Comcast and Its DVRs
I thought this would be a great place to ask about this.
I have Comcast cable TV (the basic analog package) and a TiVo Series 2.
I was thinking about going up to the Comcast Digital to get the channels above 100, but that requires a digital converter box. Now there is a dilemma as to what to do with the TiVo - the TiVo needs to be able to change its channel, of course, but with the converter box in there, the only way is to use that kludge of running an IR emitter from the TiVo to the IR window of the cable box. Don't wanna do that. Not to mention that the cable box has its own remote, the TiVo has its remote, the TV has its remote, and the DVD player has its remote. And we need two of each since there are two of us.
So I am thinking of setting the TiVo aside (or selling it) and getting the DVR from Comcast. Here is what I think I understand:
Advantages using the Comcast DVR:
- it has two tuners, so no need to run a coax splitter to record one thing and watch another.
- It only costs $15.95 a month, $3.00 more than what I am already paying TiVo.
- It has the digital converter built-in, so no need to run to the converter and then to the TiVo
- No need to switch inputs on the TV since the only input is the Comcast DVR box, whether watching live TV or recorded shows.
Disadvantages of switching to the Comcast DVR:
- I like my TiVo box. I have 2 remotes for it, and I can't get Comcast to commit to selling or renting me a second remote.
- I can schedule shows on the TiVo from TiVo's website, without having to scroll through a bunch of teensy letters on the TV screen
- I can check what the TiVo has in its "Now Playing" list with a Widget on my Mac, through the wireless USB access point I connected to the TiVo.
- I'm not sure which of the 3 Comcast DVRs has which features - I like the TiVo's feature that lets you find a show by entering the name of the show. I don't know if these Comcast DVRs have that feature or if you have to use the onscreen Guide to "scroll" to the timeslot you want and then hitting "record this". That method requires that you know the timeslot and the channel.
Can anyone with a Comcast (or equivalent ISP) DVR (Scientific Atlanta , Motorola) help me with these questions:
- can you access these by attaching a USB wireless adapter to them?
- how do you search for a show that you know the title but not the timeslot or the network name?
- Is the picture quality as viewed through the "live TV" of the DVR as good as a direct cable connect?
- can you get a second remote? Is there anywhere to buy the second remote, say from Scientific Atlanta or Mototola?
I sure would appreciate any and all advice! Thanks in advance.
I have Comcast cable TV (the basic analog package) and a TiVo Series 2.
I was thinking about going up to the Comcast Digital to get the channels above 100, but that requires a digital converter box. Now there is a dilemma as to what to do with the TiVo - the TiVo needs to be able to change its channel, of course, but with the converter box in there, the only way is to use that kludge of running an IR emitter from the TiVo to the IR window of the cable box. Don't wanna do that. Not to mention that the cable box has its own remote, the TiVo has its remote, the TV has its remote, and the DVD player has its remote. And we need two of each since there are two of us.
So I am thinking of setting the TiVo aside (or selling it) and getting the DVR from Comcast. Here is what I think I understand:
Advantages using the Comcast DVR:
- it has two tuners, so no need to run a coax splitter to record one thing and watch another.
- It only costs $15.95 a month, $3.00 more than what I am already paying TiVo.
- It has the digital converter built-in, so no need to run to the converter and then to the TiVo
- No need to switch inputs on the TV since the only input is the Comcast DVR box, whether watching live TV or recorded shows.
Disadvantages of switching to the Comcast DVR:
- I like my TiVo box. I have 2 remotes for it, and I can't get Comcast to commit to selling or renting me a second remote.
- I can schedule shows on the TiVo from TiVo's website, without having to scroll through a bunch of teensy letters on the TV screen
- I can check what the TiVo has in its "Now Playing" list with a Widget on my Mac, through the wireless USB access point I connected to the TiVo.
- I'm not sure which of the 3 Comcast DVRs has which features - I like the TiVo's feature that lets you find a show by entering the name of the show. I don't know if these Comcast DVRs have that feature or if you have to use the onscreen Guide to "scroll" to the timeslot you want and then hitting "record this". That method requires that you know the timeslot and the channel.
