Questions about a Series 2 Tivo (1 Viewer)

[Thomas H G]

Well, this week looks to be the week I get a Tivo. $50 rebate for the 40 and 80 hr models. I do have a few questions though, that hopefully somebody can help me out with.

I have Comcast digital cable, it will work with tivo right?

I know I can't record 2 shows at one time(only Direct Tivo does that), but can I watch a live show and record another live show? The Best Buy guy said that I needed a splitter to do that. He also said that he didn't recommend it because it screws up the processor to the Tivo and that it might not record all the show or there might be some skipping. Is that true?

I only see a Series 2. Is there a series 3 coming anytime soon? Will there be a tivo coming soon that has HDTV capabilities? I have a 51" widescreen HDTV ready and I wanna know if that is even something that can make use of that in the near future.

Should I go for the 40 or 80 hr model? Which one do you guys have? Is 80 hrs just overkill? I know there are different levels of recording quality, so is the 40hrs of recording time taken from the highest level or the lowest level of recording setting? I've also seen places where you can add like a hard drive that you would use for your computer and like triple the storage space--is that dangerous? Is it worth doing or am I just ruining the tivo.

Hope all that made sense and I appreciate any help that I can get. I've searched this forum, but couldn't quite get all the answers I was looking for.

 

[Michael Reuben]

I've also seen places where you can add like a hard drive that you would use for your computer and like triple the storage space--is that dangerous?

I've never done it, but lots of people have with great success. It depends on your comfort level with opening up cases and tinkering.

I don't have Comcast cable, so I can't tell you for sure that TiVo works with it. But I've never heard of a cable box it couldn't work with.

M.

 

[Robert_J]

I know there are different levels of recording quality, so is the 40hrs of recording time taken from the highest level or the lowest level of recording setting?

Advertised recording is based on lowest quality. Since you have a big screen anything less that "high" or "best" will show compression artifacts. If the factory drive isn't large enough, you can upgrade yourself if you have some basic Linux knowledge and don't mind voiding the warranty.

-Robert

 

[Thomas H G]

Great Stuff--Thank you for your help Michael and Robert. Looks like I'll be going for the 80hr version. Getting the splitter, and I can tivo one show and watch the other through the "antenna channels" to help with some of these scheduling conflicts for the fall tv lineup.

Again thanks for your help. I feel alot better asking these questions here than at Best Buy and even at Ultimate Electronics-- I received conflicting information from both of them.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Getting the splitter, and I can tivo one show and watch the other through the "antenna channels" to help with some of these scheduling conflicts for the fall tv lineup.

I do the same thing with Time Warner cable, and it works well. Good luck on your purchase and setup -- and welcome to the wonderful world of TiVo!

M.

 

[Tom Meyer]

if you want a larger drive without the hassle of doing the upgrade yourself, you can purchase a formatted drive directly from:

http://www.newreleasesvideo.com/hins...deservice.html

As a 160GB drive will only cost you $250, I'd go for at least that or the 240GB upgrade. You'll NEVER regret having more space. There's nothing more annoying than having to delete something to record something else. I've got a 140GB in my DirecTivo, have probably 30-40 different programs saved (used to have all of Buffy's last season as well) and haven't had to delete anything in over 1.5 years.

Go for it !

 

[Thomas H G]

Thanks for the idea Tom. That's something I'll have to do later on. You're right though, I don't think I would ever regret having too much space.

I do have another question though, is there a certain brand that I should look for when I'm getting a cable splitter? Is there one ya'll would recommend?

 

[Michael*K]

I just picked up a gold plated splitter from Radio Shack and it's been fine for me. I ordered a hard drive upgrade kit from Weaknees shortly after buying my TiVo unit and the included instructions made it incredibly easy to install. The only concern I had prior to the upgrade was whether the internal temperature would shoot up due to the heat from second drive and the reduced space inside. Shockingly, my box now actually runs cooler than it did before the upgrade.

 

[Ryan Wishton]

What if you want to transfer something from a Tivo to a VCR or DVD to keep for the long run?

Is this possible?

Also, are there editing options such as removing commercials, etc?

 

[Michael*K]

Yes, you can output programs to another source. There's actually a "Save to VCR" command in the program menu.