Well, my two new hard drives came last night, so I'm off to do some TiVo surgery. :eek: Kinda scary, but bfdtv's instructions are so clear and detailed, I'm pretty confident I won't kill them. I'll report back when the patients are out of recovery......;)

It's time to replace the hard drive. Most TiVos will last 10+ years if you replace the drive every 3-4 years.

Drive upgrade/replacement instructions are here (TCF) (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=370784#instructions) and here (AVS) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=879469#upgrade). These drives will work fine in the Series3:

Seagate ST31000322CS @ Provantage.com (http://www.provantage.com/seagate-st31000322cs~7SEGS1XR.htm)
Seagate ST31000322CS @ TheNerds.net (http://www.thenerds.net/SEAGATE.Seagate_Pipeline_HD_ST31000322CS_Hard_Drive.ST310003 22CS.html)
Seagate ST31000322CS @ PC Connection (http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=9688307)
Seagate ST31000322CS @ Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Pipeline-HD-ST31000322CS-internal/dp/B0027QP1YU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255213188&sr=8-2)

Western Digital WD10EVDS @ Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-AV-GP-Drive-WD10EVDS/dp/B002P3KO74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255842388&sr=8-1)
Western Digital WD10EVDS @ Buy.com (http://www.buy.com/prod/western-digital-av-gp-wd10evds-hard-drive-1tb-7200rpm-internal/q/loc/101/210673282.html)
Western Digital WD10EVDS @ TheNerds.net (http://www.thenerds.net/WESTERN_DIGITAL.Western_Digital_AV_GP_WD10EVDS_Hard_Drive.WD 10EVDS.html)
Western Digital WD10EVDS @ CDW (http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?edc=1782214)

The WD10EVDS produces a bit less noise, but it also costs $10 more.

I have a Seagate ST 31000528AS drive available to me at no cost. This drive appears to exceed all the specs of the 322CS. Any reason this drive would not work?

I have a Seagate ST 31000528AS drive available to me at no cost. This drive appears to exceed all the specs of the 322CS. Any reason this drive would not work?There's no reason it shouldn't work, assuming you don't mind the noise.

Some 7200rpm drives can overheat in the TiVo, but that drive (Baracuda 7200.12 series, I think) looks like it should be fine.

Well, my two new hard drives came last night, so I'm off to do some TiVo surgery. :eek: Kinda scary, but bfdtv's instructions are so clear and detailed, I'm pretty confident I won't kill them. I'll report back when the patients are out of recovery......;)


The thing that takes the longest is copying the drive, especially if you have alot of recordings. Otherwise it only takes a few minutes total to remove the drive and put it back with the cover back on.

Well, my two new hard drives came last night, so I'm off to do some TiVo surgery. :eek: Kinda scary, but bfdtv's instructions are so clear and detailed, I'm pretty confident I won't kill them. I'll report back when the patients are out of recovery......;)
progprog -- I see that you got the WD10EVDS. Those certainly seem to be the drives of choice for upgrading S3s these days. After doing quite a bit of reading both here and at TCF the last couple of days, about upgrading the internal drive in an S3, I'm about to decide that upgrading before my original equipment 250 gig drive fails might be smart. That way, I can copy everything from the old drive to a new 1 Tb drive,including recordings, and still have the old drive available as a backup should the necessity arise.

Has anybody ever upgraded a TiVo drive using Windows XP installed in a VMWare partition on a Macbook Pro? My main concern is that my Macbook Pro's only external connections for drives are USB and FireWire. What would I do, buy an enclosure or some other device that would allow the computer to communicate with both discs via either USB or FW?

I already mentioned this in the TivoHD thread, but...

As of 1pm PST (4pm EST), TiVo's servers now have the correct guide data for FOX tonight, with listings for new episodes of Bones and Fringe. The guide data downloaded last night listed World Series Gm7 in those timeslots.

If you record those two programs, then I would force a connection under Settings -> Phone & Network if you haven't done so already. Be aware that the guide and To Do List won't update with the new schedule until 30-45 minutes after the connection is complete (that's how long it takes TiVo to index the changes). Don't wait until the last minute.

I already mentioned this in the TivoHD thread, but...

As of 1pm PST (4pm EST), TiVo's servers now have the correct guide data for FOX tonight, with listings for new episodes of Bones and Fringe. The guide data downloaded last night listed World Series Gm7 in those timeslots.

If you record those two programs, then I would force a connection under Settings -> Phone & Network if you haven't done so already. Be aware that the guide and To Do List won't update with the new schedule until 30-45 minutes after the connection is complete (that's how long it takes TiVo to index the changes). Don't wait until the last minute.

Thanks for the heads up. Will check now I have a SP on Bones.

The thing that takes the longest is copying the drive, especially if you have alot of recordings. Otherwise it only takes a few minutes total to remove the drive and put it back with the cover back on.
I'm at 3.5 hrs on the drive that doesn't even have that much on it. Should I be worried? The little progress bar hasn't moved in quite awhile....it's been sitting at ~80% for a long time. :(

I'm at 3.5 hrs on the drive that doesn't even have that much on it. Should I be worried? The little progress bar hasn't moved in quite awhile....it's been sitting at ~80% for a long time. :(If you have any sort of security / antivirus software installed, you might want to do the backup and restore while in Windows safe mode (to make sure those programs aren't running).

If you have any sort of security / antivirus software installed, you might want to do the backup and restore while in Windows safe mode (to make sure those programs aren't running).
Good idea. The progress was stuck at ~80% for an hour and a half, and while the source drive was clearly running and felt hot, the destination drive wasn't doing anything. It was cold and I couldn't feel it running.

I decided to cancel mfscopy (which itself didn't seem to do anything). I've restarted and both drives are being detected, so the new one didn't die (that was my concern). But that's a good plan.....I'll restart in safe mode before I restart the copy.

Keeping my fingers crossed.....

UPDATE: It progressed much faster in safe mode, but unfortunately, I think it has frozen again at the 80% mark. Not sure of the next step. Time to research.....
----------
UPDATE 2: Yup, it was definitely freezing in that one spot. Since I bought two new drives, I'm trying the second one. I sure hope all the failed attempts haven't screwed up the original source drive.
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UPDATE 3: It froze at exactly the same spot with the second drive. :(Obviously an issue with the source drive. Help!? :confused:

If you have any sort of security / antivirus software installed, you might want to do the backup and restore while in Windows safe mode (to make sure those programs aren't running).

I've never had any problem copying the TiVo drives with my security/antiVirus software running.

I'm at 3.5 hrs on the drive that doesn't even have that much on it. Should I be worried? The little progress bar hasn't moved in quite awhile....it's been sitting at ~80% for a long time. :(

I know sometimes the progress bar will seem frozen, but 3.5 hours is too long for copying the stock 250GB or 160GB drive.

You might need to just try copying the software and season passes and have to forgo copying the shows on the drive if it keeps sticking at 80%.

I've never had any problem copying the TiVo drives with my security/antiVirus software running.Many others have.

UPDATE: It progressed much faster in safe mode, but unfortunately, I think it has frozen again at the 80% mark. Not sure of the next step. Time to research.....
----------
UPDATE 2: Yup, it was definitely freezing in that one spot. Since I bought two new drives, I'm trying the second one. I sure hope all the failed attempts haven't screwed up the original source drive.
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UPDATE 3: It froze at exactly the same spot with the second drive. :(Obviously an issue with the source drive. Help!? :confused:If there is a significant problem with your source drive at that point (i.e. where you hit 80%), you may not be able to backup and restore your recordings.

If you don't mind losing your recordings, you can perform a truncated backup that will only backup your settings, season passes, wishlists, and CableCard pairing information. Then, if necessary, you can temporarily reinstall the original drive to watch (or download) the older recordings before installing the new drive.

I recently replaced the drive in my Series 3 because I suspected the original drive was failing. I got the drive recommended by the install instructions at the time, the Western Digital WD10EVVS, and went at it. I cleaned out my 'Deleted Items' and 'TiVo Recommendations' folders before starting, so that there wasn't much data left on the original drive.

The instructions were excellent and were very easy to follow. The disk copy took about 20 minutes. In fact, it went so smoothly that as I was screwing the cover back on I commented to my wife, "Wow, that went too well -- I was hoping for a challenge."

As you probably would expect from that comment, when everything was connected back up, the TiVo wouldn't boot. On the TiVo Forums, there were several other people who had gotten the same drive at the same time from Amazon, and were having the same problems. We noted we all had the same drive build date and firmware revision, too. After 3 more attempts, I was finally able to boot the TiVo. Others on the forum weren't so lucky.

So I guess my morals are:

The directions are easy to follow
There are people ready to help if you have trouble
Don't put the TiVo back together until you're sure it boots
Don't tempt fate

On the TiVo Forums, there were several other people who had gotten the same drive at the same time from Amazon, and were having the same problems. We noted we all had the same drive build date and firmware revision, too.Right. One should avoid the WD10EVVS, because units manufacturer after September 19 apparently feature a new firmware that is incompatible with the TiVo.

The WD10EVDS is unaffected. For now, WD10EVDS drives are fully compatible with the TivoHD and Series3.

Many others have.

If there is a significant problem with your source drive at that point (i.e. where you hit 80%), you may not be able to backup and restore your recordings.

If you don't mind losing your recordings, you can perform a truncated backup that will only backup your settings, season passes, wishlists, and CableCard pairing information. Then, if necessary, you can temporarily reinstall the original drive to watch (or download) the older recordings before installing the new drive.
That's looks like my game plan now. Seems weird that I've never experienced any problem with that machine, considering that there's obviously a HD issue.

Fortunately, I have two S3s, so it may take a while, but I think I can transfer some stuff back and forth and ultimately not lose anything. Thanks again for all your help and advice. :)

I've never had any problem copying the TiVo drives with my security/antiVirus software running.
There may have other background programs involved (aside from Norton Internet Security), but running in safe mode definitely cut the copy time dramatically.

There may have other background programs involved (aside from Norton Internet Security), but running in safe mode definitely cut the copy time dramatically.


Maybe I never had problems because i use either a 3.2Ghz quad core machine or a 2.8Ghz dual core machine to make my copies.

I don't know but I never had issues. i could watch HD content, listen to music, web surf etc, anything i would normally do and it wouldn't affect the copying of the TiVo hard drive.

Maybe I never had problems because i use either a 3.2Ghz quad core machine or a 2.8Ghz dual core machine to make my copies.

I don't know but I never had issues. i could watch HD content, listen to music, web surf etc, anything i would normally do and it wouldn't affect the copying of the TiVo hard drive.
There were no "issues" related to NIS or running other operations.....just longer copy times. Since I was starting over several times with different configurations (to try and get past that source disc issue at 80%), using the fastest possible approach made a big difference. (I was up until 3am as it was! :eek:) If I had been able to just start it once and let it run to completion, I wouldn't have cared much either about what else may or may not have been slowing it down.

Is there a shortcut for this? It has tons of stuff in it and using CLEAR doesn't seem to work like it does with other folders.

Is there a shortcut for this? It has tons of stuff in it and using CLEAR doesn't seem to work like it does with other folders.There's no shortcut to delete everything in Recently Deleted. You've got to clear it one recording at at time.

I can't believe how quiet these new WD drives are! :eek: Next to the noise of my open computer with all its fans and other drives running, I didn't notice. But I have one mounted in an open TiVo box as I transfer recordings, and I honestly can't hear it from just a foot or two away! With the cover off the TiVo! This alone would be a good reason to upgrade. :)

Tonight I asked my S3 to call in and it rebooted. Since then it's in a constant reboot cycle. Seems to make it as far as the tuner adapter picking up the channels, but that's it.

If I try to play a show it will make it about, well, to where the tuner adapter picks up the channels....say 5 minutes tops....and then it reboots.

I think the hard drive is out on this thing. So I have some questions, bfdtv holler if you hear me.

Instant cake. Any possibility of using this? And can you link me into the massive file that you made so I can find it.

Don't know which drive went out either. Is it the TiVo or the eSata? How can I tell?

Any other thoughts anyone else might have is appreciated. It's been acting slow now for several months, I should have been proactive and done something about it but such is life.

If at all possible I'd like to recover the shows off the drive too. If necessary. And will TiVo allow me to move the 1 year service plan on to a new machine.

Wow....that's too bad. I'm sorry to hear about that.

I don't understand what is technically happening as a hard drive fails in there, but I think one of mine was on the way out too. I had started to get some weird behavior with it in recent months, most annoying was the issue with messed up VOD downloads. As I chronicled here a few days ago, I finally upgraded the hard drives in both my S3s. So far, the one that was having issues really does appear to be working better. It downloaded the Mad Men episode last night with no problems whatsoever....so I'm pretty happy with it so far.

If the mfscopy program can still read the drive, it does a great job of transferring everything over. One of mine had some sort of disc error that prevented it from finishing, but the other copied over quickly and flawlessly. Because I have two S3s, I was able to transfer the stuff I couldn't copy (on the first one) and eventually get it back onto the new drive.

The drives are relatively cheap, so if you think a hard drive replacement is a solution for your current issue, I say the sooner you do it, the better.

Tonight I asked my S3 to call in and it rebooted. Since then it's in a constant reboot cycle. Seems to make it as far as the tuner adapter picking up the channels, but that's it.

If I try to play a show it will make it about, well, to where the tuner adapter picks up the channels....say 5 minutes tops....and then it reboots.

I think the hard drive is out on this thing. So I have some questions, bfdtv holler if you hear me.

Instant cake. Any possibility of using this? And can you link me into the massive file that you made so I can find it.

Don't know which drive went out either. Is it the TiVo or the eSata? How can I tell?

Any other thoughts anyone else might have is appreciated. It's been acting slow now for several months, I should have been proactive and done something about it but such is life.

If at all possible I'd like to recover the shows off the drive too. If necessary. And will TiVo allow me to move the 1 year service plan on to a new machine.

I had sucess with one of my failures that was very similar by removing the cable cards and the incoming cable so the unit was not processing any video. I was then able to boot up and move all my programming to my PC (takes a while though). If I booted the machine up, then plugged in the cards and cables, the unit would work for a bit, then freeze, then reboot.

I had sucess with one of my failures that was very similar by removing the cable cards and the incoming cable so the unit was not processing any video. I was then able to boot up and move all my programming to my PC (takes a while though). If I booted the machine up, then plugged in the cards and cables, the unit would work for a bit, then freeze, then reboot.

Were you ultimately able to fix it?

Were ultimately you able to fix it?

No. I spent the $150 and got a replacement S3 from TiVo. It had nothing to do with the cable cards themselves. The same cards are happily living in the replacement unit. I was happy just to save all my content.

No. I spent the $150 and got a replacement S3 from TiVo. It had nothing to do with the cable cards themselves. The same cards are happily living in the replacement unit. I was happy just to save all my content.

That's kind of scary. Any idea what actually failed in it? (I assume the replacement option was something available back when they still made S3s?)

That's kind of scary. Any idea what actually failed in it? (I assume the replacement option was something available back when they still made S3s?)JohnMc described a drive failure.

We're going to start seeing a lot more reports of sluggish behavior, audio dropouts, pixelization, and reboots in this thread, now that the TiVo Series3 has been out for over three years. After three years, DVR drive failures become much more common, and all of those are symptoms.

A drive upgrade is a good preemptive solution. As mentioned earlier in this thread, most TiVos will last 10+ years if you're willing to upgrade the drive every 3-5 years.

Don't know which drive went out either. Is it the TiVo or the eSata? How can I tell?

Any other thoughts anyone else might have is appreciated. It's been acting slow now for several months, I should have been proactive and done something about it but such is life.Poor responsiveness is one the early signs of drive failure.

There's no easy way to tell whether the internal or external drive is responsible. If you still see the problem with the eSATA drive disconnected, then you know where the problem lies. Before you disconnect the external drive, you might transfer any shows you can to your PC using TiVo Desktop 2.8. You can transfer them back later.

I think the hard drive is out on this thing. So I have some questions, bfdtv holler if you hear me.

Instant cake. Any possibility of using this? And can you link me into the massive file that you made so I can find it.Drive upgrade/replacement instructions are here (TCF) (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=370784#instructions) and here (AVS) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=879469#upgrade). If your TiVo drive is too far gone to make a backup image, then there's InstantCake (http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/instantcake.cfm).

