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Do I retun my TIVO ? Newbie needs advice
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Posted by: dsam

I am a newbie to PVRs.
I just purchased a 80 hours Tivo series 2 (standalone) and connected to my cable outlet in the basement. I have Charter digital cable but I am using the Tivo in my basement gym where there is no cable box. Before the Tivo, I used a coaxial cable from the wall cable outlet to my 27 Panasonic TV (new) thru my VCR. The video quality was excellent, though it was not digital cable. (My cable box is on the first floor).

After getting the Tivo, I bypassed the VCR (removed it completely) and connected the Tivo to the wall cable outlet with a coaxial cable and S video and the audio cables between the Tivo and the TV. Phone connection was hooked up. The video quality is worse with the Tivo connected. I am not talking about the recordings, even the 'watch live TV' is blurry with a fine flicker thru the Tivo.
I changed the coaxial cable and switched the s video with composite video cables and vice versa but nothing makes any difference.
I am not sure but I presume the software version is 4.0 since i bought the Tivo just a week ago directly from Tivo website.
The convenience and the features are nice but they do not compensate for the unacceptably worse video quality.

Am I missing something ? Please advise.

Posted by: samo

Most likely you have cold solder joint at TiVo RF connector. Send it back and get it exchanged (or get a refund and buy another one) while you are still within 30 days money back period. After 30 days you'll have to pay for shipping and wait for weeks to get it exchanged for refurbished unit.

Posted by: raitchison

Have you tried connecting the coax directly to the TV? I'm running sattelite with S-Video from the sat reciever but I can't see any difference whatsoever between sat -> TiVo -> TV and sat -> TV

Posted by: Turtleboy

1. They aren't shipping with 4.0 yet, so unless you've downloaded it within the past week, you probably don't have it yet.

2. There is a slight degredation in the picture quality. There are a couple things you can do to better it, but it will always be there, as it's a function of the encoding/decoding process. If you can't live with it, you can't live with it. To me, the functionality is much more important.

Posted by: Timber

quote:
Originally posted by dsam
The video quality is worse with the Tivo connected. I am not talking about the recordings, even the 'watch live TV' is blurry with a fine flicker thru the Tivo.

Lots of good advice above.

However important to note that on your TiVo even "Watch Live TV" is a recording. TiVo buffers EVERYTHING you see through it, albeit at Best Quality, this is what allows instant replay, etc. :)

Good luck!

-=Tim=-

Posted by: dsam

Thanks for all the replies. It never occured to me that even live TV thru Tivo is a recording. So it seems, i`ll have to live with it for the functionality.

How do I check the software version ? If what I have is not Version 4.0, do you recommended I download it ? What are the advantages of V 4.0 and how do I download it ? I have a wireless home network but this is my only Tivo at present, so do not need HMO at this time.

Posted by: Joey303

TiVo Central >> Messages & Setup >> System Information.
I don't know how to force a download.

Posted by: Alcatraz

You might have a bad splitter somewhere in the home. Considering that you have cable in a few rooms, it seems likely. Run as clean a connection (one split only, using a signal amp)to the basement as possible.