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Thread: Tivo Question

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Arlington, VA

    Tivo Question

    I just got Tivo and activated the service, but it won't work. My cable provider (Comcast) says I need to buy a cable card (I don't even know what that is) to use Tivo with their service. Anybody know if this is true or are they just trying to job me for an additional fee?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Never heard of that. Mine worked just fine without anything additional. Maybe there has been a change in the last few years?

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Cormac View Post
    I just got Tivo and activated the service, but it won't work. My cable provider (Comcast) says I need to buy a cable card (I don't even know what that is) to use Tivo with their service. Anybody know if this is true or are they just trying to job me for an additional fee?
    My parents have tivo and comcast, yes this is true. And, good luck getting it. They gave my parents the run around about getting the card when my parents bought a HD tv, and upgraded their tivo.

    They told my parents they could pick the card up at a specific location, but when my dad arrived he was told they don't carry the card. They told my parents a tech had to come out and install the card and on, and on, and on.

    They issue was eventually resolved, though I don't recall how.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by TillyGalore View Post
    My parents have tivo and comcast, yes this is true. And, good luck getting it. They gave my parents the run around about getting the card when my parents bought a HD tv, and upgraded their tivo.

    They told my parents they could pick the card up at a specific location, but when my dad arrived he was told they don't carry the card. They told my parents a tech had to come out and install the card and on, and on, and on.

    They issue was eventually resolved, though I don't recall how.

    Awesome.

    I know that comcast and tivo just signed some kind of distribution deal so I don't know if this is a product of said agreement? I'm hoping to find another way around this so I'm open to any ideas! Just one more reason for me to hate Comcast.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Cormac View Post
    I just got Tivo and activated the service, but it won't work. My cable provider (Comcast) says I need to buy a cable card (I don't even know what that is) to use Tivo with their service. Anybody know if this is true or are they just trying to job me for an additional fee?
    What kind of Tivo? A Tivo HD needs a CableCard from your cable provider (either 2 regular cablecards or 1 multistream cablecard). Print this out for your installer: http://www.tivo.com/assets/pdfs/Cabl...all_TiVoHD.pdf

    If it's not a Tivo HD, you should be able to plug in the cable coax and be good to go. Unless of course your local Comcast is running Switched Digital Video (SDV). In that case you have some other issues, that may be fixed in time

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by HaveFunExpectToWin View Post
    What kind of Tivo? A Tivo HD needs a CableCard from your cable provider (either 2 regular cablecards or 1 multistream cablecard). Print this out for your installer: http://www.tivo.com/assets/pdfs/Cabl...all_TiVoHD.pdf

    If it's not a Tivo HD, you should be able to plug in the cable coax and be good to go. Unless of course your local Comcast is running Switched Digital Video (SDV). In that case you have some other issues, that may be fixed in time
    It is not an HD tivo. Its just a series 2. I will have to check on the SDV thing. Thanks for the help all!

  7. #7
    I know this is a really stupid question, but does Comcast use a box? I had a friend who had Cox, which used a set top box, and he put his TiVo BEFORE the box by accident, so all his channels were still scrambled when the TiVo was trying to record.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Walnut Creek, California
    Quote Originally Posted by Cormac View Post
    It is not an HD tivo. Its just a series 2. I will have to check on the SDV thing. Thanks for the help all!
    If it's not an HD Tivo, it can simply be run through your cable box. You will need to have a phone line or internet connection through your home wireless network to connect to Tivo's information service.

    This should not be very hard. The stuff about the cable card only applies to HD, so forget what you've been told. A phone jack near your set would be optimal. If you don't have one nearby, you will have to go wireless and get a wireless card. If you don't have a wireless network or a phone line, you are not going to be able to use Tivo.

    If you do have one of them, just follow the setup screens. It does take quite a while for Tivo to download the information and to go through the setup procedure. (Remember, it's a little computer and it must expand compressed files so you can read the program guide.)

    I also think that Tivo Help will walk you through the set up process if you call.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim3k View Post
    If it's not an HD Tivo, it can simply be run through your cable box. You will need to have a phone line or internet connection through your home wireless network to connect to Tivo's information service.

