencer, NY. Or, Spencer-Van Etten for us dual-town locals.

Thanks for the audio clarification, that makes sense to me.

At the risk of upsetting people with x-post questions, you seem to be tivo-knowing...I have directtv, series 2, rca -- I can't get a clear understanding as to whether I can set up my system to use online updates vs. phone line. I get it that the usb is turned off by directtv, but are there any workarounds for this even if I don't get the HMO/tivo desktop functionality?

 

[JimSpence]

Without extensive hacking of the DirecTV TiVo, you can't do the internet stuff.
Check in the underground forum.

 

[marct]

Thanks for all your help.