[gulbane]

Hey all

Well, Im pretty much unhappy and furious as always. I picked up a new Xbox 360 and a HD Tv...only to discover that TIVO will not even let you pass thru HD signals.

For example, I can deal with TIVO not recording HD content. I have a HD Cable box - when I turn to the apprioprate channel - with TIVO hooked up - I see the channel in non-HD. Plugging it directly works fine.

Just confirming I wasted a ton of money....there is no way to watch HD content while having TIVO connected correct?

 

[dgh]

You can have it connected for recording and playback in SD, and you can bypass it for live HD, but you can't watch HD THROUGH it.

If you've got the money for an HDTV and an Xbox and are still unhappy, I can't help with that

 

[mgar]

All you need is a $10 dollar splitter to go along with that $1k+ dollar setup.

 

[gulbane]

Can anyone link for me a document that shows exactly how to do this?'

Originally, I had the cable line going into the RF in on the cable box. Then I had the video/sound jacks going from the cable box to the tivo. Then I had a HD 5 pin wire going from the video out into the TV.....what would I need to do now?

Oh, and to do this, I would NOT have access to anything via the cable box correct? Only basic cable?

 

[Stephen Tu]

Originally, I had the cable line going into the RF in on the cable box. Then I had the video/sound jacks going from the cable box to the tivo. Then I had a HD 5 pin wire going from the video out into the TV.....what would I need to do now?

Not sure what you mean by "HD 5 pin wire". All you need to do is hook a HD connection (component video, DVI, or HDMI) directly from the cable box to the TV for the video. For the audio, run digital audio (coax or Toslink) to an AV receiver, or take the analog audio and run it to the TV (same input as the video) or to an AV receiver. (May need RCA splitter if only one audio output on STB, and still intend to record STB->Tivo). Then switch inputs as appropriate to bypass the Tivo & watch HD live.

Oh, and to do this, I would NOT have access to anything via the cable box correct? Only basic cable?

The cable box will have access to everything. The Tivo, if using cable box as the source, would also have access to everything. If you split the RF feed and plug it one end straight into the Tivo, then Tivo can only record basic cable. But this has the advantage of being able to record something else off of basic cable while watching a HD show.

My real recommendation is to rent an HD-DVR from the cable company, if available. If not, consider getting a second digital cable box to act as the Tivo slave, or live with Tivo recording analog only. Using the HD STB as a source prevents you from recording a different program to the Tivo while watching a HD program live.

 

[gulbane]

Not sure what you mean by "HD 5 pin wire". All you need to do is hook a HD connection (component video, DVI, or HDMI) directly from the cable box to the TV for the video. For the audio, run digital audio (coax or Toslink) to an AV receiver, or take the analog audio and run it to the TV (same input as the video) or to an AV receiver. (May need RCA splitter if only one audio output on STB, and still intend to record STB->Tivo). Then switch inputs as appropriate to bypass the Tivo & watch HD live.

The cable box will have access to everything. The Tivo, if using cable box as the source, would also have access to everything. If you split the RF feed and plug it one end straight into the Tivo, then Tivo can only record basic cable. But this has the advantage of being able to record something else off of basic cable while watching a HD show.

My real recommendation is to rent an HD-DVR from the cable company, if available. If not, consider getting a second digital cable box to act as the Tivo slave, or live with Tivo recording analog only. Using the HD STB as a source prevents you from recording a different program to the Tivo while watching a HD program live.

Ok its done!

So "input 1" is direct cable box to TV...."input 2" is Tivo....just need to switch back and forth to watch TIVO or HD TV...sounds right?

 

[moneytrain8]

That's exactly the setup I have... I have a Comcast HD DVR hooked up to my HDMI input on the TV, and my TiVo hooked up to one of the component cable inputs on the TV. When I want to watch HD stuff, I just change the TV input to my HDMI, and when I want to watch TiVo, just switch the TV input to the TiVo.

Of course, this depends on how many (and what) inputs you have on the TV... But if it's a new HDTV, I'm guessing you have at least one DVI/HDMI input, and at least one "other" input (S-video, component, composite, etc).

Good luck.

 

[dirtypacman]

Ok its done!

So "input 1" is direct cable box to TV...."input 2" is Tivo....just need to switch back and forth to watch TIVO or HD TV...sounds right?

:up:

Sounds good to me.

On my Pioneer 810H Tivo I can watch/record the HD channels through Tivo but its down-converted so its not true HD picture... still looks alot better than the SD channels though.

 

[freddiemiles]

I did S-video plus Yellow-White-Red to Tivo from my Motorola cable box. And used component R-G-B directly to TV from Motorola. I just switch to video 1 to watch non-HD content (eg Tivo). The sound was more complicated. I had to buy an AV home theater system becuase only one sound output from Motorola.

One thing bothers me though - I started with just Yellow-White-Red. No S-Video. But after adding two S-video cables to my setup - one from Motorola to Tivo - one from Tivo to Video 1 on TV - I've noticed no difference in quality!! Total waste of $30.

 

[dgh]

The sound was more complicated. I had to buy an AV home theater system becuase only one sound output from Motorola.

Well that's one way. Some people just get a set of splitter cables.

As for quality, this thread is about bypassing TiVo for HD. If you can't see the difference there, you've wasted a lot more than $30. S-video from composite is a much smaller difference at a much smaller price. (You can get s-video cables for a lot less than $30 too.)

 

[freddiemiles]

What was I supposed to take away from that? That SVideo isn't much different from composite? Ok, thanks. (and yes, I changed the input settings from the Tivo).

 

[dgh]

No, just what I said. A much smaller difference than what we're talking about in this thread, but many people find them quite different nonetheless. I certainly wouldn't use composite where s-video is possible, but it's up to you.