I usually wouldn't. Only if it's a small increase vs. the model without cablecard/QAM/8VSB tuner. The reason is that you are fairly unlikely to use a built-in tuner in an HDTV if you have a DVR. You'd use the DVR's tuner instead, the one in the TV tends only to be used for situations where you have 3 shows you want on at the same time, and want to record two & watch a third live, all in HD. This situation is rather rare, & not worth spending much money on IMO.thnewton said:1. If I can afford it, should I buy an HDTV with a cable card slot?
I wouldn't buy a new series 2 Tivo if you are getting HDTV. Rent a HD-DVR from the cable company until the series 3 HD Cablecard Tivo being discussed in the coffee house comes out.2. If I choose Cablevision's IO as my service provider, is the best Tivo to buy the "series 2 dvr" ?
The Tivo remote would only be able to control basic TV functions, like power/volume/input selection. You wouldn't have to mess much with other remotes while watching the Tivo. But I highly recommend getting a universal remote, if you are getting new equipment you can afford a good universal remote, there are many good ones in the $80-120 range.3. Can/does the Tivo remote become your main TV remote? or do you have to mess with other remotes? Does whether I buy an HDTV with a cable card slot or not affect the answer to this question?
A single DVR only has a single output. You can hook it up so that you can watch it from another room, but you wouldn't be able to watch different things in each room at the same time. Most people would prefer to have a DVR for each set.4. If I have an HDTV in the living room, and another in the bedroom, do I need to hook up a tivo box in each room to take advantage of all features, or is it possible to have one Tivo box be fully accessible from both rooms or thoughout the house?
No comment as I don't have experience with DirecTVs newer DVRs.5. I hear Directv no longer uses the Tivo box. I like the setup my brother has [directv with directivo] but he says this is not available to new customers anymore. Should I therefore steer clear of Directv?
Sorry can't help with cable as I only have an antenna, but what I did until I bought a seperate Tivo box for the bedroom (trust me, you'll get hooked!) was plug the composite outputs (red, white, yellow rca jacks) into a modulator [like the $30 one on this page: http://www.starlink-dss.com/modulator.html ] and used that with a "pyramid" to relay the IR signal back to Tivo so I could watch Tivo on any Tv in the house and control it from whereever I had the pyramid. The only minor drawback is it's mono, but I have no problems with thtat because I don't have a big fancy stereo setup anywhere in the hous but my main room.thnewton said:Hi Folks -
4. If I have an HDTV in the living room, and another in the bedroom, do I need to hook up a tivo box in each room to take advantage of all features, or is it possible to have one Tivo box be fully accessible from both rooms or thoughout the house?
Tom
Actually, unless the HDTV is made with a recorder built-in, you'd only be able to record TWO shows at a time, and watch a third...live.thnewton said:...was confused about what the benefit of having a tv with a built in card slot was. now i understand - there's a slight benefit for those that often record three at a time...
