Transfer between Premier and S2?

Darrelpr said:

I'm about to replace one of my S2 units with a Premier. (Both of my TVs are HD although I obviously am watching S2 content in standard def.)

I think I know the answer but just want to doublecheck:

Can shows that are recorded on the Premier (in HD), be transferred to the S2 for viewing? Can shows recorded on the S2 be transferred and viewed on the Premier?

Thanks! (And please be gentle.)

Click to expand...

You can not transfer a HD recording to a Series 2, you can transfer SD from the Series 2 to the Premiere.

SD programs from the Premiere can be transferred to the S2 as long as the cable company allows, HD programs can NOT.

S2 programs can be transferred to the Premiere without issue.

Darrelpr said:

I'm about to replace one of my S2 units with a Premier. (Both of my TVs are HD although I obviously am watching S2 content in standard def.)

I think I know the answer but just want to doublecheck:

Can shows that are recorded on the Premier (in HD), be transferred to the S2 for viewing? Can shows recorded on the S2 be transferred and viewed on the Premier?

Thanks! (And please be gentle.)

Click to expand...

Series 2s can only do Standard Definition. If you record analog cable SD on a newer than S2 TiVo you should be able to "transfer" (which really means copy) to the S2, or to computer via TiVo Desktop and from that computer to the S2 (as long as you set Desktop for the slower transfer method in Preferences).

Whether you can do it with shows you got off of digital cable or over-the-air digital if they lowered the quality to squeeze more into the same bandwidth, I do not know. I wouldn't count on it.

If the source is digital cable, then there's also the possibility that somewhere along the line the anti-copy bit has been set, which means the newer than S2 TiVo which recorded it will obey that bit and refuse to send it out over the network to be copied.

Anything recorded onto and by the S2 should be copy-able to computer or the newer TiVos.

Thanks - this is pretty much what I thought. So now I'm thinking about replacing both of the S2 units with Premiers which brings up one more question....

So I have "basic" Time Warner cable (no VoD or other special features). I can access the unencrypted digital channels (5.1, 5.2, yada yada yada). Does TiVo's service support scheduling on these QAM channels or will I need to get a CableCard?

oh... and I'm not running any cable box - just a direct coax input.

You will need a CableCARD, that's a given, otherwise no channel mapping to the sub-channels so you'll get them, but no guide data.

Thanks!

One thing you could do would be to transfer the shows from the Premiere to your PC, and then from the PC to the Series 2. pyTivo will downconvert the HD for the S2. (Perhaps TiVo Desktop will too, I dunno.)

wmcbrine said:

One thing you could do would be to transfer the shows from the Premiere to your PC, and then from the PC to the Series 2. pyTivo will downconvert the HD for the S2. (Perhaps TiVo Desktop will too, I dunno.)

Click to expand...

Desktop won't do it. If it comes in HD, it can't be sent out SD, at least not by Desktop.

OK. Score one for pyTivo then.

I still have in the back of my mind to do a "mirror" plugin for pyTivo, as well, so you could do this transfer "directly" (passing through the PC). I hate seeing all those red circles on my poor old S2.

So I picked up my Premier until and for grins, got a CableCard from TWC. I haven't set it up yet as this is going to be gift - but I just found out that I'm also going to need to get a tuning adapter if I want to use the CC. No thanks.

Looks like all I've accomlished is replacing an older single tuner S2 with a dual tuner unit. Hopefully, I'll still be able to access web content.

The "tuning adapter" is just a device that plugs into a USB port that allows you to tune in Switched Digital Video channels. It's a bit of a kludge, but I don't know why it would make you say "no thanks". It's NOT like a Series 2 controlling a set-top box.

And you left out the most important difference: HD.

I was hoping to keep my TV area from looking like a datacenter wiring closet.

So does having a cablecard with no tuning adapter buy me anything at all?

All the non-SDV channels. (Some systems, like Fios, don't use SDV at all.) But if you need it, you should take it. It's not a big deal. It's supposed to be free.