TiVo Community Forum banner
  • TiVoCommunity.com Ambassador Program Now Open! >>> Click Here

Using Dual Tuner with Cablevision

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  gastrof 
#1 ·
Can only record on tuner that goes thru Cablevision Box (in brooklyn,ny). Apparently cannot get channels 23 & above on 2nd tuner( from cable wire into Tivo box )and basic cable channels come in poorly. Any suggestions? It worked perfect with Comcast in New Jersey.
 
#2 ·
Cablevision of NYC has moved most channels to Digital so you would need an STB to get them other then the broadcast networks (CBS/NBC etc).
I have a splitter before the STB which has the IR connection to a Humax Tivo going to a VCR and the VCR only gets Broadcast channels.
FWIW
 
#3 ·
Brighton, can you explain what an STB is?

I'm a newbie and trying to figure out how I can use a DT Tivo with digital cable (Comcast). I read the 'Before you Ask' sticky thread but it confused me a bit. Is it possible to record TWO shows while watching a THIRD one? Otherwise, there doesn't seem to be a huge benefit to having a DT Tivo (except that one can perform the Tivo tricks on the slightly delayed 'live' show).

I called a few local Tivo dealers and none of them could answer my question. I understand how one can use one input for the direct cable and one for the cable signal coming from the box. But that means that one can not record two shows that happen to be on digital channels at the same time or if they overlap, or even watch one digital channel through Tivo while recording another.

The 'Before you ask...' thread refers to 'Standby mode' but the link it uses is broken, so that was a dead end for me as well.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Edit: I know I'm new here, but since there are HDTV, DirectTV, Series2, and Tivo/DVD threads, shouldn't there be a section for Dual Tuner Tivos? It would seem there is enough specific stuff to cover in there? Just a question.
 
#4 ·
STB = Set Top Box. In this case, a cable box.

The DT TiVo was never meant to record two digital channels at once, and was advertised accordingly. How in the world could it get a second digital channel anyway, if you only have one digital tuning source feeding into it? If you want a TiVo that can record two digital channels at the same time, you need a Series 3 or its little brother the "TiVo HD". (And THESE will require cable cards to get scrambled digital cable channels.)

As for watching a third program while recording two others with the DT TiVo, you'd have to have a separate signal source feeding into your TV's tuner, and be feeding the TiVo into the TV thru A/V inputs. (An alternative would be using an A/B switch, which would allow the TV to choose between the TiVo and a different antenna/signal source.)

I'm not sure what your question about "Standby mode" is, so you'll have to clarify.

As for the DT machines having their own forum, the Series 2 does NOT have its own forum. It's in the same general forum as the Series 1s, and the DT is counted as a Series 2 TiVo.
 
#5 ·
Standby puts the Tivo into a bypass mode, so you can watch whatever is coming into its RF in jack directly using your TV tuner, assuming your TV tuner is capable of tuning the channels you want (which may be a tall order considering the situation).

In a nutshell you need a TiVo HD or a second cable box, the second cable box you would watch direct on your TV.
 
#6 ·
Gastroff,

I gleaned a lot from info you posted in another thread about hooking up multiple sources, which I will probably use. I am going to do as you suggest and get the 3-way RF splitter.

The truth is, I always suspected that one couldn't record 2 different shows simultaneously from a digital cable box. I also knew that the old DirecTV Tivos COULD do this; and I was hoping that at a minimum, maybe the DT had a QAM-style tuner which would get just about everything but scrambled channels like HBO. However, I wanted to be sure, so I called two national electronics chains and a smaller regional chain to be sure. ALL 3 told me that of course a DT could record 2 digital programs off one box. 'It's digital stupid, not like a VCR,' was pretty much what they told me.

However, that begs the question that the Tivo DT is severely limited. I'd assume that most prospective Tivo buyers have premium TV (cable, satellite, etc.). Other than using 'plain' cable or broadcast signals or splitting the cable source into a digital line via the box and a 'plain' line (which is also a fairly large compromise), you don't get much use out of a DT box.

About the separate forum, what I meant is that perhaps there SHOULD be a separate forum for the DT boxes, as they pose some issues specific to them. Just a minor suggestion.
 
#7 ·
pvarjak said:
...About the separate forum, what I meant is that perhaps there SHOULD be a separate forum for the DT boxes, as they pose some issues specific to them. Just a minor suggestion.
Can't say I've seen any more problem posts regarding the DT than on the standard Series 2 or the Series 1.

Each TiVo has its "issues", and up to now the analog-tuner stand-alone boxes have always been lumped together, and there are several different ways each of those can be used.

The DirecTiVos and the DVD units were each different enough to have their own forum, and now the HD/Series3 units as well, but the DT is still a Series 2 and dealing with its problems is counted as no more difficult than dealing with those of the standard 2 or the 1.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top