The WD10EVDS is a 1TB drive compatible with the TiVo Series3:

Western Digital WD10EVDS @ Buy.com (http://www.buy.com/prod/western-digital-av-gp-wd10evds-hard-drive-1tb-7200rpm-internal/q/loc/101/210673282.html)
Western Digital WD10EVDS @ TheNerds.net (http://www.thenerds.net/WESTERN_DIGITAL.Western_Digital_AV_GP_WD10EVDS_Hard_Drive.WD 10EVDS.html)
Western Digital WD10EVDS @ Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-AV-GP-Drive-WD10EVDS/dp/B002P3KO74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255842388&sr=8-1)
Western Digital WD10EVDS @ CDW (http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?edc=1782214)

That's kind of scary. Any idea what actually failed in it? (I assume the replacement option was something available back when they still made S3s?)

This was only about 6 months ago. I believe they still replace them. It is a "reconditioned" unit, not a new one. I'm on my third S3 since I bought it. My other unit is a TiVo HD, and I'm on my second unit there.

JohnMc described a drive failure.

We're going to start seeing a lot more reports of sluggish behavior, audio dropouts, pixelization, and reboots in this thread, now that the TiVo Series3 has been out for over three years. After three years, DVR drive failures become much more common, and all of those are symptoms.



I bought my S3 in January 2004, so it (or more correctly, my original S3 before replacements) is almost 6 years old now. I've already ordered my WD drives to hopefully prevent shelling out $150 yet again and again.

We're going to start seeing a lot more reports of sluggish behavior, audio dropouts, pixelization, and reboots in this thread, now that the TiVo Series3 has been out for over three years. After three years, DVR drive failures become much more common, and all of those are symptoms.
I'm a little confused (and curious) why drive failures in DVRs would be so different from drive failures in PCs. In my experience, when a computer's hard drive starts to fail, it's not a matter of gradual performance deterioration, but sudden weird behavior, usually noises, followed by complete, fatal failure. (I've learned the hard way to rescue my data ASAP....)

This makes me wonder (just speculating) if what we're looking at is more about less-effective disc management in DVR software than actual hardware failure. For example, if they don't optimize the disc, or do it poorly, you'd eventually have really bad fragmentation. This would like likely reveal itself in the performance degradation previously described. Poor bad-sector detection and management would also be a problem.

Any thoughts?

I bought my S3 in January 2004, so it (or more correctly, my original S3 before replacements) is almost 6 years old now. I've already ordered my WD drives to hopefully prevent shelling out $150 yet again and again.
You sure it's a Series 3 HD-DVR you're talking about? The S3 came out Sept 2006.

You sure it's a Series 3 HD-DVR you're talking about? The S3 came out Sept 2006.

I guess it was Jan 2007. I just remembered buying at a a Superbowl I was at, So if not 2004 in Houston, it must have been 2007 in Miami. It just seems like I've had it forever. I had D* HD Tivos before moving to FIOS.

Well thanks for the information guys. What I ended up doing was taking the 4 100.00 gift certificates I had for Best Buy, kicked in 100.50 of my own money and walked out with a HD TiVo and a 1tb eSATA. The eSATA was the only one they had in the store and internet said not available so I was lucky to even find it.

I noticed not only did they have TiVo HD but they also had Series 2 and they had a bunch of them too. I didn't think they still sold those.

I'm a little confused (and curious) why drive failures in DVRs would be so different from drive failures in PCs. In my experience, when a computer's hard drive starts to fail, it's not a matter of gradual performance deterioration, but sudden weird behavior, usually noises, followed by complete, fatal failure. (I've learned the hard way to rescue my data ASAP....)

This makes me wonder (just speculating) if what we're looking at is more about less-effective disc management in DVR software than actual hardware failure. For example, if they don't optimize the disc, or do it poorly, you'd eventually have really bad fragmentation. This would like likely reveal itself in the performance degradation previously described. Poor bad-sector detection and management would also be a problem.

Any thoughts?

I would speculate that it is because of the fact that the drives in DVRs never spin down. Some would argue that this fact makes them last longer (no power cycle/spin-up/spin-downs), but it may be that they last longer in PCs (specifically desktop PC's) because they aren't running 24/7.

I had an S2 that failed rather slowly - and it all started with a high pitched whine which would come and go. Eventually it whined more often than it didn't whine, and eventually, after a power outage, it wouldn't power back on.

I'm a little confused (and curious) why drive failures in DVRs would be so different from drive failures in PCs. In my experience, when a computer's hard drive starts to fail, it's not a matter of gradual performance deterioration, but sudden weird behavior, usually noises, followed by complete, fatal failure. (I've learned the hard way to rescue my data ASAP....)I would speculate that it is because of the fact that the drives in DVRs never spin down. Some would argue that this fact makes them last longer (no power cycle/spin-up/spin-downs), but it may be that they last longer in PCs (specifically desktop PC's) because they aren't running 24/7.
I'm sure 24/7 operation is part of it, although I think differences in drive usage patterns are mostly to blame.

With TiVo DVRs, you have around 300-400Mb allocated to the software partition, and the rest of the drive is constantly read and written, over and over. Since the entire drive is used on a regular basis, there is more wear/tear, and a much greater chance that a defective portion of the drive will be read or written.

With the typical PC, you have gigabytes and gigabytes of OS and program files that do not change. Aside from the swap file, Internet cache files, emails, and few very small document files, the typical PC user does very little writing to their hard drive on a daily basis. The typical PC probably does less writing to its hard drive in a day than the TiVo does in several minutes.

When bad sectors do develop on a disk, PC users do not notice because they are on a part of the drive that the individual rarely uses. Cache files, emails, and documents tend to be small, so the chance of hitting a bad sector is slim unless the drive is in really bad shape. With the TiVo, the liveTV buffer and every recording consists of TS files and file segments that are hundreds of megabytes (or even gigabytes) in size.

I'm sure 24/7 operation is part of it, although I think differences in drive usage patterns are mostly to blame.

With TiVo DVRs, you have around 300-400Mb allocated to the software partition, and the rest of the drive is constantly read and written, over and over. Since the entire drive is used on a regular basis, there is more wear/tear, and a much greater chance that a defective portion of the drive will be read or written.

With the typical PC, you have gigabytes and gigabytes of OS and program files that do not change. Aside from the swap file, Internet cache files, emails, and few very small document files, the typical PC user does very little writing to their hard drive on a daily basis. The typical PC probably does less writing to its hard drive in a day than the TiVo does in several minutes.

When bad sectors do develop on a disk, many PC users never notice them because they are on a part of the drive that the individual never uses. Cache files, emails, and documents tend to be small, so the chance of hitting a bad sector is slim unless the drive is really in bad shape. With the TiVo, the liveTV buffer and every recording consists of TS files and file segments that are hundreds of megabytes (or even gigabytes) in size.

Does putting the TiVo in Stand By mode help?

Anything to be aware of when adding one of these?

My Time Warner services is now making them available and necessary.

thanks,

FCD

Does putting the TiVo in Stand By mode help?No. Putting the TiVo in standby simply disables video output.

I replace the original drive with a WD10EVDS everything went fine.

Thanks for all the info bfdtv.

Why in System Info does it show I only have 36 HD hours?

Anything to be aware of when adding one of these?

My Time Warner services is now making them available and necessary.Not really. Hook-up is pretty simple. You might have to call your provider to "hit" the unit with a message enabling it to work, which you usually have to do if you pick up a new leased STB from them.

Not really. Hook-up is pretty simple. You might have to call your provider to "hit" the unit with a message enabling it to work, which you usually have to do if you pick up a new leased STB from them.

Hook up is simple, but getting customer service to deal with it depends on who you get, at least in my area.

And trying to change cable cards to a new TiVo is really an adventure, at least at Time Warner.

I replace the original drive with a WD10EVDS everything went fine.

Thanks for all the info bfdtv.

Why in System Info does it show I only have 36 HD hours?I assumed you followed instructions in FAQ #211 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=879469#upgrade)?

It sounds like you accidentally clicked No when WinMFS asked whether you wanted to expand the drive. To fix that, reconnect the new drive to your computer, launch WinMFS as an administrator, click select File -> Select Drive to select the TiVo drive, and then select Tools -> Mfsadd. After that, select Tools-> MfsSuperSize -> On to get the full 157 HD hours.

Yes it sucks to have put the drive back in, put the cover back on, only to realize you forgot something.
I can't count the number of times I've done something like that. But for me I usually forget to set the Acoustic management setting to 128.
At least with the newer drives it is already on that setting.

I assumed you followed instructions in FAQ #211 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=879469#upgrade)?

It sounds like you accidentally clicked No when WinMFS asked whether you wanted to expand the drive. To fix that, reconnect the new drive to your computer, launch WinMFS as an administrator, click select File -> Select Drive to select the TiVo drive, and then select Tools -> Mfsadd. After that, select Tools-> MfsSuperSize -> On to get the full 157 HD hours.

Thanks that worked perfect. I think I missed the MfsSuperSize step.

By the way I did this from my laptop and had no option to launch as administrator.

Hook up is simple, but getting customer service to deal with it depends on who you get, at least in my area.

And trying to change cable cards to a new TiVo is really an adventure, at least at Time Warner.
I have had similar experiences with Cox OKC. Anytime you have to setup or reconfigure CableCARDs, your chances of having it turn into a time consuming mess are very good. It's too bad but there it is.

I have now had the opportunity to make some comparisons between Netflix streaming via the S3 and via the PS3. As a TiVo owner of many years standing, I appreciate how closely NF's TiVo client adheres to Tivo's own implementation. For example, the time line shows up with press of the play button but doesn't pause the stream; The 8 second backspace works just as it does with recordings; and the Info button displays a synopsis of the NF title being streamed.

For those of you who have a PS3 in addition to your TiVos, my impressions of NF's client for the PS3 are a mixed bag. It's best trait, by far, is its PQ. Wow, it's wonderful, far better than that of a Netflix stream seen on my S3. I don't know why that is but it's a fact. Unfortunately, the NF streaming client for the S3 is inferior to the TiVo client in almost every other way.: It is impossible to stream NF content until and unless the NF disc is loaded on the PS3. That can be a pain. There is no way to display the synopsis of the title being played while it is being played. Although the PS3's Info button displays the time line graphic, it is blank; the only way to tell how long the streamed title has been running is to hit Pause. That's a major pain, it seems to me. The PS3 provides a graphic for each title loaded in your NF Watch Instantly queue. While it looks nice, it is not really significantly better than TiVo's familiar but plain list.

Despite its inconvenience compared to TiVo, I plan to use the PS3 to stream NF content most of the time from here on because of the significant superiority of its PQ.

Thanks for the comparative feedback, re: Netflix.

I'm always tantalized by the possibility of setting my S3 up for Netflix, but your review nixes that idea. Just don't want to sacrifice more than a smidgen of difference in picture quality for the convenience factor. If it's a very slight degradation, then fine. But it sound like more than very slight.

Guess it's time I finally delete that empty Netflix folder that Tivo automatically set-up on my machine so many months ago.

Thanks for the comparative feedback, re: Netflix.

I'm always tantalized by the possibility of setting my S3 up for Netflix, but your review nixes that idea. Just don't want to sacrifice more than a smidgen of difference in picture quality for the convenience factor. If it's a very slight degradation, then fine. But it sound like more than very slight.

Guess it's time I finally delete that empty Netflix folder that Tivo automatically set-up on my machine so many months ago.
The difference in the PQ of NF streaming between the S3 and the PS3 is dramatic, at least to my eyes. For example, I did an A-B test of the opening scene of Blindness yesterday. In it is a closeup of a stoplight lens. On the S3 the picture had golfball size artifacts in it and the overall picture was generally muddy. On the PS3, though, I saw no artifacts and the overall PQ was outstanding, almost as good as a DVD. I confirmed the difference today when I watched several episodes of the old BBC series, MI-5 (known in the UK as Spooks). The PQ was essentially DVD quality, far better than it had been when I watched some of the same shows on the TiVo S3. Despite the shortcomings of the NF streaming client for the PS3, I have really enjoyed using it because of how much better the content looks than it did on the S3.

I have now had the opportunity to make some comparisons between Netflix streaming via the S3 and via the PS3.
...........


Really interesting ....thanks for taking the time to do such a thorough comparison and writing it up for our benefit. :)

I've compared TiVo S3, Xbox and PS3 Netflix players and don't notice any difference in PQ; aaronwt stated a similar observation in this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7608310#post7608310) post at TCF (he compared Netflix players on TiVo, an LG Blu-ray player and the PS3 disc). All three device are connected by HDMI to an Onkyo receiver and from there into my television.

I'm sticking with TiVo. Though its GUI is the least attractive of the three (Xbox and PS3 being the others), videos start playing noticeable faster on TiVo. My Xbox is too loud and I use my PS3 pretty much daily for viewing Blu-rays and video files on my PC and for gaming. The only other advantage of the console players is that you can browse a portion of the streaming library with them, play titles outside of your queue without adding them to your queue and add/delete things from your queue. Since the monitor of the PC that I'm as I edit this is the same 46" 1080p LCD panel that I view TiVo, Xbox and PS3 with, manipulating my Instant Queue on a PC isn't much of an inconvenience.

The difference in the PQ of NF streaming between the S3 and the PS3 is dramatic, at least to my eyes. For example, I did an A-B test of the opening scene of Blindness yesterday. In it is a closeup of a stoplight lens. On the S3 the picture had golfball size artifacts in it and the overall picture was generally muddy. On the PS3, though, I saw no artifacts and the overall PQ was outstanding, almost as good as a DVD. I confirmed the difference today when I watched several episodes of the old BBC series, MI-5 (known in the UK as Spooks). The PQ was essentially DVD quality, far better than it had been when I watched some of the same shows on the TiVo S3. Despite the shortcomings of the NF streaming client for the PS3, I have really enjoyed using it because of how much better the content looks than it did on the S3.

Do you think that the dramatic PQ difference is only between the S3 and PS3? I have a TiVo HD, and I wouldn't say the Netflix streaming PQ is dramatic - better, but not dramatic. However, as I mentioned to you recently in the PS3 thread, it is different enough to put up with the disc issue and having to switch AVR inputs from the TiVo one, which the AVR is set to for the majority of my TV viewing time.

As for the loading of the disc, I think once I get in the habit of always placing the Netflix disc in the PS3 whenever I eject any other software, it won't be a big deal. However, the lack of program information during streams and the time line not being displayed without pausing is a bit of a disappointment.

One other small nit, on the TiVo, when a movie (or TV show) is streamed in HD, the TiVo confirms that the stream is indeed in HD. However, the PS3 shows "HD" in the movie graphic before you play, but does not confirm that the program is indeed being streamed in HD. I only say this because sometimes an HD program won't stream in HD on my TiVo; I assume due to a temporary bandwidth issue. Perhaps this isn't even an issue with the PS3, but it may be. Sure, the PQ quality is normally world's better with HD streams, but if a particular HD stream is not up to snuff, it's hard to diagnose whether it is that it is not in HD or just not a quality HD stream.

There seems to be a rather wide range of opinions on the PQ. I was just going to pass on the PS3/Netflix version but I guess I'll have to try it now. I don't know why it would be any better, I would think it's only going to be as good as data you're getting, and if I'm not mistaken it's the same bandwidth parameters as the TiVo. Maybe the PS3 has better video processing...

I've compared TiVo S3, Xbox and PS3 Netflix players and don't notice any difference in PQ; aaronwt stated a similar observation in this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7608310#post7608310) post at TCF (he compared Netflix players on TiVo, an LG Blu-ray player and the PS3 disc). All three device are connected by HDMI to an Onkyo receiver and from there into my television.


As mentioned in my previous post, it is not dramatically better, but when I compare Netflix streams on my TiVo HD to the PS3, it is better, not huge, but better on the PS3. I am doing my comparisons using HDMI on a Panny PJ with a 120" screen.

I suppose some could be switching inputs on their TV, thus different video settings for the different inputs could affect the PQ. For me, however, since my AVR is doing the switching, video settings are ruled out (there are no differences among inputs on my AVR).

