TiVo ReportFollow

2) TiVo downloads stuff thru the phone line and it's been causing huge lag for our DSL (as my wife let me know when she was on a WoW raid). The only way we know TiVo is downloading updates when we turn on one of our telephones and we hear static noise.

Allakhazam has no need for TiVo, because when he is upset about the scheduling of TV programs, he simply gets in his 'Bananna Yellow Hummer' and drives down to the local station manger's house and promptly roundhouse kicks him in the face.

Allakhazam now has his own channel that shows only what he wants 24 hours a day.

1) TiVo records recommended stuff that I have no inclination of ever watching by default. Fortunately, I found out from a co-worker who has TiVo that all you have to do is go into your preferences and turn off the TiVo recommendations.

It's just that the dual tuner thing was the biggest deal for me. I stayed for awhile at a friends house (mine was being tented), and he used Tivo. While it was kinda neato to be able to watch those shows at any time, there was almost a feeling of disconnect from the world. To truely utilize the system, you have to adjust your viewing habits to always watch pre-recorded stuff (so as not to interferre with new recordings). That, quite frankly, drove me a little nuts. Sometimes, I like to channel surf...

The dual tuner allows the system to essentially fully replace the VCR. You can watch one channel and record another. You can channel surf all you want and it'll record your shows in the backround.

One of the most asked questions on the TiVo Help Forum is whether you can watch one program live while the standalone TiVo records something else. The answer is essentially, "yes," there are setups to do this, but the real answer is that there are good reasons not to set up the TiVo this way, and the question itself arises from a misunderstanding of the way TiVo is different from a VCR.

Folks ask if they can watch something live while TiVo records something else because they are used to the way their VCR operates. The VCR cannot play back a recording while it records something else, it is difficult to program correctly, and is not random-access. In other words, to get to a program you want to watch, you have to fast-forward or rewind the tape to the beginning of the program before you can start watching it. As a result, people generally use the VCR to either (a) record a low-priority program that is in conflict with a highly desirable program that will be watched live, or (b) archive programs they really like. A VCR user watches TV live most of the time, and a recording only rarely.

TiVo is different in a critical way. Unlike the VCR, TiVo can play any recording while it simultaneously records something else. It is also very easy to program, knows when repeats are shown, automatically resolves programming conflicts, and is random-access. Programming is so easy that most TiVo users record everything they ever want to watch, and only rarely watch TV live. This way, you can watch TV "how you want, when you want." TiVo users watch one thing while recording something else all the time--- by watching recorded programs while TiVo records other things in the background.

There are ways to bypass the cable past the TiVo so that you can let it record something while you watch something else live. But in reality there is rarely any need to do this, and while watching truly Live TV, you don't get the benefit of TiVo's trickplay features and the ability to skip commercials.

Firstly, let's say that you want to watch program A and program B which are on at different times. You do this by setting Season Passes for both A and B, and then watching them at your leisure later. No problem.

Now let's say you want to watch programs C and D which are on at the same time. In the vast majority of cases, either C or D (let's say D) will be repeated later in the day or week, usually at 4 in the morning. Again, no problem. Set Season Passes for both programs, and give C a higher priority than D in the Season Pass Manager. TiVo will record C when the programs are in conflict, and then pickup the repeat of program D later on. You then watch them both at your leisure. For more info on the ways to avoid program conflicts, see this TiVo FAQ.

The only case when you would ever need to watch-Live-while-recording is the case when you need to watch programs E and F which are on at the same time and never repeated. In 2 years of owning a TiVo, I have never come across this problem. I watch mainly PBS and premium movie channels, however. If you watch much more commercial network TV than I do, your mileage may vary. The "correct" solution would be to get a two-tuner DirecTivo.

Some users prefer to watch sporting events and sometimes news live also. However, if you record these events ahead of time and start watching a half-hour or so into them, you can skip commercials and catch up to Live just at the end of the game.

The other situation in which watching-live-while-recording might be necessary is channel surfing. Some people like to channel surf for its own sake, but it's maddeningly slow with TiVo. For me, the combination of TiVo's Suggestions and the TiVo Channel Guide more than makes up for the lack of time-wasting channel surfing. But if you are a diehard channel surfer, you may need to watch-live-while-recording.

OK, so you might be able to come up with other scenarios when you might want to watch-live-while-recording, for instance watching a program when the TiVo is already full of programming! But the point is that it's not usually a pressing issue, and is necessary much less often than with a VCR.

There are also reasons why setting up the TiVo to do this might be more trouble than it's worth, too. We've already seen how doing this prevents you from using trickplay and skipping commercials on the live program. But also, setups that allow watching-Live-while-recording always involve splitting the cable, and this tends to degrade the signal into the TiVo. Because the standalone TiVo uses MPEG compression, it is very sensitive to defects in the incoming signal. Thus you want the best possible signal input for the TiVo. If a splitter degrades that signal, your TiVo picture might end up looking bad. Even if the signal looks perfectly fine directly to the TV, TiVo can have a problem with it. It is possible to improve the signal quality to the TiVo in this situation with a $20-$50 line amplifier from Radio Shack, so it's not an overriding issue. Still, $50 is $50.

The normal setup for this is Coax cable from the Wall -> Splitter, then

Splitter Out #1 -> TV RF IN, and
Splitter Out #2 -> Cable Box -> TiVo -> TV VIDEO IN

Using S-Video cables is preferable to RCA cables, and RCA is preferable to coax. (See TiVo's Diagrams.) This setup will allow TiVo to watch all available channels, while you watch analog cable channels live. If you wish to set up to watch all digital channels live, you will need to buy another decoder and setup:
Splitter Out #1 -> New Cable Box -> TV .
You will also need to "tent" the TiVo's cable box, allowing it to receive only commands from the TiVo's IR blasters, and preventing it from receiving commands sent from your cable remote intended for the second box. You will also need to cover up TiVo's "Big Eye" which is also an IR blaster, to prevent it from interfering with the new "watching live" cable box.

To add a VCR, use TiVo's multiple outputs to setup:
Code:

Splitter Out #1 -> VCR RF IN -> TV RF IN, and Splitter Out #2 -> Cable Box -> TiVo -> VCR LINE 1 IN -> TV VIDEO IN 1 | |--> TV VIDEO IN 2



This will allow the VCR to record analog cable as normal, and archive TiVo-recorded programs when it is tuned to "LINE."

Alternatively, if you use an A/V receiver, set up
Splitter Out #2 -> Cable Box -> TiVo -> Receiver VCR 1 IN.

The only other way to watch-live-while-recording is to use antenna only or cable without a cable box. You wire the cable from the wall to TiVo's RF in, then TiVo's RF out to the TV. You can then put the TiVo in Standby mode (Messages and Setup -> Standby), the equivalent of a VCR's "TV/VCR" button. You will be able to use the TV's tuner to watch live whatever you like while TiVo uses its internal tuner to record whatever you've asked it to.

Summary: you can watch Live TV (without trickplay or commercial skipping) while TiVo records something else, but this is not the pressing issue it is with a VCR. The setup for this would be the same as the setup for your VCR. However, it is hardly ever necessary or desirable because with TiVo you can watch one recording (with trickplay and commercial skipping) while recording something else.