Any Tivo Users Out There (New Set Up) ???

billt460

I purchased a new Tivo box today, only to get home and find I needed a "N" Wireless Network Adapter, (Another $90.00 on top of the $149.00 for the Tivo), to make it work correctly.

I labored through the configuration of the "N" Network adapter, and got that up and running. Then I went through the Tivo box set up. It really wasn't too bad, and took about an hour total. I ended up redoing it because the Tivo box required an update then automatically rebooted itself, requiring me to redo some of the steps.

I did not have a "M" Cable Card because today is Sunday, and the cable store wasn't opened. They had a Cox Cable representative at Best Buy where I bought the Tivo, but she didn't have any to sell me. So to make a long story short, I can't get any TV reception until I get that "M" Cable Card, hopefully tomorrow. At least that's what the Tivo tech support guy told me.

For you guys that have done it, is it an easy procedure? I'm assuming you just stick it into the slot in the back of the Tivo box, and it will prompt you from there? Or do you have to contact Tivo support and customer service? I get all the reception from Tivo, just no TV until I get the card. Tivo already scanned all my avaliable channels, and they match what's in my TV Guide. But until I get the card, when I press the "Live TV" button on the Tivo remote, all I get is "No Signal" on the screen.

After I get the card, and have the entire Tivo system up and running, I will then contact Cox to get a guy out to hook me up to all the premium digital programming. Right now I'm running Co-Ax from the wall into the Tivo box, then a HDMI cable from the Tivo box to the HDTV. Where will the cable box connect from and to? So far I'm assuming that everything I've done thus far is correct because it accessed my account, and it also knew the "name" that I gave my Tivo Box. None of that could have happened if it wasn't connecting correctly to my broadband. Sorry for all the questions. For all of you guys who have had it a while, how do you like Tivo???

jpcamaro70

I did the same thing you did last year. Unpacked, went through LOOONG setup following instructions from cablevision on how to mate the card. After having to call tivo, telling me to call cable, cable not being able to help, then calling tivo again, the tivo guy telling me to call cable and speak to someone with a brain, then finally cable helped me. Had to redo setup and it was working.

They didn't send a tech out for me, but this is cablevision, I don't know is cox does send a tech.

There will be no cable box. The cable card will replace the cable box. So your setup is fine.

__________________
Den:
LG 3D 47" 47LM7600 , LG BP620 BD 3D, Denon AVR-591 A/V Reciever, Klipsch HD Theater 500, HR22-100, TiVo Premier, PS2, Wii, XBox

Living Room
Samsung 46" 3D LED UN46ES7100, Samsung BD 3D BD-E5900ZA, Denon AVR2312CI, Definitive Tech supertower 8040 (pair), ProCenter 1000, ProMonitor 800 (pair), SuperCube 2000, HR21-200

Master Bedroom: Samsung UN22D5003, HR24-500
Daughters room: Samsung UN22D5003, H25-500

billt460

Did you get any reception without the cable card?? I'm not getting anything, just Tivo stuff, and of course You Tube, and everything else from my broadband hookup.

I think I will still require a cable box to get premium channels, along with HD? But again, I'm not sure. The tech guy I talked to on the phone from Tivo said I needed the cable card to get anything, yet in the E-Mail Tivo sent me, they said I should be able to receive analog channels, such as my local stations without it. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, and this is all getting extremely frustrating.

Now I'm locked into the cost of a 1 year contract with Tivo with an open account, but nothing is working. Cox is the same way as your cable provider. 9 out of 10 guys know nothing, and end up having to make a half dozen calls because they can't solve hardly any issues they come across in the field. They are always in a hurry to find the door. I usually wind up with the guy who is on his own the first week.

jpcamaro70

No, no reception without cable card. The cable card took care of everything. Local and cable channels. I never had hbo or showtime so i don't know about premium channels.

did you call cox, can you pick up the card or must they send someone out?

