I did it 6 months ago and wish I had done it earlier.


I bought a Tivo HD from CC during the holiday season for like $229.00 on a web special.

It kicks butt. I feel all I really gave up was HD on Demand. Since I have on demand on a cable box in the bedroom.

Truth be told I watch more of the shows on Tivo-Cast then I ever did on demand.

The Un-box while not perfect and not apple tv (offering HD downloads). Is still pretty sweet. A couple of weeks ago we missed 30 Rock. For $2.99 it was there Friday night (the next night) when we got home from work.

The on-line scheduling is a life saver. It even works from my blackberry.

The up front cost is large but you can always get 90 or 180 days same as cash. They seem to pretty much be offering lifetime service.

If you can't wait for the Comcast offering and can stand the Comcast offering you need to think about it.

Actually I do have one regret, that I didn't buy it during the lifetime special during Christmas or April's Blue Moon event. For a little more money I would have had lifetime...oh well, the lower blood pressure from not having the Motorola was well worth it.

Any update on the firmware upgrades for the Comcast Tivo's? Did they ever get around to fixing the bugs? TIA

Any update on the firmware upgrades for the Comcast Tivo's? Did they ever get around to fixing the bugs? TIA

Depends on which bugs you are talking about. For the most part, yes.

Depends on which bugs you are talking about. For the most part, yes.

I don't think those updates have made it past the NH area. Still awaiting the 5.1 fix

Speculation is rampant without comparing software versions. Who has what?

Not sure if they fixed the issues with setting recordings or I'm just lucky the past couple days. Now when I press the 'record' button it actually starts recording in less then 10 seconds (was 3 minutes for the past month). I set up some season passes tonight and actually set entire recordings, from the time I clicked the show name in the guide, to set season pass, to change recording preferences, to the very end acknowledgment, was about 20 seconds! Hopefully it stays like this.

I had a similar experience a few days ago. Previouosly, it would take 3 minutes to set up a recording, but it was significantly less. I did not time it but if I had to guess, I would say 30 seconds max.
FREAK!

I had a similar experience a few days ago. Previouosly, it would take 3 minutes to set up a recording, but it was significantly less. I did not time it but if I had to guess, I would say 30 seconds max.


You guys are lucky. Still 2+ minutes for me.

Edit: Then that stretched to 4+ minutes (on the test I just did for this post) and that stretched into...a crash, with "please wait..." frozen on the screen and a blank PIP. (Usually when my box crashes, the whole screen is black during the restart.)

I'm giving them till this time next week. Then I'm rolling back to Iguide.

Comcast is coming to replace my motorola box today. I demanded free Tivo service to make for the godawful product I have been dealing with for the past 3 months.

What a wretched piece of software. Is the firmware upgrade on the horizon?

I demanded free Tivo service to make for the godawful product I have been dealing with for the past 3 months.

Did they give it to you?

And if they did, did you later realize that you had made a mistake asking for that? :)

Two weeks and not one post in this thread.

Did all of the Comcast honks start their own web site so they can complain privately about the Comcast Tivo? Or is the thing finally working and the complaining has stopped?

To lazy to read a 126 page thread.

Comcast Tivo having problems, are they?

:)

To lazy to read a 126 page thread.

Comcast Tivo having problems, are they?

:)

Too lazy to explain. Sorry. :)

Too lazy to explain. Sorry. :)


I understand just how you feel....:p

Anyone here using a Harmony One with their Comcast TiVo DVR?

I just ordered a Harmony One, and I also just scheduled a service call for Comcast to get set up with their TiVo DVR.

I gather from some posts a while back that the Harmony will do the job. But what's the best way to start off if I'm starting from scratch? Do I tell the set-up program that I have a Motorola DCH (or DCT . . . not sure which will show up at my door . . .) or do I tell it I have a TiVo HD?

Two weeks and not one post in this thread.

Did all of the Comcast honks start their own web site so they can complain privately about the Comcast Tivo? Or is the thing finally working and the complaining has stopped?

I'm still here, and my Comcastivo still blows. Just tired of complaining. And don't feel I have the right to anymore, since I still haven't gotten rid of it........

An honest man!

I'm still here, and my Comcastivo still blows. Just tired of complaining. And don't feel I have the right to anymore, since I still haven't gotten rid of it........

Sounds like a love/hate relationship to me. Keep your fingers crossed, I'm sure it will get better.

Anyone here using a Harmony One with their Comcast TiVo DVR?

Do I tell the set-up program that I have a Motorola DCH (or DCT . . . not sure which will show up at my door . . .) or do I tell it I have a TiVo HD?
I set it up as a Tivo and most stuff worked, but a few keys had to be manually programmed, sorry I don't remember which. The Harmony is very convenient, but the keys on the Tivo remote are far better.

Hi all, I found this wonderful thread just today, I have some questions if you don't mind too much.

Situation: Wifey and I will finally be ditching our 32 inch CRT for a 52" LCD (hopefully). We have a Tivo series 2 currently, and subscribe to Comcast. It works fantastic. To avoid a flogging, I would like to get wifey upgraded with Tivo HD, but I read this article:

(arg can't post a URL sorry. it's a CNET Review for Tivo HD)

The review is rather old but they talk about Comcast Box Tivo interface, and SDV (Switched Digital Interface) in which the Tivo HD is not "yet" compatible. Granted this article was written in 2007. So my question is twofold.

1) Is Comcast's DVR Tivo Interface viable? Some of the horror stories I've read on this forum have me scared. Waiting 2 minutes to schedule a show is unacceptable for me (wifey will kill me), so give it to me straight.

2) Is SDV rolled out yet? Thus rendering Tivo HD incompatible with Comcast cable? Is there a workaround?

Bonus question: Is the Western Digital MY DVR Expander awesome? I want I want I want!

(arg again, no URL's, if you'd like to see the product, google it or find it on an online 'tronics shop, sorry!)

any feedback is greatly appreciated!

To avoid a flogging, I would like to get wifey upgraded with Tivo HD ... 1) Is Comcast's DVR Tivo Interface viable?You understand that the TiVo HD and the Comcast TiVo UI are two completely different things, right? The TiVo HD is a box you buy yourself; you rent CableCards from Comcast (or whoever) to use with it, and you pay TiVo Inc. for the TiVo service. The Comcast TiVo UI, on the other hand, is software that you load onto a standard Comcast cable box, taking the place of their usual UI; you deal only with Comcast.

TiVo Inc. has complete control over the TiVo HD; Comcast has control over their box. Result: The TiVo HD uses the standard TiVo interface, but doesn't support video on demand. The Comcast box supports VoD, but has a weirdly mutated version of the TiVo interface. (Not all the changes are bad, though.)

The TiVo HD supports program transfers to and from the box and other TiVos; TiVo Inc.'s own form of VoD, via "TiVoCast" and Amazon Unbox; playback of photos and music from your PC; and games and other apps, via HME (an open system that even third parties can use to provide apps). I don't think the Comcast box supports any of those.

2) Is SDV rolled out yet?In some places. But mostly, no.

Thus rendering Tivo HD incompatible with Comcast cable? Is there a workaround?There is a workaround, known as a tuning resolver, which should be available soon. You'll get it from the cable company along with the CableCards.

SDV of course has no ill effect on the Comcast boxes.

Ahh yeah sorry I don't think I was too clear... I am trying to decide between Tivo HD or a Comcast DVR with Tivo interface... I think I just made my decision... thanks for the info!

Sakko,

I was in the same boat. Not sure what your decision was (TiVo HD?), but I ended up going with the Comast Hybrid--my service call is this afternoon.

This is my logic, in case it makes any difference in your thinking. I do want a actual TiVo---eventually. But there will probably be a new TiVo in the near future that eliminates the SDV issue without the need for an accessory (I hate the whole idea of an accessory). And it will probably have other cool new features as well. The SDV issue may not affect me now (I never even checked), but there's a good chance it will at some point in the future--either where I live now or when I move in a few years.

My game plan is to use the Comcast Hybrid as a stop-gap until a new TiVo comes out, even if that's a year from now or more. I'm going with the Hybrid as opposed to the standard Comcast DVR so my wife can learn the TiVo interface.

From reading this and other threads, I know the Hybrid has some maddening issues--but I'm willing to be patient. I believe I would have felt differently six months ago, but at this point I don't want to buy a TiVo HD and be kicking myself when a new version comes out--even if that's a year from now.

Now, I know there is no concrete info on a next-gen TiVo besides rumor, innuendo, and suspicion. But it logically has to happen sometime soon.

Just my two cents.

Ahh yeah sorry I don't think I was too clear... I am trying to decide between Tivo HD or a Comcast DVR with Tivo interface... I think I just made my decision... thanks for the info!

I set it up as a Tivo and most stuff worked, but a few keys had to be manually programmed, sorry I don't remember which. The Harmony is very convenient, but the keys on the Tivo remote are far better.

Thanks. I ended up doing the opposite. I started off telling it I had DCH3416. I had to add the last channel button in via the learning feature, for some reason that didn't "translate" in--but almost all of the other buttons worked as they should. I still have to add in the "thumb" buttons and the "on demand" button; don't intend on using them much, but I'll add them in when I get around to it.

I agree that the keys on the remote Comcast gave me are a bit better for watching TV. But overall, the Harmony is a lifesaver---my wife can actually work our system now . . .

Just so you know, the 'thumbs up/down' buttons in Tivo are the 'page up/down' buttons from the original DVR functions so they may already be programmed.

Just so you know, the 'thumbs up/down' buttons in Tivo are the 'page up/down' buttons from the original DVR functions so they may already be programmed.

Thanks. You're right. The buttons were already included in the standard Harmony set-up for the DCH3416 box. And right where I planned to program them in.

Don't intend to use them much--I didn't plan to set them up on my remote at all until I realized I needed them to confirm a change in the box's output resolution. The suggestion feature of TiVo doesn't thrill me--the last thing I need is more TV to watch. . .:)

I have the Moto 3412 and am thinking of finally going ahead with the TiVO download, but haven't seen any recent comments on it.
Are most of the early problems resolved? Wasn't there an issue with it not outputting 5.1, along with several others? Does is still need a truck roll, or will they now just d/l it to the box? Any answers greatly appreciated.

I have the Moto 3412 and am thinking of finally going ahead with the TiVO download, but haven't seen any recent comments on it.
Are most of the early problems resolved? Wasn't there an issue with it not outputting 5.1, along with several others? Does is still need a truck roll, or will they now just d/l it to the box? Any answers greatly appreciated.