I've compared TiVo S3, Xbox and PS3 Netflix players and don't notice any difference in PQ; aaronwt stated a similar observation in this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7608310#post7608310) post at TCF (he compared Netflix players on TiVo, an LG Blu-ray player and the PS3 disc). All three device are connected by HDMI to an Onkyo receiver and from there into my television.

I'm sticking with TiVo. Though its GUI is the least attractive of the three (Xbox and PS3 being the others), videos start playing noticeable faster on TiVo. My Xbox is too loud and I use my PS3 pretty much daily for viewing Blu-rays and video files on my PC and for gaming. The only other advantage of the console players is that you can browse a portion of the streaming library with them, play titles outside of your queue without adding them to your queue and add/delete things from your queue. Since the monitor of the PC that I'm as I edit this is the same 46" 1080p LCD panel that I view TiVo, Xbox and PS3 with, manipulating my Instant Queue on a PC isn't much of an inconvenience.
I get the NF streams wirelessly on both my S3 and the PS3. Thus, there are so many variables involved that I would be the last to claim that the very real difference in PQ I have observed between them is attributable to differences in the S3 and PS3 alone. Also, somebody suggested in the PS3 thread that the PQ of the TiVo HD could be better than it is on the S3. I don't know because I don't have an HD. I wish somebody with one of each would weigh in on the issue, either here or in the HD thread.

I should have added in my earlier post that I use HDMI on both the S3 and the PS3 to connect to a Yamaha RX-V3900 receiver, which is in turn connected by HDMI to a 60 inch Pioneer Kuro 6020 plasma display.

I agree that except for the general ugliness of TiVo's interface for NF streaming, it is superior to the PS3's in just about every other way.

Lately, my TiVos has started showing a "Videos on ReadyNAS" in their Now Playing Lists. (The ReadyNAS has been on my network for two years and the TiVos didn't used to detect it; not sure when it started.)

Anyway, I'm wondering what type (format) of videos I could potentially store on my NAS for playback on my TiVos. Is anyone using network videos this way?

I suppose some could be switching inputs on their TV, thus different video settings for the different inputs could affect the PQ. For me, however, since my AVR is doing the switching, video settings are ruled out (there are no differences among inputs on my AVR).
I should have included in my last post that the video settings on my Yamaha RX-V3900 are the same for the S3 as they are for the PS3. I have set the 3900 to upconvert all inputs to 1080p before outputting them to my display.

I get the NF streams wirelessly on both my S3 and the PS3. Thus, there are so many variables involved that I would be the last to claim that the very real difference in PQ I have observed between them is attributable to differences in the S3 and PS3 alone.All of my devices have wired connections to the network from an aging Linksys WRT54g router connected to a cable modem. I have 15Mbps Cox service (though who knows what speed I get Netflix's servers). I almost always get all bars and the HD symbol, if there's an HD encoding of the stream. (Another weakness of the PS3 player is that it does not give any indication of connection speed/stream quality, at all--there's no way tell that you got the HD stream other than looking at the PS3 video info display and monitoring the bit rate and guessing based on that; in the Xbox player, if you hit INFO and bring up the scrub bar, it'll tell you how many bars you're currently getting).

My receiver cannot do upconversions; the PS3 sends a 720p signal for the Netflix player and my TV upconverts it. Video output format on my TiVo is set to 1080i Fixed and my Xbox has the equivalent setting; upconversions are being done internally by both.

I have some additional data to share concerning Netflix streaming on the S3. Changing the default video resolution on my S3 from 1080i Fixed to Native improved the PQ of Netflix streaming significantly. It is now in the same class with what I see when I watch Netflix streaming on the PS3. The downside, though, is that when viewing streamed HD titles on the S3, my network struggles and the program stops frequently for the stream to be downloaded. That doesn't happen with the PS3, although both are wireless connections. The S3 uses a TiVo 802.11g wireless adapter and the PS3 uses its built in 802.11g wireless client.

Anyway, now that I have discovered how to improve the PQ of streaming on the S3, I plan to use it exclusively because of the exponential superiority of its interface compared to the PS3. Also, most titles available from Netflix streaming are SD and the TiVo wireless adapter handles them without complaint.

I'm having problems, and I'm trying to determine if it's with my Tivo, or with Time Warner service.

I have a series 3 with 2 cable cards, and last night, everything was working fine.

Tonight, I'm only getting a handful of channels come through - the rest are black.
All of the broadcast channels (both HD & SD) come through, along with a few of the other SD channels. No other HD channels are available.

Time Warner says they can't do anything to help over the phone, and have to send a tech out, which won't be until next week.

Is it possible both cable cards are on the fritz and only allowing through the same random channels, or is it, as I believe, an issue with Time Warner's service?

Any advice/guidance/suggestions greatly appreciated.

thanks,

FCD

I'm having problems, and I'm trying to determine if it's with my Tivo, or with Time Warner service.

I have a series 3 with 2 cable cards, and last night, everything was working fine.

Tonight, I'm only getting a handful of channels come through - the rest are black.
All of the broadcast channels (both HD & SD) come through, along with a few of the other SD channels. No other HD channels are available.

Time Warner says they can't do anything to help over the phone, and have to send a tech out, which won't be until next week.

Is it possible both cable cards are on the fritz and only allowing through the same random channels, or is it, as I believe, an issue with Time Warner's service?

Any advice/guidance/suggestions greatly appreciated.

thanks,

FCD
Sounds very much like a service issue to me, as in, your cards appear to have been de-authorized. TW customer service can't fix that over the phone? There's nothing a tech can physically do at your house.....he/she will simply call in and have them send the proper authorization data to your cards.

I'm having problems, and I'm trying to determine if it's with my Tivo, or with Time Warner service.

I have a series 3 with 2 cable cards, and last night, everything was working fine.

Tonight, I'm only getting a handful of channels come through - the rest are black.
All of the broadcast channels (both HD & SD) come through, along with a few of the other SD channels. No other HD channels are available.

Time Warner says they can't do anything to help over the phone, and have to send a tech out, which won't be until next week.

Is it possible both cable cards are on the fritz and only allowing through the same random channels, or is it, as I believe, an issue with Time Warner's service?

Any advice/guidance/suggestions greatly appreciated.

thanks,

FCD

Sounds to me like you may have SDV and you need a tuner adapter.

I'm having problems, and I'm trying to determine if it's with my Tivo, or with Time Warner service.

I have a series 3 with 2 cable cards, and last night, everything was working fine.

Tonight, I'm only getting a handful of channels come through - the rest are black.
All of the broadcast channels (both HD & SD) come through, along with a few of the other SD channels. No other HD channels are available.

Time Warner says they can't do anything to help over the phone, and have to send a tech out, which won't be until next week.

Is it possible both cable cards are on the fritz and only allowing through the same random channels, or is it, as I believe, an issue with Time Warner's service?

Any advice/guidance/suggestions greatly appreciated.

thanks,

FCD

Power cycle the TiVo and see if the channels come back.

Check this help article... I assume you have Scientific Atlanta cards... First thing to find out is if you are authorized... CP AUTH RECEIVED. Waiting for CP AUTH is not good.

THD with M card

http://support.tivo.com/euf/assets/files/SA_MCards_final.pdf

THD with S card or S3 with S or M card

http://support.tivo.com/euf/assets/files/SA_SCards_final.pdf

In General

http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/137

If that doesnt help.. call TWC Help and ask to speak to the Cablecard help desk.... TWC has a nationwide help group just for cablecards and TA's. If your CSR doesnt understand... call back and get another and try again... They should be able to help you.

I'm having problems, and I'm trying to determine if it's with my Tivo, or with Time Warner service.

I have a series 3 with 2 cable cards, and last night, everything was working fine.

Tonight, I'm only getting a handful of channels come through - the rest are black.
All of the broadcast channels (both HD & SD) come through, along with a few of the other SD channels. No other HD channels are available.

Time Warner says they can't do anything to help over the phone, and have to send a tech out, which won't be until next week.

Is it possible both cable cards are on the fritz and only allowing through the same random channels, or is it, as I believe, an issue with Time Warner's service?

Any advice/guidance/suggestions greatly appreciated.

thanks,

FCD
Questions:
1) Do you have a tuning adapter?
2) Have you talked to "CableCard Support Desk" (not just the TWC CSR)

Answers:
1) If you have a tuning adapter, make sure you power cycle it by unplugging both the power and USB, then reconnect the power, wait for a solid green light, then reconnect the USB.

2) Power cycle the TiVo

3) If those have failed, call TWC and ask to speak to CableCard Support, they can usually diagnose my problem and fix it from there.

4) If they can't, then you may need a service call to check your signal. I was pretty skeptical of the ol' stock "it's the signal" line. But I actually wasn't getting several of my SDV channels the past couple of weeks and had 2 top-level techs come out and work on my system for a couple of hours. I actually had too much/high of a signal which apparently has the same effect as not having enough signal--the cablecards and/or tuning adapter couldn't lock on and decode.

So it's probably just that your cards got knocked offline and need to be hit again. It's also possibly a signal issue. Another possibility is that someone made changes in your account and it's no longer balanced.

Thanks for all the responses so far.

I power cycled the Tivo first thing, and the problem persisted.

As far as I know, no SDV channels.

And would authorization issues only affect certain channels?

I called TW support last night, and probably got the "B' team.
I'll call again now and ask for cable card support and hope for the best.

thanks again for the suggestions.

FCD

Thanks for all the responses so far.

I power cycled the Tivo first thing, and the problem persisted.

As far as I know, no SDV channels.

And would authorization issues only affect certain channels?

I called TW support last night, and probably got the "B' team.
I'll call again now and ask for cable card support and hope for the best.
CableCARDs can create unpredictable glitches. Thus it's entirely possible, even likely, that authorization problems could be affecting some channels and not others. I agree with what's been said here by others that you need to speak with someone at TWC who knows enough about CableCARDs to arrange for the TWC headend to reauthorize your cards. You can learn whether they are authorized by checking one of the CableCARD screens in the Settings menu.

The problem, of course, was with Time Warner and their customer support.

I called back during the day, the CSR said she would zap the cards, re-authorizing them.
An option I was very clearly told the night before could not be done. By a supevisor, no less.

I got home, all was working fine.

The best part is that on my way home, I received an call from a TW guy who's job it was to monitor reports for cable card issues, and he called to offer help.

This was my only positive customer service experience with TW cable in years,
and Maurice was the only TW employee I've ever spoken to who was proactive in his job, offering solutions rather than just half hearted excuses and apologies.

FCD

Fred,
Glad to hear your problem was resolved. Best thing is to always ask for CableCard Support, those guys know what they're doing. Most of the TWC CSR's have no idea and will indeed give you bad info.

Fred,
Glad to hear your problem was resolved. Best thing is to always ask for CableCard Support, those guys know what they're doing. Most of the TWC CSR's have no idea and will indeed give you bad info.

That's easier said then done. The CSR's frequently don't even know Cable Card Support exist. I actually had one that transferred me over to TiVo Support one time when I requested Cable Card Support.

If you do need Cable Card Support the number to call is 866.532.2598. That will take you right to Cable Card Support, however if you do use this number I strongly suggest that you tell them you were transferred from Customer Service. They can be a bit testy if you call them directly.

I've had this number for a couple of years and I used it the other day to get them to send a hit to my tuner adapter so it's still a good number. It will save you a heck of a lot of time and frustration.

That's easier said then done. The CSR's frequently don't even know Cable Card Support exist. I actually had one that transferred me over to TiVo Support one time when I requested Cable Card Support.
I've never had trouble with that. Usually the CSR says, "Sure, hold on and I'll transfer you." For me it's just wading through the automated attendant to get to a live human.

And yes, the CableCard support team ALWAYS asks if I called directly or went through TWC.

I've never had trouble with that. Usually the CSR says, "Sure, hold on and I'll transfer you." For me it's just wading through the automated attendant to get to a live human.

And yes, the CableCard support team ALWAYS asks if I called directly or went through TWC.

You probably don't call as often as I do. I always have a problem with my tuner adapter, about once every 3 weeks I have to call them. Part of the reason why I call so frequently is because I have 2 TiVo HD's and 2 Tuner adapters.

I don't have to call that often, maybe every 3 months. But I have 2 Series 3's and a TiVoHD and 3 Tuning Adapters. :)

I have some additional data to share concerning Netflix streaming on the S3. Changing the default video resolution on my S3 from 1080i Fixed to Native improved the PQ of Netflix streaming significantly. It is now in the same class with what I see when I watch Netflix streaming on the PS3............

Thanks for providing the follow-up. It was a bit of a head-scratcher before, trying to reconcile the variance of your user experience to the others.

Now, for the network issues.. why a difference between the two? Good luck with that one. :p Speaking strictly as a relative ignoramus on the subject, perhaps the router has some protocols or settings which vary between the two streaming devices, such as different streaming priorities or "packet size" variances assigned to the S3 vs the PS3. Whatever the specifics and correct way of describing it, hopefully there is something that can be altered at the user level, making the S3 the more robust streaming device.

I have had repeated problems with the recorded stream freezing during a recording. And it happens only on BIG 10 HD and always as the channel is exiting a commercial. The configuration is Brighthouse with two cable cards and a tuning adapter. BIG10HD is a SDV channel on Brighthouse. I can end the freeze up by changing the channel of the tuner and then changing it back. Changing to the other tuner and then changing back does nothing. The freeze happens both when watching live and recording the the hard drive. I opened a problem with TIVO but the current recommendation is to try it again with component cables instead of HDMI. Any thoughts?

I have had repeated problems with the recorded stream freezing during a recording. And it happens only on BIG 10 HD and always as the channel is exiting a commercial. The configuration is Brighthouse with two cable cards and a tuning adapter. BIG10HD is a SDV channel on Brighthouse. I can end the freeze up by changing the channel of the tuner and then changing it back. Changing to the other tuner and then changing back does nothing. The freeze happens both when watching live and recording the the hard drive. I opened a problem with TIVO but the current recommendation is to try it again with component cables instead of HDMI. Any thoughts?

It's an SDV issue. Probably happens on every channel that shares that frequency with Big 10. Not anything you can do about it.

It's an SDV issue. Probably happens on every channel that shares that frequency with Big 10. Not anything you can do about it.
So who do I go after, TIVO because it coaks when the SDV issue hits. or Cisco who isn't handling the SDV process right? or Brighthouse because it's their system. I can pretty well guarantee that Brighthouse will tell me to get a standard DVR from them. Does the Tivo just not handle SDV very well? I'm nearing a renewal for my subscription and if this box won't work any more maybe it's time to EBAY it.

So who do I go after, TIVO because it coaks when the SDV issue hits. or Cisco who isn't handling the SDV process right? or Brighthouse because it's their system. I can pretty well guarantee that Brighthouse will tell me to get a standard DVR from them. Does the Tivo just not handle SDV very well? I'm nearing a renewal for my subscription and if this box won't work any more maybe it's time to EBAY it.

What I'm saying to you is that it's your cable company. This isn't unusual, it happens to everyone your TiVo has nothing to do with it. Will Brighthouse say it's because of the TiVo? More then likely.

Eventually when enough people stop watching Big 10 Network it's going to switch to a different frequency and suddenly your problem will be gone. Just like that. There is really not much you can do about it.

So who do I go after, TIVO because it coaks when the SDV issue hits. or Cisco who isn't handling the SDV process right? or Brighthouse because it's their system. I can pretty well guarantee that Brighthouse will tell me to get a standard DVR from them. Does the Tivo just not handle SDV very well? I'm nearing a renewal for my subscription and if this box won't work any more maybe it's time to EBAY it.

Sounds like a Brighthouse problem to me. Do you have a regular TWC box in the house too? Try watching on it while recording on TiVo and see if it repeats on TWC HW. If it doesnt, check recording...

Sounds like a Brighthouse problem to me. Do you have a regular TWC box in the house too? Try watching on it while recording on TiVo and see if it repeats on TWC HW. If it doesnt, check recording...

What I'm saying to you is that it's your cable company. This isn't unusual, it happens to everyone your TiVo has nothing to do with it. Will Brighthouse say it's because of the TiVo? More then likely.

Eventually when enough people stop watching Big 10 Network it's going to switch to a different frequency and suddenly your problem will be gone. Just like that. There is really not much you can do about it.