__________________
Den:
LG 3D 47" 47LM7600 , LG BP620 BD 3D, Denon AVR-591 A/V Reciever, Klipsch HD Theater 500, HR22-100, TiVo Premier, PS2, Wii, XBox

Living Room
Samsung 46" 3D LED UN46ES7100, Samsung BD 3D BD-E5900ZA, Denon AVR2312CI, Definitive Tech supertower 8040 (pair), ProCenter 1000, ProMonitor 800 (pair), SuperCube 2000, HR21-200

Master Bedroom: Samsung UN22D5003, HR24-500
Daughters room: Samsung UN22D5003, H25-500

billt460

Thanks for the quick come back JP! No, Cox support line opens at 8:00 AM here, 4 minutes from now. I'll give them a few minutes to "gather themselves". There is a Cox Communications Store almost right next to Best Buy where I bought the Tivo. I'm hoping I can purchase a card there. Hopefully I'll have something positive to report in just a few minutes besides frustration. It's encouraging to hear you didn't receive anything either. That makes me feel I didn't make any mistakes on my end. Once you inserted the cable card, did Tivo prompt you through the setup? Thanks again.

jpcamaro70

It was a while ago so i'm not sure, but i think i had to re-run the setup and do certain things like entering the card number. When you get tthe card, cox should provide you with information on what to do.

__________________
Den:
LG 3D 47" 47LM7600 , LG BP620 BD 3D, Denon AVR-591 A/V Reciever, Klipsch HD Theater 500, HR22-100, TiVo Premier, PS2, Wii, XBox

Living Room
Samsung 46" 3D LED UN46ES7100, Samsung BD 3D BD-E5900ZA, Denon AVR2312CI, Definitive Tech supertower 8040 (pair), ProCenter 1000, ProMonitor 800 (pair), SuperCube 2000, HR21-200

Master Bedroom: Samsung UN22D5003, HR24-500
Daughters room: Samsung UN22D5003, H25-500

billt460

I just got off the phone with Cox. They said the same thing you did. Everything will come through the "M" Card through the Tivo box. I can expand my service, (which I just did), and can add or subtract channels as I desire by phone after that. The Cox store opens at 10:00 AM, and they will "rent" me a card for $4.00 a month.

I will not have any type of cable box at all. Everything comes through Tivo and the card. So overall, once I get this monstrosity up and running, I should be good to go. Hopefully I'll have something good to report around noon today. Again, thanks for the helpful replies! Misery always loves company in these matters

billt460

One other thing I wanted to ask you was what condition should both the TV and the Tivo box be in when I insert the card? Should the TV be off, and the Tivo box unplugged? Or should I leave both of them on? I'm assuming the Tivo box remains "on" all the time, with the little circular green light always on, and both lights on the "N" Adapter green.

jpcamaro70

Oddly the Tivo never goes off. so i guess it'll be on and you'll need the tv on of course.

I'm only charged $2 per month for my card plus i get the credit for the box rental (or lack of).

Let me know how it goes.

__________________
Den:
LG 3D 47" 47LM7600 , LG BP620 BD 3D, Denon AVR-591 A/V Reciever, Klipsch HD Theater 500, HR22-100, TiVo Premier, PS2, Wii, XBox

Living Room
Samsung 46" 3D LED UN46ES7100, Samsung BD 3D BD-E5900ZA, Denon AVR2312CI, Definitive Tech supertower 8040 (pair), ProCenter 1000, ProMonitor 800 (pair), SuperCube 2000, HR21-200

Master Bedroom: Samsung UN22D5003, HR24-500
Daughters room: Samsung UN22D5003, H25-500

billt460

All hooked up, but what an ordeal! I'm still not getting a few of the channels I upgraded to. I was back and forth between Tivo Tech Support, and Cox Tech Support for most of the day. To make it brief and to the point. Tivo got me all straightened out, and the Tivo unit is running perfectly, and doing everything it should. The rest is up to me to figure out how to use all the features. That will take some time. Right now I don't even know how to record with the damn thing, because I've spent the last day and a half on the phone trying to get it up and running!