From my experience, the only problem I am still having is the TiVo soundeffects not coming through the HDMI connection. Other then that, everything works great. You do not need a truck roll to get the service. It can be d/l but it takes awhile for it to happen. However, if the signal levels are poor, then you will need a truck roll.

How do I check the level? There's nothing in the menu (unlike TiVO which makes it easy to check). And can you order it online? Dealing with the CSRs make me twitch.

No, you can't check the levels yourself. You will have to call.

No, you can't check the levels yourself. You will have to call.

can't you turn the box off and quickly press select like on cox motorola boxes that brings up the diagnostic pages.

can't you turn the box off and quickly press select like on cox motorola boxes that brings up the diagnostic pages.

Those levels are strictly for RF not the modem. For TiVo to work it uses the internal modem. The modem only gets turned on when TiVo is being added & that is when the CSR cheks the levels.

Is there a way to program the Tivo remote to change the video output resolution (say from 720p to 1080i). I'd like to be able to change this manually when using channels that broadcast in different resolutions. In the Motorola DCH thread it was mentioned to map code "00109" to a button for the non-Tivo software / remote. I have a Motorola DCT3412 running the Tivo software with the Tivo remote and would like to program this to a button (if possible the TV input button).

Thanks!

Those levels are strictly for RF not the modem. For TiVo to work it uses the internal modem. The modem only gets turned on when TiVo is being added & that is when the CSR cheks the levels.

So why not then go down to d14 DOCSIS STATUS, then in there on Page 2 is all of your Downstream/Upstream carrier lock power level and SNR.

So why not then go down to d14 DOCSIS STATUS, then in there on Page 2 is all of your Downstream/Upstream carrier lock power level and SNR.


Because until its activated by a CSR it is offline

Because until its activated by a CSR it is offline

Right, I didn't catch that he didn't have Tivo yet...

I guess when ordering Tivo a command comes down the regular OOB channel to tell the Motorola box to go into DSG mode, and then it hands everything off to the DOCSIS carrier, and there the magic begins. I wonder if the OOB command tells the Moto box the DOCSIS frequencies, or if it just says "Go hunt and find the frequency for yourself".

Wow, so it's safe to finally get the TiVo software? The smoke has cleared? The clouds have parted? The sun has come out? And it reveals 5.1 Surround? Navigating the interface isn't glacially slow? The software actually records? No random crashes or resets?

Please confirm.

Thanks!

Wow, so it's safe to finally get the TiVo software? The smoke has cleared? The clouds have parted? The sun has come out? And it reveals 5.1 Surround? Navigating the interface isn't glacially slow? The software actually records? No random crashes or resets?

Please confirm.

Thanks!

Much better than before, almost there.

Cool. So at this point, can you say the TiVo software is BETTER than the iGuide (or whatever it's called), or just not worse?

Cool. So at this point, can you say the TiVo software is BETTER than the iGuide (or whatever it's called), or just not worse?

I would say it is better then the iGuide. But the sound effects still are not coming over HDMI and every now and then there is a freeze up on the second tuner. I only notice the freeze up when I come home but it goes away when I change the channel. Other then that, I've had no problems since the recent upgrade.

Cool. So at this point, can you say the TiVo software is BETTER than the iGuide (or whatever it's called), or just not worse?

I would say most definitely. The earlier releases of the software were very buggy..to say the least. It was holding your breath time in hoping it recorded like it was supposed to. It took up to five minutes just to set up a recording. Plus the dolby digital is now working. I am not sure even stand alone tivos are bug free and perfect...but this comcast tivo software is very close in that regard. I didn't like the iGuide and how it handled season pass recordings.

But the sound effects still are not coming over HDMI

Am not sure it is supposed to if you want dolby digital. No incarnation of tivo allows you to get the tivo "noises" over digital.

Tom

I am not sure even stand alone tivos are bug free and perfect...but this comcast tivo software is very close in that regard.
The TiVo S3, at least, has its share of bugs, too. Still, those of us who have them live with it because its software is so superior to anybody else's. That's why I have owned TiVos since 2000.

Thanks for the info! Hm. I might jump in and get it soon. The wife would be VERY happy.

Dumb question: I have a 6.1 set-up with an Onkyo receiver, via optical (cheapie Onkyo, so doesn't have HDMI). If I get the TiVo software, will I lose the rear center channel b/c TiVo outputs only 5.1?

Thanks for the info! Hm. I might jump in and get it soon. The wife would be VERY happy.

Dumb question: I have a 6.1 set-up with an Onkyo receiver, via optical (cheapie Onkyo, so doesn't have HDMI). If I get the TiVo software, will I lose the rear center channel b/c TiVo outputs only 5.1?

There are no TV programs that are encoded in 6.1 so you will lose nothing. Your rear center speaker is never used for TV (unless you use one of the simulated surround options on your receiver; they sound terrible to me and I never use them.)

Ah. Got it. My receiver usually outputs in Dolby EX when on HD channels, so I reckon that's one of the fake SS modes.

Thanks!

Technology Notes
Comcast Preps TiVo Marketing Launch
MSO Expands Availability of DVR Service to Connecticut; Expects to Fund Tru2way Development
By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News, 8/27/2008

...

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6590926.html?desc=topstory

Full story: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14536764#post14536764

You guys are lucky. I'm stuck with Time Warner and total garbage software. We currently have SARA and will eventually have Navigator which is worse as of right now. I wish we could get a Tivo option that worked well!!!

You guys are lucky. I'm stuck with Time Warner and total garbage software. We currently have SARA and will eventually have Navigator which is worse as of right now. I wish we could get a Tivo option that worked well!!!
Cox OKC uses SARA software, too, and it is truly awful. I understand, though that Navigator software is better and suspect that's true because I can't imagine anything being worse that SARA. That's one of the main reasons I bought a TiVo Series3 a couple of years ago.

Cox OKC uses SARA software, too, and it is truly awful. I understand, though that Navigator software is better and suspect that's true because I can't imagine anything being worse that SARA. That's one of the main reasons I bought a TiVo Series3 a couple of years ago.


Well, I've been following the Navigator thread. It's been on the market, deployed to ex-Passport divisions for over TWO YEARS now and it is still bug ridden with spontaneous reboots, missed recordings, HDMI problems, guide data problems, etc. So as awful as SARA is, at least it works in it's most basic function of actually recording what I tell it too. I can't fathom why all cable providers don't work with Tivo to offer a quality DVR solution. I'd pay a little more to have it. Another thing I don't get is how the satellite companies can be light years ahead of cable with the guide software. Cable can't even do the most basic things that an old analog TV can?!? Nuisance things like adding/deleting channels from the guide. Minor features that should be simple to implement like showing HD only when the SD channel has an available HD version. Nothing is more irritating to me in this aspect when my wife or kids watch or record something on the SD channel after I've told them the HD version is available. This is due to lack poor channel alignment as well as lack of customization. I know they are just going into the guide and viewing the first channel they come too or using the analog channel number which TWC has made different than the digital number. For example: Food Network is channel 39, but the HD equivalent is 827. WHY? Wouldn't it make sense to have it at 839? The entire HD line up is like this where none of the channels line up. It's simply things like this that make me ask WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? I realize this is probably a pet peeve, but I didn't setup an HD home theater to watch SD content. I mean, even Stevie Wonder can see the difference. TWC just keeps giving me reasons to look at satellite and truthfully, I'd have already switched if sat was so much more expensive.

I never thought I would actually miss a Microsoft application, but I have to say that when Seattle was beta-testing a Microsoft cable guide for Comcast, while it had it's problems, it worked far, far better then SARA ever did.

When MS and Comcast pulled the product and we were downgraded to SARA, I lasted three days before I bought a TivoHD.

I really wish the Open Cable platform would get with it so we could have some good third party options available. Tivo would be all over it with their own equipment one would think. Imagine that, a Tivo HD DVR with Tru2Way that handled SDV, VOD, PPV and had a customizable interface with Tivo proven ease & reliability! Drool ..... I can dream can't I?

I really wish the Open Cable platform would get with it so we could have some good third party options available. Tivo would be all over it with their own equipment one would think. Imagine that, a Tivo HD DVR with Tru2Way that handled SDV, VOD, PPV and had a customizable interface with Tivo proven ease & reliability! Drool ..... I can dream can't I?

From what I understnad Tru2way is simply open hardware, with the freedom to install the provider software. In other words, you will be able to buy a Tivo box and still be forced by COmcast to load a godawful buggy software.

From what I understnad Tru2way is simply open hardware, with the freedom to install the provider software. In other words, you will be able to buy a Tivo box and still be forced by COmcast to load a godawful buggy software.

Yes, Open Cable is the FCC idea to take away exclusive rights to cable rented set top boxes. In other words, one would be able to go to say Target or Wal-Mart and buy a third party box that would operate the same way as a set top rented from the provider. I was merely stating that it would be (to quote Peter Griffin) Freakin' Sweet if it could be expanded to allow a Tivo option as I mentioned. Cable could finally move to an all digital system and the customer would have the options they wanted. I currently like what my cable company offers programming wise, but the equipment and software are dreadful!

Yes, Open Cable is the FCC idea to take away exclusive rights to cable rented set top boxes. In other words, one would be able to go to say Target or Wal-Mart and buy a third party box that would operate the same way as a set top rented from the provider. I was merely stating that it would be (to quote Peter Griffin) Freakin' Sweet if it could be expanded to allow a Tivo option as I mentioned. Cable could finally move to an all digital system and the customer would have the options they wanted. I currently like what my cable company offers programming wise, but the equipment and software are dreadful!

I agree with you. Ideally, tru2way as a middleware ought to allow any hardware, and also any guide software. Realistically, the specs are so limited that we will still be stuck with Comcast's choice of software, on a relatively limited number of hardware choices. In a perfect system, it would be the way we want it, in this current system of cable dominated and influenced decision making, IPTV is our only other option, and thats not even regulated, nor is it included in the tru2way standard (cant use tru2way devices with Fios or Directv for example).

What happened to this thread?? All of a sudden no one is posting in here anymore.. Is there any word on when comcast will finally offer Tivo to the rest of us that are not located in the boston, new england area??? I'm in Chicago and have been waiting for what seems like an eternity already for tivo to arrive..

What happened to this thread?? All of a sudden no one is posting in here anymore.. Is there any word on when comcast will finally offer Tivo to the rest of us that are not located in the boston, new england area??? I'm in Chicago and have been waiting for what seems like an eternity already for tivo to arrive..


I saw TiVo is getting back together with direct tv. Maybe they got sick of working with Moto boxes and wanted to move on to greener pastures. It is absurb how slow and flawed this roll out has been.

