TiVo Community Forums Archives - Multiple TiVo units in 1 room

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Multiple TiVo units in 1 room
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Posted by: ardee

I currently use hi-fi VCRs extensively (to say the least). I have 4 units that tape off "raw" cable and 1 that tapes off a cable box, plus 1 for playback. At any given time I might be taping 5 programs and watching a tape. Another VCR is ready to record off the currently-selected "watch" cable channel (on a 2nd cable box). Finally, my Mitsubishi playback VCR allows me to watch tapes at DOUBLE-SPEED while correcting the sound pitch. (Everything is twice as fast but not high and squeaky.) I began using this feature in 1987 with an earlier model, and bought two more units with it when they re-introduced it briefly in 1997-8.
I juggle tapes all the time but rarely screw up. I do this all every day, and have been for years (and yes, I have a job and other hobbies and a fiancee!).

Obviously, I'm a candidate for TiVo (or ReplayTV). But I'd need multiple units to allow taping 3, 4, or 5 shows at once while watching another that was previously recorded. And I'd NEVER get the double-speed-with-clean-sound feature (even though that feature would be a LOT easier to implement in a digital device). So I've stayed with VCRs. But TiVo looks so interesting in so many ways.

Does anybody have 3, 4, or 5 TiVo units and use all of them, in one room, daily without problem? Is there another solution for me that involves fewer units?

Thanks! http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

Posted by: DrStrange

I have 5 Philips Tivos in my LR. Each can be coded to a specific remote so there are no conflicts. Philips have 9 distinct codes, Sony has 3.

Posted by: vampiress144

how do you have time to watch all of these shows you are taping. Geesh with all of he stuff i tivo, i rarely have conflicts that cant be resolved, and with 2.5 rolling out later this summer featurign dual tuners, my conflicts should be even less. Keep in mind, with 2.5 and dual tuners, you will be able to record 2 shows while watching a third already recorded.

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Warning: Contents may explode if exposed to heat. Extremely flammable.

Posted by: DrStrange

quote:
Originally posted by vampiress144:
Keep in mind, with 2.5 and dual tuners, you will be able to record 2 shows while watching a third already recorded.

Only if he had DirecTV and a DirecTivo. He said he has cable so will have to settle for getting multiple single-tuner standalones.

Posted by: HTH

quote:
Originally posted by ardee:
And I'd NEVER get the double-speed-with-clean-sound feature (even though that feature would be a LOT easier to implement in a digital device).

Hmm, maybe if you made a sizable donation to the company they might bless you with a custom build (or put it in as a hidden backdoor feature for everyone). I seem to recall something about them not having it because it sounded too "bursty", but I don't remember where I read that, or if they ever said it at all.

quote:
Does anybody have 3, 4, or 5 TiVo units and use all of them, in one room, daily without problem?

I use 2 SA TiVos (1 w/cablebox, other just cable) and one VCR (had two but my mother needed one for tape playback). Lately I only use my VCR for saving to tape (after capture to computer and editing), and only if the resultant video is too large to put on a few CDs at DV quality.

A benefit from using TiVos is their remote addressability. As mentioned, you can have 9 Philips TiVos in one room all responding to unique remotes. But it is also very easy to switch one TiVo remote's address allowing you to control each box with the same remote (takes about 5 seconds to switch the remote to control another preaddressed Philips TiVo).

I've been considering getting myself a third TiVo, if only to avoid having to deal with recording TV to tape on the VCR, especially if I find myself needing to record antenna channels not carried on cable again this season.

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Posted by: DancnDude

With all the time he'd save not fumbling with tapes, he could almost watch all those shows he's taping. http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif And those 5 Tivos could record suggestions of other things he's likely to want to watch!

Posted by: sw10025

I think the only way you'd be able to avoid multiple units would be to switch to DirecTV and get DirecTV with Tivo units, and wait for the dual tuner function to be enabled later this month, but even then, from the amount of taping you are describing, I think you'd need at least two units.

I have four tivos in one room. You have to remember to code each Tivo to a different number, or all hell will break loose. One of my Tivos "lost" the code a week or two ago, just forgot it, and I didn't realize that was the problem right away, I thought it was stuck, and it was pretty fun. You can get some serious IR signals bouncing all over the room, so some "fort" making might be required, depending on whether other systems are affected. But mind you, 99.9% of the time, I don't have a problem, and I've had all four in the same room for over a year now.

Posted by: IraF

While you can't LISTEN to TiVo at double-speed, TiVo does let you READ closed captions at 2x speed, a very cool feature and quite unique as far as I've seen. If you can listen that fast, you can probably read that fast too.

Reminds me that over the years I've learned to use Picture-in-Picture to listen to one show in the PIP while reading the closed captions of the show in the main window. That's hard enough, and I don't do it very often, but it's doable because the natural pauses in speech give you time to read what's in the other window. But I never tried it with the captions at double speed! I like the challenge, and will have to try it soon!

Posted by: ardee

Great info and ideas, everyone! Thanks so much!

Posted by: Glen Graham

quote:
Originally posted by ardee:
At any given time I might be taping 5 programs and watching a tape.
....
I began using this feature in 1987 with an earlier model
...
I juggle tapes all the time but rarely screw up.

Obviously, I'm a candidate for TiVo

WHOA.....

(insert light-hearted humor herehttp://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif )

I'd most definitely agree you are a candidate, but not for a TiVo... for valium! http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

No wonder you have to watch everything at double-speed, just to try to keep up with what is being recorded!

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Glen
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Whatever is not nailed down, is mine.
Whatever I can pry loose... is not nailed down!

Philips HDR-312 @ 130+ hours, 2.0)

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