    This should not be very hard. The stuff about the cable card only applies to HD, so forget what you've been told. A phone jack near your set would be optimal. If you don't have one nearby, you will have to go wireless and get a wireless card. If you don't have a wireless network or a phone line, you are not going to be able to use Tivo.

    If you do have one of them, just follow the setup screens. It does take quite a while for Tivo to download the information and to go through the setup procedure. (Remember, it's a little computer and it must expand compressed files so you can read the program guide.)

    I also think that Tivo Help will walk you through the set up process if you call.

    Confused...I thought you could use an Ethernet cord to set up Tivo? I have a router that runs cable to a laptop and I was hoping to Tivo....

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ashburn, VA
    Ethernet does work also.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by jjones0725 View Post
    Ethernet does work also.
    Thanks!

  12. #12
    hahaha. I have this exact same issue (Comcast + cable box (HD; don't know if yours is HD) + series 2 non-HD TIVO). Comcast also told me it required a card, although that is for series 3. I was expecting to just plug it in as previously described, but comcast were idiots and gave me (although I wasn't the person home when the technician came) and HD box with DVR even though I specifically said I didn't want DVR. So, they charged me for DVR (although will refund it), but not replacing the box for a couple weeks, so I'm just using their HD DVR until the new box comes and will then use Tivo. I HATE Comcast (at least, customer support; the service itself is fine). Another annoying thing: for every single TV if I want cable, I have to get a box. Are you serious? In Northern Virginia last year, I could just plug the cable cord directly into the back of the TV to get standard cable, but in Chicago, at least, they encrypt it or something so it requires a box on every TV set. And they charge per month. $2/month, but going up to $5/month in November. I have been on the phone with Comcast for more hours than I ever wanted as they've screwed up billing, etc. and the people there are incompetent. So annoying...I had no such problems with Comcast in Northern Virginia at all. Must vary by region.

    Since I need a box for all TVs, my comcast is running SDV, right? Does this mean the previously mentioned method won't work?

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    So annoying...I had no such problems with Comcast in Northern Virginia at all. Must vary by region.

    Since I need a box for all TVs, my comcast is running SDV, right? Does this mean the previously mentioned method won't work?
    Yes, Comcast systems definitely vary by region.

    I think Chicago Comcast has gone through with their digital conversion (from what I found in a quick Google search), which is a little different than SDV. Regardless, it does limit what you can do with a Series 2 Tivo. Series 2 Tivos are really built to work best with analog cable (ie no cable box).

    You should be able to use the Tivo in a limited way by hooking up your Tivo after the Comcast digital cable box (Comcast signal > Cable Box > Tivo > TV). You'll then need to hook up the infrared blasters from the Tivo to the cable box, so that the Tivo can change the cable box's channel. In this setup, your Tivo can only record 1 channel at a time. (checkout Tivo.com for diagrams and more elaborate explanations)

    It pains me to say that the Comcast DVR may be a better bet for you especially if you're paying Tivo monthly.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedog View Post
    hahaha. I have this exact same issue (Comcast + cable box (HD; don't know if yours is HD) + series 2 non-HD TIVO). Comcast also told me it required a card, although that is for series 3. I was expecting to just plug it in as previously described, but comcast were idiots and gave me (although I wasn't the person home when the technician came) and HD box with DVR even though I specifically said I didn't want DVR. So, they charged me for DVR (although will refund it), but not replacing the box for a couple weeks, so I'm just using their HD DVR until the new box comes and will then use Tivo. I HATE Comcast (at least, customer support; the service itself is fine). Another annoying thing: for every single TV if I want cable, I have to get a box. Are you serious? In Northern Virginia last year, I could just plug the cable cord directly into the back of the TV to get standard cable, but in Chicago, at least, they encrypt it or something so it requires a box on every TV set. And they charge per month. $2/month, but going up to $5/month in November. I have been on the phone with Comcast for more hours than I ever wanted as they've screwed up billing, etc. and the people there are incompetent. So annoying...I had no such problems with Comcast in Northern Virginia at all. Must vary by region.

    Since I need a box for all TVs, my comcast is running SDV, right? Does this mean the previously mentioned method won't work?
    I am sure it is by region. I receive excellent service and customer service here in south Florida.

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