I agree with you. Ideally, tru2way as a middleware ought to allow any hardware, and also any guide software. Realistically, the specs are so limited that we will still be stuck with Comcast's choice of software, on a relatively limited number of hardware choices. In a perfect system, it would be the way we want it, in this current system of cable dominated and influenced decision making, IPTV is our only other option, and thats not even regulated, nor is it included in the tru2way standard (cant use tru2way devices with Fios or Directv for example).

Actually Verizon is looking at using Tru2way. Even D* is considering it. Verizon however will wait for DCAS. DCAS should allow for Cable Ready TV's with no Cable card and no STB. The new Tru2way devices will still require you to rent a cable card since Cableco's aren't willing to sell the cards at Bestbuy, Walmart, and Circuit City. DCAS does have it's hurdles though.

Not so much faster as more powerful.

Moto has a new box coming out soon DCX series.
Panasonic will next year(Comcast is involved with this one).

2009 "should" be a good year for us cable DVR people that have suffered with crap for 3-4 years.

Also these new boxes will be able to render the IPG in widescreen which is a big plus for us HDTV owners :). No more SD optimized guides due to hardware limitations. I'm sure they may use a 4:3 guide but use the sidebars to display crap. I'm sure a 4:3 mode will be available for SD owners who haven't made the switch yet. Cisco has already launched the RNG-200 for Comcast areas who have Cisco networks. This box is capable of Widescreen IPG, MPEG-4 and can have a larger drive.

I saw TiVo is getting back together with direct tv. Maybe they got sick of working with Moto boxes and wanted to move on to greener pastures. It is absurb how slow and flawed this roll out has been.

Yes I agree, It is taking ridiculously long to launch a broader rollout than what they have so far. Still there is no response anywhere that I can find on when they plan on getting tivo out to the rest of us..

Is anyone here still using the TiVo software? If you are, are you having any problems since the channel lineup change last month (WFXT, WLVI, WSBK moved)?

None of my season passes on these channels record. I've deleted and recreated them since the lineup change and they still won't record. I've spoken with Comcast a few times and they're trying to figure out the problem, but I wonder if more of you are also experiencing this?

Is anyone here still using the TiVo software? If you are, are you having any problems since the channel lineup change last month (WFXT, WLVI, WSBK moved)?

None of my season passes on these channels record. I've deleted and recreated them since the lineup change and they still won't record. I've spoken with Comcast a few times and they're trying to figure out the problem, but I wonder if more of you are also experiencing this?

Everything is working fine on my end. Have you tried restarting your DVR?

Everything is working fine on my end. Have you tried restarting your DVR?

Yeah, first just tried restarting from the setup menu, then Comcast recommended a complete reboot - unplug both power cord and coax cable. Neither made any difference.

So just to confirm... you have season passes on WFXT-DT, WLVI-DT, or WSBK-DT which are working completely correctly? These are the only channels moved and the only ones affected.

I was having similar problems..rebooted, deleted and reentered season passes and still no dice. Well, for whatever reason I deleted them one more time last night and things seem to be recording as scheduled. Maybe try one more time?

I was having similar problems..rebooted, deleted and reentered season passes and still no dice. Well, for whatever reason I deleted them one more time last night and things seem to be recording as scheduled. Maybe try one more time?

Last night I deleted a few of the season passes and recreated them. Checking the upcoming episodes (through the season pass) it shows that next weeks episodes will record (2 check marks) but that the current weeks (not reruns) will not. I just manually set this weeks to record and I'll keep on eye on them.

Also missed The Daily Show show's first play on my other 3416 at 11 last night. Had the box set to only save 5 episodes and even though it should only record first run episodes, it had recorded a bunch of reruns over the last couple days and I hadn't checked that box. Now after deleting all the reruns I've upped it to save 10 episodes. I really wish it would do a better job of not recording reruns. Probably more of a data provider problem, but annoying all the same.

Ya' know, I get ready to jump into the Tivo world, then I read something like this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10074674-1.html

And I can't shake the thought that everyone is just accepting of the software's shortcomings (slow navigation, wonky recording, crashes, etc) and things aren't really better now, especially when compared to the iGuide. Dunno, guess I'm not convinced.

Ya' know, I get ready to jump into the Tivo world, then I read something like this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10074674-1.html

And I can't shake the thought that everyone is just accepting of the software's shortcomings (slow navigation, wonky recording, crashes, etc) and things aren't really better now, especially when compared to the iGuide. Dunno, guess I'm not convinced.

You want to be convinced than give it a try. There is nothing to lose. You can always cancel.

Ya' know, I get ready to jump into the Tivo world, then I read something like this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10074674-1.html

And I can't shake the thought that everyone is just accepting of the software's shortcomings (slow navigation, wonky recording, crashes, etc) and things aren't really better now, especially when compared to the iGuide. Dunno, guess I'm not convinced.

You want to be convinced than give it a try. There is nothing to lose. You can always cancel. :)

Ya' know, I get ready to jump into the Tivo world, then I read something like this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10074674-1.html

And I can't shake the thought that everyone is just accepting of the software's shortcomings (slow navigation, wonky recording, crashes, etc) and things aren't really better now, especially when compared to the iGuide. Dunno, guess I'm not convinced.

I've had it for months & IMO its much better than before. If you have bad wiring in your house & tons of splitters stay away, but if you good signal TiVo will work good.

Hm. Just one splitter for internet/TV, as installed by Comcast.

Dunno, maybe I'll give it whirl. I have the DCT 3412, so don't know if that'll hurt or help my chances of Tivo working properly....

Here's my latest problem with both of my Comcast TiVo boxes. The front panel record light is on and the Guide show some random show that I've never set to record as being currently recorded. As far as I can tell, nothing is actually being recorded but the box responds very, very slowly. Seems to be some sort of memory leak. Rebooting fixes the problem but this is now happening on each unit about once a week.

I wonder how many people are still part of this customer sponsored beta test? Seems to be fewer posts to this thread from users.

I'm not abandoning ship yet, but I am getting closer to making that decision.

I just got Tivo installed on my Comcast Box yesterday. I decided to keep my Comcast remote, as I also use it to control my DVD player, so the Comcast guy took the Tivo remote back.

Before Tivo was installed, I had the "Lock" button setup as 30 second skip. It looks like that no longer works as it now skips to the end of the show instead of 30 seconds :(

I saw earlier in this thread how to put 30 second skip on the Tivo remote. But is there a different way you have to do it to put it on the Comcast remote?

For the record... I'm abandoning ship as soon as humanly possible (ie: next TivoHD deal I see come through. :rolleyes:).

Paying $36 to test comcast's software for them ended up being a disaster.. and its been a year of hell.

With a real tivo and my one free M-card, I can shave almost $18 a month (after the 3 year break even on a lifetime sub).

I'm starting to wonder why I'm even waiting for a deal... life's too short, right?

G

I'm starting to wonder why I'm even waiting for a deal... life's too short, right?

G

You might want to make sure there's a tuning adapter available in your area for SDV channels before making the leap.

Wow, so it's been a year already? Man, time flies. Seems there's been some progress, but it's not quite the resounding success folks had hoped. And Cox still hasn't rolled out their integrated TiVo for the public. No wonder TiVo was chomping at the bit to make a new deal with DIRECTV.

You might want to make sure there's a tuning adapter available in your area for SDV channels before making the leap.

Wow, so it's been a year already? Man, time flies. Seems there's been some progress, but it's not quite the resounding success folks had hoped. And Cox still hasn't rolled out their integrated TiVo for the public. No wonder TiVo was chomping at the bit to make a new deal with DIRECTV.

Just think it will be three years this CES that they introduced the idea of a cable box based Tivo. If you would of bought a SIII the next day and paid for life time you would be just approaching the break even point.

You might want to make sure there's a tuning adapter available in your area for SDV channels before making the leap.

Wow, so it's been a year already? Man, time flies. Seems there's been some progress, but it's not quite the resounding success folks had hoped. And Cox still hasn't rolled out their integrated TiVo for the public. No wonder TiVo was chomping at the bit to make a new deal with DIRECTV.

You would at least think cox could get the current code that the comcas tivo uses and just tweak it, but I do believe they are waiting for the Tru2way tivo software for the cox port.

I've been waiting for the Comcast TiVo for years. We have DirecTV because my wife is wedded to their TiVo, while I use the Comcast DVR because I did not want to BUY the DirecTV HD DVR. Renting the Comcast box just made more sense, although having satellite and cable TV bills all this time was kinda dumb. Also, I was under the strong impression that DirecTV's version of HD, often derided as HD Lite, was terribly inferior due to low bandwidth allocation. The one time I saw DirecTV HD at a friend's house, the image quality was bad with a lot of mosquito artifacts. Now I read many people claiming that DirecTV quality is as good or better than cable. I haven't kept up with teh details, but I guess they might have gone to MPEG4 since I saw it.

So, today I was at Costco and saw the DirecTV HD DVR available for "lease" for $179. Not exactly free, like the Comcast box, but at least it is a lease so I wouldn't get stuck if the box broke.

Unless someone can refute that DirecTV HD picture quality is good, I'm about ready to cancel Comcast. Waiting for the TiVo, especially considering how poorly it appears to work as indicated by many of the comments here, was a big mistake.

Bill in Alamo

It's a shame because the potential was there. Oh well. I'm sticking with the iGuide until such time that TiVo HD boxes don't cost a bazillion dollars and require engineering degrees to set up with local HD cable systems like Comcraptic.

Yes, for some reason the iGuide has the inexplicable inability to record ONLY NEW episodes of shows in a series (instead of ALL of them, despite your series recording settings to the contrary), which kind of defeats the purpose of having a DVR, but the TiVo-on-Motorola DVR option sounds worse. :-(

There is deeper significance here. TiVo loses money on each stand-alone TiVo it sells, even including subscription. They clearly were holding out hope that the Comcast TiVo would represent a path to profitability. Sounds like it won't, and so the viability of TiVo still remains in question.

There is deeper significance here. TiVo loses money on each stand-alone TiVo it sells, even including subscription. They clearly were holding out hope that the Comcast TiVo would represent a path to profitability. Sounds like it won't, and so the viability of TiVo still remains in question.

My guess is the folks at Direct TV have their acts together more then Comcast does. They will get it right. I really don't understand why Comcast can't find a way to make this work.

Because Comcast is incompetent and greedy, and does not care about customer satisfaction. Only $$$.

Because Comcast is incompetent and greedy, and does not care about customer satisfaction. Only $$$.

What they should of done was customize Tivo boxes for Comcast with built in cable cards and the ability to access on demand. And software with the Comcast logo. Then you could of had all of the features of Tivo tailored to Comcast.

