[bkdtv]

In the CableCARD Decoders screen under settings my cards are listed as follows:
Configure CableCARD 1 (Single-Stream)
Configure CableCARD 2

Nothing is mentioned about CableCARD 2 being single stream. Is this normal?

Yes. It only identifies the card in the first slot. Because if you had a multistream card in the first slot, there would be no need for the second slot. There will never be a multistream card in the second slot, so there is no need to differentiate that slot.

On digital stations I don't get the TiVo sounds (pressing guide, fast forwarding, rewinding, etc.) I get the sounds on the analog stations, but not the digital ones, even on a recorded show. I am using an optical audio cable only.

There is no way to get menu and trickplay sounds when the Tivo is outputting Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 bitstream to your receiver. Your receiver can only accept one bitstream at a time. There is no way for Tivo -- or anyone else -- to insert their sounds in that Dolby Digital bitstream.

If you don't have a surround system, you can set the Tivo to use PCM (stereo) instead of Dolby Digital under Settings -> Audio, and then you will get Tivo sounds on those digital channels. Of course, you'll lose Dolby Digital surround if you do that.

Lastly, just today, I had a season pass setup for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to record only first run episodes. The same episode of The Daily Show (same time and channel) was recording on both tuners. I looked at the To Do list and I see the same episode of The Colbert Report was scheduled twice. I deleted one of them, but then the other didn't record either.

Comedy Central is notorious for its failure to provide flags and unique guide data for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. This prevents Tivo from differentiating the new episodes from the repeats. I would suggest you create a traditional, recurring, time-based recording for those two programs using Find Programs -> Record by Time or Channel. These recordings will still show up on the Now Playing list just as if you had a season pass.

There are only a handful of popular shows where guide data is an issue , and those two shows are among them. It's the fault of Comedy Central, not Tivo, as that channel refuses to provide the appropriate program information to Tribune (Tivo's guide data provider).

I am getting the pixelation issues like other users as well, but it is on both digital stations and analog stations, and also sometimes in the TiVo menus.

I expect Tivo to release a software update to address the pixelization issue, but if they do not fix it soon, you can always cancel the service before your 30-day trial is up.

 

[bkdtv]

I have noticed this same comment several times recently in different threads - this is incorrect. It may be difficult in "real time", and w/ Tivo's current hardware design possibly unachievable, but it most certainly can be done. It is purely a resource/design issue.

Suggestion: leave out the "or anyone else".

There is no way Tivo or anyone else can insert their own sounds into the original Dolby Digital bitstream. With additional hardware, they could decode the DD5.1 signal into LPCM 5.1, mix in their menu sounds, and then re-encode it back into Dolby Digital 5.1. It would be a new, somewhat-less pristine version of the original Dolby Digital signal.

No DVR in production today has the hardware necessary to support Dolby Digital 5.1 re-encoding. Hence, there is no way for any provider to offer that feature at this time.

As I noted in another post, Tivo could decode DD5.1 into LPCM 5.1, mix it with menu sounds, and output the signal over HDMI for those with HDMI 1.1+ receivers. AFAIK, the hardware in the Tivo can do that. However, only a small minority of customers have the HDMI A/V receivers that would be necessary to take advantage of that feature, so it must be very low on Tivo's list of things to do.

 

[bkdtv]

No matter how many times you assert this, you're still wrong; you even derive a very crude and inefficient method below disproving this statement. At which time one has achieved the desired goal, inserting sound into the stream; which you said couldn't be done.

There is nothing to disprove because the statement was literally correct. You can't insert sounds into a Dolby Digital bitstream.

I did not say there was no way of producing a Dolby Digital bitstream with menu sounds. You can, but only by mixing sounds in LPCM and re-encoding. That involves additional hardware not found in any STB or DVR available today.

It would have been more appropriate for you to say, "True, they cannot insert sounds into the Dolby Digital bitstream, but with additional hardware, they could decode that signal into LPCM, insert the menu sounds, and then re-encode it to create a new Dolby Digital bitstream with menu sounds."

The point of my post was to convey that the inability to support menu sounds with Dolby Digital output was not a limitation specific to the TivoHD. Your post does the opposite, and in so doing, it suggests something that isn't true. I responded to your initial post to clarify that.

If you feel the desire to argue further, please send me a pm.

No, I mean 720p fixed, 720p hybrid, etc? I have it hooked through component as my receiver doesn't have HDMI.

Experiment with both to see what looks better to you on SD channels.