[bkdtv]

Season passes are channel specific. If you create a season pass for U.S. Open tennis on ESPN-HD, it will only record from ESPN-HD and no other channel.

Wishlists (and Suggestions) are the only features that record across multiple channels.

That said, why do you even need the SD version of ESPN?

You can remove (uncheck) non-HD versions of channels in Settings -> Channels. If you uncheck those channels on the Series3, wishlists won't record from them.

As an added bonus, the more channels you remove, the faster your Tivo becomes.

 

[bkdtv]

Yes, I understand, though it also might be ignored in the SPM priorities...

It's not just ESPN, but any channel, such as the locals, that carries a different program on their SD vs. HD feed.

Plus, what happens when a given program isn't in HD? Does the local HD channel (for instance) just carry it in 480i? If so, does it make sense to record it in HD or SD? For me, even on a 36" screen (the HDTV arrives in a week) "medium" quality looks terrific!

The quality settings only apply to analog channels. They are ignored on digital channels. With digital channels, the Tivo records the original digital bitstream from cable and off-air (i.e. 100% original quality).

Not all programming on locals is in HD. SD content is upconverted to HD resolution on HD channels. That's why you see those black bars on local HD channels -- the network affiliate added those bars to the SD program and they are part of the picture signal.

The big question for me is, why doesn't the TiVo S3 respect a higher priority for HD WLs vs. SD WLs?

If a program isn't specifically identified with a HD flag --which is common on live sporting events -- then the Tivo doesn't know the difference between the SD and HD versions. Furthermore, there is upconverted 480p widescreen content on HD channels that will never be identified with a HD flag.

When program information is identical for two programs, the Tivo records from the channel with the lowest number. A wishlist like 'OPEN & Sports/Tennis' will find the same program on both the SD and HD channels, but it records from the channel with the lowest number (which in your case, is SD) in your channel list.

The only way to guarantee that you always get the HD version (if available) is to remove the SD channels from your channel list under Settings -> Channels. That way, the Tivo will always record from the HD channel, regardless of whether the content is shown in HD or upconverted SD. Then you would only need a single 'OPEN & Sports/Tennis' wishlist. The only 'downside' to this approach is that upconverted SD from HD channels requires more disk space -- I've upgraded my box with a 750Gb drive so that is a non-issue.

My advice is to remove the SD version of every channel from your list that has an HD counterpart. That way, you never have to worry about SD vs HD; you will always get the HD version if available, and the SD version otherwise. The 'HD' wishlist tag is still useful for differentiating between SD and HD movies, documentaries, etc.

 

[bkdtv]

"OPEN" & Sports/Tennis
"OPEN" & HD & Sports/Tennis

When I "View Upcoming Episodes" with these two, they each contain what I expect: non-HD and HD respectively. So, whether it's flags or whatnot, the S3 can distinguish between the HD and SD content in this case. My 750G drive is here (though not connected yet), so I switched these two WLs so the HD WL was higher-priority. And I made sure the Season Pass Manager recalculated the To Do list. Even so, the S3 is skipping and will continue to skip the HD versions and prefer the SD.

Given that "View Upcoming Episodes" shows the correct results, recording of the SD version does sound like a bug. If you remove the non-HD wishlist, does the Tivo record only the HD episodes?

I'm confused when you say, "the 'HD' wishlist tag is still useful for...movies, documentaries, etc." Why won't the same problem happen with other show types? Thanks.

I am really amazed the software doesn't handle these conflicts intelligently, rather than to pick the lower-numbered channel! After years of supporting HD, this issue should have come up a lot!

The HD wishlist option is a newer feature on the standalone Tivos. It was added in 8.3 last April, IIRC. Hopefully that issue will be addressed in the update this fall.