My guess is the folks at Direct TV have their acts together more then Comcast does. They will get it right. I really don't understand why Comcast can't find a way to make this work.

I am not sure what you mean by "make this work." I've had Comcast Tivo since the very first day of availability. The software update a few months ago made it very reasonable, and I have no major complains, and no desire to change it. I had iGuide before that. I also experienced DirectTV and (RIP) Voom. I will try FIOS when it becomes available on my street simply because I want to test it (not because I am unhappy with Comcast).

By the way, is it technically possible to have both FIOS and Comcast at the same time on the same TV set? For a few months I had DirectTV and Comcast and was A/B testing the PQ. At that time (of HDLite on DirectTV) Comcast PQ was much better and I dropped DirectTV.

I am not sure what you mean by "make this work." I've had Comcast Tivo since the very first day of availability. The software update a few months ago made it very reasonable, and I have no major complains, and no desire to change it. I had iGuide before that. I also experienced DirectTV and (RIP) Voom. I will try FIOS when it becomes available on my street simply because I want to test it (not because I am unhappy with Comcast).

By the way, is it technically possible to have both FIOS and Comcast at the same time on the same TV set? For a few months I had DirectTV and Comcast and was A/B testing the PQ. At that time (of HDLite on DirectTV) Comcast PQ was much better and I dropped DirectTV.

If your happy with it great. From my point of view if they were able to make it work it would have been released on a wider scale. I would read post were people complain about paying to beta test.

My guess is the folks at Direct TV have their acts together more then Comcast does. They will get it right. I really don't understand why Comcast can't find a way to make this work.The issue is strictly a matter of the quality of the components in the equipment. Comcast's challenge is that they have tens of millions of DCT- and DCH- series boxes in service. That's over a billion dollars of equipment that would have to be replaced.

With electronics equipment, you either make them cheap or quality. If you make quality equipment, you pay for that, and so you expect that equipment to last a long time. The problem with that is that quality equipment spends much of its life functionality behind-the-times.

What they should of done was customize Tivo boxes for Comcast with built in cable cards and the ability to access on demand. And software with the Comcast logo. Then you could of had all of the features of Tivo tailored to Comcast.My back-of-the-napkin figuring pegs the monthly fee for that DVR at about $40 per month. Are you still interested in that idea? :)

Comcast's challenge is that they have tens of millions of DCT- and DCH- series boxes in service.

Not a chance. Comcast doesn't even have anywhere close to 10 million HD customers nationwide, and they use plenty of SA boxes in other markets.

Comcast ADDED over a half of a million DVR and/or HD subscribers in just one quarter, two years ago. However, I do think you're right that my number was an over-statement. I think that's how many boxes they have, not specifically DCT- and DCH-boxes. Those number in the millions, not tens of millions. Regardless, let's just say that they have LOTS of DCT- and DCH- boxes, too many to replace them all.

I've been having some weird issues with my tivo comcast box lately and wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing the same or knows of a fix..

- Takes about 3 pushes of the guide button before the guide will open and stay open.. I click it and it closes right away then goes back to channel info, then i repeat that til it opens.

- When i setup a recording the channel freezes and hte red light comes. Only way to fix that channel is to reboot the DVR..

- When watching a show, if i rewind, i will lose audio on the recored show occasionally either requiring a reboot of box to fix

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Chris

I've been having some weird issues with my tivo comcast box lately and wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing the same or knows of a fix..

- Takes about 3 pushes of the guide button before the guide will open and stay open.. I click it and it closes right away then goes back to channel info, then i repeat that til it opens.

- When i setup a recording the channel freezes and hte red light comes. Only way to fix that channel is to reboot the DVR..

- When watching a show, if i rewind, i will lose audio on the recored show occasionally either requiring a reboot of box to fix

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Chris

None of the above happens on my box. I would suggest disconnecting the box from power for a few minutes (i.e., hard rebooting). If this doesn't help than most likely your box needs to be replaced.

My back-of-the-napkin figuring pegs the monthly fee for that DVR at about $40 per month. Are you still interested in that idea? :)

If Comcast wants to offer Tivo service they need to be able to offer it on equipment that works. Since they have only been able to roll it out in 1 market in in one year it seems to me they don't have the right equipment.

Not many people would be willing to pay $40.00 a month agreed. But it is up to them to subsidize the equipment until they reach break even.

I don't believe there is a low price that will even achieve break-even on "equipment that works", given today's environment. So basically, what you're saying is that they should not offer TiVo service. I don't disagree with you about that.

I can now download Netflix to my Tivo HD. Pretty sweet.

I can now download Netflix to my Tivo HD. Pretty sweet.

You don't have the Comcast Tivo though do you???

You don't have the Comcast Tivo though do you???



Nope. Can't get it in SE Michigan.

Nope. Can't get it in SE Michigan.

Then why did you post in the comcast tivo forum?

Then why did you post in the comcast tivo forum?
Many of us, including me, who do not live in a Comcast marketing area but do have a TiVo S3 or HD post to this forum because we hope, eventually, that our local cable company will deploy TiVo software to their rental DVRs. Thus, we want to keep up with what is going on with Comcast's implementation of TiVo software. It certainly makes sense to me.

Many of us, including me, who do not live in a Comcast marketing area but do have a TiVo S3 or HD post to this forum because we hope, eventually, that our local cable company will deploy TiVo software to their rental DVRs. Thus, we want to keep up with what is going on with Comcast's implementation of TiVo software. It certainly makes sense to me.

I have Cox and I am also waiting. Atleast he could asked if the comcast tivo has that feature instead of just saying he can download netflix.

Sorry if this has been covered on the previous 128 pages... but what is the latest on the Comcast TiVo?

I recall Denver being a test market, yet it's STILL not available here!

Then why did you post in the comcast tivo forum?

Just sharing information. Someone could be on the fence about pulling the trigger opposed to waiting another year for comcast to get out of beta.

Assuming the Comcast TiVo package ever gets into general release (not a given), it would be a great selling point if TiVo could convince Comcast/Motorola to enable the eSATA ports for the TiVo versions.

Just sharing information. Someone could be on the fence about pulling the trigger opposed to waiting another year for comcast to get out of beta.
I think most of us understood you perfectly. Unfortunately, though, paranoia and ill will are not unknown around here.

I think most of us understood you perfectly. Unfortunately, though, paranoia and ill will are not unknown around here.

It's always been a tough thread.

I live in the New Bedford MA area and after seeing all the latest ads pushing TiVo and Comcast DVR, I decided to try it again and had it installed a week ago. Everyhting is going fine. I would recommend it as a good alternative to the TiVo HD that I also have and get Comcast On Demand with TiVo Search.

So far, so stable since I tried it twice before and returned it. This newest version of the software is a keeper. I have a signal level of 9 out of 10 and that's important for TiVo on Comcast to work properly.

What's the cost difference again between Comcast TiVo and the regular DVR again?

What's the cost difference again between Comcast TiVo and the regular DVR again?


$2.95 more a month & a possible $17 charge if they have to come out to install it..

Just got one of these boxes as I finally added Tivo to my comcast subscription. I do have a few questions though:

1) My old Comcast box had fast forward / rewind, but also skip forward skip back, which was very useful during commercials. I can't seem to find any similar functionality for the Tivo in terms of skipping forward/back 15 or 30 seconds. The right and left buttons skip to the beginning and end.

I did see some people talking about this a page back ... is this a bug?

2) On the old box, I could press guide and key in a channel number and press OK to go to that channel in the guide. When I do that now, and press OK, it closes the guide and goes to that channel instead. That's very annoying when I am on channel 200 and want to see what's on the 800s. Is there a way around this?

Otherwise, I'm very happy with the box. There have been a few odd glitches (for instance, when I search for the show "24" to record, it only finds the non-HD version of it) but besides that I'm glad to have upgraded. If anything it was worth it to get rid of the huge ad that took up half the guide.

Just got one of these boxes as I finally added Tivo to my comcast subscription. I do have a few questions though:

1) My old Comcast box had fast forward / rewind, but also skip forward skip back, which was very useful during commercials. I can't seem to find any similar functionality for the Tivo in terms of skipping forward/back 15 or 30 seconds. The right and left buttons skip to the beginning and end.

I did see some people talking about this a page back ... is this a bug?

2) On the old box, I could press guide and key in a channel number and press OK to go to that channel in the guide. When I do that now, and press OK, it closes the guide and goes to that channel instead. That's very annoying when I am on channel 200 and want to see what's on the 800s. Is there a way around this?

Otherwise, I'm very happy with the box. There have been a few odd glitches (for instance, when I search for the show "24" to record, it only finds the non-HD version of it) but besides that I'm glad to have upgraded. If anything it was worth it to get rid of the huge ad that took up half the guide.



1. Its there the button is below the Rewind button. It jumps back 8 seconds.

2. The only way to do this as of now is to enter the number when you are in the guide & wait the few seconds it takes to show the new channel.

Just got one of these boxes as I finally added Tivo to my comcast subscription. I do have a few questions though:

1) My old Comcast box had fast forward / rewind, but also skip forward skip back, which was very useful during commercials. I can't seem to find any similar functionality for the Tivo in terms of skipping forward/back 15 or 30 seconds. The right and left buttons skip to the beginning and end.

I did see some people talking about this a page back ... is this a bug?

2) On the old box, I could press guide and key in a channel number and press OK to go to that channel in the guide. When I do that now, and press OK, it closes the guide and goes to that channel instead. That's very annoying when I am on channel 200 and want to see what's on the 800s. Is there a way around this?

Otherwise, I'm very happy with the box. There have been a few odd glitches (for instance, when I search for the show "24" to record, it only finds the non-HD version of it) but besides that I'm glad to have upgraded. If anything it was worth it to get rid of the huge ad that took up half the guide.

1. Someone posted the 8 second skip-back. There is a 30 second skip you can program in your remote. Do a google search and you'll easily find it (I'm at work so I don't have my 'notes' since when TiVO does a firmware upgrade you, sometimes, have to reteach the remote the skip).
2. As the other poster stated: hit guide then press the channel you wish to see what's playing. I love my 2 TIVOHD's and 2 Series 2 (even though one passed away and the other will become obsolete on the digital transition)

Thanks for the prompt reply guys. I do have a logitech harmony so I'll google for that 30 second skip code, and use the 8 second button for now - not sure how I missed that one!

I did eventually discovered that it switched on its own. For some reason those 3 seconds seem to be a long time to wait for it to switch on its own, but I suppose I'll just have to get used to it (assuming I don't find a remote code for another version of the "ok" button).

