How exactly does tivo work?

[JLZ286]

Im thinking about getting one but im a little confused. I understand the whole concept of recording tv shows to a hard drive on the tivo device but can I just go somewhere like best buy, buy the machine and im set? Do I need to contact my cable provider and get them involved in like the installation?

[kcscsupporter]

Im thinking about getting one but im a little confused. I understand the whole concept of recording tv shows to a hard drive on the tivo device but can I just go somewhere like best buy, buy the machine and im set? Do I need to contact my cable provider and get them involved in like the installation?

you have to pay a monthly rate. you can call your cable provider and probably pay them $5-10/month to rent one of their dvr's. tivo's service is much better, from what i understand.

[spejic]

To be more clear, the payment is for the Tivo device to continuously get a TV schedule of upcoming shows through a modem, and it won't work without it. The only ones you need to contact on hooking it up is Tivo.

[Foosinho]

You connect your cable box to your TiVo. The TiVo will then automatically change the channel of the cable box (via a little IR emitter or serial cable) as necessary to record.

Spejic's right - what you pay for with the TiVo service fee is reliable data in a format the TiVo can understand. That's really the magic behind the whole device. Usually, it'll have data available (of varying reliability, depending on how often each channel changes it's planned programming) for up to two weeks in advance, while your cable box may only have 2 days or so.

I got my first TiVo almost 6 years ago. Now, I've still got that same TiVo but I also built my own PVR (called "MythTV") with 2TB of storage space. I virtually never watch "LiveTV"; only during weather emergencies (or when my wife "channel surfs", which is a terrible habit she is unwilling to break). Otherwise, I watch the shows I want whenever <em>I</em> want, not when they are broadcast.

[dark knight]

There are still ways to get Lifetime Tivo service - I think there is a Humax you can buy that still has Lifetime availability. Or buy them on Ebay. If I were buying a new Tivo I'd consider one of those options.

[Foosinho]

I got the lifetime service back when the monthly was something like $12/mo. It's paid for itself several times over by now, even with the subsequent reduction in cost to $5/mo (at least for satellite units).

[JLZ286]

Ok I get it but I dont know if it will work on my tv. I live a college dorm and we dont have cable boxes I just hook up a cable to the tv and then hook that cable up to the outlet in the wall. Do you need to have the cable box?

[Foosinho]

Probably not on the cable box. I'd guess it depends on the model of TiVo. It looks like the Series 2 models will do the job for you.

[dark knight]

Don't they all have internal tuners for this kind of thing? I don't think you need a box.

[Foosinho]

Don't they all have internal tuners for this kind of thing? I don't think you need a box.
Dunno. The Series 3 says it works on any system that uses a CableCard... but it doesn't explicitly say it'll work with non-CC systems. I would expect that it would work, but it might be worth confirming with someone who owns a Series 3 (or read the box closely/ask the sales guy).

[dark knight]

Good point - don't know much about Series 3, but sounds like this guy isn't really in the market for an HD Tivo. If I were he, I'd buy an old model on Ebay with lifetime service and then upgrade as needed.

[Ringo]

you don't need a cable box. I've never had a cable box with my tivo (well, until two months ago ...)
plug the cable to the tivo, the tivo to the TV and then sit back and enjoy the Tivo goodness!
best invention EVER.

[Kryptonite]

IIRC, you do need a phone line connected to the Tivo. I think the phone line is how it gets information. This means, it will use your phone line, but most of it's "calls" are at oddball times like 3 or 4 AM, when the phone is probably free anyway.

OTOH, the cable company's DVR (same box as your digital or HD box) just gets all it's information through the cable connection.

You're going for the stand-alone unit which is fine. There's pros and cons to both, and one size may not fit all.

[dark knight]

You only need a phone line for initial setup, although there may be workarounds. I use wireless adapter thingies for subsequent data transfers - something I highly recommend for soccer fans who may get to work and forget they didn't program Champions League or something. One of a number of reasons I probably couldn't live with a generic DVR - on-line programming is great.

[Foosinho]

I've modded my TiVo to add a network card, bigger hard drive, and additional RAM (for DB caching). Before I migrated most of my recording duties to the MythTV box, TiVoWeb was the most awesome hack ever. It's great to be able to go in over the web (don't expose your box directly to the internet - use an authenticating proxy!) and schedule recordings at the last minute. Thankfully, MythTV has this capability too.

I should mention, since I'm on an old Series 1, the software is frozen at version 3.5 or so. I know there are tons of newer features on the newer hardware that I'll never get. But the older TiVos, at least, were super hackable. All kinds of great modifications for the technically inclined.