I don't have a native Brighthouse box anymore. So I can't do the simultaneous comparison. And I'm a little unclear about the design of SDV switching subchannels. Seems like the headend should keep track of which boxes are watching a particular SDV channel. And if the head end decides to move a particular channel to another frequency, it should tell the appropriate boxes where the channel will now be broadcasted. If that's the way it works, there is no reason a Tunig Adapter and Tivo could not move the recording/watching experience to the new location, like a native box would do. On the other hand, if the head end just decides to move a particular video stream and all those watching have to manually retune their units ... well that is a pretty crappy design level. It also seems an awful weird coincidence that the failures are always at the end of commercials, either for GM or the Marines. Just diffciult to believe that the headend makes the fequency change at those particular moments.

I don't have a native Brighthouse box anymore. So I can't do the simultaneous comparison. And I'm a little unclear about the design of SDV switching subchannels. Seems like the headend should keep track of which boxes are watching a particular SDV channel. And if the head end decides to move a particular channel to another frequency, it should tell the appropriate boxes where the channel will now be broadcasted. If that's the way it works, there is no reason a Tunig Adapter and Tivo could not move the recording/watching experience to the new location, like a native box would do. On the other hand, if the head end just decides to move a particular video stream and all those watching have to manually retune their units ... well that is a pretty crappy design level. It also seems an awful weird coincidence that the failures are always at the end of commercials, either for GM or the Marines. Just diffciult to believe that the headend makes the fequency change at those particular moments.

Channels dont move around 'on the fly'. Once they are selected for viewing by a user, the 'channel' is commited to a QAM and it stays put as long as somebody is watching it. When the server sees nobody watching it, it can reclaim the bandwidth and kick the channel off the QAM. The next time somebody requests it, it could be assigned any available slot on any QAM and not necessarily the same one it was on before.

If the issues are only seen on commercials... are they 'local' commercials.. or network commercials. What video mode do you have TiVo set to? You might try 1080i fixed. Here in Raleigh, local commercials tend to switch resolutions which cause a new HDMI handshake (720p show suddenly switches to a 1080i commercial). That may be throwing your TV into the ditch if you have a non fixed mode selected. You might also try component cables and see if that makes any difference... that would be an interesting data point. Maybe you could ask the cableco for a loaner box for a couple days and tune it to the same channel you are watching on TiVo... when you see the issue switch your TV to the cable box and see if the channel is messed up on it.

Channels dont move around 'on the fly'. Once they are selected for viewing by a user, the 'channel' is commited to a QAM and it stays put as long as somebody is watching it. When the server sees nobody watching it, it can reclaim the bandwidth and kick the channel off the QAM. The next time somebody requests it, it could be assigned any available slot on any QAM and not necessarily the same one it was on before.

If the issues are only seen on commercials... are they 'local' commercials.. or network commercials. What video mode do you have TiVo set to? You might try 1080i fixed. Here in Raleigh, local commercials tend to switch resolutions which cause a new HDMI handshake (720p show suddenly switches to a 1080i commercial). That may be throwing your TV into the ditch if you have a non fixed mode selected. You might also try component cables and see if that makes any difference... that would be an interesting data point. Maybe you could ask the cableco for a loaner box for a couple days and tune it to the same channel you are watching on TiVo... when you see the issue switch your TV to the cable box and see if the channel is messed up on it.

The Tivo Support tech recommended I try component cables also. But I haven't got around to digging the cables out again. But the box did fail tonight while recording the game while I ws watching another channel. When I went play the game from the "Now Playing" list, it was only 19 minutes long and ended with a GMC commercial. After switching channels and watching the game live, I had a failure in the middle of the game. I would think that HDMI handshake issues should cause the HDMI prompt to appear on my Panasonic. But I'll try setting the TIVO to 108I fixed, it's currently set to pass through resolution straight through. Previous statements about the SDV headend changing the subchannel were prompted by previous posts claiming the

When I check the guide, for any non-network channel, it just says "To be announced". It's shown this for weeks. Network channels show up just fine. I've forced a few connections but not sure what's going on. Anyone seen this ? I did a cursory search but didn't find this issue. I'm using Comcast via Cablecard in Seattle.

Thanks

When I check the guide, for any non-network channel, it just says "To be announced". It's shown this for weeks. Network channels show up just fine. I've forced a few connections but not sure what's going on. Anyone seen this ? I did a cursory search but didn't find this issue. I'm using Comcast via Cablecard in Seattle.It sounds like you need to re-run guided setup and select your channel lineup.

Thanks, it does have the correct channel and name, just not the schedule. I'll try the guided setup again though.

Thanks, it does have the correct channel and name, just not the schedule. I'll try the guided setup again though.The CableCard gets you channels and callsigns on the appropriate numbers. Guided setup gets you the program information.

When I check the guide, for any non-network channel, it just says "To be announced". It's shown this for weeks. Network channels show up just fine. I've forced a few connections but not sure what's going on. Anyone seen this ? I did a cursory search but didn't find this issue. I'm using Comcast via Cablecard in Seattle.

Thanks
I use Comcast in Seattle too. As you probably know, they finally rolled-out the additional HD channels they've been promising for a year. :rolleyes: That was a few weeks ago. Anyway, one of my S3s picked up the change and started tuning the new channels automatically, but it took 4-5 days before the guide started to update. I got that same "To be announced" message. My other S3 did not detect the change at all and I had to call Comcast to have them re-authorize the CableCard. It almost sounds like yours is stuck in the limbo my first one was in after the line-up change (assuming you are actually getting all the channels). In any event, it seems likely this is related somehow to the Comcast roll-out, considering the timing. I'd call them and maybe try re-authorizing the card from their end.

IIn any event, it seems likely this is related somehow to the Comcast roll-out, considering the timing. I'd call them and maybe try re-authorizing the card from their end.CableCards are completely unrelated to the guide data. CableCards only decrypt the channels and put them on the right numbers.

After a major new rollout or realignment, Tribune (the guide data supplier) is supposed to update the existing lineup. For whatever reason, that doesn't always happen. Occasionally the old lineup is discarded and a new lineup is added to take its place. You don't get that new lineup until you re-run guided setup and select it.

If he can tune the channels, re-running guided setup and selecting another lineup should fix the problem. If he can't tune the channels, then he'll need to contact Comcast.

At the beginning of 2009 I was living in a TWC San Diego neighborhood. They'd added 12 new HD channels at the end of December 2008 and a month later there was no data in the guide for them; I first posted about it in this thread, here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15633912#post15633912). I could watch the channels live but at the time there was a bug in TiVo's firmware which made it impossible to make manual recordings of channels with no guide data (you could specify them but at recording time it would fail). I tried complaining to Tribune through Zap2It.com (a Tribune television guide site which was also missing the channels) with no response. Thus began a series of calls to TiVo support, which got the channels added a few at a time over a period of nearly two months. (TiVo used to have a very nice online form for reporting guide data problems but for unexplained reasons they removed it, now requiring that you spend time reporting such problems to a CSR over the phone :rolleyes:).

Sometimes guide data gets added for new channels automatically and quickly, sometimes there's a bit of a delay and sometimes it can be a nightmare.

At the beginning of 2009 I was living in a TWC San Diego neighborhood. They'd added 12 new HD channels at the end of December 2008 and a month later there was no data in the guide for them; I first posted about it in this thread, here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15633912#post15633912). I could watch the channels live but at the time there was a bug in TiVo's firmware which made it impossible to make manual recordings of channels with no guide data (you could specify them but at recording time it would fail). I tried complaining to Tribune through Zap2It.com (a Tribune television guide site which was also missing the channels) with no response. Thus began a series of calls to TiVo support, which got the channels added a few at a time over a period of nearly two months. (TiVo used to have a very nice online form for reporting guide data problems but for unexplained reasons they removed it, now requiring that you spend time reporting such problems to a CSR over the phone :rolleyes:).

Sometimes guide data gets added for new channels automatically and quickly, sometimes there's a bit of a delay and sometimes it can be a nightmare.

The Channel Lineup form was reactivated a while back....

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/contactsupport/lineup_tool.html

The Channel Lineup form was reactivated a while back....

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/contactsupport/lineup_tool.html

Thank you. I'm glad to see that they finally decided to reactivate it.

If you file a lineup change form, be sure to include the local number of the cable system in question. Tribune does not make lineup changes until it can confirm them, and including the local (rather than national) number helps them to do that in a more timely manner.

If you file a lineup change form, be sure to include the local number of the cable system in question. Tribune does not make lineup changes until it can confirm them, and including the local (rather than national) number helps them to do that in a more timely manner.

I usually include a link to the local's website with the lineup info too.

CableCards are completely unrelated to the guide data. CableCards only decrypt the channels and put them on the right numbers.

After a major new rollout or realignment, Tribune (the guide data supplier) is supposed to update the existing lineup. For whatever reason, that doesn't always happen. Occasionally the old lineup is discarded and a new lineup is added to take its place. You don't get that new lineup until you re-run guided setup and select it.

If he can tune the channels, re-running guided setup and selecting another lineup should fix the problem. If he can't tune the channels, then he'll need to contact Comcast.
You're right, my mistake to confound the two. But the issue seems to come down to the guide data and channel line-up not being in sync since Comcast started rolling out the new channels here in Seattle. We select from about 7-8 line-up options, and I didn't change my selection after the roll-out went into effect....both TiVos get all the channels and the guide data is accurate. Yet on one of my TiVos, I get a new message every few days telling me my line-up is wrong. It's the same line-up selected on the other TiVo that doesn't get this message, and all the channels and guide data are correct. I don't understand why this would happen, but the only difference between the two units is their CableCards. I always just dismiss and delete the message.

You're right, my mistake to confound the two. But the issue seems to come down to the guide data and channel line-up not being in sync since Comcast started rolling out the new channels here in Seattle. We select from about 7-8 line-up options, and I didn't change my selection after the roll-out went into effect....both TiVos get all the channels and the guide data is accurate. Yet on one of my TiVos, I get a new message every few days telling me my line-up is wrong. It's the same line-up selected on the other TiVo that doesn't get this message, and all the channels and guide data are correct. I don't understand why this would happen, but the only difference between the two units is their CableCards. I always just dismiss and delete the message.

I'd run a guided set up on the machine that keeps giving the messages. Perhaps it might be pointed at the wrong line up. It could be just one or two channels difference.

I'd run a guided set up on the machine that keeps giving the messages. Perhaps it might be pointed at the wrong line up. It could be just one or two channels difference.
I did run it again after the line-up change and ended up with the same option it was using before. On both machines. Since everything seems to work fine, I've opted to be lazy and delete the message rather than rerun the guided setup and take the time to delete those gazillions of channels I don't want....again. :rolleyes::o (They say a la carte pricing would make cable more expensive. OK, fair enough. But it sure would make it more convenient! I probably have to delete three channels for every one I actually want in the line-up.)

But maybe I'll run it again one of these days when I really can't find anything else to do.... :)

I did run it again after the line-up change and ended up with the same option it was using before. On both machines. Since everything seems to work fine, I've opted to be lazy and delete the message rather than rerun the guided setup and take the time to delete those gazillions of channels I don't want....again. :rolleyes::o (They say a la carte pricing would make cable more expensive. OK, fair enough. But it sure would make it more convenient! I probably have to delete three channels for every one I actually want in the line-up.)

But maybe I'll run it again one of these days when I really can't find anything else to do.... :)

If you're in the city of Seattle, in Guided Setup choose Comcast Roosevelt – Seattle (Digital – Rebuild) option and your guide data will work and be correct.

If there are eight lineups for your area, it may not be obvious which is the correct one. You should be able to compare them in advance (without having to go through guided setup to check) by entering your zip code at Tribune's site (http://www.zap2it.com).

If you're in the city of Seattle, in Guided Setup choose Comcast Roosevelt – Seattle (Digital – Rebuild) option and your guide data will work and be correct.
My guide data does work and is correct. (The Digital-Rebuild is what I'm using, BTW.) I'm not saying I have any problem with the data....I just get this message every few days for no apparent reason on one of my TiVos.

man i activated this tivo at midnight (8hr ago) and nothing has happened yet. How long does this take? I gotta have it for super bowl. Also, am I supposed to be able to see any OTA TV without activating? I can't see anything

man i activated this tivo at midnight (8hr ago) and nothing has happened yet. How long does this take? I gotta have it for super bowl. Also, am I supposed to be able to see any OTA TV without activating? I can't see anything

Call TiVo. It shouldn't take that long.

man i activated this tivo at midnight (8hr ago) and nothing has happened yet. How long does this take? I gotta have it for super bowl. Also, am I supposed to be able to see any OTA TV without activating? I can't see anything
If it's a new Tivo, you should have a seven day trial period on the Tivo before you have to activate. Have you run guided setup?

Every new TiVo includes 7-day trial, which includes all functionality aside from the network features (like the ability to download recordings).

If you purchased a TiVo from someone else, you'll need to be sure and run through guided setup. Through guided setup, you tell the TiVo what area you live in, whether you are using OTA or cable, etc.

Posted this in the TivoHD thread, but it's relevant here too.

For those on or coming off 3yr/$299 subscriptions, TiVo is apparently allowing an upgrade to lifetime service for $99.

As a loyal TiVo customer, you're eligible for an exclusive offer when you upgrade your existing TiVo service to Product Lifetime service. You'll pay a one-time fee of just $99 - a saving of $300 off the standard price of $399! Hurry, take advantage of this amazing, limited time offer today.

Product Lifetime service only applies to the box for which it was purchased. It cannot be transferred to another box.

Call 1-877-367-8486
and mention the $99 PLS upgrade offer

Only valid for:
TSN: xxxxxxxxxx

Offer expires 4/30/2010

Wow! I don't suppose they'll do that retroactively, having just purchased a lifetime back in Sept?

Posted this in the TivoHD thread, but it's relevant here too.

For those on or coming off 3yr/$299 subscriptions, TiVo is apparently allowing an upgrade to lifetime service for $99.Thanks for the tip--my S3 is just coming off a 3 year plan, so hopefully it will apply (they haven't charged me my first month-to-month fee yet--when I log in it says "we're still processing your activation, check again in 24 hours"). I'll call first thing tomorrow :).

I wasn't even considering lifetime or even another 3 year, since it seems highly likely I'll dump it for something else before then.

Wow...that would be great. I was wondering what I would do in June. I was seriously considering the Moxi. I hope they offer me this.

I received the $99 offer in my InBox on Feb 4 and jumped on it. I was also coming off of my initial 3-year prepaid plan, and it was a very nice surprised to be able to grab lifetime for such a low price.

How long is it before the expiration of your pre-pay, Paul?

It had already expired on Jan 1, so I was going month-to-month. Wasn't ready to pony up the $299 or $399 that TiVo was listing for the normal Lifetime package, so I was biding my time, trying to figure out what to do with my S3. My lifetime now kicks in on March 1, which is my next billing cycle.

Wow...that would be great. I was wondering what I would do in June. I was seriously considering the Moxi. I hope they offer me this.Why not just call and buy it now? What's the difference between letting you prepaid service run out in June and converting then and converting to lifetime now? bfdtv's post said that the offer expires at the end of April.

I made the call and got the deal. They'd unfortunately already converted me to month-to-month and charged the $12.95 yesterday, so I won't be charged for it until my current month's service expires on March 7th (you'd think that they might just apply my current service fees and charge me $87, but no such luck :rolleyes:). On the "Manage My Acccount" page under "Future payment plan" it now reads:Scheduled plan: $99 Product Lifetime serice

So bicker1 if you ask for the deal now they'll charge you for it at the end of your prepaid plan.

The offer that I got in e-mail read (it came with the notification of my prepaid plans emminent expiration):
As a special thank you for being a TiVo customer, we would like to offer you a $100 savings on a Product Lifetime service upgrade. With Product Lifetime service, you can enjoy your TiVo DVR with no monthly bills for the life of your DVR. To take advantage of this limited-time special offer, please visit http://www.tivo.com/manage and select the Product Lifetime option from the future payment plan screen. Then, enter this promo code: PLSR.That seems to say that I'd get $100 off an upgrade to PLS, which'd still leave $200 given the upgrade options I was offered before; I'd have jumped on it if it were clear that it'd be $99. Whatever--I got the upgrade :).

