# OK, I broke down and got a TiVo **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 12, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859 "2004-02-12T15:50:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/21 "2004-02-13T19:18:49Z")
We opted for a ReplayTV. From what I can tell it’s pretty cool but I haven’t had a chance to spend a lot of time with it. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to explore its features this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![MarkofT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MarkofT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkofT)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/22 "2004-02-13T20:35:45Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > OK, after 24 hours of TiVo use: > > – It really sucks that it can’t record a channel you’re not watching at the time. C’mon, guys, it’s a hard drive and a tuner. Throw in another tuner, let me watch what I’m not recording right now. Or at least offer the option of buying a version with this capacity. I know I can splice the cable wire and have the option of watching TV sans TiVo while TiVo records, but that kinda defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? You are talking about a 50% to 75% increase in the price of a TiVo. They would have to put in another of their MPEG encoder chipsets as well as the second tuner. The current model TiVo with DirectTV has two tuners but that unit completely lacks the encoder chips as it writes the datastream from the satellites to the hard disk. That is why you have no OTA ability on the Tivo with DirectTV. ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/23 "2004-02-13T22:07:27Z")
> [@MarkofT](#): > > You are talking about a 50% to 75% increase in the price of a TiVo. They would have to put in another of their MPEG encoder chipsets as well as the second tuner. The current model TiVo with DirectTV has two tuners but that unit completely lacks the encoder chips as it writes the datastream from the satellites to the hard disk. That is why you have no OTA ability on the Tivo with DirectTV. I have an ATI All in Wonder 9800 in my computer, and I love it. It records live TV, can rewind, fast forward, and all that jazz. The TV listings are free to download from the net, so no continuing fees to pay. I’d say the best part, though, is you can then copy the files off your computer onto a DVD if you have the burner, and save them forever, watching them on any DVD player you have. Supposedly you can add a PCI all in wonder card to be able to record and watch a different chanel at the same time. The PCI card is only about $30 but I havent tried it yet The All in Wonder card also has all sorts of hookups to input video into your computer so you can edit your home movies, or record VHS to DVD, but I havent played with those either…looks cool though. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/24 "2004-02-14T14:55:58Z")
OK, another question for you all. If I want to record every Red Wings game that’s on, how do I do that? I’ve tried to set up Red Wings as a keyword, but I get all sorts of non-game stuff that way, too (ie, pre-game shows, sports highlight shows, etc.) Is there a way to say "Just record the actual games, not all the other crap? ---
**Author:** ![John\_T.Conklin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_t.conklin/32/3307_2.png) [@John\_T.Conklin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_T.Conklin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/25 "2004-02-15T00:37:33Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > OK, another question for you all. > > If I want to record every Red Wings game that’s on, how do I do that? I’ve tried to set up Red Wings as a keyword, but I get all sorts of non-game stuff that way, too (ie, pre-game shows, sports highlight shows, etc.) Is there a way to say "Just record the actual games, not all the other crap? I vaguely remember reading how to do this in the q&a section of one of their email newsletters. I think it was adding “at” or “vs.” to the search criteria (so you would match San Jose at Detroit; or Red Wings vs. Sharks). Unfortunately, this tip doesn’t seem to be archived at [tivo.com](http://tivo.com), but if you look in the guide to see how sports entries are formatted, you should be able to make it work. ---
**Author:** ![John\_T.Conklin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_t.conklin/32/3307_2.png) [@John\_T.Conklin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_T.Conklin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/26 "2004-02-15T00:50:49Z")
> [@Running with Scissors](#): > > No, sorry, you can’t do this. Tivo stuff stays on the Tivo (or Tivos, if you’ve got more than one). At CES, Tivo annouced that they would be rolling out a “TivoToGo” service late this year that would allow users to download programs from their Tivos to laptops and other portable media players, enable them to burn DVDs. Details within the press release indicate the media files will be protected by some sort of DRM scheme, and proprietary software will be required for playback. This “feature” makes it unlikely that I’d subscribe/upgrade to this service, but was probably necessary for them to avoid being sued into oblivion. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/27 "2004-02-15T03:09:25Z")
> [@John T. Conklin](#): > > At CES, Tivo annouced that they would be rolling out a “TivoToGo” service late this year that would allow users to download programs from their Tivos to laptops and other portable media players, enable them to burn DVDs. What would be really cool is if there was a way to stream MPEGs from your computer to your TiVo, like you can do with MP3s now with the Home Media Option. Then I could buy a super big HD and rip all my favorite DVDs, and watch them on-demand. That would kick ass. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/28 "2004-03-05T05:02:03Z")
I just bought a TiVo this week and I’m loving it so far… except for the realization that a lot of the shows I like are on at the same time. I don’t have a phone line, so I had to use the trick to set it up over ethernet. (I heard the trick wasn’t necessary on the newer boxes, but I guess it is.) > [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > That’s the analog guide. The digital guide is just program listings in the bottom half, the top half split between a preview screen in the top right corner and an info screen in the top left. At least that’s what Comcast does. What you’re describing sounds like the DirecTV guide. Maybe Comcast does it differently in different markets. I had AT&T digital cable a couple years ago before Comcast bought AT&T Broadband, and there was no preview screen on the guide. The left side had banner ads, and the right side showed half an hour’s worth of listings for a dozen channels at a time. My mom has Comcast digital cable in California (where it also used to be AT&T) and hers works the same way. It’s nice not to have ads plastered all over the TiVo guide. ---
**Author:** ![Vaioman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ecccb3/32.png) [@Vaioman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaioman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/29 "2004-03-05T07:29:27Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > - It really sucks that it can’t record a channel you’re not watching at the time. would this work: [http://www.smarthome.com/7811.html](http://www.smarthome.com/7811.html) one spliiting the cable from the wall, and one splitting the input maybe? Seen them without switches also, which would probably be better for the one going to the television. No clue if something like this would work, just thought of it when I read that line. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/30 "2004-03-05T08:55:27Z")
That should work. I have my cable running into a splitter, with one end going to TiVo and the other into my VCR, and then another cable running out from the VCR into the TV. In theory, I could record one show on TiVo, another on the VCR, and watch a third show with the TV’s tuner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859.md?page=1)