TIVO Questions

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Bob Zambenini

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Posts
270
Location
Orange County California
As one of the last none TIVO people on this forum, I seem to have the itch again.

In looking on the Direct TV site and searching for TIVO I got this page http://www.directv.com/see/landing/dvr_rebate.html

With Direct TV now selling their own DVR, this seems to still be a TIVO unit with the little logo on lower right side of the box.

So I only have one LNB in my motorhome so first question is where it says watch one and record another, this  would be the case only  if I had a 2 LNB setup.  But after I have recorded a few programs, can I be recording a new one and can I play back and watch an already recorded program?

Would this DVR box shown replace my old RCA Direct Reciever or would I still need my receiver?

So has anything changed with the nag screen you all get, other than connecting to a phone line once in a while?

This appears to be a good price so for net of $48 and monthly charge I would enter the TIVO world.

I don't understand the last line that says an additional charge will be will be for each additional TV with programming. Is that if I have two separate Direct TV accounts?

Bob
 
Bob, I just purchased my third TiVo and it seems to be a Direct TV branded box which is just like the Hughes unit I purchased before. Their are two recording heads and a separate read head, so you can record two shows and watch a previously recorded show all at the same time. Or watch one and record one.  But you need two inputs from your antenna.  If you don't make a call every day they send you a message, but that seems to be the extent of their nagging. Costwise I think you pay for the TiVo schedule information only once and it's good for all sets.  Not sure of that, I will have to check my bill.
 
Bob Zambenini said:
So I only have one LNB in my motorhome so first question is where it says watch one and record another, this  would be the case only  if I had a 2 LNB setup.  But after I have recorded a few programs, can I be recording a new one and can I play back and watch an already recorded program?
Would this DVR box shown replace my old RCA Direct Reciever or would I still need my receiver?
So has anything changed with the nag screen you all get, other than connecting to a phone line once in a while?
I don't understand the last line that says an additional charge will be will be for each additional TV with programming. Is that if I have two separate Direct TV accounts?

Bob,

One LNB gets you one live channel but you can watch a recoreded show while you record a new show.  A second feed will let you record two shows at the same time.

The DVR replaces you current receiver.

The nag screen comes after two weeks without a phone line and does not hurt anything.  You can go months wihout a phone line.

One TiVo charge covers all the receivers on one account.

It's been a while seen I have seen you guys.  Hope you are well.

Phil
 
Direct TV's uint is not as good as TIVO,  Tivo's is not as good as Replay TV, Replay TV is not, far as I know being manafacturrd just now (They are working on next year's HDTV model) HDTV dvr's are not out yet.

That said, what makes TIVO better is it's programming options,,, Direct TV's built in DVR has the fewest options here, TIVO is better, but it needs internet access to do it's magic,  Replay has additional features but also needs net access plus a monthly service charge (or a one time charge of 300 bucks)

Major advantage of Replay is the ability to download the files to a computer and watch them on the computer  Power DVD will play the files just fine  (or you can burn them to DVD)
 
How can you say Any product that is  not yet released is  better than any product currently on the market.  It just can't be better if it isn't available.  Now reviewing the specs  it may look like it might be better but until it is actually released it is still an uncertainty and there is a chance it may never get released or when released it may not work as advertised or it may have some real flaws.  So if it isn't yet on the market IMHO it just can't be better than anything that is on the market. As for Tivo I can't really see were the Tivo unit is any better or worse than the DTV-Tivo or visa versa.  I think which is more suitable is a personal opinion.  We have the DTV Tivo by choice that is what was better for us but that does not mean it is better for everybody.  Also there is a unit that works with Dish Network.  Now for Dish subscribers that unit is better than any tivo unit. ;D
 
For the RVer, the standalone TIVO really isn't an option as that needs a phone line to get the program guide data.  The DirecTIVO is the best choice for DirecTV as it gets the program guide data from the satellite and it does NOT need a phone line for normal operation.
 
Ned said:
... it gets the program guide data from the satellite and it does NOT need a phone line for normal operation.

Same is true for our Ultimate TV receiver/DVR we have at home. DTV originally tried to tell me it had to have a phone line, but I refused and they went ahead and activated anyway. However, I'm not very happy with the UTV menus.
 
John

>>HDTV dvr's are not out yet<<

REALLY??...I have had a HD TiVo for the last 3 months & I know they have been out for over a year. Are your Replay units a stand alone that requires a separate Sat receiver or are they all in one like the DirecTivo's?


Terry
At John Day Dam, Or.
3 DirecTivo's; 1 HD Tivo
 
Terry A. Brewer said:
John

>>HDTV dvr's are not out yet<<

REALLY??...I have had a HD TiVo for the last 3 months & I know they have been out for over a year. Are your Replay units a stand alone that requires a separate Sat receiver or are they all in one like the DirecTivo's?

I said the HD version of the REPLAY is not out yet... (Did not comment on other HD DVRs which I have also seen)

The Replay is a stand alone, it needs an occasional internet connection, (At least once every few days) can connect via phone or lan, so if you have a datastorm you plug it in to your rig's lan and when you are parked you force a connect so it will update.  If you use some other form of internet, so long as it works over a lan, the Replay should be happy with it.

