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TiVO + DVD ?
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Posted by: grimreaperguy

I am new to the whole TiVo thing. I dont know much about it at all, so bear with me :)

Ok, first question, is there anything that combines TiVO and DVD?

Second, while using TiVO to record things, can you watch another challen then what is being recorded? Just wondering becasue the Direct Cable I have you cannot watch something other than whats being recorded.

Thanks

Posted by: astribli

Only way to record and watch two different things simultaneously is with a DirecTiVo unit, or two standalone Tivo units with two cable or satellite boxes.

The DirecTivo unit works great by the way as it has two seperate DirecTV tuners built in. You can actually record two different shows, while watching something that was previously recorded, all simultaneously. Now my wife and I don't have to worry about her cooking show conflicting with my Formula 1 or CART auto races.

Posted by: Opus

While you can't watch another channel "live" while TiVo is recording, you can watch something that TiVo has previously recorded while it is recording something else.

Posted by: justapixel

quote:
Originally posted by astribli
Only way to record and watch two different things simultaneously is with a DirecTiVo unit, or two standalone Tivo units with two cable or satellite boxes.

T

Actually, you only need two cable boxes. I have one standalone TiVo and two cable boxes. I can watch one show live while recording another. Only if I have to though!

Posted by: Harv

quote:
Originally posted by justapixel

Actually, you only need two cable boxes. I have one standalone TiVo and two cable boxes. I can watch one show live while recording another. Only if I have to though!

If you have an antenna on your roof you don't even need that.

Posted by: SuperRob

quote:
Ok, first question, is there anything that combines TiVO and DVD?

While not a TiVo product (nor does it have TiVo service), Panasonic does have a home DVD recorder that can "time shift" television on DVD-RAM discs. Haven't used it, so I have no idea how good it is, but there you have it.

Sorry, just thought I'd answer the other part of his question. :)

Posted by: JerryLBell

"I am new to the whole TiVo thing. I dont know much about it at all, so bear with me"

I read the questions and thought some of the answers probably confused more than helped, so I'll throw in my 2 cents worth as a recent Tivo convert who has asked some of these same questions.

"Ok, first question, is there anything that combines TiVO and DVD?"

I'm not sure what you mean, but the answer is probably "No". Is there a combination Tivo recorder and DVD player? None that I've heard of. Is there a device that does something Tivo-like but with recordable DVDs? Well, there are some new DVD recorders out there but given the cost of the media and the expense of the devices, it's probably not going to be thought of as anything like a VCR or Tivo. Can you record a DVD onto a Tivo? Well, there are ways to do it, but it really isn't worth it. Recording a DVD onto a VCR or Tivo results in a semi-scrambled signal if the DVD uses the MacroVision coding system (most do). Also, as with any recording, there is some degradation of signal. Since DVDs give the best-looking video inputs of anything out there short of HDTV, do you really want to make it look less then its best? Also, Tivos won't record a Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 surround soundtrack from a DVD. The best you would get would be stereo. Do you really want to lose that high quality audio?

"Second, while using TiVO to record things, can you watch another challen then what is being recorded? Just wondering becasue the Direct Cable I have you cannot watch something other than whats being recorded."

A Tivo is essentially just a VCR. True, it's much smarter than VCRs in terms of handling schedule changes and automatically recording shows and it can do some pretty cool tricks for viewing "live" TV, but it's easiest to think of it as just a VCR that uses a computer-style hard drive rather than a videotape. Like a VCR, a Tivo can take unscrambled analog cable signals in through an RF input, tune in what channels are there and record them or allow you to watch them "live". Also like a VCR, a Tivo can record from line inputs. This allows you to record from a cable tuner (which might be needed for "digital tier" channles on digital cable services or for scrambled channels) or from a satellite receiver. Tivo goes a bit beyond a VCR here in that it can control the cable box or satellite receiver via infrared "blaster" controllers or serial cables (though not all cable boxes or satellite receivers support serial cable control.

In either case, a standalone Tivo cannot record one show while watching another. However, it can do something pretty cool. It can play back one show that has already been recorded while watching another. This doesn't help you if both your shows are on at the same time, but you can be watching one pre-recorded show, merrily skipping over commercials, doing instant replays, freeze frames and whatever while the other show is recording in the background. Very cool.

You could run cable into your Tivo, bypassing the cable box, then run cable into your cable box and on into your TV. You can watch whatever is on cable while recording whatever is on unscrambled analog cable. You can't record digital tier chanels or scrambled channels this way, but this is an approach that works for some people (for various reasons, this is how I do it). Another approach is to get two cable boxes, one for the TV and one for the Tivo. It's up to you and your needs as to which approach to take.

Some companies also make personal video recorders that use Tivo software but which take in signals from DirecTV antennas and tune them in and record them. These are often called "DirecTivos". If you have DirecTV, these are pretty cool. Some of them even have two DirecTV tuners built-in, so you can record one show while watching another. However, I believe that these have no ability to record from cable TV or any other inputs, just from DirecTV.

Tivos can be confusing to new users. However, once you get into them, you'll never go back to VCRs (except, of course, to make long-term copies of shows you recorded with the Tivo)!

Posted by: R. Kalia

There are combination hard disk + DVD-writers coming out from both Toshiba and Panasonic in the fall. They will cost >$1000, and they will allow you to record on hard disk, edit the recordings, and then transfer them digitally to DVD-R or DVD-RW. That last part is something you can't do (or at least you can't talk about doing) with a standalone DVD-writer and a TiVo: you have to do digital to analog to digital. There are some threads about these devices here, or you can look on the manufacturer's web pages.

These upcoming models are not TiVos in the sense that they won't download guide data. I believe they use VCR-Plus (yeah!). They won't do suggestions either. But you can transfer your old videotapes to hard disk, edit them and them put them on DVD. And you can transfer from DVD to hard disk if it's not copy-protected. The Toshiba model has a Firewire port too, for digital transfer from DV camcorders.