Can anyone with a Comcast (or equivalent ISP) DVR (Scientific Atlanta , Motorola) help me with these questions:
- can you access these by attaching a USB wireless adapter to them?
- how do you search for a show that you know the title but not the timeslot or the network name?
- Is the picture quality as viewed through the "live TV" of the DVR as good as a direct cable connect?
- can you get a second remote? Is there anywhere to buy the second remote, say from Scientific Atlanta or Mototola?
I sure would appreciate any and all advice! Thanks in advance.
Comments
Can anyone with a Comcast (or equivalent ISP) DVR (Scientific Atlanta , Motorola) help me with these questions:
- can you access these by attaching a USB wireless adapter to them?
Not that I know of, but you can, supposedly, connect via firewire.
- how do you search for a show that you know the title but not the timeslot or the network name?
Not too bad. It's not Tivo, but it's not horrible. I don't know what happened about their deal with Tivo (they were supposed to burst-install the Tivo software on their DVR units this Summer)
- Is the picture quality as viewed through the "live TV" of the DVR as good as a direct cable connect?
Yes.
- can you get a second remote? Is there anywhere to buy the second remote, say from Scientific Atlanta or Mototola?
Any programmable remote should work fine. I have about 4.
I sure would appreciate any and all advice! Thanks in advance.
I went with Comcast and put my Tivo on a shelf. Yes, I miss the interface, but the integration of DVR and Tuner, the dual tuners and the price made it worth it.
I suppose this will all change once everyone switched over to cablecard technologies (the new Tivo does this), but for now it's what I prefer.
,,,
Can anyone with a Comcast (or equivalent ISP) DVR (Scientific Atlanta , Motorola) help me with these questions:
- can you access these by attaching a USB wireless adapter to them?
- how do you search for a show that you know the title but not the timeslot or the network name?
- Is the picture quality as viewed through the "live TV" of the DVR as good as a direct cable connect?
- can you get a second remote? Is there anywhere to buy the second remote, say from Scientific Atlanta or Mototola?
I sure would appreciate any and all advice! Thanks in advance.
I have a Motorola DVR, I think it's the 6412. Under Menu there's a search function and one option is by title.
I agree with midwinter, there's no difference in picture quality.
Get a universal remote to contol every thing. I use a Harmony 880 to control the DVR, TV, receiver, DVD player, Laserdisc player and VCR, which I never use anymore since getting the DVR.
The best place to ask questions about this would be on the forums at avsform.com
I'm waiting for TiVo's Series 3 units. Then I can get dual-tuner HD TiVo goodness with all the stuff I love about TiVo but with the features I like about the Comcast garbage box. Ideally Comcast will rent TiVo units out and then it'll be relatively inexpensive too!
But until that time, some cable boxes allow control via a serial cable which you connect to the TiVo. This is far better than using the IR blaster, although I don't hate the blaster as much as I used too. That said, I use the two units independently at the moment. The Comcast unit for HD and SD programs when my TiVo is busy, while the TiVo is used as my primary DVR for all SD content.
Regarding extra remotes, I'm sure you can get them from Comcast. In fact some friends kept swapping units and have an extra remote laying around. If its still around I could probably send it your way.
- I want the channels above 100.
- the channels above 100 require a cable box (digital decoder)
- once I have the cable box, using the TiVo becomes a kludge.
- but I still want to use the TiVo if the Comcast DVR can't do networking to the house wireless.
So maybe I could go ahead and get the current Comcast DVR, and then swap out for the new TiVo units when and if they get here.
So maybe I could go ahead and get the current Comcast DVR, and then swap out for the new TiVo units when and if they get here.
That's exactly what I'm doing.
Of course I also use the Comcast DVR for the HD channels in the 700s which is the primary reason I got the damn box to begin with.
Get Directv if at all possible and short of that, hold out for a third gen TiVo with cablecard.
It gets really slow to borderline useless when the HDD gets full, my guess is that it is a really bad swap configuration that leaves no swap partition, and just uses the HDD empy recording space to do that...
My DVR is consistantly 96-99% full and the box is slow as molasis, my buddy has the same box and it runs really fast but he only has the DVR ~40% full.