Dial up is also an option, if you cell phone is the kind that will allow you to do that, however I don't know how well it will work with a replay.

I'm not sure how long the replay can run without phoning home but my lan locked up so none of the replays could call home for a couple of days (Before I figured it out and re-set it, it was during work when I don't use the home lan that much) I did get a "Could not contact host" message in my message board.

Lots of options with Replay.   
 
>>Replay is a stand alone<<

I'm confused.........What do you mean by replay?

We'd have had a HD RCA DVR receiver w/TIVO in the stick house for about a year. I can record 2 shows and watch a prerecored show at the same time. If i'm watching live TV, we have to watch a show that is being recorded.

We have a crank-up Wineguard sat dish on the RV. Does anyone know if we can change the singel LMB  to  a double?

TIA
Barb
 
You should be able to Barb since a dual LNB is the same size as a single.  Running the second cable is probably the most challenging part.
 
Barb said:
>>Replay is a stand alone<<

I'm confused.........What do you mean by replay?

We'd have had a HD RCA DVR receiver w/TIVO in the stick house for about a year. I can record 2 shows and watch a prerecored show at the same time. If i'm watching live TV, we have to watch a show that is being recorded.

We have a crank-up Wineguard sat dish on the RV. Does anyone know if we can change the singel LMB  to  a double?

TIA
Barb

REPLAY is a brand of digital video recorder. It is a stand alone. and it only records one show at a time each (i have 3 of them) but can watch a pre-recorded show or a show that is recording on the unit you are watching on while it is recording

A thought... ATI TV-WONDER, or ALL-In-Wonder or other equivlent card, plugged into your computer. plus a womping big hard drive = Stand alone digital video recorder WITH NO PHONE HOME REQUREMENTS..  Will work like a vcr (you set the times manually) without any phone line or internet connections... Standard MPG file storage,can make DVDs
 
Ron said:
You should be able to Barb since a dual LNB is the same size as a single.? Running the second cable is probably the most challenging part.

Yep....Frank was on the roof yesterday, and it's sealed up pretty tight around the sat dish. We can add a second cable, the connection is there, but it will very challenging trying to figure how and where to run it. Thanks for the LNB info.  If we can't run a second cable, oh well i guess, we'll still be able to record one show anyway.

Barb
 
Barb,

I have a motorhome and ran the cable through the A/C ductwork to the front where I was able to remove the access panel in the ceiling near the cap. It dropped right down behind where I have the receiver. The type of RV will determine the possibilites for running the cable. As far as the roof is concerned, it might be possible to use some wiremold channel to run it to where you want to drill the hole.

 
Jim Dick said:
Barb,

I have a motorhome and ran the cable through the A/C ductwork to the front where I was able to remove the access panel in the ceiling near the cap. It dropped right down behind where I have the receiver. The type of RV will determine the possibilities for running the cable. As far as the roof is concerned, it might be possible to use some wiremold channel to run it to where you want to drill the hole.

Thanks for the idea Jim, I may be able to do that on our coach and Sue will stop complaining about the "we are going to switch channels to record a program" message that goes off all day while she is watching TV. (I have a lot of Season Passes set up  ;D ;D).
 
Jeff,

Hope it works as well for you. :) I, too, have a lot of season passes and each year there seems to be more. Every once in a while I get the message because it is recording two at the same time. Usually there's something on the hard drive to watch.
 
Barb said:
Yep....Frank was on the roof yesterday, and it's sealed up pretty tight around the sat dish. We can add a second cable, the connection is there, but it will very challenging trying to figure how and where to run it. Thanks for the LNB info.  If we can't run a second cable, oh well i guess, we'll still be able to record one show anyway.

Barb

You might check with the rig's manafacturer... I visited the shop and asked about the cables in the front marked "Sat" and was told that one, went from the compartment where it is to the video distribution swich (which I had already assumed, since it's markings tell me as much) and the other goes to a spot just under the roof... You locate the spot (there is a sticker) and drill down.  This is likely the spot where your current sat-cable comes up... What I did not ask, and you should.  Is this

Is there a conduit that can pass dual cables.. Or not

If so either send a fish tape down the tube, or use the existing cable to pull a fish tape.. If not (As I suspect) you are going to have to work something out.

Note, there are smaller 75 ohm cables out there. Anywhere you can run standard Antenna Coax, I can run 4 smaller cables with room to spare... The losses in a smaller cable will be greater (As a general rule) but considering the length of the run in an RV (way less than fifty feet) v/s the length of run in a house (often as much as 2x that or more) it may not be a problem
 
Jeff /Washington said:
... Sue will stop complaining about the "we are going to switch channels to record a program" message that goes off all day while she is watching TV.

Jeff,

What I did was put a two way splitter in front of Tivo and feed the rf directly into one of the TV inputs.  That way Camille can switch to that TV input and watch "real TV".

Made everybody happy.  This may not work at all with Dish but ...



 
joelmyer said:
Jeff,

What I did was put a two way splitter in front of Tivo and feed the rf directly into one of the TV inputs. That way Camille can switch to that TV input and watch "real TV".

Made everybody happy. This may not work at all with Dish but ...

Joel:

I would like to have our DVR receiving both feeds and it needs separate LNB's.

Thanks,
 
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