TiVo hardware question

[figmo]

I get my video from a combination of cable for local channels and DISH satellite for "specialty" channels. I have a TiVo Series 1 with a lifetime subscription; this enables me to buy a Series 2 or Series 3 (HD) TiVo with a lifetime subscription.

The question: the Series 3 TiVo doesn't support input from my satellite, rendering it useless. DISH Network's ViP722 DVR says it takes input from TV antenna and DISH, but it isn't clear whether it will work with a non-digital cable box signal or whether it will even be usable if I don't own an HD-ready TV (I don't).

When I spoke with TiVo customer support a couple of weeks ago the gal said she thought they were trying to come up with a way to make the TiVo Series 2 work with HD TV. If so, this would be my obvious route, but does anyone out there know whether the inability to record in HD on the Series 2 is a hardware or a software limitation?

Comments

[johno.livejournal.com]

Ping Joe Smith on what Tivos can really be made to do...

As for the Dish722, it has Standard TV outputs.

TV1: composite & svideo
TV2: composite & RF

It also has RGB, but I don't know if it is composite or old style high def.

And yes, it supports over the air Hi-Def channels, but not standard def OTA.

Read the PDF you can find on this page:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/our_products/dvr_receivers/index.shtml

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

The only TiVos that can record HD are the Series3 and the TiVo HD, and neither works with satellite at all. All Series1 and Series2 boxes, which do work with cable and satellite, are SD only - and that's hardware limited. But all TiVos work with both HD and SD TVs. The S1 and S2 only have SD output, but pretty much all HDTVs still accept SD input - there are too many legacy SD sources (VCRs, most DVD players, etc). And the HD TiVos also have SD outputs to work with SD TVs.

The DISH Network VIP622/722 DVRs have two satellite tuners and one OTA ATSC tuner. They do not work with cable at all. And they cannot record analog OTA NTSC, just digital ATSC. (Since OTA NTSC goes away completely in a year, probably not such a big deal.) It is usable with an SD TV as it has both SD and HD output.

Basically there is no high-def DVR available that can record BOTH satellite and cable. To record HD from satellite you can only use the satellite provided DVRs, and none of them do cable at all. Some do OTA ATSC, some do not. Conversely to record HD from cable you either need a cable supplied HD DVR or a standalone DVR like an HD TiVo, and none of them do satellite. No cable provided DVR does antenna, TiVo's do.

The only DVRs that support both cable and satellite are standalone units, mainly the TiVo S1 and S2, which can use an external satellite receiver and internally handle analog cable. Though you can't do digital cable with satellite as that would require a cable box - and only one box can be used.

I run tivolovers and TiVoLovers.com (http://www.tivolovers.com/).

[trinsf.livejournal.com]

Ask over on tivolovers. zonereyrie will know.

[trinsf.livejournal.com]

*bwhahah* That's what I get for not reading the comments before commenting myself. (See below.)

figmo, meet zonereyrie. zonereyrie, figmo. *ahem*

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

The kind of incompatibility (by design) is all too familiar. Micro$oft has been doing similar irritating things for many years. If I do buy a PDA or cell phone, I want one that does *not* run Windows CE/Mobile ... M$ is too good at locking one in to their products and their products only.

It's also why I now own an ancient PC running a dialect of Linux. :-)

[figmo.livejournal.com]

I have problems with an operating system named "wince."