What's the cost difference again between Comcast TiVo and the regular DVR again?

In my case, my bill went down, but that is because I already have a non-DVR cable box so I was paying the ($10?) extra fee for the HD DVR and the single Multi-Stream cable card I replaced it with was $8 or so a month less.

Now there is the $300 Tivo box bill and the $300 3-year contract that had to be factored in, and over 36 months that was $17 a month. So in the end, I paid $8 more a month - and it was worth every penny.

In my case, my bill went down, but that is because I already have a non-DVR cable box so I was paying the ($10?) extra fee for the HD DVR and the single Multi-Stream cable card I replaced it with was $8 or so a month less.

Now there is the $300 Tivo box bill and the $300 3-year contract that had to be factored in, and over 36 months that was $17 a month. So in the end, I paid $8 more a month - and it was worth every penny.

$300 for the 3-year contract? When did you buy since you can buy the TIvoHD and lifetime subscription for @$700.

$300 for the 3-year contract? When did you buy since you can buy the TIvoHD and lifetime subscription for @$700.

About 18-24 months ago.

Over a month and no input in this thread...until I bumped it with this post. This is where sagebrushes roll. At least it's not the Cox-TiVo, aka Vaporware.

Ghost-town since by now since you either were an early adopter/tester and loved it or hated it and i haven't heard any more roll-outs made. Not that I 'really' care since I have 2 HDTivos and one Comcast Moto PVR box in the bedroom just for the one-offs that occur that need recording or to watch something specific in the bedroom.

I've been trying to switch to TiVo HD for the past month (yes, a month), and it's been a total nightmare. Really. And, yes, Comcast is my cable provider. :-)

I've been trying to switch to TiVo HD for the past month (yes, a month), and it's been a total nightmare. Really. And, yes, Comcast is my cable provider. :-)

There is a Comcast product called Comcast Tivo, which is what this forum addresses. It runs on a comcast stb, not a tivohd box.

Try this forum instead: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=879469&goto=newpost

I'm well aware of the Comcast/TiVo STB (which is why I've been monitoring this thread for the past year).

After reading all of the problems people were having with the TiVo-on-Motorola service, I decided to get a TiVo HD. Not sure that was a much better solution.

I'm well aware of the Comcast/TiVo STB (which is why I've been monitoring this thread for the past year).

After reading all of the problems people were having with the TiVo-on-Motorola service, I decided to get a TiVo HD. Not sure that was a much better solution.

OK, I didn't mean to insult your intelligence.

No problem! I don't have much intelligence to insult. ;-)

Sense of humor's more important anyway and you do have that.

I just remember how much folks looked forward to this and I think the most telling thing is if you go to the TiVo Community Forums, there's very little in the Comcast TiVo sub-forum.

Sense of humor's more important anyway and you do have that.

I just remember how much folks looked forward to this and I think the most telling thing is if you go to the TiVo Community Forums, there's very little in the Comcast TiVo sub-forum.


It was announced in 2005. I waited 3 years then couldn't wait any more. I left Comcast for the competition.

Best move I made.

It was announced in 2005. I waited 3 years then couldn't wait any more. I left Comcast for the competition.

Best move I made.

Did you go to FIOS or satellite?

Did you go to FIOS or satellite?

I went to FiOS. I don't want to hijack this thread but feel free to PM me if you want more detail.

Yeah, I gave up hope and joke a while back that the title of this thread should be changed from "coming soon" :)

I have to make a decision. I switched to Comcast from Sat several months ago for the TIVO service. Received three Comcast TIVO boxes to go along with the one S3 TIVO with cablecard. All three Comcast boxes bricked within two weeks and again within days after all were fixed with a service call. I replaced two of the three with TIVO HD boxes and the third Comcast box has just been sitting unused. it was in a room that was rarely used anyway. I’ve now converted that room into a modest home theater for my kids to use.

So now the question is do I call Comcast and their TIVO box serviced or just get another TIVO HD and have them install a cablecard? I haven’t kept up with the Comcast TIVO problems. Have they been worked out? I’m leaning towards the TIVO HD. I can get lifetime service for $299 so I’d probably save some money over the long run if I keep it 4 or 5 years. I’ve never had a single problem with the TIVO boxes.

I haven't had a single Comcast-Tivo problem for several months or so. It's hard to remember exactly when because it just works as it's supposed to work. I use it to time-shift various shows (for my wife) for which I set up season passes, and for sports (for me). I think that after the last software update and fixes a few months ago it's become more stable and more responsive.

I haven't had a single Comcast-Tivo problem for several months or so. It's hard to remember exactly when because it just works as it's supposed to work. I use it to time-shift various shows (for my wife) for which I set up season passes, and for sports (for me). I think that after the last software update and fixes a few months ago it's become more stable and more responsive.

Great news. So when will Comcast roll it out all over?

Just noticed this article about Comcast Tivo problems in Boston.

http://www.examiner.com/x-5622-Boston-Gadgets-Examiner~y2009m3d28-Comcasts-TiVo-boxes-experiencing-problems-here-in-Boston-lately

Just noticed this article about Comcast Tivo problems in Boston.

http://www.examiner.com/x-5622-Boston-Gadgets-Examiner~y2009m3d28-Comcasts-TiVo-boxes-experiencing-problems-here-in-Boston-lately

This “Live TV is currently unavailable” happened to me about 2 weeks ago while watching TV. Resets and signal push didn't help. I replaced the box at the local Comcast center. The new box had iGuide not Tivo so I called Comcast to activate Tivo software on my box. Simple activation didn't work so the Comcast guy decided to send me full download, and it solved the problem. He told me that it was Tivo software update that caused this “Live TV is currently unavailable” issue. Tivo made some changes but didn't coordinate them with Comcast. Actually, my old box was fine and I didn't have to replaced it. Just new software download would solve the problem.

I know this thread is pretty dead, but I wanted to post about a problem I've had for a while that bugs me.

I want to keep my Comcast TiVO unit at 1080i. But, it seems that - more often than not - when I turn on my system that the unit consistently resets itself to 480i; my selection of 1080i does not seem to "stick."

I have pretty much resigned myself to going into the vido settings menu everytime I start watching TV to be sure the set up is as I'd like it to be, but the process is a wee bit anoying.

Anyone else have this issue?

If your using HDMI, then the TV and the STB is not maintaining the Handshake data connection.

I know this thread is pretty dead, but I wanted to post about a problem I've had for a while that bugs me.

I want to keep my Comcast TiVO unit at 1080i. But, it seems that - more often than not - when I turn on my system that the unit consistently resets itself to 480i; my selection of 1080i does not seem to "stick."

I have pretty much resigned myself to going into the vido settings menu everytime I start watching TV to be sure the set up is as I'd like it to be, but the process is a wee bit anoying.

Anyone else have this issue?

If your using HDMI, then the TV and the STB is not maintaining the Handshake data connection.

Hmmmm.

I am using HDMI. But why would the STB setting keep changing its setting back to 480i? Doesn't this setting drive the output, with the TV just reacting to what the STB is outputting? If it was a handshake issue, wouldn't that just cause a momentary blackout before the to devices reestablished a connection? I do occassionally get such momentary blackouts, but their rarity is such that I don't consider it a major issue.

I don't fully comprehend the ins and outs of HDMI; to it's possible I'm misunderstanding the issue. The whole thing is rather odd. The really werid thing is that, when these situations occur, even though the STB says 480i and the picture doesn't look quite right my TV still says it's receiving a 1080p signal.

Thanks for your help. Again, this is at worst a relatively minor inconvenience - yet it's still something I'd like to understand and solve. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the service at this point.

Are you changing the format with the video option in the Tivo software while the box on or are you turning the box off & changing it the old way? (power off-menu) Sometimes it works better if you do it the old way.

Are you changing the format with the video option in the Tivo software while the box on or are you turning the box off & changing it the old way? (power off-menu) Sometimes it works better if you do it the old way.

With the box on through the software. This was an option ever since I got my box, so I never had to make the selection through the power-off menu (at least I don't remember doing so). But I'll give it a shot and see if it makes a difference.

Hey all,

So I suddenly find myself considering a move to Comcast, and am trying to weigh how the DVR I get will compare to the Dish VIP722 I've been using for about a year and a half. I had experience with SD Tivo via DirecTV a few years back and liked the interface, but it sounds like Comcast-Tivo isn't quite the same.

Obviously 130 pages is a bit much to read in one setting, so I hope I'm not being too much of a nuisance. Here's what I've picked up on this thread. Please let me know if I've got anything wrong:

1. Streaming Netflix isn't available, and the Anywhere You Go features on Tivo's Website certainly aren't included (I'm more interested in Netflix personally).
2. What you're paying extra for, then, is the Tivo interface and recommended viewing options and that sort of thing, which may not run exactly like if they were on a Tivo machine.
3. Regardless of whether I go with Comcast-Tivo or simply Comcast HD DVR, I'll get the same box, and there's no way of knowing which box I'll get or if it has an OTA input or not, unless I can get my sales rep to put me in touch with my installer.
4. Comcast-Tivo might not even be available in my market yet (Salt Lake City—I guess I'll find that out tomorrow.)

Based on that, I'm thinking the best plan might be to try out the regular Comcast HD DVR and see how I like it before I try out Comcast-Tivo. Is Comcast's HD DVR still as bad as earlier threads and posts in this threat suggest?

Thanks for the info!

When I read on the net about someone moving from Dish to Comcast it is always the same. The shouldn't have.

What I would recommend is that you visit someone with Comcast and see for yourself if it is what you want.

Just my 2 cents.

Is Comcast's HD DVR still as bad as earlier threads and posts in this threat suggest?

There are obvious bugs in the unit that haven't been addressed in YEARS. The hard drive is too small for the HD world, and there's no way add an additional drive. I haven't compared the Comcast DVR to all other competitors, but it's the worst one I've seen.

There are obvious bugs in the unit that haven't been addressed in YEARS. The hard drive is too small for the HD world, and there's no way add an additional drive. I haven't compared the Comcast DVR to all other competitors, but it's the worst one I've seen.

I guess it depends on what you want to do with it. I use it exclusively for time-shifting - to watch the programs I want whenever I want. I don't save programs for my grandchildren so the current drive capacity (160Gb ?) is ok. Comcast-Tivo has been working for me well. My only complain is slowness of the interface.

I guess it depends on what you want to do with it. I use it exclusively for time-shifting - to watch the programs I want whenever I want.


Your spot on, that is all the DVR is intended for. Time shifting! Not long term storage. The DVR works fine. If people want long term, go out and buy it on DVD / BR-DVD or rent from Netflix.

