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HDTV Ready Widescreen + Tivo + DVD-RW -- Need a bit of help
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Posted by: Chief911

Hey guys,

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

Before now, I've been using a combo of regular cable + Directv receiver (Just for football) and a Tivo Series 2 that we bought a while ago and are now addicted to! However, I've been fortunate to fall into some funds, and am doing a total upgrade of my entertainment package. I'm going to be purchasing something along the lines of a 51" Sony widescreen HDTV, would like to also purchase a DVD-Recorder, and will upgrade to either Digital Cable, or go with Directv + local channels through cable.

My question is, can that all work and be happy together? Some of the potential problems:

1. Can I archive from my current Series 2 OR a Directivo if I chose to go that route to my DVD-Recorder?

2. Can a Directivo record from another source besides satellite, because my local channels would be either over the air or through cable?

3. Whats the best route? Digital Cable exclusively (With direct only for Football), Direct plus my series 2 plus cable for local channels, Directivo plus cable for local channels. I'm just not sure what is going to work well. Whatever option, I need to be able to record from both Satellite AND Cable AND archive to a DVD-Recorder.

Most importantly is 3. Just struggling to figure out which way to go, and which setup is going to be most effective.

Thanks ahead of time!

Nick

Proud owner of a Sony Series 2. Hey, even the wife's hooked!

Posted by: grins

Morning, Nick!

DirecTiVos record from satellite only. If your locals are not available from DirecTV, you'll still need the standalone...stay proud of the Sony Series 2! ;)

Are your local stations broadcasting digitally? Here in Chicago, they are, so when I 'fell into some money' I also purchased an HD DirecTV receiver, which also receives local OverTheAir HD broadcasts. Looks pretty great, although there's no TiVo way to TiVo the HD signals.

Posted by: JerryLBell

"What's the best route?" is a loaded question with highly subjective answers.

If you're only concern is the highest quality Tivo recording of analog television, DirecTivo is probably it. DirecTivos don't have to convert an incoming analog stream to digital before recording it; they just record the incoming digital stream. They also have the advantage of recording MPEG2, not MPEG1, as is used with non-DirecTivo Tivos. Lastly, they can record and play back Dolby Digital audio. However, this route does NOTHING for your HDTV viewing as DirecTivos can't record HD and you won't be able to get your local stations in HD over DirecTV. Because of the tremendous bandwidth required by HD, it's highly unlikely that DirecTV or DISH Network will ever be able to offer local channels in HD to any but a handful of metro markets (if they even do those). Satellite broadcasts have to balance between a very finite bandwidth and handling not only hundreds of non-local channels but hundreds and hundreds of local channels.

If HDTV viewing is your thing, you can get an HD-capable DirecTV or DISH Network satellite rig (to get Showtime-HD or HBO-HD and either HD-Net on DirecTV or Discovery-HD on DISH) and an over-the-air tuner and UHF antenna to get your local affiliates in HD (this assumes that they are broadcasting in HD). You can also go cable. What you will get will depend on your cable provider. Some have jumped on the HD bandwagon (I get most of my local affiliates [with the last two allegedly coming soon] in HD plus HBO-HD and Showtime-HD on my cable system), some are being very limited in what they offer (only premium channels and no locals or vice-versa) and some don't offer HD at all. Now, you HAVE to have digital cable in order to get HD, but digital cable in and of itself is NOT a guarantee of HD.

Your standalone Tivo can record the non-HD channels from your cable system but cannot record the HD channels. Currently, no Tivo systems handle HD, whether from OTA tuners, cable boxes or satellite dishes. That may change, but don't hold your breath. DISH Network is allegedly working on a satellite receiver/PVR that will record HD. Scientific Atlanta has a digital cable tuner/PVR that records HD and is test marketing it in a few areas (not mine!) through Time Warner Cable. Unfortunately, neither of these units use Tivo software, so instead of "Season Passes", "Wish Lists" and such, you're back to "Time & Channel" based recording (and you typically can only see 2 days of upcoming schedule!). Yucch.

I am an HDTV addict and a Tivo-holic. These days, that is NOT a great combination. You watch Tivo and you start feeling restricted "having" to watch TV on the networks' schedule instead of yours. Tivo is SO much more flexible! But, you start watching HDTV and your standards for acceptable video quality shoot up through the roof and you can hardly stand to watch cable or satellite TV that has been converted to MPEG and recorded (which, despite what some folks say, DOES introduce some quality reduction). And on your new, big-screen, HDTV, those artifacts and flaws become glaringly obvious!

I wish you luck on your journey, young grasshopper. If you come up with any great answers, let the rest of us know! We're still looking, too!

Posted by: Chief911

Thanks for all the help,

Few more questions.

I'm leaning towards just using Time Warner Cable, which is digital cable. There are two outputs, so a TV can do picture in picture.

How does a Tivo work with something like that?

Nick