| Author |
Message |
Bob2112
Member
06-12-2002
| Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - 2:05 pm 
Citruscitygal: What is your source for a TV signal now? Is it just over the air? Do you want just a few channels or are you looking for the 100's of channels?
The stand alone Tivo's are just recorders, so you will still need a source for your content.
How many TV's do you want to have share the recordings? How many channels do you want to record at one time? Think about Monday or Wednesday evenings and all the conflicts.
There is no one right answer for everyone. We have 8 tuners and can watch all recordings on 4 TV's. Soon I will trade in one of the receivers and we will be able to record 11 shows at a time. Sounds crazy, but with 4 adult viewers, there are several times a week where 8 shows are recording at once. We can also be watching 4 different previously recorded shows while the other 8 are recording.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - 9:23 pm
Hi, Bob -- long time no . . . . 
I'm OTA with only one TV so TiVo works for me. I looked at the TiVo site to see if there's any reason for me to upgrade before my current box goes. There isn't. Looks like TiVo can work for more than one TV and record a number of channels at the same time. Not as many as your system though.
I thought DVRs were TiVo, U-verse, or some system supplied by satellite biz? Are there others than TiVo that are sold apart from cable / channel suppliers?
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - 9:44 pm
 <--------- look who's here!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - 9:47 pm
At one time I had 2 DVRs with Time Warner so I could be recording 4 shows and watching 2. I'm down to 1..
I would go whole house DVR with them if I had HD, but so far I don't.
I have my phone and my internet with TWC.
I only have one cable coming in.. though they split it to wire upstairs and downstairs..
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Citruscitygal
Member
08-07-2003
| Monday, June 09, 2014 - 4:12 pm
Bob - I currently have Cable through Time Warner. Basic cable is available throughout the house by connecting the cable directly to the TV. I have digital cable boxes on 3 of my 6 TV's that give me access to scrambled signals on a large number of channels.
Thank you for the clarification on the TIVO. I did not realize they were only recorders and required a signal source.
I would need to be able to record 5-6 programs at the same time and want the capability to view any of those recordings on any of the 6 TVs.
My son reminds me that with TV on Demand and Netflix &/or Hulu etc I could probably find what I'm looking for without recording all of it as it broadcasts on TV. I'm working on wrapping my brain around that while moving kicking and screaming from the VCR era.
Your set up doesn't sound crazy to me - sounds delightful. Unless I missed it you didn't mention your provider. Would you mind if ask who you get your cable/satellite service from?
Thanks for your input.
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Bob2112
Member
06-12-2002
| Tuesday, June 10, 2014 - 3:32 pm
We have DirecTV with the whole home option. There is also just 1 connection to the internet and all receivers can do on-demand and YouTube videos.
If you went with DirecTV now, you would start with their Genie DVR which records 5 HD shows at the same time and allows 3 other receivers to watch its recordings. Your other TV's could be dual-tuner HD DVR receivers or just receivers with no DVR. All the other receivers can watch all of the other DVRs.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Sunday, June 22, 2014 - 5:57 am
Oh boy! Friday I got Amazon's Fire TV. I had been doing some streaming through my TiVo. Hadn't realized how BAD that was. TiVo is a great DVR, but for streaming -- NOT.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Friday, September 12, 2014 - 9:32 pm
So I've had the Fire TV for almost three months. I only use it for streaming Amazon and Netflix videos. Both were good to start with, but lately there's a problem with Netflix videos. Buffering? Pausing, voice and lips aren't in sync, etc., etc. Amazon videos are fine. Both are fine when I watch on my Amazon Fire tablet. I have no idea where the problem could be???
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Monday, February 09, 2015 - 12:01 pm
My current TV is a 42" Sony Bravia flat screen. Got it about when switch happened from analog to digital. It's fine. Looking on-line at TVs. This one for instance Link. Probably has more features than my current. What is WI-FI: Built-in and WiFi Direct? Does that make it a computer?  It's all getting to be beyond me.
My father died in 1973. He was kinda techie for the time? He was an audiophile and camera bug. If he could see this stuff today??!!
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Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - 11:46 pm
Built-in Wifi means that the iphone/ipad/ipod has a built in receiver for wifi.
Wi-Fi Direct devices can connect to each other without having to go through an access point, that is to say you don't need to use your router.
Wi-fi Direct
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Thursday, February 12, 2015 - 6:23 am
It's the TV I linked to that has built-in WI-FI. So what can you do with a TV with WI-FI?