Thanks for the input, guys. I can't believe that glitches people were complaining years ago are still causing problems. It doesn't bode well for Comcast. I guess I'll try their regular DVR first, so I have a point of comparison to know if the Comcast-Tivo is worth the upgrade.

Especially perplexing is the lack of expansion offers. During my research, I found threads from a year or two ago in which Comcast promised it was coming.

Regarding the negative feelings from Dish switchers: The only reason I'm considering the switch is that Comcast has offered me a year-long, no-contract deal that includes Internet and would end up saving me a significant amount of money (more than a third of my total Internet-cable costs) and giving me more programming. So I am prepared to accept a certain decline in quality (and the Comedy Central feed not airing The Daily Show until midnight :( ), to save some money and get some higher-tier channels I wanted. So hopefully that mindset will save me the disappointment of others.

Sorry to drift off topic, and thanks again!

Well I am just popping in to say I am switching from my Comcast HD TIVO. I have 2 in my house and have ALOT of issues. Random reboots to 30 - 45 sec pauses when trying to get the remotes to work. The newest issue i have is when ffw a tivo'd show the progress bar disappears and the screen stops. I hit play hear the sound but the screen does nothing. Wait about a minute and the show catches up. Now this is the 3rd box i have had in my room and 2 in my lvingin room. I have read a couple people are using it just fine too bad I cant I love TIVO. Guess I will go buy some Stand alone units. and i do have an amplifier on my line. They just can not get it to work in my house I guess.

Your spot on, that is all the DVR is intended for. Time shifting! Not long term storage. The DVR works fine. If people want long term, go out and buy it on DVD / BR-DVD or rent from Netflix.

All I'd like to do is go on vacation for two weeks and come back and have all the shows I usually record be there. If your idea of time shifting is just a couple of days, then the Comcast disk size is fine. But if you go out of town, you've got to decide what you're willing to not record. Fifteen to sixteen hours of recording space (HD) is not enough. It's what I had ten years ago (in SD) with my Replay TV.

Thanks for the input, guys. I can't believe that glitches people were complaining years ago are still causing problems. It doesn't bode well for Comcast.You mean it doesn't bode well for Motorola. Comcast doesn't make the DVRs: Motorola does. And they're not the only MSO that uses them. Here, all three of the terrestrial subscription television providers use different flavors of the Motorola DVR you're talking about. Obviously, all of them have determined that they're good enough.

If you want better, get a real TiVo.

All I'd like to do is go on vacation for two weeks and come back and have all the shows I usually record be there. If your idea of time shifting is just a couple of days, then the Comcast disk size is fine. But if you go out of town, you've got to decide what you're willing to not record. Fifteen to sixteen hours of recording space (HD) is not enough. It's what I had ten years ago (in SD) with my Replay TV.You'd be another good candidate for a real TiVo. The TiVo, and Moxi, are the only "Replay TV"-like devices available for cable.

You mean it doesn't bode well for Motorola. Comcast doesn't make the DVRs: Motorola does. And they're not the only MSO that uses them. Here, all three of the terrestrial subscription television providers use different flavors of the Motorola DVR you're talking about. Obviously, all of them have determined that they're good enough.

If you want better, get a real TiVo.

As I stated, I have no first-hand experience. I was just reflecting on issues that people on the board were describing, that Comcast said it was working on, and that are still around years later.

As for Comcast v Motorola, I thought Comcast had its own OS for the DVR and that was where the problems were. Sorry for the confusion.

As I stated, I have no first-hand experience. I was just reflecting on issues that people on the board were describing, that Comcast said it was working on, and that are still around years later.

As for Comcast v Motorola, I thought Comcast had its own OS for the DVR and that was where the problems were. Sorry for the confusion.

They do. The same exact boxes are used by others with arguably superior software, definitely newer.

I wish we could buy Motorola boxes directly from them and just have it cablecard ready for Comcast or whoever else. Reading through the Motorola manual and website shos that the boxes have tons of potential built in, its the software that stunts it.

Reading through the Motorola manual and website shos that the boxes have tons of potential built in, its the software that stunts it.

Such as disabling the eSATA port, preventing us from adding additional disk space.

Such as disabling the eSATA port, preventing us from adding additional disk space.Note Comcast does not disable the eSATA port, they just don't have the [non-existent] software to enable it.

If you have a Windows 98 PC, you aren't missing Windows Vista features because they are disabled. You missing those features because they don't exist in the software. Such is also the case with the Motorola DVRs.

Such as disabling the eSATA port, preventing us from adding additional disk space.

I don't even see the motivation for disabling the eSATA port, as they aren't trying to sell me on a higher-capacity DVR. Dish charged me a one-time fee for the 722's USB extension, I'm surprised Comcast hasn't tried something similar. Maybe it's some sort of attempt to stop data transfers, but I assume the drive is encrypted anyway. :confused:

Note Comcast does not disable the eSATA port, they just don't have the [non-existent] software to enable it.

Do other companies have firmware that utilizes the ports, or is it an issue of under-development for the machines in general?

Do other companies have firmware that utilizes the ports, or is it an issue of under-development for the machines in general?No cable companies have firmware supporting eSATA on Motorola boxes. This capability does not yet exist on the Motorola platform.

Scientific Atlanta (Cisco) DVRs, used in some Comcast service areas, do provide firmware support for eSATA expansion. Comcast unofficially supports that feature. Unfortunately, the TiVo software is not yet available for Scientific Atlanta (Cisco) hardware.

No cable companies have firmware supporting eSATA on Motorola boxes. This capability does not yet exist on the Motorola platform.

Scientific Atlanta (Cisco) DVRs, used in some Comcast service areas, do provide firmware support for eSATA expansion. Comcast unofficially supports that feature. Unfortunately, the TiVo software is not yet available for Scientific Atlanta (Cisco) hardware.

Thanks for filling me in. It's all very strange, as there are posts in the Motorola thread from as early as 2007 saying that (according to a Comcast rep) Motorola released firmware for encrypted eSATA expansion and it'd be out soon.

I definitely think the reduced storage will be the biggest shock if I change from Dish (which gave me a 500GB 722).

I definitely think the reduced storage will be the biggest shock if I change from Dish (which gave me a 500GB 722).

Yeah it's terrible.

Plus this is coming out so I'd stay with Dish

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10137052-100.html

Yeah it's terrible.

Plus this is coming out so I'd stay with Dish

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10137052-100.html

Yeah, that machine looks truly awesome. However, I might have an easier time getting my hands on one if I slum it with Comcast for a year. There are a few quirks with the 722 that my old SD Tivo did better, but overall it's a very nice machine—probably the nicest thing about Dish.

Hi all-

I've had the Comcast TiVo software since February and just started noticing a new problem. On some programs (both SD and HD) I'll be fast forwarding and suddenly the DVR will "skip" to the end of the show and ask me if I want to keep or delete the recording. This mostly happens in the middle of hour long shows (between 30 and 40 minutes). Some shows will play all the way through if I don't fast forward, others will freeze frame in the problem spot and not go any further.

Has anyone else seen this behavior? Any thoughts on what could cause it? I've rebooted the DVR a couple times and it doesn't appear to help.

Thanks,
Stephen

Hi all-

I've had the Comcast TiVo software since February and just started noticing a new problem. On some programs (both SD and HD) I'll be fast forwarding and suddenly the DVR will "skip" to the end of the show and ask me if I want to keep or delete the recording. This mostly happens in the middle of hour long shows (between 30 and 40 minutes). Some shows will play all the way through if I don't fast forward, others will freeze frame in the problem spot and not go any further.

Has anyone else seen this behavior? Any thoughts on what could cause it? I've rebooted the DVR a couple times and it doesn't appear to help.

Thanks,
Stephen

Same here. It started a few days ago so I am not sure what's going on. :confused:

There was a new software update, not sure if your area got it yet, but that might be the cause. If you have software version TE-1.1, give Comcast a call so they can log the problem & begin to track it. You can find your version in the System Information screen.

There was a new software update, not sure if your area got it yet, but that might be the cause. If you have software version TE-1.1, give Comcast a call so they can log the problem & begin to track it. You can find your version in the System Information screen.

Mine is still TE-1.0.5.2 :confused:

Mine is still TE-1.0.5.2 :confused:

I would give them a call just to report it for tracking still.

Hi all-

I've had the Comcast TiVo software since February and just started noticing a new problem. On some programs (both SD and HD) I'll be fast forwarding and suddenly the DVR will "skip" to the end of the show and ask me if I want to keep or delete the recording. This mostly happens in the middle of hour long shows (between 30 and 40 minutes). Some shows will play all the way through if I don't fast forward, others will freeze frame in the problem spot and not go any further.

Has anyone else seen this behavior? Any thoughts on what could cause it? I've rebooted the DVR a couple times and it doesn't appear to help.

Thanks,
Stephen

It began happening for me when they did their software upgrade a few months. I work around it by telling it not to delete the recording and then doing a quick tuner swap. Then, I am usually able to get it back under control, but sometimes I have to do it a couple of times. They are trying out the new DCX3400 on the same set as my 3412 for troubleshooting purposes. I have had the second box a little over a week and have not had that problem (though it comes with its own set of issues, namely a handshake issue with HDMI which requires power-cycling to remedy.)

What you are describing happened when two tech supervisors were here, and they did not have an explanation.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one.

@L Supreme Thanks for the tip. I'll go check the version number and see if I've gotten the update yet or not. I'll probably call later this week to help out with tracking the issue.

@tk1234 I'll your fix next time I run into it. Hopefully that will work until they get a software patch out.

Thanks again!

Stephen

I love the new Comcast software...great stuff.

sirhan@idisgust.me

Was there an update that has fixed most issues?

I love the new Comcast software...great stuff.

sirhan@idisgust.me

In a huge turn of events for me, I have been coaxed into leaving Directv by frequent rain fade and pressure from the better half to remove the ugly dish from the side of our house.

Enter Comcast. I hate Comcast. I got hosed by them for their high speed internet for a couple of years while waiting for Verizon to bring DSL to my house. I'm sure everyone knows the deal. You want HSI from Comcast without their TV service? That'll be $63 a month.

So I'm debating biting the bullet and dealing with Comcast in my wallet rather than missing shows when it rains. I'm also done with the ugly dish on the side of the house too, (well my wife is that part.) After doing a little research online and seeing a commercial or two about Tivo being on Comcast now I realize that my once huge savings over cable has gone the way of the dodo. Can it be possible that having Verizon phone service and 3Mb DSL and Directv can cost as much as Comcast's Premier pack? It sure is. It's about $20 cheaper for Comcast. No dish on the side of my house? Check. Cheaper every month even after the promo period? Check. 30Mb internet service? Check. TiVo? Check.