The offer that I got in e-mail read (it came with the notification of my prepaid plans emminent expiration):
That seems to say that I'd get $100 off an upgrade to PLS, which'd still leave $200 given the upgrade options I was offered before; I'd have jumped on it if it were clear that it'd be $99. Whatever--I got the upgrade :).

I actually got both of these emails. The first one was for a $100 discount off of the existing lifetime price. The second one was for $100 lifetime. I'm very thankful I waited long enough to get the 2nd mail. :)

It looks like existing TiVo monthly/yearly subscribers may be able to add lifetime for $299 using the PLSR promotion code.

Why not just call and buy it now? What's the difference between letting you prepaid service run out in June and converting then and converting to lifetime now? bfdtv's post said that the offer expires at the end of April.bfdtv's post also indicated that
Only valid for:
TSN: xxxxxxxxxx


That makes it sound like you need to receive the email to be eligible.

I have had problems for a long time with my Tivo 3 remote, is it normal for it to work intermittently, or for buttons to act like you pressed them twice, when you pressed them once (like using the up/down arrowed to go through the now playing list)? Now it's not working at all.... good thing I have my Series 1 remote..... Also, where can I get a Tivo 3 remote theses days? Thanks!

I have had problems for a long time with my Tivo 3 remote, is it normal for it to work intermittently, or for buttons to act like you pressed them twice, when you pressed them once (like using the up/down arrowed to go through the now playing list)?This is normal when the battery gets low.

If you use the GLO (backlight) feature on the Series3 remote, the batteries will only last 2-4 months. If you turn off the backlight, the batteries will last 6-9 months or longer.

bfdtv's post also indicated that

That makes it sound like you need to receive the email to be eligible.I did not receive the e-mail. I got an offer for $100 off lifetime in the notification that my prepaid plan was expiring. I saw bfdtv's post on the day that my plan expired and called them the day after. The girl asked me if I'd received the e-mail, I told her no, then she went away for a minute and came back and told me that she could give me the deal. They'd already charged $12.95 for February, so they'll charge me the $99 on March 7th.

Your only problem is that your plan expires at some point in June and the deal ends at the end of April. They seem to be making an attempt to offer a great deal on lifetime to people who bought a Series3 soon after it came out and bought a 3-year prepaid plan because lifetime wasn't on offer then. This way we'll essentially have paid $400 for lifetime (well, I'll have paid $412.95 :rolleyes:). I don't know but some people at TCF say that it was months after the end of April 2007 before lifetime came back, so they're cutting the offer off a little too soon.

Some folks over in TCF think that they should offer the deal to people who bought a TiVo and took a 3-year service commitment 3 years ago, getting a reduced monthly fee (I never saw that offer or I might have taken it). People have tried, but no one who had the commitment plan has reported that they managed to talk them into it.

This is normal when the battery gets low.

If you use the GLO (backlight) feature on the Series3 remote, the batteries will only last 2-4 months. If you turn off the backlight, the batteries will last 6-9 months or longer.

Ok, how do you turn off the back light? 2-4 months? 2 months maybe...

I did not receive the e-mail. I got an offer for $100 off lifetime in the notification that my prepaid plan was expiring. I saw bfdtv's post on the day that my plan expired and called them the day after. The girl asked me if I'd received the e-mail, I told her no, then she went away for a minute and came back and told me that she could give me the deal. They'd already charged $12.95 for February, so they'll charge me the $99 on March 7th.

Your only problem is that your plan expires at some point in June and the deal ends at the end of April. They seem to be making an attempt to offer a great deal on lifetime to people who bought a Series3 soon after it came out and bought a 3-year prepaid plan because lifetime wasn't on offer then. This way we'll essentially have paid $400 for lifetime (well, I'll have paid $412.95 :rolleyes:). I don't know but some people at TCF say that it was months after the end of April 2007 before lifetime came back, so they're cutting the offer off a little too soon.

Some folks over in TCF think that they should offer the deal to people who bought a TiVo and took a 3-year service commitment 3 years ago, getting a reduced monthly fee (I never saw that offer or I might have taken it). People have tried, but no one who had the commitment plan has reported that they managed to talk them into it.

I just noticed recently that lifetime is back, but according to the Tivo site, they want another $299! I paid $299 when I purchased by Tivo3 (and I do not remember how long ago that was).... How can I get lifetime cheaper? I would have chosen lifetime if it was available when I purchased my Tivo3...

I just noticed recently that lifetime is back, but according to the Tivo site, they want another $299! I paid $299 when I purchased by Tivo3 (and I do not remember how long ago that was).... How can I get lifetime cheaper? I would have chosen lifetime if it was available when I purchased my Tivo3...Go back and look at this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18091429#post18091429) post; it's the first mention of the $99 PLS upgrade offer.

It's for people with 3-year prepaid service plans which expire before April 30th. If your plan expires after that date you may have trouble getting it. If it expired before that date, probably not (there's a guy in the thread at TCF (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7765699#post7765699) who said that his plan expired in January and they gave it to him.

I did not receive the e-mail. I got an offer for $100 off lifetime in the notification that my prepaid plan was expiring.Okay... I'm not expiring for another four months, so it's still a little early for me to receive that notification.

I saw bfdtv's post on the day that my plan expired and called them the day after. The girl asked me if I'd received the e-mail, I told her no, then she went away for a minute and came back and told me that she could give me the deal. They'd already charged $12.95 for February, so they'll charge me the $99 on March 7th.Great to know. I'm really busy right now, but I'll give them a call next week. Thanks.

Your only problem is that your plan expires at some point in June and the deal ends at the end of April. They seem to be making an attempt to offer a great deal on lifetime to people who bought a Series3 soon after it came out and bought a 3-year prepaid plan because lifetime wasn't on offer then. This way we'll essentially have paid $400 for lifetime (well, I'll have paid $412.95 :rolleyes:). I don't know but some people at TCF say that it was months after the end of April 2007 before lifetime came back, so they're cutting the offer off a little too soon.Yeah, so I might be out of luck... that would suck.

About a month ago, I started to have all the problems listed on bfdtv's FAQ Known Problems #8 and #9 (partial recording, lose of audio, pixelization, slow remote response). My TiVo series 3 was purchaged in October 2006 and the 500GB drive expansion was added about 2 years ago. First I thought it was a problem with my Comcast signal (which I had previously with them about two years ago) but the degradation on the remote response made me to think the issue may actually be with my TiVo. Needless to say I was very upset as the football season moved towards its playoff games and I ended up watching most of the games on SD (sigh).

After going over the excellent FAQ organized by bfdtv, I have just replaced the TiVo's internal drive over this weekend and I am happy to say that everything is back to norm now. Thank you bfdtv and all other contributing members of the AVS community.

Here are somethings I have encountered during this replacement process that I like to share.

1. The drive I purchased was WD EVDS. I was lucky that the drive received was manufactured on Oct 9, 2009 (I was ready to go the extra mile to deal with the soft boot issue but I did not need to).

2. While runnig WinMFS, I did not see the drive listed in the WinMFS form. I was using a direct sata line to the free slots on my Dell XPS' motherboard. I tried all four of the free slots and none of them worked. I ended up using the sata connection for the DVD drive (going off road from the instructions) and with that connection I was able to see the new drive in WinMFS.

3. While booting up with this connection, the OS (Window Vista) reported it has successfully installed the device driver for the origial TiVo drive. This message did not seem to affect the overall backup and restore process.

4. While doing the backup (got the same installing the device driver message for the new drive), I got a warning dialog saying that I am about to write over my OS or Boot disk and do you want to continue. This maybe because I am using the original DVD connection which can be a boot drive (I did not change any of the BIOS configuration for drives) and I replied OK.

5. The TiVo boot up without any problem with the new drive and I can tell it is close to being silent (from about 18' away) while I can easily hear the old drive from the same location.

6. The TiVo desktop (latest version) on my PC refused to come up after all these. Not sure why but a "repair" from the program control fixed that.

Congrats. I remember when I upgraded my hard drive to a Samsung 1TB drive about a year ago. Went pretty well, but I too recall encountering some moderately weird developments throughout the process. At least, things that weren't described as being part of the process in either of the upgrade guides I used as reference throughout the upgrade. Ultimately, it just worked, despite not everything going according to plan.

Incidentally, from the outset, my Samsung drive has been running fairly loud on a consistent basis, like it's constantly laboring and lurching. Certainly louder than the original drive. I assume this noise is the result of the constant writing to the dual 30 minute buffers. I thought for sure it was a defect that would wreak havoc on the longevity of the drive and the performance of the Tivo, but it's still chugging along a year later without fail, albeit, not any quieter. :rolleyes:

I was looking at this adapter, a USB 2.0 to Ethernet Converter (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10311&cs_id=1031102&p_id=6150&seq=1&format=2), wondering if this might work as an additional ethernet port for the Tivo.

The existing ethernet port on my Tivo is occupied by a cable that connects to a nearby wireless bridge device. This is how I receive my automatic daily programming updates. The reason I would like to create a second ethernet port is so that I may be able to do occasional speedy wired transfers of video to/from my desktop computer.

Since it's cumbersome to reach behind my a/v cabinet in order to switch cables back 'n forth to the existing single port, I was going to try and use this adapter so that I may simply leave the second ethernet cable plugged in all the time by virtue of this adapter.

Any idea if this adapter might work for just such a purpose?

I was looking at this adapter, a USB 2.0 to Ethernet Converter (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10311&cs_id=1031102&p_id=6150&seq=1&format=2), wondering if this might work as an additional ethernet port for the Tivo.

The existing ethernet port on my Tivo is occupied by a cable that connects to a nearby wireless bridge device. This is how I receive my automatic daily programming updates. The reason I would like to create a second ethernet port is so that I may be able to do occasional speedy wired transfers of video to/from my desktop computer.

Since it's cumbersome to reach behind my a/v cabinet in order to switch cables back 'n forth to the existing single port, I was going to try and use this adapter so that I may simply leave the second ethernet cable plugged in all the time by virtue of this adapter.

Any idea if this adapter might work for just such a purpose?I'm fairly certain that TiVo can't communicate with two different network devices plugged in at the same time. To work at all, your USB-to-Ethernet converter would have to ape TiVo's wireless networking dongle, precisely. The device implements a network stack internally, which does a lot of the work of receiving and sending messages through the network. If the converter doesn't communicate with TiVo exactly the way that it expects (which is probably some proprietary protocol), it won't work at all, much less as a second network connection.

What's wrong with using the wire that you have connected to transfer video to and from your PC? It's not at all restricted to downloading daily updates; it could do that simultaneously with other network tasks.

All USB adapters require drivers to make them work. The TiVo does not have built-in Linux drivers for any USB devices, aside from the TiVo wireless adapter and SDV adapters.

I was looking at this adapter, a USB 2.0 to Ethernet Converter (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10311&cs_id=1031102&p_id=6150&seq=1&format=2), wondering if this might work as an additional ethernet port for the Tivo.

The existing ethernet port on my Tivo is occupied by a cable that connects to a nearby wireless bridge device. This is how I receive my automatic daily programming updates. The reason I would like to create a second ethernet port is so that I may be able to do occasional speedy wired transfers of video to/from my desktop computer.

Since it's cumbersome to reach behind my a/v cabinet in order to switch cables back 'n forth to the existing single port, I was going to try and use this adapter so that I may simply leave the second ethernet cable plugged in all the time by virtue of this adapter.

Any idea if this adapter might work for just such a purpose?

Am I missing a crucial bit of info...? If you can eliminate your wireless bridge and hard wire your TiVo to an Ethernet switch connected to your network, one connection is all you need to achieve your desired results.

Am I missing a crucial bit of info...? If you can eliminate your wireless bridge and hard wire your TiVo to an Ethernet switch connected to your network, one connection is all you need to achieve your desired results.

It's even more direct than that, to my thinking. The wireless bridge is already connecting the TiVo to his home network, which presumably includes his computer as well. He can do his transfers exactly as it's already hooked up....everything's already set. (This is the way one of mine is set up...works great.)

schwaggy, the bit I didn't provide is the fact that my main desktop editing computer is across the room from the Tivo. I've got my router wired to this desktop computer, which then wirelessly networks/communicates with my Squeezebox audio player from across the room, which is set up on my a/v cabinet, along with my Tivo.

One of the side features of the Squeezebox is that it can act as a wireless bridge. This negates any need to utilize a Tivo (or other brand) wireless adapter for my S3. I simply run a cable from the Squeezebox over to the Tivo so that both can be concurrently connected to the network. So this is the cable that is currently occupying my Tivo ethernet port.


What's wrong with using the wire that you have connected to transfer video to and from your PC? It's not at all restricted to downloading daily updates; it could do that simultaneously with other network tasks.

This is also the pt. of progprog in the post immediately above. And I understand all this, but I'm assuming that any video transfers done wirelessly will be significantly slower than a direct cable connection. While I'm sure that will be fine some of the time, I know there will be those occasions when I won't want to wait any longer than absolutely necessary for a transfer to be completed.

And being that the devices are across the room from one another, neither can I simply leave a cable laying around on the carpet across the middle of the room all of the time. For short term connections when I need a speedier transfer, fine. But once completed, then the cable can be wound up and hidden behind the A/V cabinet, waiting for the next time-critical transfer task.

I can still do that, but my hope was this usb/ethernet adapter would allow be to keep the one end of this second ethernet cable always connected to the back of the Tivo. This would have prevented the groans, sweat and swearing as I struggle to reach behind the a/v equpment cabinet to feel around, find and then switch-out the Squeezebox crossover (or patch?) cable for the second, dedicated video ethernet cable. :mad::D

I'm fairly certain that TiVo can't communicate with two different network devices plugged in at the same time. To work at all, your USB-to-Ethernet converter would have to ape TiVo's wireless networking dongle, precisely. The device implements a network stack internally, which does a lot of the work of receiving and sending messages through the network. If the converter doesn't communicate with TiVo exactly the way that it expects (which is probably some proprietary protocol), it won't work at all, much less as a second network connection.

What's wrong with using the wire that you have connected to transfer video to and from your PC? It's not at all restricted to downloading daily updates; it could do that simultaneously with other network tasks.

+1

I'm pretty sure the TiVo won't be able to utilize both networks simultaneously.

If you're that worried about performance, I'd worry about trying to increase that single link's throughput. That'd be your best bet.

The TiVo's network throughput is CPU limited to around 13-15Mbps anyways, and there's nothing you can do to increase that value. It's a hard limit.

well, people seem to be missing the key point that I don't need both ports to be networked simultaneously. Tivo updates typically occur, what? Once per day a few minutes per day? And video transfers might be for an hour or two once every few days or so. Hardly seems there would ever come a time where two connections are battling each other for the network.

Anyway, if wireless streaming of content is already capably of higher throughput than the 13-15Mbps second CPU limitation (assuming that's accurate), then that would mean there would be no benefit to wired transfers anyway. Unless you suffer from connection drops, but otherwise...

This is also the pt. of progprog in the post immediately above. And I understand all this, but I'm assuming that any video transfers done wirelessly will be significantly slower than a direct cable connection. Anyway, if wireless streaming of content is already capably of higher throughput than the 13-15Mbps second CPU limitation (assuming that's accurate), then that would mean there would be no benefit to wired transfers anyway. Unless you suffer from connection drops, but otherwise...
You've hit the nail on the head. Unless you have an unstable wireless connection (which you probably don't if your TiVo data always downloads okay), a wired connection really wouldn't be any faster, because the TiVo has its own limits. The theoretical maximum for the ethernet port is 100Mbps, and wireless G networks run at 54Mbps, so that's not a huge difference anyway. I use a wireless N network that runs at speeds exceeding the capabilities of most of the home theater devices connected to the two wireless bridges in my AV stack. I hope gigabit ports become standard on all networked components.

well, people seem to be missing the key point that I don't need both ports to be networked simultaneously. Tivo updates typically occur, what? Once per day a few minutes per day? And video transfers might be for an hour or two once every few days or so. Hardly seems there would ever come a time where two connections are battling each other for the network.Again, I'm fairly certain that TiVo cannot handle two network connections plugged into it simultaneous. Never mind the converter you're talking about (which TiVo couldn't recognize as a network interface at all), if you had a wired Ethernet connection plugged into TiVo's RJ45 input (which you do, from your Squeezebox) and a regulation TiVo Wireless Network Adapter plugged in at the same time, it could not recognize both (though I'm not sure what it would do).