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, February 12, 2015 - 8:21 am
I don't know about that specific TV but generally it's used to access your home wifi network so you can watch internet services like Netflix, YouTube, etc.
As Jackie mentioned, wifi direct means you can also connect directly with other wifi direct devices (like some phones and tablets) without using a network.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, February 12, 2015 - 8:27 am
Is your current TV HD? Because you'll see a huge difference in picture quality if you get an HD TV and HD service.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Thursday, February 12, 2015 - 10:36 am
Yes, it's HD. Sony Bravia KDL-40V3000. 40", not 42". No "service" at all. I've NEVER had cable or satellite. Between OTA TV and DVDs, I'd never have to get off the couch. And now streaming! I've had TiVo for almost 11 years.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, February 12, 2015 - 12:20 pm
I'm not sure you would see much of a difference between your Sony and the new one.
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Sunday, June 07, 2015 - 7:01 pm
So the weirdest thing just happened. I went to set my VCR to tape Food Star at 9pm. I noticed the said it was 11:58am, which means to me that for some reason the VCR has the wrong time. So I set my program and then go to check the clock and it set at 11:58am, 6/15, 2045. How in the heck does that happen. I don't think any of us, including cats, hit any buttons on the remote to change the time so much, LOL!!!
I must have because when there is a power failure of course it goes to noon and blinks; and I was watching a tape earlier today, so I must have. It was the oddest thing.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Thursday, July 02, 2015 - 6:18 pm
Direct TV problem solved:
No Signal showed up on my TV screen and instead of trying to find the problem, I turned off the power to the entire set up. Then counted to about 25 and turned the power back on. (just like we do for our computers)
FIXED ITSELF
Direct TV ran through some internal tests and it fixed itself.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Monday, January 30, 2017 - 7:10 pm
I hate my new smart TV. It says its connected to the internet but it can't connect to the hub. Thus rendering netflix, Hulu and amazon unable to work.
I've tried resetting the TV back to factory settings (used tyo work) and reprogram the whole damn thing. I've also tried manually putting in some codes that were suggested on the internet because this seems to be a common problem.
If anyone is going to buy a new TV, get a stupid TV and attach a roku. Your life will be much simpler and you wont have to worry about getting hacked through the TV, or the camera recording you.
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Kitkat
Member
08-23-2008
| Tuesday, June 06, 2017 - 9:46 am
Those of you who have Spectrum cable, might be interested in the following:
Spectrum kept raising my monthly TV and internet bill but wouldn't tell me why
LINK
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Mware
Member
09-14-2001
| Saturday, October 14, 2017 - 3:50 am
You guys are smart, and always so helpful, that I think I'll ask my Tivo question here because someone will know the answers.
I currently have a Tivo Premiere from 2012 which has 2 tuners. I paid for the lifetime service - no monthly fees. It works just fine, no issues, but I'm finding that 2 tuners just isn't enough. I want more. Tivo was recently running a promotion where for $99 I could transfer my lifetime service to a Tivo Bolt 500 GB. Those have 4 tuners, and a lot of other stuff that I don't want and wouldn't use.
I spent probably about 8 hours on the phone with them asking questions about transferring the saved shows on my Premiere over to the Bolt, and about menus, look and feel, etc. Their customer service people are difficult to understand. They did tell me eventually that I could transfer my shows from the old box to the new one, and that everything could work and look the same way as I have now, so I bought the Bolt.
When it arrived, I switched all of the cords and cables from the old box to the new one, did the setup, and got it working. However, I couldn't find any way to switch the menu format from their HD menu to the SD menu that I'm familiar with. I also couldn't see my old box's shows on the My Shows menu, so I called their customer service again.
Four hours later, after talking with multiple representatives, I learned that the Bolt doesn't have the ability to show the SD menu, just the HD one, which I don't like. I also learned that the only way I can transfer my shows from the old box to the new one is if the old box is connected to the internet too.
I have one of the wifi receivers that I bought from Tivo years ago that looks like an old-style flip phone, but that was plugged into the Bolt, so I couldn't use it for the old box too. The Tivo is also in the bedroom, while my internet router is in a different room on a different floor of my house, so connecting with an Ethernet cable (which I don't own and would have to purchase) would be a challenge.
After all that, I returned the Bolt to Tivo for a refund. I'm very disappointed that this didn't work out the way I had hoped, especially given all the time I spent researching and asking questions before making the purchase.
