An HD hook-up question

1100 Views 11 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Dr_Diablo, Aug 14, 2007

UncleMonty

Discussion Starter · Aug 14, 2007

I had money in hand to buy the new TiVo until I read about all the problems that people here were having, problems that have been referred to as cable card related.

My question is, are people who are saying that they use CC's using the card alone - without the cable box itself? I had been a long time TiVo user since their first box, which I very sadly gave up with I went High Def. I have a SciAtl cable box w/Cablevision of Westchester, NY - the box does have a card sticking out the front, is this a cable card? Are the people having the pixelization problems actually using their (TiVo controlled) cable box for channel tuning?

I'm really, really looking for almost any excuse to justify picking one of these up, and I was hoping my setup might circumvent the CC issue.

Thanks in advance

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crowfan

· #2 · Aug 14, 2007

The HD-capable TiVos (the S3 and the TiVo HD) cannot use a cable box to tune channels. They use CableCards and OTA antennas.

That card you see sticking out of the cable box is not a cablecard. It's some sort of access card. I think the different cable companies do different things. For me, they slid that plastic access card into a metal sleeve and then slid that into the TiVo S3. I believe there are some CCs out there that don't use the plastic access card and just have the data programmed into them.

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TracerBullet

· #3 · Aug 14, 2007

As I understand it, the TiVo HD cannot control a cable box. That's the whole point of cablecards, anyway- to get rid of the box. They plug directly into the TiVo.

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jfh3

· #4 · Aug 14, 2007

The Tivo HD box (or the Series 3) REPLACES your cable box.
You record from antenna or cable (analog or digital).

If you have a digital cable package, you would need either two single stream CableCARDs or one multi-stream card (for now, only supported on the Tivo HD box).

In any case, the Tivo does not control a cable box, it replaces it.

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UncleMonty

Discussion Starter · #5 · Aug 14, 2007

Wow - thanks everyone. I had the feeling that I was missing something. If they can sort out the problems, I'll be picking this right up.

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crowfan

· #6 · Aug 14, 2007

FWIW, the TiVo HD seems to have some problems, but the S3 is doing OK. I have had mine since December and it is running perfectly. It is more expensive obviously, but if you wanted a relatively smooth experience right now you could get the S3.

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Dr_Diablo

· #7 · Aug 14, 2007

crowfan said:
FWIW, the TiVo HD seems to have some problems, but the S3 is doing OK. I have had mine since December and it is running perfectly. It is more expensive obviously, but if you wanted a relatively smooth experience right now you could get the S3.

I waited for the HD content to justify the purchase of an HD Tivo. Have to admit this ongoing problem with the "new" HD Tivo is disappointing, yo say the least.

The problem is that Tivo "rushed" this unit to market before it was ready. It wasn't supposed to be launched until August 08. I wonder if Tivo "knew" in advance of these issues and decided to launch early anyway?

In anycase this is a poor business practice stance to take from Tivo's stand point.

As some have stated, if these issues can be dealt with in a timely manner, good for Tivo. Yet, shame on Tivo for not addressing the defects before launching a product that does not do as it promises. :down:

Time will tell if Tivo is up to the task, period...

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ajwees41

· #8 · Aug 14, 2007

crowfan said:
The HD-capable TiVos (the S3 and the TiVo HD) cannot use a cable box to tune channels. They use CableCards and OTA antennas.

That card you see sticking out of the cable box is not a cablecard. It's some sort of access card. I think the different cable companies do different things. For me, they slid that plastic access card into a metal sleeve and then slid that into the TiVo S3. I believe there are some CCs out there that don't use the plastic access card and just have the data programmed into them.

that card in the cable boxes is a cablecard also.

ajwees41

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alansplace

· #9 · Aug 14, 2007

UncleMonty said:
I had money in hand to buy the new TiVo until I read about all the problems that people here were having, problems that have been referred to as cable card related.

My question is, are people who are saying that they use CC's using the card alone - without the cable box itself? I had been a long time TiVo user since their first box, which I very sadly gave up with I went High Def. I have a SciAtl cable box w/Cablevision of Westchester, NY - the box does have a card sticking out the front, is this a cable card? Are the people having the pixelization problems actually using their (TiVo controlled) cable box for channel tuning?

I'm really, really looking for almost any excuse to justify picking one of these up, and I was hoping my setup might circumvent the CC issue.

Thanks in advance

i bought a TiVo HD (TCD652160) the saturday before last. check out my experiences in this thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=362324

some points to understand:

1. it is a dual tuner HD compatible DVR
2. it has two different inputs, cable and OTA (off the air - TV antenna)
3. using an antenna it can pick up local broadcasts including HD ones
4. using cable w/o any cablecards it can tune all analog channels (usually 2-99)
5. it can do 3 & 4 above with two separate tuners (record 2 channels at once)
6. it can't use a STB, but instead uses either one or 2 cablecards (which is like having 2 STBs).
7. if it has 1 single stream cablecard installed it can record 1 digital channel at a time.
8. if it has either 2 single stream cablecards or 1 multi-stream cablecard installed it can record 2 digital channels at the same time.

hope this helps.
--
Alan

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jtreid

· #10 · Aug 14, 2007

Dr_Diablo said:
In anycase this is a poor business practice stance to take from Tivo's stand point.

...and you're surprised. Not meaning to start anything, but can anyone tell me when Tivo released new hardware that did not have some issues? My experience with the pioneer and the S3 did not demonstrate that fact.

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jfh3

· #11 · Aug 14, 2007

Dr_Diablo said:
The problem is that Tivo "rushed" this unit to market before it was ready. It wasn't supposed to be launched until August 08.

Please don't repeat this as fact - this is based on comments one user reported from one Tivo CSR, hardly any "official" statement or plan.

I can believe that the original launch was supposed to be August 2007, but I don't believe for a second that the box was released over a year early.

If you've been around TCF for any length of time, you know that the only reports from Tivo employees you should put stock in are those that post here (currently TivoJerry, TivoStephen, TivoShannan).

Take any information you get from a Tivo CSR on topics like this with a VERY large grain of salt.

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Dr_Diablo

· #12 · Aug 14, 2007

jfh3 said:
Please don't repeat this as fact - this is based on comments one user reported from one Tivo CSR, hardly any "official" statement or plan.

I can believe that the original launch was supposed to be August 2007, but I don't believe for a second that the box was released over a year early.

If you've been around TCF for any length of time, you know that the only reports from Tivo employees you should put stock in are those that post here (currently TivoJerry, TivoStephen, TivoShannan).

Take any information you get from a Tivo CSR on topics like this with a VERY large grain of salt.

The info on the release daste was provided by the Tivo tech
I spoke with early this week.

It does make sense since there are so many Tivo users having the exact same problems, being of this pixelation.

It appears not enough people are calling Tivo to report this...

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