Windows has drivers to handle USB devices as network connections and that's what the adapter you're talking about is made for--as the page you linked to says, "great for notebook PCs without an integrated network adapter but requiring a broadband/LAN connection" (I've never seen such a notebook, but I guess they must exist). The only USB network adapter that TiVo can use is one of their own devices, which almost certainly would work if plugged into a PC running Windows.

As I said before, you really don't have a need for a second network connection. As you keep pointing out, TiVo only updates your guide once a day, unless you manually ask it to do more updates. These could happen concurrently with any file transfers, streaming video, etc, that TiVo might be handling on its network connection at the time.

OK guys, based upon your feedback, I'll go ahead and pull the adapter from my order cart. I have no problem saving some money if I must. :D I needed to order some parts from monoprice anyway, and stumbling upon the adapter, my curiosity was piqued.

I've just started looking at possibly buying TiVo. I've done some research but I'm still a bit confused.

Currently I have two TVs. The primary one has Comcast digital service with HD included. The second TV has Comcast digital service but no HD.

I want to hook up the TiVo to the primary TV. My understanding is that I do this by getting a cable card from Comcast for my Pioneer TV and return the STB to Comcast. I understand that I will lose video on demand when I do this.

My question is primarily about the services I have to continue to subscribe to from Comcast. I have the following:

Basic cable (limited plus expanded)
Digital classic package (includes one standard set top receiver)
Advanced set top receiver
Digital additional (outlet service includes STB)

Which if any of these do I eliminate with the TiVo installation for my primary TV? Are there any other potential problems I am missing?

I know these are basic questions but I've read quite a bit to included the FAQ and still having trouble figuring it out. Thanks

My question is primarily about the services I have to continue to subscribe to from Comcast. I have the following:

Basic cable (limited plus expanded)
Digital classic package (includes one standard set top receiver)
Advanced set top receiver
Digital additional (outlet service includes STB)

Which if any of these do I eliminate with the TiVo installation for my primary TV? Are there any other potential problems I am missing?

I know these are basic questions but I've read quite a bit to included the FAQ and still having trouble figuring it out. Thanks
If you look at the actual charges on your bill, you should only be gettiing charged for the second STB, the one you list as "Advanced set top receiver." That will come off the bill and be replaced by a charge for the CableCard. The current monthly fee for one CableCard is $5.95 (at least in my neck of the woods).

EDIT: I just re-read you post and the part that says your additional outlet includes the STB is different from my bill. I get charged for both the additional outlet and the Card. So maybe Comcast charges differently where you are. You best bet would be to check with them. In any event, you bill should be the same or a little cheaper.

I've just started looking at possibly buying TiVo. I've done some research but I'm still a bit confused.

Currently I have two TVs. The primary one has Comcast digital service with HD included. The second TV has Comcast digital service but no HD.

I want to hook up the TiVo to the primary TV. My understanding is that I do this by getting a cable card from Comcast for my Pioneer TV and return the STB to Comcast. I understand that I will lose video on demand when I do this.

My question is primarily about the services I have to continue to subscribe to from Comcast. I have the following:

Basic cable (limited plus expanded)
Digital classic package (includes one standard set top receiver)
Advanced set top receiver
Digital additional (outlet service includes STB)

Which if any of these do I eliminate with the TiVo installation for my primary TV? Are there any other potential problems I am missing?

I know these are basic questions but I've read quite a bit to included the FAQ and still having trouble figuring it out. Thanks

One thing to add - if you are looking at getting Tivo, there is a Tivo event coming on March 2. It could be new hardware and/or a new UI.

http://www.tivoblog.com/archives/2010/02/11/tivo-to-hold-nyc-event-on-march-2nd/

Okay, today's the big day. When is this suppsoed to happen....? (It's 2pm in NY already. :()

Okay, today's the big day. When is this suppsoed to happen....? (It's 2pm in NY already. :()

I think all this stuff happens out west doesn't it? Probably 2:00 pm Pacific time.

I heard 6:00 and that is probably eastern time so yeah, 2 or 3 west coast sounds about right.

I heard 6:00 and that is probably eastern time so yeah, 2 or 3 west coast sounds about right.



Yep, 6pm EST and its actually 'top of the rock' ie: rockafella plaza (NY)

Sigh. 4 more hours of waiting...

Cool, Anyone else thinking about running out and getting one of the last tivo S3 HDs just in case the Premiere turns out to be a stinker and returning it if Premiere rocks?

Sigh. 4 more hours of waiting...

It better be worth it! and not just the "heres the new TIVO.." with the same 720p interface..

It better be worth it! and not just the "heres the new TIVO.." with the same 720p interface..

More like an up-converted 720p UI!

Definitely 6pm...the article doesn't say which timezone but let's assume EST!

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/poll_what_will_tivo_announce_tonight/

Here's an article from cnet.com. Is this the real thing?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10462438-1.html

Looks like it. Nothing earth-shattering, but that IS a cool remote! :)

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20100302/TiVoQwertyRemote_small_610x322.jpg

So I guess we won't see that no UI that will only be for the new model. Kind of sucks.

Yeah, the earth-shaking features are the ones that are beyond TiVo's control right now. But this does bring several of the features that people have been begging for like the refreshed HD interface, storage meter, live feed window while searching, and the QWERTY keyboard for quicker searching. And wireless-N adapters will be nice too.

I'll support Tivo by buying a couple.

Well, given the hype it was bound to be a disappointment :rolleyes:. They hardly needed a drum roll for that.

My S3 and HD are working fine and I don't see anything in the new box that's worth spending more money on, the UI is nice, but who watches a UI? :D

I'm happy to see the Pandora support will make it to my S3, anyway. I wonder when the software rollout will commence.....

Randy

What is Pandora, another streaming audio app like Rhapsody?

I'm happy to see the Pandora support will make it to my S3, anyway. I wonder when the software rollout will commence.....

Randy
Is this the music Pandora? If so I could care less about that.

What is Pandora, another streaming audio app like Rhapsody?

Yessir. It can create a 'channel' of music you like based on an artist, song, etc. It was born out of the Music Genome Project. I'm not sure if this is still true or not, but they used to offer both free and paid accounts, with the paid accounts giving you a higher bandwidth stream. I have been introduced to quite a few new artists I might never have discovered without it....

Randy

Edit: The pay accounts run $36/year, so it won't break the bank. I should note that you can't just pick a bunch of songs to play...it picks music for you based on the way you create the channel. You can let it know if you like or dislike the song currently playing to fine tune the channel...

Is this the music Pandora? If so I could care less about that.

Yes. And okay. :)

Randy

I like having the option of Pandora on TiVo since mine's connected to my main theater speaker system. So I can listen to music and also view the artist info onscreen.

Yessir. It can create a 'channel' of music you like based on an artist, song, etc. It was born out of the Music Genome Project. I'm not sure if this is still true or not, but they used to offer both free and paid accounts, with the paid accounts giving you a higher bandwidth stream. I have been introduced to quite a few new artists I might never have discovered without it....

Randy

Edit: The pay accounts run $36/year, so it won't break the bank. I should note that you can't just pick a bunch of songs to play...it picks music for you based on the way you create the channel. You can let it know if you like or dislike the song currently playing to fine tune the channel...

I just looked it over at their site, played with it a bit, seems okay but I'm pretty happy with the lossless playback from my own playlists via the PS3/Media Server setup(it's free too). The selecting of like styles is pretty cool though. :)

I just looked it over at their site, played with it a bit, seems okay but I'm pretty happy with the lossless playback from my own playlists via the PS3/Media Server setup(it's free too). The selecting of like styles is pretty cool though. :)
You won't listen to Pandora for the highest quality lossless audio. The great part is that it introduces you to new artists. I found 2 or 3 just the other afternoon that I loved but had never even heard of before.

You won't listen to Pandora for the highest quality lossless audio. The great part is that it introduces you to new artists. I found 2 or 3 just the other afternoon that I loved but had never even heard of before.

Yes, I'll probably play with it online and then integrate the newly "found" music into my current playback setup(PS3 Media Server).

I just looked it over at their site, played with it a bit, seems okay but I'm pretty happy with the lossless playback from my own playlists via the PS3/Media Server setup(it's free too). The selecting of like styles is pretty cool though. :)
I had the same impression of Pandora when I got it free with my Denon processor a couple years ago. Once I started using it, though, I'm a real convert. For those of us who don't like commercial radio anymore, it's a great way to discover new artists, in that their "algorithm" works very effectively at serving up selections catered to your tastes.

According to Pandora, I'm a fan of "extensive vamping". :)

I've always found your posting behavior to be carnally ostentatious, so yea, I guess that fits.


just kidding. I have no such idea.

Can a 2TB, or a 1.5TB HD be installed in the Tivo3? Anyone have a good link for copying the original HD to a new HD?

Can a 2TB, or a 1.5TB HD be installed in the Tivo3? Anyone have a good link for copying the original HD to a new HD?

Try the FAQ over at TCF...

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=370784

Hope that helps...

Randy

I'm going to sound like an idiot but I want to make sure I cover all my bases before I commit myself to something that will cost me extra money.

We currently have a Tivo Series 2 (DT). We also have Comcast. With Comcast's World of More/WoW in which they are converting everything to digital, we are losing more and more channels. We would like to keep DT functionality.

So, I'm considering getting a Series 3 off eBay. Here are my questions:
-Will my Tivo subscription cost increase by going to a Series 3?

-Will I be able to do dual tuner recordings (digital and analog) if I get a single MCard from Comcast?

-Besides the $15 installation fee from Comcast, what will I have to pay extra each month? Just the monthly cost of the single MCard or is there a secondary fee since we get HD at the house on our Motorola box?

We would stick with Series 2 if we could but losing the DT function is not really an option. I see the prices for Series 3 units on eBay have come down a lot and any help anyone can provide would be appreciated.

I'm going to sound like an idiot but I want to make sure I cover all my bases before I commit myself to something that will cost me extra money.

We currently have a Tivo Series 2 (DT). We also have Comcast. With Comcast's World of More/WoW in which they are converting everything to digital, we are losing more and more channels. We would like to keep DT functionality.

So, I'm considering getting a Series 3 off eBay. Here are my questions:
-Will my Tivo subscription cost increase by going to a Series 3?

-Will I be able to do dual tuner recordings (digital and analog) if I get a single MCard from Comcast?

-Besides the $15 installation fee from Comcast, what will I have to pay extra each month? Just the monthly cost of the single MCard or is there a secondary fee since we get HD at the house on our Motorola box?

We would stick with Series 2 if we could but losing the DT function is not really an option. I see the prices for Series 3 units on eBay have come down a lot and any help anyone can provide would be appreciated.

1. no
2. yes
3. yes
4. TiVo Series 3 is becoming extinct. You'd be better off waiting (if you can) for then Series 4 that is coming out OR just going to Best Buy and picking up a HD TiVo for 179.00.

Thank you for your help. Question 3 was an 'and/or' question that you answered 'yes' which was confusing. :D

We'd rather save some money and get a Series 3, but of course I meant to say we'd be getting a Series 3 HD. These can be had for roughly $75 - $125 these days on eBay. Are you saying that is still a bad investment?

Thank you for your help. Question 3 was an 'and/or' question that you answered 'yes' which was confusing. :D

We'd rather save some money and get a Series 3, but of course I meant to say we'd be getting a Series 3 HD. These can be had for roughly $75 - $125 these days on eBay. Are you saying that is still a bad investment?

I'm sorry. I kind of misread that question.

I don't have comcast so I don't know how they charge but if you have a Moto box they will probably charge you for that and a monthly fee for your cable card.

-Will my Tivo subscription cost increase by going to a Series 3?\


Nope.


-Will I be able to do dual tuner recordings (digital and analog) if I get a single MCard from Comcast?


If you're thinking about getting a Series3, the answer is NO. The Series3 does not suppose multi-tuner support of MCards. You'll have to rent two cards to enable dual-tuning/recording.

If you're going to pick up a TiVo HD unit, the answer is YES. The HD supports multiple tuners with a single MCard.


-Besides the $15 installation fee from Comcast, what will I have to pay extra each month? Just the monthly cost of the single MCard or is there a secondary fee since we get HD at the house on our Motorola box?


Refer to above Q&A. Depends upon how many cards you need to rent.

Series3 = two cards = about $3/month in rental fees.
TiVoHD = one card = no extra fees.

1. no
2. yes
3. yes
4. TiVo Series 3 is becoming extinct. You'd be better off waiting (if you can) for then Series 4 that is coming out OR just going to Best Buy and picking up a HD TiVo for 179.00.

You'll be able to get good deals from people selling their S3 units. Like me. I have nine S3 units(six with Lifetime) I will be selling all of them and getting six Premiere units instead.( icurrently have six tiVoHD and three original S3 boxes)

I have no problems with my S3 units but since TiVo has a good offer to upgrade, while also allowing me to keep lifetime on my exisiting units, i figure I might as well. Otherwise, without the discount i would have only purchsed one or two Premiere units and kept most of my s3 units.

I'm not sure about all Comcast systems, but until just recently, actually effective May 1st, Comcast in the SF bay area is no longer charging an Additional Outlet fee for those subs that have 2 or more HD boxes. It's unclear at this point how this might relate to CableCARD installs. Below is the comment from the Comcast California VP of Communications. I mention it here as in Hardcore Legend's case he may incur that Additional Outlet fee, if his Comcast area is not following the lead set by the SF bay area systems. I myself have 2 TiVos and do not have an AO charge, both are equipped with CCs(S3 and a HD). When I recently added a Comcast Moto DVR there was an AO charge added to the account, when returned, it was removed. Per the below I wouldn't be charged the AO if I rented the Comcast DVR again after May 1st. It's worth checking into, especially for those of you that are currently paying those AO charges as they can really add up at $7.50 a pop.

Topic: Reduction in HD Prices for Customers with Two or More Outlets/Rooms using Comcast’s HD Boxes.

We’ll be lowering the monthly price to our existing Comcast customers who have two or more HD sets in their home and use our set-top boxes.

Today, customers pay an “Additional Outlet Fee” and a “Advanced Set Top Box Fee” when requesting additional HD services (ex: $7.50 Digital Additional Outlet Fee + $15.95 HD DVR Fee = $23.45).

By May 1st the additional outlet pricing structure will be simplified by combining the two fees to one low price (to be called the “HD Technology Fee”) and for those customers with HD in two or more rooms their monthly price will be reduced by $7.50 per month, per HD outlet.

So a customer with a total of three HD sets in their home using Comcast equipment, would see their bill reduced by a total of $15 a month, ($180 a year) to reflect the price reduction for their two additional HD rooms.

Please remember that this price change only impacts those customers with more than one HD box. The monthly price to those customers with only one HD box will not change.

I’m sure you are wondering if an existing customer with HD service can take advantage of the new “HD Technology Fee” and additional outlet pricing on their existing outlets as well any new ones they want to add prior to May 1?

Yes, if an upgrading or existing customer wants HD service on additional outlets and they already have HD service on existing outlets we will add the new HD service codes as well as change the existing HD service codes on their account. So If an existing customer wants their advanced equipment charges ($7.50) removed prior to May 1 our CAE’s will honor the request and remove the old HD service codes and replace them with the new codes.

Again, this is specific to SF bay area systems, it may or may not apply to other Comcast systems across the country, check with your local office.

-Besides the $15 installation fee from Comcast, what will I have to pay extra each month? Just the monthly cost of the single MCard or is there a secondary fee since we get HD at the house on our Motorola box?
The answer to this seems to vary depending on the local Comcast policies. Where I live (Seattle), the first CableCard is free, just like the first cable box would be. They charge $1.60 for the 2nd card in an S3, and the first CableCard you'd need for each additional is $6.10. So, to illustrate:

First TiVo S3:
CC 1: Free
CC 2: $1.60
Second TiVo S3:
CC 1: $6.10
CC 2: $1.60
Third TiVo S3:
CC 1: $6.10
CC 2: $1.60
etc., etc......