I understand that between the Premiere that I have, and the Bolt that I just returned, there was another generation of Premieres that offered 4 tuners, and may still have the ability to show the old style SD menu. Does anyone know anything about these? Do they, in fact, show the SD menu as an option? Would transferring my shows from the old box to the new one still require a second receiver or an ethernet cable? Where could I buy such a machine? Would I be able to transfer my lifetime service to this new box, or could I assume someone else's if they offered it? How would that work?
To whoever reads this, thank you. To whoever can help me get my 4 tuners, find a new box, help me get the new box set up, and get my shows transferred over, and explain it all in a way that I understand, I'll be forever in your debt.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Saturday, October 14, 2017 - 5:46 am
Can't help. I also have a TiVo Premiere XL with two tuners which I bought with lifetime service in 2012 and is still working just fine.  (Knock on wood.) Have always expected when I need to upgrade, I will lose saved programs. Two tuners is enough for me. Very very rarely do I wish I had a third.
I have the flip phone looking thing sitting on top of my box. As I remember, when TiVo change from sending programming and software via ethernet / phone, had to get the "adapter" to download via wifi. I'm not that techie. If something went haywire with all this stuff, I'd be up a creek. I imagine in newer boxes the "adapter" is built in.
Can you explain difference in SD and HD menus? Very different? I'm on my third box since first getting TiVo in May '04. Menus have been pretty much the same in all three.
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Mware
Member
09-14-2001
| Saturday, October 14, 2017 - 12:02 pm
The HD menu is much more complicated, and allows you to see the show your TV is tuned to while looking for the next thing you do, whether it's watching a different live TV show, going to Netflix, or whatever. If you go to Messages and Settings, then Displays, then Menus, you'll see something that looks like this: https://www.rcn.com/tivo/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/change-tivo-setting-step-4.jpg
When you get there, you can toggle between the HD menu and the SD menu. If I ever want to watch Netflix or go to Youtube or something like that, I have to switch from my SD menu to the HD. Other than that, I prefer the SD menu that you're used to seeing. It sounds like you've got the same box that I have, so you should have the ability to use either menu, depending upon your preference.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Saturday, October 14, 2017 - 3:49 pm
I don't use TiVo to stream. (I have both Fire TV and Apple TV.) Don't know what it's like today, but at least TiVo's early "ability" to stream was really bad. I only use TiVo for watching and recording OTA TV. I've never had cable or satellite.
My primary reason for getting TiVo in May '04 was for recording. I was going on vacation and there was a daily program I did NOT want to miss. One VHS tape did not have enough recording time on it. Up to that point, I'd always had paper TV Guide. How can you watch TV without a TV Guide???? Easily. I love TiVo.
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Mware
Member
09-14-2001
| Sunday, October 15, 2017 - 3:10 am
I very rarely use TiVo to stream either, which is why having that HD menu is of almost no value to me. It's frustrating that they removed the choice to switch back and forth as needed.
Hoping that someone can answer my questions and figure out a way to get the 4 tuners that I need without having to pay rent to Comcast, or to give up the look/feel that I'm used to.
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Littlebreeze
Member
02-18-2001
| Monday, July 02, 2018 - 9:55 am
Let me say right off the bat that I'm as far from a techno-person as you can get. If you talk to me in techno-speak, more than likely I won't know what you're talking about. 
I have a Panasonic high definition TV and Comcast for cable. The TV is a high definition TV but I don't like high def so it's not set up as high def. I have a regular (not high def) Comcast cable box and no HDMI cable. This is how it's been set up for many years with no problem.
This weekend, almost all of my TV channels went to letterbox format, 3 inch black lines across the bottom & the top of the screen. Even On Demand shows show in letterbox format. The On Demand menu shows in full screen.
A couple of channels are still full screen, like TV Land for example, but only a couple.
On the channels that are in letterbox format, when commercials come on sometimes the commercials show in full screen and sometimes in letterbox. When the commercial shows in full screen, it goes back to letterbox when the show comes back on or another commercial comes on that's in letterbox format.
I haven't called Comcast. I swear I'd rather watch it in letterbox format than deal with their customer service people whom I can't even understand.
I have done nothing at all to the TV or to the remote. I've touched nothing. I am so techno ignorant that I would never dare to touch a button that I wasn't familiar with, or touch a wire or a connection, never.
Has anyone else had this problem? It seems so weird to just happen out of nowhere.
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