Ask the Editors: Analog TiVo for digital cable

Can an analog TiVo be used to access digital cable?

(Credit: TiVo)

Hi--I've read your articles on Comcast/TiVo, but I'm still puzzled by the Comcast/TiVo connection. I have basic Comcast cable (haven't upgraded to digital cable yet) and I'm running two TiVo Series 2 DVRs (no cable boxes at all). Can I upgrade to Comcast digital cable service and keep my current TiVos or will I be forced to use Comcast's DVRs or Comcast's TiVo software? I asked Comcast numerous times and 50 percent of the time they say I can use my current setup and 50 percent of the time they say "no, you need to upgrade the DVR equipment." Can you shed any light on this? (In my zip code in Chicago, Comcast doesn't yet offer Comcast DVR with TiVo service).
--Nathan in Chicago, via e-mail.

Good question, Nathan. Keep in mind that you're not likely to be able to keep using your existing all-analog solution for much longer. That's because many cable systems throughout the U.S. are in the process of upgrading their system to accommodate a larger line-up of digital channels. (For each bandwidth-hogging analog channel dropped, a cable system can add at several digital channels, which use bandwidth more efficiently.)

While these changes aren't directly related to the February 2009 analog shut off (that only affects over-the-air broadcast viewers), a lot of cable systems will be using the resulting "end of analog TV" publicity and confusion to woo their customers to digital service. Once a cable system goes all-digital, devices with analog tuners--Series 2 TiVos, analog TVs, VCRs, and DVD recorders--will no longer get a signal when you plug the RF cable from the wall directly into them. Instead, you'll need a digital cable box in the mix, which will convert the digital signals back to analog (via the RF/coaxial, composite, or S-Video output).

So, the bottom line is: yes, you should be able to keep your Series 2 (analog, non-HD) TiVos while upgrading to digital cable. Just ask Comcast for their basic digital box. They'll undoubtedly try to upsell you to a DVR or an HD box, but insist on just the cheapest digital box available. Once they install it, run the outputs through your TiVo, and set the TiVo up to control the box (with the IR blaster or serial cable). That will provide you complete access to the digital programming, with the capability to control and record what you're watching with the TiVo.

While that setup will work fine, be aware that there are several caveats: no HD recording, no multituner HD support (you can't record one HD show while watching another live HD show on the same TiVo), more wires and cables, and slower channel changing (because the TiVo will be controlling an outboard cable box).

If you don't want to wait for the (presumed) eventual appearance of Comcast DVR with TiVo Service in your area, another option would be to get a TiVo HD. That will eliminate the need for a separate cable box, offering support for full digital and HD channels, and the capability to record two programs simultaneously on one DVR. (The downside: no access to pay-per-view and video-on-demand channels, and--if you've already paid for a lifetime subscription on your existing Series 2 boxes--you're going to have to re-up for a TiVo service fee.)

The other choice, of course, is to go with Comcast's existing non-TiVo DVR. But it sounds like you're a TiVo fan, so we're assuming that option isn't on the table.

Update (October 29, 2008): According to Silicon Alley Insider, Comcast's DVR with TiVo service will expand next year, possibly to the Chicago area.

[weaKnees]

You wrote:

"The downside: no access to pay-per-view and video-on-demand channels, and--if you've already paid for a lifetime subscription on your existing Series 2 boxes--you're going to have to re-up for a TiVo service fee."

Some or all of that will change with the SDV Tuning Adapter which TiVos can use, and some cable companies are rolling out already (see: http://www.wkblog.com/tivo/2008/10/sdv-tuning-adapters-for-time-warner-pre-order/ ).

Also, existing TiVo customers get $100 off lifetime service on the second box (so $299 - still not cheap) or a discount on the monthly fees.

[jakebala]

In short he's basically saying that you can only get analog tv channels with your tivo and if you want to receive the digital channels that most companies will be changing to you need to either to a 2-box system where the tivo receives from a cable box and they have to communicate or you get a new box.

also, comcast+tivo is retarded. the system is buggy and slow. tivo interface is much better than comcast, but when it comes down to it you're paying 3 dollars more per month to have slower buggy service with a better face. the comcast dvr is fine on its own.

[kgandy]

I'm just speechless right now. Our cable provider just switched to digital and now our TiVo Series 2 Dual Tuner doesn't work at all. Neither does our Series 2 Single Tuner (which has a Lifetime contract). We secured TWO conversion boxes as directed, one of them just for the TiVo, and the other for the TV.

After four calls with Tech Support and nearly 6 hours on the phone with them, they came to the conclusion that the Series 2, which we bought less than two years ago, cannot be used except to record a program WHILE YOU ARE WATCHING that same program, which is fairly useless in general. Even an old VCR could record one show while you were watching another one.

The sales and retention departments made only one offer -- if we return our TiVo to them, they will give us a $100 discount on the $299 HD TiVo with the tiny hard drive (a fraction of the size of our 300 gig hard drive on the Lifetime TiVo). The y offered no discount at all on the $599 TiVo that actually has a hard drive that is a decent size.

Perhaps worst of all, the customer service supervisor actually told me that this happened because of a recent act of Congress which TiVo had unsuccessfully opposed! Whoa, I said -- That was in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which I personally lobbied against, and I'm pretty sure TiVo didn't even exist then, much less lobby against the act. So they're intentionally misleading customers into thinking that this was something recent, over which they had no control, instead of something they knew was coming.

I could afford to spend $599 on a new TiVo, but the idea makes me boil. Not to mention that I really don't think the company will be in business for very long, once the word gets out that they have been making and selling sets that the KNEW would not be compatible with.the new digital cable, and that they are doing effectively NOTHING to make it right.

I would ove to hear what others are doing in this situation. I'm writing to the CEO, Tom Rogers, 2160 Gold St., P. O. Box, 2160, Alviso, CA 95002-2160

[bee-eh]

This is how Tivo has always worked. You can't watch one live program while recording another, you can only watch a previously recorded program stored on your Tivo while another is recording live. If you have a dual tuner Tivo, then you have the capability to watch a live program while recording another, but you need two tuner inputs, which I assume in your case means you need two converter boxes for your dual tuner Tivo. It sucks, but that's just how it works. Maybe soon there will be dual tuner versions of these boxes? Or someone will ( or has already ) developed one with Tivo in mind...

[preemiemum]

I have an older Panasonic TV (1996). I have a TiVo Series 2 DVR (single analog tuner). We have one cable box from Comcast attached to a brand new HD TV in the basement. All other TVs in the house are getting a digital channels via hook up to DTAs. I tried to hook my TiVo box up to the Panasonic TV, but the analog tuner in the Humax blocks the digital signal coming out of the DTA. Someone at TiVo tech support told me to get an "RF to AV converter", but that didn't work. Does anyone know how I can get digital cable running through my Series 2 TiVo box? I don't need to get ALL the digital channels - only the ones that the DTA is allowing to come through, which is 2-99 plus a few extra like 118 (Sprout) - I have kids...