2. yes
I thought the S3 can't use the dual-tuner M-Card? Was I wrong?

I thought the S3 can't use the dual-tuner M-Card? Was I wrong?

Well, not exactly. S3 can use an M card but it still would need 2 of them....I think.

Been a while so I'm not exactly sure. I'm pretty sure.

I thought the S3 can't use the dual-tuner M-Card? Was I wrong?

an M-card can handle at least six tuners(maybe more).

An original S3 needs two M-cards to use both tuners. I have two Mcards in my s3 connected to FiOS. Prior two December I was using two Single Stream cards.

an M-card can handle at least six tuners(maybe more).

An original S3 needs two M-cards to use both tuners. I have two Mcards in my s3 connected to FiOS. Prior two December I was using two Single Stream cards.

Thanks for clearing that up, I wasn't sure. I still have my S3 although I'm not sure if it works but it used 2 S cards which are in my TiVo HD now.

In the Seattle area, what is the "Digital Additional" fee of $6.10
"Outlet Service Includes: Set-Top Box and Remote if applicable"
Is that their way of charging for the outlet the TiVo is connected to?

I've got one Comacst HD box and pay for that.
I've got a TiVo S3 and pay for 1 of 2 cable cards.

What are they giving me for another $6.10/mo?

Thanks!

In the Seattle area, what is the "Digital Additional" fee of $6.10
"Outlet Service Includes: Set-Top Box and Remote if applicable"
Is that there way of charging for the outlet the TiVo is connected to?

I've got one Comacst HD box and pay for that.
I've got a TiVo S3 and pay for 1 of 2 cable cards.

What are they giving me for another $6.10/mo?

In many service areas, Comcast charges $4 to $6 for every digital box after the first, regardless of whether it is a TiVo or Comcast box. If you had two Comcast HD boxes, you would pay the same $6.10/mo fee. If you returned your Comcast HD box and only kept the TiVo, that would eliminate the fee.

I thought the S3 can't use the dual-tuner M-Card? Was I wrong?Plugged into an S-Card slot, as per the spec an M-Card is supposed to run in single-stream compatibility mode, so any CableCARD device can use M-Cards.

TiVo designed the Series3 to operate with a single M-Card, but they launched it before there were any final-spec M-Cards to test it with. When M-Cards hit the market they found that the S3 could not use them in multi-stream mode. They say that they found a fix that would make it work, but it's extremely high risk (i.e., likely to break multiple other things), so they've declined to implement it.

(There was a recent discussion of whether TiVo ever claimed that the S3 would work with a single M-Card in TiVo Community Forum--I submitted some proof that they had in this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7769504#post7769504) post).

In the Seattle area, what is the "Digital Additional" fee of $6.10
"Outlet Service Includes: Set-Top Box and Remote if applicable"
Is that their way of charging for the outlet the TiVo is connected to?

I've got one Comacst HD box and pay for that.
I've got a TiVo S3 and pay for 1 of 2 cable cards.

What are they giving me for another $6.10/mo?

Thanks!

The "Digital Additional Outlet" fee is the fee I was referring to in my previous post, you might want to check with your local Comcast office to see if they plan to drop the fee as they are in SF bay area, the effective date here is May 1st. In the bay area, with your setup, you would be charged for the original Comcast HD box($15.95 if it's a HD-DVR, not sure what the charge is for the non-DVR box) and then only $1.70 for the CableCARD equipped TiVo, no Digital Additional Outlet fee.

an M-card can handle at least six tuners(maybe more).

An original S3 needs two M-cards to use both tuners. I have two Mcards in my s3 connected to FiOS. Prior two December I was using two Single Stream cards.
Thanks for clarifying. Is there any advantage to using the M-cards in your S3 over the S-cards that were in it before?

In many service areas, Comcast charges $4 to $6 for every digital box after the first, regardless of whether it is a TiVo or Comcast box. If you had two Comcast HD boxes, you would pay the same $6.10/mo fee. If you returned your Comcast HD box and only kept the TiVo, that would eliminate the fee.
Currently, that's not true in my area. The $6.10 covers the additional outlet and the cable box OR cable card you use on it, so you'll get charged that fee regardless what tuner choice you use on the additional outlet. Hopefully, Keenan's experience in SF is a sign of things to come and I'll stop being charged for additional outlets. (I'm a little surprised they'd drop that, since I've no doubt it's a significant revenue driver for them.)

Currently, that's not true in my area. The $6.10 covers the additional outlet and the cable box OR cable card you use on it, so you'll get charged that fee regardless what tuner choice you use on the additional outlet. Hopefully, Keenan's experience in SF is a sign of things to come and I'll stop being charged for additional outlets. (I'm a little surprised they'd drop that, since I've no doubt it's a significant revenue driver for them.)

I was being charged the fee before I added the Comcast HD box so I knew it wasn't related to the rental box. Pretty lame revenue maker IMO. I can't stand the Craptastic monopoly most of us here in the PacNW have to deal with. Sure wish Verizon would come to my neighborhood.

I was being charged the fee before I added the Comcast HD box so I knew it wasn't related to the rental box. Pretty lame revenue maker IMO. I can't stand the Craptastic monopoly most of us here in the PacNW have to deal with. Sure wish Verizon would come to my neighborhood.
If you're right in Seattle, like I am, don't hold your breath. FiOS only goes where Verizon controls the landlines, and that's only in the suburbs. Qwest owns Seattle. :( I agree about all the little rinky-dink revenue makers, which is why I'm kind of incredulous that the additional outlet fee might get dropped. (Consider people like my folks, who have three AOs. Why would Comcast voluntarily give up that extra $18.30/mo they currently collect for those outlets?)

The answer to this seems to vary depending on the local Comcast policies. Where I live (Seattle), the first CableCard is free, just like the first cable box would be. They charge $1.60 for the 2nd card in an S3, and the first CableCard you'd need for each additional is $6.10. So, to illustrate:

First TiVo S3:
CC 1: Free
CC 2: $1.60
Second TiVo S3:
CC 1: $6.10
CC 2: $1.60
Third TiVo S3:
CC 1: $6.10
CC 2: $1.60
etc., etc......

Wow - for once I am glad I have Charter. I pay $1.50 per card, regardless of how many tuners/boxes I have. I had have 5 CC's now, 2 in a TivoHD, 1 Mcard in another TivoHD, and 2 in an S3.

Some of these cards used to be installed in TV's with CC slots (Mitsu and Sony XBR1), but they live a happier life now in my Tivos.

What a timely flurry of activity.

Woot has the S3 for a reasonable price for Thursday.

I haven't had any problems with my S3 (except for Comcast's crappy service) but I would recommend one of the newer models because they can utilize M-cards.

Thanks for clarifying. Is there any advantage to using the M-cards in your S3 over the S-cards that were in it before?

No advantage. I had mine changed from SS to MS in December. I knew a new TiVo box would be coming out and I wanted to be ready for it with a working MS card.

Series 3 175 $ refurbs at WOOT today http://www.woot.com/
JO

Thanks for clarifying. Is there any advantage to using the M-cards in your S3 over the S-cards that were in it before?

I've got one of each in my S3. There doesn't seem to be any difference.

I doubt the cable companies even have S cards anymore.

I doubt the cable companies even have S cards anymore.

I turned eight SS cards in to FiOS back in December. The tech told me they don't use them any more, but I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to use them again with someone else.

I turned eight SS cards in to FiOS back in December. The tech told me they don't use them any more, but I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to use them again with someone else.There's no reason why they shouldn't use two S-Cards in an S3, as long as they work okay.

Prior to the 1 July 2007 FCC fiat requiring them to to use separable security in leased boxes, the NCTA claims that the cable industry had deployed only some 300,000 CableCARDs to customers for use in retail products. Since then they've fielded several million cards in leased boxes, all of them M-Cards. There's no market for S-Cards.

I doubt the cable companies even have S cards anymore.

The surprising thing was that the technician brought an S-card this past Sunday for slot 2 on my S3. I had taken an M-card out of that slot and put it in my new TiVo HD. Previously Comcast had installed two M-cards in the S3, telling me they didn't have S-cards any more.

First time poster on the tivo thread, well never thought of asking any specific question about my S3 which I've own for the pass 2 years or so.

On to my question.
Of lately I've been getting this sort of high pitch winning constant beeping type sound along with a blank green screen (which is very annoying to say the least ) every time I initially turn on my Pioneer pdp.

To fix the problem I unplugged the power cable from the Tivo, and after a few seconds connect it back..And it fixes it, until the next time..

I' m wondering why is it doing this now, and if anyone experienced this nuisance, and finally is there a fix with FW or something..

Thank you

Djoel

First time poster on the tivo thread, well never thought of asking any specific question about my S3 which I've own for the pass 2 years or so.

On to my question.
Of lately I've been getting this sort of high pitch winning constant beeping type sound along with a blank green screen (which is very annoying to say the least ) every time I initially turn on my Pioneer pdp.

To fix the problem I unplugged the power cable from the Tivo, and after a few seconds connect it back..And it fixes it, until the next time..

I' m wondering why is it doing this now, and if anyone experienced this nuisance, and finally is there a fix with FW or something..

Thank you

Djoel
The green screen sounds like an HDMI handshake issue. Some components sync better when powered up in a specific sequence. I've never had that issue with my TiVos, but the fact that you have to power-cycle the S3 suggests that the Pioneer wants to be powered up first before it syncs with the TiVo's signal. You could try powering up your Kuro on a different input and then switching to the TiVo nput only after the power-up cycle is complete. (Don't know whether it'll work, but if this is indeed an HDMI issue, it's worth a try.)

More disconcerting is the "beeping" sound. Does this only happen during the green screen, or all the time? If it's constant, it may be a sign the HDD is starting to go bad.

The green screen sounds like an HDMI handshake issue. Some components sync better when powered up in a specific sequence. I've never had that issue with my TiVos, but the fact that you have to power-cycle the S3 suggests that the Pioneer wants to be powered up first before it syncs with the TiVo's signal. You could try powering up your Kuro on a different input and then switching to the TiVo nput only after the power-up cycle is complete. (Don't know whether it'll work, but if this is indeed an HDMI issue, it's worth a try.)

More disconcerting is the "beeping" sound. Does this only happen during the green screen, or all the time? If it's constant, it may be a sign the HDD is starting to go bad.



Hmm I'll try that, it's unpredictable when it happens but I'll see if I can give it a go.

Yup the green screen ,and beeping go hand in hand...I had the same thought of the unit going bad as well.It's started a few months ago, now it happens once a week or so.

Thanks for the info.

Djoel

http://www.woot.com/:eek:
$169 for a refurbished Series 3, today only:)

Right now I pay the following:

Digital Video Recorder Service - $10
Digital Video Receiver - $6.50
Additional Digital Video Receiver - $8.50

That's a total of $25

I want to replace these two DVR's with two Tivo's and two Cable Cards at $2.75 for the first and $3.75 for the second.

Question: Will I still have to pay the "Digital Video Recorder Service" of $10?

Question: Will I still have to pay the "Digital Video Recorder Service" of $10?No, but you will have to pay TiVo $12.99/mo, $129/yr, or $399 lifetime for the first TiVo, plus $9.99/mo, $99/yr, or $299 lifetime for the second.

I am pretty sure I know the answer to this, but thought I would try to get some confirmation. My S3 has been experiencing a little flakiness...some random pixelization, some instances of what appears to be 'stuttery' video, etc. Does it sound like the hard drive is going bad? I purchased a 1TB drive to put in there, but would like to have some idea it will fix the issues. My subscription is coming up for renewal in 4 months or so, so I am weighing my options. I thought about getting a Premiere through the upgrade offer, but I haven't been impressed by what I've read about them. I have also considered a Moxi three tuner box...they sound pretty nice! But then I am absolutely locked in to staying with cable for the foreseeable future. I wish they could record OTA like the Tivos. But I digress...

Anyway, if someone wouldn't mind verifying that the problems I am seeing are most likely an indicator that the HD is going bad, I'd appreciate it...

Thanks!
Randy

Prior to the 1 July 2007 FCC fiat requiring them to to use separable security in leased boxes, the NCTA claims that the cable industry had deployed only some 300,000 CableCARDs to customers for use in retail products. Since then they've fielded several million cards in leased boxes, all of them M-Cards. There's no market for S-Cards.
It depends upon the market area. Here in western Massachusetts, they haven't been able to get me an M-Card for a week now (for a Premiere); on the first truck roll, the tech brought two S-Cards. I have another visit scheduled, but am not holding out any hope. :(

I am pretty sure I know the answer to this, but thought I would try to get some confirmation. My S3 has been experiencing a little flakiness...some random pixelization, some instances of what appears to be 'stuttery' video, etc. Does it sound like the hard drive is going bad? I purchased a 1TB drive to put in there, but would like to have some idea it will fix the issues. My subscription is coming up for renewal in 4 months or so, so I am weighing my options. I thought about getting a Premiere through the upgrade offer, but I haven't been impressed by what I've read about them. I have also considered a Moxi three tuner box...they sound pretty nice! But then I am absolutely locked in to staying with cable for the foreseeable future. I wish they could record OTA like the Tivos. But I digress...

Anyway, if someone wouldn't mind verifying that the problems I am seeing are most likely an indicator that the HD is going bad, I'd appreciate it...

Thanks!
Randy
That does sound familiar. I also started having issues with downloads not recording properly (audio with no video, or frozen video, for example). Replacing the hard drive completely resolved all the problems. :) I have lifetime service on my TiVos, so I didn't have those other factors to consider.

I am pretty sure I know the answer to this, but thought I would try to get some confirmation. My S3 has been experiencing a little flakiness...some random pixelization, some instances of what appears to be 'stuttery' video, etc. Does it sound like the hard drive is going bad?Yes, it does.

Thanks for the replies. I just need to get access to a machine that has some SATA connectivity. I have been running off my work laptop at home for way too long...time to pony up and get a new home machine. Anyway, I'll be giving it a try soon...thanks again for the confirmation.

Randy

My Series 3 does not seem to pickup channels through cable as it should.
I went to channels received and made sure the channels are 'checked'.
The cable company 'reset' the cable cards (already replaced with new set) but still missing some channels.
Other functionality seems fine. Dual tuner seems to function. Can record two channels and watch a recorded program.

I am wondering if having 2 M cards in the slots might be a problem vice having 2 S cards?

Any ideas?

Paul

My Series 3 does not seem to pickup channels through cable as it should.
I went to channels received and made sure the channels are 'checked'.
The cable company 'reset' the cable cards (already replaced with new set) but still missing some channels.
Other functionality seems fine. Dual tuner seems to function. Can record two channels and watch a recorded program.

I am wondering if having 2 M cards in the slots might be a problem vice having 2 S cards?

Any ideas?

Paul

FWIW, I have one S card and 1 M card and mine doesn't seem to have that problem. I'm on Time Warner...

Randy

FWIW, I have one S card and 1 M card and mine doesn't seem to have that problem. I'm on Time Warner...

Randy

Series 3 TiVo's do not take M cards. They only take S cards. That would be an issue.

An HD TiVo can use either M or S cards.

Series 3 TiVo's do not take M cards. They only take S cards. That would be an issue.

An HD TiVo can use either M or S cards.

Not really. The S3 can work with either, it just uses the M card like an S card. It can't take advantage of the multi-stream decoding capabilities of the M card. Mine has been working fine for well over 2 years, and this was discussed back when the M cards came out.

Randy

I too have 2 M cards in my S-3.

Could it be that you need a tuning adapter? I haven't installed mine yet and I am missing a few channels that I used to get.
CB

tuning adapter?
Obviously I don't have one but why would I need one?
Cable directly into Tivo, Tivo directly to TV.
Where would in go in the signal path?

Paul

Mike,
Well explained. Thanks.
I have a Cox office nearby I will stop there and ask. They should be able to give me a TA on the spot if reqd.

Paul

tuning adapter?
Obviously I don't have one but why would I need one?
Cable directly into Tivo, Tivo directly to TV.
Where would in go in the signal path?You only need it if your cable system is using Switch Digital Video, which is (to greatly simply) a system wherein virtual bandwidth is increased by only putting those channels on the wire in your neighborhood that people are actually watching. To do this, your equipment has to tell the cable system when you tune a channel and listen for a reply telling it (your STB) where it can find that channel on the wire (frequency of the MPEG Transport Stream containing it, program ID within that stream). This is necessary because when the last person stops watching a channel the bandwidth it consumes will be deallocated and the next time someone asks for it bandwidth for it will be dynamically allocated, probably in another stream at some other frequency.