I have had Directv and TiVo for about 10 years or so. I was hesitant to leave but the rains came when the Laker's and Magic were in OT in game 5 and I said that's it, I'm done with this.

Install day comes and I'm pleasantly surprised by how friendly and knowledgeable the installer is. He went over and above the call of duty. He replaced the line from the pole and everything in between my TV's. He checked signal strength at each TV. He made sure everthing worked and that I speed checked the internet to make sure I was happy before he left.

Now on to the Tivo's. Right out of the gate these boxes are not new (standard Comcast procedure) but they are quick. The installer prepared me for the fact that they were a little slow and buggy but I had already read that online so I was expecting this. But it didn't happen. I had a series two Directivo in my bedroom up until last Thursday. I know how slow these boxes can be. Start up a season pass, go make a sandwich, come back and hopefully its done. Not so with these ones. I've tried everything so far at least once. I've added about 10 Season Passes. Season Passes take about 10 seconds to finish. Enter the guide then switch to On Demand. Barely a hesitation. Page up and down in the guide take less than a second. The only place I've found that can take a second or two is advancing in the guide to later times. Perfectly acceptable though. The integration with the On Demand is seamless. Scrolling through the selections is easy and only occasionally is there a "please wait" message while it loads up the next screen. The longest I've seen that mesage is 2 seconds. This flies in the face of every other thing that I've read online and even what the installer told me. Some other complaints that I read about were the lack of a recently deleted folder, but there is one on there now. There are no networking features to speak of other than with On Demand programs, you can start in one room and finish in another. Also, when you watch an On Demand program it goes into a Saved On Demand folder where you can pick up and watch again without having to hunt for the program in the menus again. Shows you watch On Demand are in this folder on both TiVo's. Dual live buffers is another thing that was greatly missed on my HD DVR's from Directv. It is implemented well on these boxes. My favorite difference between the standard Comcast DVR and these TiVos's is in the guide. There are seven lines as compared to five in the standard box, and there are NO ads!

I'm sure that there are some issues that I've yet to find but as of this moment I have two HD ComTiVo's that are working well. There really is no comparison between a standard Comcast DVR and these boxes. If you are already on Comcast and don't want to lose On Demand, or pay the upfront fees for a "real" HD TiVo then it's a no brainer. Give it a try. If you don't have a good experience with it and they can't make it right, go back to the regular box. Thanks for reading.

Gmaxx,

Where are you located?

Is the Comcast TiVo new to your area?

Does anyone know if Comcast is going to offer the Comcast TiVo outside the New England area anytime soon?

FWIR, the port of the TiVo code is getting stable enough, now, that Time Warner is considering their first deployment. Contrary to my earlier suspicion, that TiVo on cable company boxes wouldn't go that far, it looks like the spread is about to begin, but I've read nothing more definitive than that.

Gmaxx,

Where are you located?

Is the Comcast TiVo new to your area?

Does anyone know if Comcast is going to offer the Comcast TiVo outside the New England area anytime soon?

I am in the suburbs north of Boston.

Gmaxx, thanks for replying.

Note: Comcast is expanding the Comcast TiVo service to Chicago. See underlined text.

TiVo Elbows Into Living Rooms With Recording Patent (Update1)

By Andy Fixmer

June 22 (Bloomberg) -- TiVo Inc., armed with a federal court ruling backing the company’s digital-recording patent, plans to elbow its way onto every U.S. pay-television system to attract millions of new subscribers.

The Alviso, California-based DVR pioneer is in talks with pay-TV providers to sell its recording and playback service to more of the industry’s 103 million U.S. customers or license its technology, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.

“They will leverage this to become a much bigger player,” said Anthony Shaw, a partner and intellectual property litigator at Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in Washington. “They don’t want to be a patent-holding company.”

The June 2 ruling against Dish Network Corp., the second- largest satellite TV service, gives TiVo a chance to boost revenue by adding to its 3.2 million subscribers. The company, which has struggled to make money, may also become a buyout target for Dish or the larger DirecTV Group Inc. as the satellite companies seek an advantage over each other, said Chris Marangi, an analyst with Gabelli & Co. in Rye, New York.

For $12.95 a month, TiVo subscribers can record, pause and replay shows in progress, and access thousands of movie rentals online from Amazon.com Inc., Netflix Inc. and Blockbuster Inc., all from the living-room TV. That dwarfs the video-on-demand offerings of pay-TV. The company also sells DVRs and provides software in cable and satellite set-top boxes.


'Time Warner Talks'

TiVo is in talks to provide service through Time Warner Cable Inc., the second-largest U.S. cable-TV provider, Landel Hobbs, the New York-based pay-TV service’s chief operating officer, said on a June 11 conference call. TiVo already has deals with Comcast Corp. and DirecTV, the largest U.S. pay-TV companies.

TiVo declined to comment on its discussions with pay-TV companies, said Mike Boccio, an outside spokesman. Time Warner Cable, which has 13.1 million video customers, wouldn’t elaborate on Hobbs’s comments.

DirecTV declined to discuss TiVo, said Darris Gringeri, a spokesman. Dish, based in Englewood, Colorado, also declined comment, said spokeswoman Kathie Gonzalez.

A federal judge in Texas ruled that Dish and satellite- equipment provider EchoStar Corp., both controlled by Charles Ergen, violated TiVo’s patent on technology that allows viewers to record and play back video at the same time.


‘Come to Terms’

TiVo “can go around to everyone and say, ‘You have to come to terms with us, we have already taken on Dish and our patents withstood,’” said Shaw, who has represented Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. “If there was an easy way around the patent, Dish would have already adopted one.”

The court ordered Dish to disable offending players and provide notice before attempting a workaround. Dish and EchoStar were ordered to pay $103 million to cover royalties while they continued to provide their DVR product. Both are appealing and have told the court they are developing a DVR that won’t use TiVo technology.

TiVo leapt 53 percent after the ruling. The shares fell 55 cents to $10.50 today in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, giving the company a market value of $1.1 billion. DirecTV, based in El Segundo, California, slid 11 cents to $23.57 on the New York Stock Exchange. Dish declined 66 cents to $14.52.

The legal victories haven’t yet translated into sustainable profit. With about $250 million in annual sales, TiVo lacks the heft of larger pay-TV providers. The company spent more building and marketing its digital-recording devices last year than it received in hardware sales.

TiVo reported its first annual profit of $104 million in March, the result of damages paid earlier by Dish and EchoStar, also based in Englewood. In May, the company recorded a fiscal first-quarter loss of $4.13 million as sales slid 9.7 percent to $54.9 million. Subscribers fell 16 percent.


'Litigation ‘Not Preferred’ '

In a June 8 report, Mark Argento, an analyst at Craig- Hallum Capital Group LLC in Minneapolis, also identified Amazon, Apple Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Netflix as possible TiVo suitors. Officials at Seattle-based Amazon and Los Gatos, California-based Netflix declined to comment.

“We do not anticipate any changes in our current working relationship with TiVo,” Terry Alberstein, a spokesman for San Jose, California-based Cisco, said in an e-mail. The company makes set-top boxes and DVRs.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, and Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, which operate services that sell movies, music and video games, also declined to comment.

TiVo wants pay-TV companies to let subscribers choose between DVR services, said the people, who declined to be named because the company’s deliberations are private. Alternatively, TiVo may seek licensing or other revenue, they said.


'Comcast, DirecTV'

Other pay-TV operators may also be infringing, Chief Executive Officer Tom Rogers said on a May 28 conference call.

“Is it certainly possible that we will find ourselves unable, in certain cases, to establish a commercial relationship,” Rogers said. “In those cases, will we consider litigation? Obviously, but that’s not our preferred approach.”

DirecTV plans to offer high-definition TiVo in 2010. The company has more than 18 million U.S. subscribers and could gain an edge over Dish with an exclusive accord with TiVo, Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., wrote in a June 3 report.

Dish would probably have to pay more than DirecTV or Comcast in a settlement with TiVo, said Marangi. Gabelli held 56,000 TiVo shares as of March 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Philadelphia-based Comcast, with 24.1 million cable subscribers, offers DVRs with TiVo in the Boston area and is expanding the service to Chicago.


‘War Chest’

Spokesman for Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. said their TV services don’t infringe TiVo patents. Atlanta- based Cox Communications Inc. has an agreement with TiVo. Bethpage, New York-based Cablevision Systems Corp., which is developing a remote recording system, and Charter Communications Inc., based in St. Louis, declined to comment.

“TiVo is putting a war chest together in case they have to go after other providers in court,” Shaw said. “They probably expect some other providers will put up a fight, too.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=a2d0e1TXcCuc

Well it sounds like they have made some great strides in reliability and performance since it was first released. If it ever comes to the PA area, I would give Comcast Tivo a shot.

I'm curious, however, if they will just write a Tru2Way version that will operate on Time Warner's SA/Samsung boxes and also Motorola DCX and other Tru2Way compatible set tops. Tru2Way in theory should allow Tivo to accomplish more with decent performance using an easier to maintain Java language, vs. the current legacy Motorola/Broadcom assembly language.

Im curious how many more years we are from a Tivo Tru2Way version. Also is the DirecTV variant Tru2Way, or some other custom low level C/C++/Assembly implementation where they are shoehorning the software on top of already convoluted firmware.

Also is the DirecTV variant Tru2Way

Most assuredly not. DirecTV doesn't use tru2way, CableCARD, or any other cable trappings; it's still all based around the proprietary DSS protocol system developed by Hughes. I'm not sure what OS and whatnot the HR2x boxes run, but tru2way definitely isn't part of it.

or some other custom low level C/C++/Assembly implementation where they are shoehorning the software on top of already convoluted firmware.

Not sure what their platform will be like for the new box; if it's like the HR10-250 was, though, then it'll be the standard TiVo platform with additions made to support signal reception via DSS, and appropriate support tools. Last I knew, the TiVo UI was largely implemented in Tcl; I'm not sure if that's changed, though it's all definitely still running on top of a Linux kernel, so I'd suspect that is still the case. Obviously the Comcast TiVo software is a totally different beast from the normal standalone TiVo box.

It's now been a week and the only strange thing that I have seen is that a certain channel (playboy channel in Spanish, of all things, channel 453 in my area) will not leave my favorites list. I have unchecked the channel in the menu on both of my TiVo's but to no avail. It still shows up. I have tried checking the box and then unchecking it again and no dice. I can still see the channel in the guide.