[Ringo]

IIRC, you do need a phone line connected to the Tivo. I think the phone line is how it gets information. This means, it will use your phone line, but most of it's "calls" are at oddball times like 3 or 4 AM, when the phone is probably free anyway.

true, or you can hook your TV up to your wireless network like I have it. you have to buy a wireless adapter, but then it downloads everything via the cable modem. much quicker, too.

you don't need a phone line at all if you have wireless. I didn't, anyway.

[dark knight]

How did you go through guided setup without it? It used to be you needed it.

[Rowdies4ever]

There are still ways to get Lifetime Tivo service - I think there is a Humax you can buy that still has Lifetime availability. Or buy them on Ebay. If I were buying a new Tivo I'd consider one of those options.There is another lifetime offer which expires next month for $399 for the life of the box. I think it's only offered to existing TiVo subscribers, though. If one wasn't a TiVo subscriber you could get someone else who is a TiVo subscriber to buy a lifetime sub as a gift and transfer it; or you could sign up for a new TiVo subscription and then get a second one with lifetime. Offer expires sometime in January, though, IIRC.

I'm going to sign up for another lifetime box while the offer lasts; it's a good deal. I got my first TiVo seven years ago with lifetime service (I paid something like $200 or $300 for lifetime back then) and it has paid for itself several times over. That Series 1 box is still working seven years later, but I'm going to get a TiVo HD model with lifetime since the Series 1 box isn't going to last forever. If you have multiple TiVos you get half off subscription on your extra TiVos, so having a TiVo with lifetime service really pays for itself fast. A pity TiVo no longer offers it to the general public, but it was too good a deal and hurt TiVo financially.

As for the TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD models, these can work with just the analog cable signal (no cable box required) or if you have an HD TV set and get HD service from your cable company, you can add CableCARDs to the TiVo and get two channels of digital SD and HD through your TiVo. The Series 1 and 2 TiVos won't do HD, but work fine with regular cable; if you have a cable box you need IR blasters or serial cables to change channels, unless you are just getting the analog channels and are not using a cable box.

A good source for all things TiVo related:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/

[Rowdies4ever]

Good point - don't know much about Series 3, but sounds like this guy isn't really in the market for an HD Tivo. If I were he, I'd buy an old model on Ebay with lifetime service and then upgrade as needed.
The Series 3 and HD models are just like the Series 1 and 2: you don't need a cable box. You can just plug in the coax cable and TiVo will change the channels with its own tuner.

One thing that makes TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD (and TiVo Series 2 DT) different from the older Series 1 and 2 models is that the newer Series 2 DT/3/HD models do not have OTA tuners for NTSC (ie, you can't use an antenna to pick up the old analog TV signals - which are going away in 2009 anyway). Series 3 and HD can pick up the new digital ATSC (ie, SD and HD digital TV) signals with an antenna, though. As well as cable.

You only need CableCARDs added to your TiVo Series 3 or TiVo HD boxes if you intend to subscribe to cable HD channels. The cable company will install the CableCARDs for you and charge a small monthly rental fee (a couple of bucks a month in most cases).

But without the CableCARDS, the Series 3 and HD models will still work fine with standard cable. You just won't be able to watch or record HD channels.

[Rowdies4ever]

IIRC, you do need a phone line connected to the Tivo.Not anymore.

This is no longer true of any Series 2 TiVos, and was never true of later models of TiVo.

It was/is true of the Series 1, which have a phone line jack but no USB or Ethernet ports. There is a hardware hack to add Ethernet to Series 1 boxes but you don't want to mess around with that.

It was true of the Series 2 for the first couple of years of the Series 2's existence, but it hasn't been true for the last couple of years.

For a while, TiVo Series 2 boxes didn't have the proper drivers and/or software to enable their USB ports to accept and utilize an Ethernet dongle out of the box so you had to make an initial phone call to get guided set up, after which a software update would enable the USB-to-Ethernet connections over the Internet.

However a few years ago TiVo updated the system software so any new TiVo you buy will be able to do guided set up immediately over any network/internet connection, without needing a phone line connection.

With older Series 2 models you will need to buy a USB-to-Ethernet dongle, and hook that up to your home LAN; as long as you have an internet connection (ie, via your broadband cable modem, DSL, or whatever) it will work just fine, no phone line needed.

The newer models of TiVo (IIRC) have an Ethernet port built in, so you don't need the USB-to-Ethernet dongle.