TiVo cannot talk back to the cable system over the wire, and even if it could, there are multiple proprietary SDV systems in use by cable providers, each with its own "language" (a language for speaking between computers is called a communications protocol). A Tuning Adapter (TA) is a box into which the cable from your wall is plugged and from there into TiVo (the TA only splits the coax without modifying the signal); a USB cable provides a connection between the TA and TiVo. When TiVo wants to change the channel on one of its tuners, it sends that request to the TA over the USB connection; the TA forewards the request to the cable system over the coax and sends the reply to TiVo over USB. It speaks a standard TA-to-terminal (STB or television) protocol over USB and the proprietary SDV system protocol to the cable system over coax. (I say, "STB or television", but in reality only TiVo and the Moxi DVR have support for these devices). You obtain a TA from your cable provider, typically free of charge (I haven't heard of anyone charging for one yet, though that might not last); since it doesn't have any IR remote sensor, it can be tucked someplace out of sight.

For a fuller explanation (with a colorful diagram and photos :)), see Ben Drawbaugh's "SDV FAQ (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=357703)" on TiVo Community Forums.

Your cable provider may not use SDV now, but it's probably that they eventually will. It's the most cost efficient way to add large numbers of new HD channels, which they have to do to remain competitive with the satellite television service providers.

EDIT: The colorful diagram from Ben's FAQ is gone. I've notified him; in the meantime you can see it here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cable_Switched_video_Network_Diagram.png).

How is picture quality with fios and tivo? I am not impressed that fios DVR only has 20 hours of HD recording. I've never had tivo so I hope that will solve this problem. Do you guys recommend the liftime subscription to tivo? I hear now you can get lifetime subscription for $99? Say it isn't so. I hope that is for new customers as well.

When it's hooked up to fios, is there a lag problem? I know some people have complained that the search feature on tivo is a big slow.

Also, anyone have any experience with Tivo Premiere XL? Is that the biggest capacity Tivo? It says it has 150 Hours of HD recording.

Is it true with Tivo and Fios, you will lose verizon on demand? So if you subscribe to Starz and have Fios and Tivo, you don't get to see Starz On Demand?

How is picture quality with fios and tivo?It's okay, here in my town. Some channels (like TNT and USA) are mediocre, while other channels (like Syfy) are super. It's about the same as Comcast (where the mediocre channels were A&E and AMC, and TNT and Syfy were excellent).

I am not impressed that fios DVR only has 20 hours of HD recording.Figure if you're leasing a DVR, it isn't intended to be used as an archival or backlog-building tool. Buy your own DVR for that.

I've never had tivo so I hope that will solve this problem.It does for me. I put a 1 TB drive into my TiVo S3. 120 hours or so.

Do you guys recommend the liftime subscription to tivo? I hear now you can get lifetime subscription for $99? Say it isn't so. I hope that is for new customers as well. Whoa... not even close. $99 is the price only for some folks who purchased a three-year prepay subscription in Spring 2007. Only those folks. And that offer expires tomorrow.

The regular price for lifetime subscription is $399. If you find a friend who already is a TiVo subscriber, then your friend can buy your TiVo for you, and put lifetime service on it for $299, and then turn over ownership of it to you.

Lifetime service is worth it. I did the three-year prepay in Summer 2007, and luckily got them to make an exception and let me get the $99 upgrade to lifetime. If I didn't get the upgrade, I would have still been paying $10 a month, long after where the lifetime service would have broken even, which would have occurred/will occur now this Fall.

When it's hooked up to fios, is there a lag problem?No more so than with any other device you might use -- actually my TiVo S3 has a much smaller channel changing lag than either of the FiOS-provided boxes I have.

I know some people have complained that the search feature on tivo is a big slow. They're talking about the search that does things far beyond what the search on FiOS' own STB and DVR does. The regular TiVo (title) search is as fast as you could want it.

Also, anyone have any experience with Tivo Premiere XL? Is that the biggest capacity Tivo? It says it has 150 Hours of HD recording.Yeah that's the big one. You could just get the TiVo Premiere and replace the hard drive yourself. There are lots of good instructions somewhere I can show you. However, it violates the warranty, so you might not want to do that.

Is it true with Tivo and Fios, you will lose verizon on demand?TiVo has its own On Demand services, specifically Netflix Watch Instantly (among other video download options). Of course, you're already paying for On Demand from FiOS, so you may not like having to pay for On Demand again. However, that's the sacrifice you have to make to get the best DVR available on the market. It's a trade-off, and well worth-it afaic. I find I don't need On Demand at all, because I just record things that I may want to watch and then keep them around until I want to watch them. It's basically my own little On Demand service.

So if you subscribe to Starz and have Fios and Tivo, you don't get to see Starz On Demand?Another option is to have both your TiVo DVR and a STB from FiOS (you wouldn't need the DVR from FiOS). It's only about $5 more per month if I remember correctly.

Thank you very much bicker1. Very helpful! So if I do go with the Tivo and no STB from Fios, it is mandatory to purchase on demand from Tivo correct? You can't opt out of that option and you lose the fios on demand content? And I would only get the fios on demand content with a fios STB?

So if I do go with the Tivo and no STB from Fios, it is mandatory to purchase on demand from Tivo correct?Definitely not. It's just an option there, which you can use or not use.

You can't opt out of that option and you lose the fios on demand content?You could, if you want, use Netflix Watch Instantly on your TiVo, and use FiOS' On Demand on FiOS STBs. Your choice, either, both, or neither.

And I would only get the fios on demand content with a fios STB?Correct.

Since I've only had Series 3 boxes, I haven't paid much attention to M-cards and all the details that make them different from S-cards.

But now I'm wondering: With a newer TiVo (say, a Premier) that takes an M-card, do you "automatically" get two-tuner capability? I currently must choose whether I want that feature enough to pay for it, as it requires renting a second S-card.

Since I've only had Series 3 boxes, I haven't paid much attention to M-cards and all the details that make them different from S-cards.

But now I'm wondering: With a newer TiVo (say, a Premier) that takes an M-card, do you "automatically" get two-tuner capability? I currently must choose whether I want that feature enough to pay for it, as it requires renting a second S-card.

If you use an M-Card in a THD or Premiere, you automatically get 2 tuner mode. Premiere only accepts M cards. The original S3 box requires one cc per tuner regardless of 'type'. My S3 has 2 M-Cards for dual tuner operation.

If you use an M-Card in a THD or Premiere, you automatically get 2 tuner mode. Premiere only accepts M cards. The original S3 box requires one cc per tuner regardless of 'type'. My S3 has 2 M-Cards for dual tuner operation.
Thanks much for the reply. :) As far as you know, has Comcast found some way to "make up the difference?" I.e., charge you more for an M-card used in a dual-tuner DVR or anything like that?

Thanks much for the reply. :) As far as you know, has Comcast found some way to "make up the difference?" I.e., charge you more for an M-card used in a dual-tuner DVR or anything like that?

Im with TWC... they charge the same for S-cards and M-cards. There are actually two charges per cards... the card rental plus a digital access charge ($2.50 + $1.64)

The cable card charges vary by market...I pay for 2 cards at $2.99 (total $5.98) with no digital access fee here in the DFW area. And I am with TWC, as well...at least until FIOS gets here... :)

Randy

Comcast SF bay area - 2 S-cards(S3) and 1 M-card(HD) total charge is $1.70 with no additional outlet fees.

Comcast SF bay area - 2 S-cards(S3) and 1 M-card(HD) total charge is $1.70 with no additional outlet fees.

Jim...Comcast is charging me $1.70 x 2 for each CableCard ($3.40 per damn card). Are you sure you're only charged $1.70 per card?

Jim...Comcast is charging me $1.70 x 2 for each CableCard ($3.40 per damn card). Are you sure you're only charged $1.70 per card?

That's not right, it should be $1.70 per card after the first card, which is included in the subscription, in my case they've set the first 2 as 1 apparently since they're both in a single DVR(S3). I only started paying the $1.70 when I added the HD which only uses the single card.

If you're paying $3.40 for each card they're billing you wrong. Different areas have different rates, but not that different in adjacent service areas. I would go to the local office and have them explain/fix that billing. Is it $1.70 x 2 in the billing, or a single entry for $3.40? Either way it's wrong.

Thanks much for the reply. :) As far as you know, has Comcast found some way to "make up the difference?" I.e., charge you more for an M-card used in a dual-tuner DVR or anything like that?

I live in Seattle and have Comcast (I see you are from Washington). TiVo Premiere is my first DVR. I was not charged anything for the M card that Comcast gave me.

Cablevison on NYC, $2 a card I have a Tivo HD and Series 3 for over two years so they have single stream only $8 total. Plus in NYC $5 additional outlet charge for premium channels. Still cheaper then two non-DVR cable boxes.

That's not right, it should be $1.70 per card after the first card, which is included in the subscription, in my case they've set the first 2 as 1 apparently since they're both in a single DVR(S3). I only started paying the $1.70 when I added the HD which only uses the single card.

If you're paying $3.40 for each card they're billing you wrong. Different areas have different rates, but not that different in adjacent service areas. I would go to the local office and have them explain/fix that billing. Is it $1.70 x 2 in the billing, or a single entry for $3.40? Either way it's wrong.

Thanks Jim...calling them now.

Jim,

Just got off the phone with Comcast. They've been overcharging me for years and apologized, issued a big credit, then lowered the cost of my CableCards to $1.50 each (instead of $3.40 each). Thanks for the heads-up...I think I owe you lunch now ;)

I live in Seattle and have Comcast (I see you are from Washington). TiVo Premiere is my first DVR. I was not charged anything for the M card that Comcast gave me.
If your TiVo is your only tuner, that would be why you're not charged (the first box/card is included with the service). But assuming you get the dual-tuner function, that directly answers the question for me. :) As others have noted, I think Comcast uses different pricing schemes in different places. With Comcast here in Seattle, I've been paying for both the second S-card in my "main" S3, as well as more for the single card in my second S3. :(

FWIW, as far as I know, Comcast is the only service provider that actually (at least in some places, though surely not all) has a lower price for the second CableCARD in a TiVo S3.

FWIW, as far as I know, Comcast is the only service provider that actually (at least in some places, though surely not all) has a lower price for the second CableCARD in a TiVo S3.
They lowered the price a few months ago (to $1.60), but they have always charged me for that second card.

What annoys the heck out of me with Comcast, aside from the ridiculous price they charge for cable/internet service, is that it's almost like they let some kid go in and play with the customer accounts every few months! :( Even though my service never changes, the billing will suddenly get screwed up for no reason. Ex: my second card charge disappears and gets replaced by an HD STB charge (I don't have any of their STBs), or my HBO "discount-for-life" gets dropped and reverts to full price. I'll stop paying attention for a few months, then notice something like this and I have to call and get it straightened out. Really weird, and really annoying. I sure wish we had better alternatives here. :mad:

Friend.... let me tell you about my FiOS bill. Besides being higher than my Comcast bill was, you wouldn't believe just how much it varies from month to month... without me doing anything to change my service. Some months they charge some portions (television, for example) in advance; some months they charge some portions (telephone, for example) a month late. I doubt I'll ever get two bills in a row the same.

I guess that makes me feel better. :o I'm always reading about how GREAT FiOs is compared to cable. Sounds like it's not perfect either, so I can temper my jealousy a bit. ;)

Let's keep things in perspective, though: FiOS has far better high-speed Internet service. :)

Let's keep things in perspective, though: FiOS has far better high-speed Internet service. :)
Really? I never hear much about that. I know others have complaints, but I've always been pretty happy with my Comcast internet service....it's the cable service that feels like such a rip-off.

Nah: For television, FiOS cost us more for the same thing, and the only real advantage is a difference in compression which, around here, you cannot even detect without measuring devices. :) For HSI, Comcast is good -- not really "complaints" per se -- but FiOS simply gives us a lot better performance for only a little more money.

Jim,

Just got off the phone with Comcast. They've been overcharging me for years and apologized, issued a big credit, then lowered the cost of my CableCards to $1.50 each (instead of $3.40 each). Thanks for the heads-up...I think I owe you lunch now ;)

I'm glad to hear you got it straightened out. :)

Aside from the upgraded menu graphics, a video window while using the menus (nice touch....finally), and the ability to output 1080p, are there any technical advantages the new Premier has over the S3? I'm contemplating getting one, but none of those three differences really justifies the purchase. Am I missing anything important? Improved VP maybe?

Aside from the upgraded menu graphics, a video window while using the menus (nice touch....finally), and the ability to output 1080p, are there any technical advantages the new Premier has over the S3? I'm contemplating getting one, but none of those three differences really justifies the purchase. Am I missing anything important? Improved VP maybe?
Here's the point, at least as I see it. It's the way you can access shows and information now. Like we missed an episode of Friday Night Lights while we were gone on vacation and the tuning adapters lost their pairing. So I went to one of my other recorded episodes of FNL, hit "Explore this show" and then to "Episode Guide". There they have each season listed with each episode, when it aired, title, etc...Then I clicked on the episode I missed and it gave me an option for "Get this show" and it told me it was available for download from Amazon, so poof, there I had it. You can also pick a show, see all the actors, click on their name and see all the other things they're in and where you can get them (record via TiVo or download via Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, etc...)

I had also missed the trailers and mini-sodes that HBO was showing for TrueBlood and I was able to find them quickly with the Premiere (on YouTube) and watch them from there.

So to me, that's the best part, that I can find everything and access it so much better than I could before. The new interface on the Premiere really ties all those loose ends together finally.

Now I'm just waiting for them to go all the way and let me download all the content directly from HBO or ABC for example.

Hey, thanks for taking the time to provide such great feedback. :) I had really thought the menu upgrades were inconsequential for me, but you make it sound like they really add a lot of "user-friendliness." Are you coming from an S3 before this?

Do you see any difference in the video performance now that it can do 1090p?

Just curious...can you do most of what was described above on the S3 using the Tivo search beta (a.k.a. 'swivel search')? If so, you could try it out there (where it is far less 'integrated', but usable) to see how you like it...just a thought.

Randy

Just curious...can you do most of what was described above on the S3 using the Tivo search beta (a.k.a. 'swivel search')? If so, you could try it out there (where it is far less 'integrated', but usable) to see how you like it...just a thought.

Randy
I've always found the swivel search kind of slow and cumbersome, so I don't use it much. I have to really be trying to find something specific to go to the trouble. From jacksonian's description, the new menu/search is much slicker, but I'd like to hear about a direct comparison too.

Hey, thanks for taking the time to provide such great feedback. :) I had really thought the menu upgrades were inconsequential for me, but you make it sound like they really add a lot of "user-friendliness." Are you coming from an S3 before this?

Do you see any difference in the video performance now that it can do 1090p?

1080P24 is only passthorugh. So any content, like from Amazon VOD, that is 1080P24 it will pass through that resolution. It will not scale up a lower resolution to 1080P.

Anyone start to have a "HD Technology Fee" appear on their bill. I'm on analog Comcast at the moment but it looks like they are starting to charge $7/month for using HD in my market. Sounds like this is being rolled out all over the country, based on comments on TivoCommunity.

Wanted to hear if anyone with a TivoHD is seeing this charge yet.

jb

1080P24 is only passthorugh. So any content, like from Amazon VOD, that is 1080P24 it will pass through that resolution. It will not scale up a lower resolution to 1080P.
So lower resolutions (480 and 720) are still just upscaled to 1080i in the Premier?

Anyone start to have a "HD Technology Fee" appear on their bill. I'm on analog Comcast at the moment but it looks like they are starting to charge $7/month for using HD in my market. Sounds like this is being rolled out all over the country, based on comments on TivoCommunity.

Wanted to hear if anyone with a TivoHD is seeing this charge yet.

jb
May just be unique to analog cable users. With Comcast Digital, all the HD channels are supposed to be the selling point of the package, not an add-on or premium feature. (The "premium" part is already reflected in the price. :mad::eek:)