The buffer for HD channels is surprisingly short. It's only 20 minutes on my bedroom TV (fixed res of 720p.) On the living room TV it's only 10 minutes (fixed res of 1080i.) On the SD channels it's 45 minutes I think. (I didn't verify the sd time.) Other than these two minor issues, It has been smooth sailing for a week straight. No missed recordings, or anything out of the ordinary for that matter.

I did also want to mention that I did a comparison test of the video some guy (Steve Garfield I believe) posted on the web, where he changed the option in the guide to only show HD channels and it took about a 53 seconds to complete. I did the same test and it took about 3 seconds. That's quite an improvement I'd say.

Just got an update to the software over the weekend. New features seem to be:

*Saved ON Demand recordings now show up in the TiVo recordings list

*Deleted recordings now show up in the TiVo recordings list under "Recently Deleted"(not sure for how long)

*There is a new option to allow you to add time to live recordings in progress(haven't tried it yet)

Other observations are that it seems pretty stable, and that it seems to have fixed the issue I had where on demand shows would error the first time you tried to play them, then would work fine the 2nd time.

I also heard from a Comcast tech on the phone a while back that this update would allow setting recordings from the internet. I haven't found any evidence of that so far. However, he knew of the other above features and when they were coming about 2-3 months ago so I believe he is a credible source. Anyone find anything else of interest in this update?

Just got an update to the software over the weekend. New features seem to be:

*Saved ON Demand recordings now show up in the TiVo recordings list

*Deleted recordings now show up in the TiVo recordings list under "Recently Deleted"(not sure for how long)

*There is a new option to allow you to add time to live recordings in progress(haven't tried it yet)

Other observations are that it seems pretty stable, and that it seems to have fixed the issue I had where on demand shows would error the first time you tried to play them, then would work fine the 2nd time.

I also heard from a Comcast tech on the phone a while back that this update would allow setting recordings from the internet. I haven't found any evidence of that so far. However, he knew of the other above features and when they were coming about 2-3 months ago so I believe he is a credible source. Anyone find anything else of interest in this update?

I've had my two boxes installed for about a month now, and they have had all of those new features since day one. I'm curious to know where you are located and how long you've had the TiVo. I had assumed that since these TiVo's haven't been deployed all over the country yet, that there would be no need to stagger the release of new software. I have read about the online scheduling as well but I don't see this feature implemented on my boxes. Hopefully this will happen in the next release.

I live in the greater Boston (Holliston, MA) area. I know they were test areas, like Connecticut, that got this earlier than the Greater Boston area(heard from the same rep) so I know it was phased.

Any ideas when the DCX model boxes will be compatible with the tivo software?

Just an FYI.

The Comcast Tivo Online Scheduling is up and running.

Go to "www.comcast.net/tivo"

I'm in the greater Boston area.

Just an FYI.

The Comcast Tivo Online Scheduling is up and running.

Go to "www.comcast.net/tivo"

I'm in the greater Boston area.

Not sure if it's actually running. I tried it, but it doesn't move beyond the message:
"We're currently verifying your DVR. This may take a moment."
And nothing happens... :confused:

It was working on Saturday. Then I started getting the same as you the last two days.

Just tried logging in this morning and seems to be up again. Pretty cool feature.

Hope this isn't an indicator of reliability.

Any ideas when the DCX model boxes will be compatible with the tivo software?

Nope. I've just upgraded my Comcast service to include a DVR w/Tivo and it turns out the technician brought the wrong box, a DCX3400. Note: To get Comcast Tech support pertaining to Tivo, when you call their regular support number (TV/Internet/Phone 866-447-7333) ask to be transfered to the "Tivo Tech Support Dept", that is how I found out about the error... the support person said "... the DCX3400 is not compatible with Tivo..."

Another tidbit... While the support person prefaced by saying she was not familiar with the new remote controls for the replacement Tivo-capable box (to be installed in a couple of days), she was under the impression they include a button for 30-second-skip-ahead to avoid commercials - but seeing is believing. (That feature has been available in my non-HD 5508 ReplayTV DVR for years.)

Of course, the TiVo software is intended to be compatible with the DCX- ... it simply is not, yet, apparently.

Sorry the thread is so long it was hard to weed out the info I need.

Is the Tivo service just available in New England still? I just upgraded my box here in the SF Bay area hoping I could get the Tivo software on there. No go. This has to bee one of the longest rollouts I have ever seen.

Sorry the thread is so long it was hard to weed out the info I need.

Is the Tivo service just available in New England still? I just upgraded my box here in the SF Bay area hoping I could get the Tivo software on there. No go. This has to bee one of the longest rollouts I have ever seen.

Sorry you got stung. ;)

We're nearing the half-way point, partnership announced in 2005 and agreement set to expire in 2014 ( I realize the parties could choose to extend at any time), and one really has to question just how committed Comcast is. Much more so than Cox Cable though, who have still to make it publicly available.

Of course, the TiVo software is intended to be compatible with the DCX- ... it simply is not, yet, apparently.

Any news on this? I upgraded a few weeks ago to the DCX-3400 box with a 320 GB hard drive for the storage capabilities, only to find out that I was given bad info by Comcast and that I could NOT get the TiVo software. If anyone has info on when the software will be available it will be appreciated.

. . . one really has to question just how committed Comcast is. Much more so than Cox Cable though, who have still to make it publicly available.
Amen! I have been waiting for Cox to roll out the TiVo software somewhere, anywhere, but it hasn't happened. As bad as Comcast has been, at least they are making the TiVo software available in New England. I wish I knew what is really going on with respect to TiVo's deals with Comcast and Cox but I don't.

Any news on this?No news. I suspect that we won't hear that a fix is forthcoming significantly in advance of when the fix is available and deployed.

No news. I suspect that we won't hear that a fix is forthcoming significantly in advance of when the fix is available and deployed.

TiVo was installed on my DCX-3400 today. MUCH better interface than the Comcast software.

TiVo was installed on my DCX-3400 today. MUCH better interface than the Comcast software.How is overall performance / responsiveness?

How is performance / responsiveness compared to the default iGuide software?

How is overall performance / responsiveness?

How is performance / responsiveness compared to the default iGuide software?

Just as fast as the iGuide software. The only delay at all was when finalizing settings for a Season Pass, there was a delay of maybe 10 seconds. If this is an issue for anyone, I believe that you can do this online now to avoid the slight box lag. Much better software than the iGuide. Easier to navigate and more user friendly.

TiVo was installed on my DCX-3400 today. MUCH better interface than the Comcast software.Geez... I didn't expect to be proven right so quickly. :D

2 quick questions. First, is there an option I am missing that may need to be enabled that shows what percentage of disk space is taken/available on the hard drive of the DVR? Second, can the TiVo remote (I didn't get mine yet) control an AUX device (in my case a surround sound receiver) as well as the Moto box and TV like the regular gray remote can? I saw pics of the Comcast TiVo remote online and didn't see an AUX button, but didn't know if it was done through a soft key. Thanks in advance for all info.

2 quick questions. First, is there an option I am missing that may need to be enabled that shows what percentage of disk space is taken/available on the hard drive of the DVR?
I haven't used the Comcast TiVo, but standalone TiVos don't have a disk meter. The disk is always full, because space isn't cleared when you delete a recording; when you delete a recording, it is moved to the Recently Deleted folder (where it can be recovered) until space is needed for a new recording.

If you have five HD recordings in your Recently Deleted folder, then that means you have space for about five HD recordings of similar length.

You might want to take a look at the Using TiVo (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=11126048&postcount=2#A2) section of the AVS TivoHD FAQ, as much of that is also applicable to the Comcast TiVo, with some obvious differences in menus and menu layout.

So did a tech have to come out and bring a new DCX-3400 with Tivo already loaded? Or were you able to just do it over the phone where they send the software straight to the DCX-3400 you already had?

The 320GB hard drive should be a great improvement over the 160GB one. I find it odd that there's no disk space meter, but then again what bfdtv stated makes sense as to why. What happens if you have so many recordings though that there's no space? Does it just delete or recycle your oldest recording that is flagged not to save? What if you flag them all to keep forever?
EDIT: Nevermind, found my answer...

What happens if I set all recordings to "keep until I delete" and I run out of space?

The TiVo will not delete programs marked "keep until I delete" under any circumstances. If you set every program to "keep until I delete," then the TiVo will stop recording when it runs out of space.

It is generally a bad idea to set an entire series to "keep until I delete," especially on a standard TivoHD without storage expansion. When you set "keep until I delete" for an entire series, not only does the TiVo protect the episodes on the DVR, it also reserves space in advance for every scheduled episode of that series on the To Do List. TiVo prioritizes scheduled recordings set as "keep until I delete" above all others, even if they aren't showing for another 1-2 weeks.

The TiVo does this to ensure that a lower priority series recording does not take the space needed for an upcoming higher priority series recording. This has the effect of reducing your available space for other recordings, causing those programs to be deleted faster.

Generally, if you want to save / protect a specific program for the future, it is better to set "keep until I delete" after you record it. That way, the TiVo does not reserve space in advance. Note again that every new recording is protected for the first 48 hours without you having to do anything.

A common mistake some new TiVo users make is setting a series recording to "keep until I delete" while the default "keep last 5 episodes" setting is still in place. When these two settings are used together, the TiVo will record five episodes and no more, because it will never delete the first five episodes and you've only told it to keep five total. If you use "keep until I delete" with a series -- which I do not recommend -- then you should to set that series to "keep all episodes."

The 320GB hard drive should be a great improvement over the 160GB one. I find it odd that there's no disk space meter, but then again what bfdtv stated makes sense as to why. What happens if you have so many recordings though that there's no space? Does it just delete or recycle your oldest recording that is flagged not to save?Yes. In that regard, it works just like the iGuide software.

The applicable FAQ:

How does the TiVo determine what recordings to delete?

By default, all new recordings are 'protected' for 48 hours.

The TiVo will never delete anything unless space is needed for a new recording scheduled by the user. When space is needed for a new recording, the TiVo will first clear the Recently Deleted and Suggestions folders. Once the the Recently Deleted and Suggestions folders are empty, the TiVo will delete the oldest recording on the DVR that isn't marked as "keep until I delete."

When space is needed for a new recording, programs are deleted in the following order:


Recently Deleted folder - cleared starting with oldest program first; nothing else is deleted until this folder is clear;
Suggestions folder -- cleared starting with oldest program first; nothing else is deleted until this folder is clear;
The oldest show on the DVR that is not marked as "keep until [date]" or "keep until I delete."

If the oldest recording on the DVR is one that you would like to save, select it and mark it as "keep until I delete." The TiVo will then skip that recording and delete the next oldest instead.