[mojavedxer]

Depends on the type of subscription you have from Cox. The TIVO QAM tuner can handle the basic sub where the channels are in the clear without the cable card.

[logline]

Originally Posted by mojavedxer

Depends on the type of subscription you have from Cox. The TIVO QAM tuner can handle the basic sub where the channels are in the clear without the cable card.

Uh.. can you translate that to English please? I'm looking to get a Tivo Roamio... are you saying I don't need Cox's cablecard?

[NLVgal]

Century link just came to my door and said they just finished installing their gig network on my street. I'm moving, so I don't care, but if you live in NLV near Aliante, apparently it's an option now.

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by logline

Uh.. can you translate that to English please? I'm looking to get a Tivo Roamio... are you saying I don't need Cox's cablecard?

You don't need a cable card, except for premium channels- HBO, Showtime, etc. Food Network, USA, and the other basic cable channels do not require a cable card

I have a Tivo HD that I'm looking to be rid of (moving), so hit me up if you want one cheap. I have the wireless connector for Netflix, etc, but no lifetime service. You'd have to pay Tivo for that.

[delgadobb]

Originally Posted by logline

Don't forget that TIVO requires a cable card and Cox charges $2/month to use it with Tivo... just because they can.

Correct. Some cable providers include the first cable card (or more) for free. Cox charges $1.99/mo for theirs. As is the case with most cable companies, they'd rather not deal with them but they're required by the FCC. I have no desire to use any of Cox's boxes, be it a regular receiver or DVR. $1.99 is FAR better than the $10-25 (or more) I could be spending on their equipment. Right now I have one of their HD receivers on a discounted rate (for someone else) & I can't get rid of it fast enough.

Originally Posted by mojavedxer

Depends on the type of subscription you have from Cox. The TIVO QAM tuner can handle the basic sub where the channels are in the clear without the cable card.

This is also correct. The QAM tuner can handle the basic stuff, but the cable card will handle encryption & channel mapping for otherwise inaccessible channels & high-def stuff.

Most people will want a cable card if they've already invested in a Tivo HD to maximize what they can do with it (if they are a Cox customer).

Keep in mind if you're a cord-cutter, the Tivo HD does very well with OTA (Over The Air) broadcasts as long as you have a decent antenna. With OTA, there's no need for a cable card or any other special equipment.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by logline

Don't forget that TIVO requires a cable card and Cox charges $2/month to use it with Tivo... just because they can.

TIVO sucks. If you have a windows-based system, drop by my house sometime and I'll show you the glory of Windows Media Center -- it's everything TIVO does, plus automatic commercial stripping and about 50 other useful functions. (Like "auto strip commercials and burn this entire series to DVD." That sort of thing.)

But you'll need a TV capture card for your computer. I can help you out with that, also.

[swagger]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Windows Media Center -- it's everything TIVO does, plus automatic commercial stripping and about 50 other useful functions.

I've tried the automatic commercial stripping, and it worked alright, but it wasn't perfect. After using it for a couple of months, I went back to manually skipping them. As with any kind of automation, I expect consistency above all else, with accuracy right behind, and it just didn't meet my expectations. I don't recall the exact mechanism or software I used.

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

But you'll need a TV capture card for your computer. I can help you out with that, also.

I use the SiliconDust HD Homerun Prime, with six tuners. No PC card to install - it's all done over the network, and any PC in the house can use it.

They don't make the six tuner version anymore, which is a shame. It's a nice looking, standard A/V rackable size, and a lot easier to integrate (physically) into a home theater setup than the three tuner version, which is so light, the weight of the cables connected to them will cause them to "wheelie" or outright fall. I panicked a bit when the power supply ("non-user-serviceable") failed, but I was able to get a replacement from SD for only $20, and a lot of warnings and such about how dangerous it is to pop the case off the unit...

I picked up two three tuner units to use while waiting for the part, and I still have them if you're interested. I don't know what you're using, but you mentioned a capture card, so I'm thinking it might be the Ceton InfiniTV. I used that for a while (pre-ordered it months before it came out), and didn't care for not being able to receive analog channels with it. Seems crazy that someone would create a product like that and not design it to handle any stream the cablecard can throw at it.

[mojavedxer]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

TIVO sucks. If you have a windows-based system, drop by my house sometime and I'll show you the glory of Windows Media Center -- it's everything TIVO does, plus automatic commercial stripping and about 50 other useful functions. (Like "auto strip commercials and burn this entire series to DVD." That sort of thing.)

But you'll need a TV capture card for your computer. I can help you out with that, also.

I would not call MS Media Center all that glorious over the TIVO interface but to each their own. But MS has dropped development and support of Media Center over two years ago. Its doubtful that it will even be a add on option for Windows 9 next year. I hope that the program guide info keeps coming for a few years to support the existing ATSC/QAM and cable card tuners but who knows. Windows Media Extender devices that where hot two years seem to be a thing of the past now except in the Xbox. There are better options if your not tied to Windows. Both Myth TV and XBMC that run in Linux are very robust with a large user base and being supported and developed. Unfortunately until there is a DRM standard that Linux will adopt. Cable card tuners will stay out of the picture in the Linux world.