The issue was with Cox Communications. I went to the Cox Store first thing this morning, and he sold me a cable card. But he told me I needed a tuner adapter to go with it, but he didn't have any in stock. He said to come back in a few hours and he'd have a unit all ready for me.

That didn't sit right so when I got home I called Cox Tech Support and they told me I didn't need anything else, (which made sense to me), and to go ahead and install the card, which I did. After what amounted to a lot of back and forth everything is up and running, however I'm still missing a few channels, and the Cox Tech Support guy couldn't figure out why I was getting some of them, but not others.

Anyway, because of all I've been through he's going to send out a technician guy tomorrow, free of charge to recoup all of the channels I should be getting. He said at that time he'll have a "Tuner Adapter" with him, just in case I need it. But he still thinks I don't.

So I guess you could say I'm 99% there right now. I'm glad I have it, and Tivo really seems nice, and full of features. But if I knew what an ordeal it was going to be, I would have dropped that Tivo box on the floor of Best Buy, and ran out the door!

billt460

For anyone who might be considering Tivo. The only gripe I have with Tivo right now, is I wish they would include the upgraded remote with the keyboard pad with the unit, instead of making it a $59.95 option you must buy separately.

If you enjoy watching a lot of things on You Tube, (which I do), it takes eons to finger dink with that crappy remote, scrolling all over hill and dale trying to type in the letters. With a computer style mini, sliding keyboard, it's quick and easy. So I'll be spending another $60.00 on that after all of this hook up nonsense is 100% behind me.

jpcamaro70

Same thing here bud. But i'll tell you, after living with the SA that cablevision gave me for about three months, it was such a relief to get a good DVR. The tivo is really great once you get to know it.

If you have any questions about it feel free to message me or ask the forum.

Also don't forget to download the tivo app, it works pretty well.

__________________
Den:
LG 3D 47" 47LM7600 , LG BP620 BD 3D, Denon AVR-591 A/V Reciever, Klipsch HD Theater 500, HR22-100, TiVo Premier, PS2, Wii, XBox

Living Room
Samsung 46" 3D LED UN46ES7100, Samsung BD 3D BD-E5900ZA, Denon AVR2312CI, Definitive Tech supertower 8040 (pair), ProCenter 1000, ProMonitor 800 (pair), SuperCube 2000, HR21-200

Master Bedroom: Samsung UN22D5003, HR24-500
Daughters room: Samsung UN22D5003, H25-500

billt460

Many thanks JP. I'm really wore out from all of this. I did go today and buy the Tivo Deluxe Sliding Remote Control. It has a sliding keyboard that makes accessing You Tube much easier. Another $65.00 shot.

I still have to transfer features, (TV power on/off, and volume), from my HDTV remote to the Tivo remotes. In other words have the Tivo remote "learn" the codes from the Vizio remote. I'm just too damn tired to deal with it now. Maybe tomorrow. I agree that once you get over the hurdles, Tivo really does seem like the way to go. I'm not sorry I went with it. I just wish it would have gone easier.

billt460

I thought I would post a follow up relating to my Tivo purchase last month. Both my wife and I are really starting to like the Tivo system, and how it operates. The guide is very nice, and is extremely accurate in regards to programs and local times. For us this was a really nice feature, since our TV guide published in the local paper is wrong almost 40% of the time, (Arizona Republic).

Also, many stations like AMC, ION, and Spike, operate 2 stations. One normal, and the other broadcasts in HD. Surprisingly they sometimes show different programs or movies at the same time. Tivo always has the correct programs, channel numbers, and times for both. Most published TV guides have no such clarification.

The other feature Tivo offers is the total ease and simplicity of recording. All you have to do is scan the on screen guide, (which is good for a full 14 days in advance), pick out the movies and programs you want to record, then press the record button. It will place a yellow check mark next to the program which indicates the show will be recorded when it airs. No setting start and stop times. I'm sure a lot of the newer DVR's operate in a similar manner, but for someone who is used to working with VHS, this is really a nice feature.

My only advice I would put forth for anyone considering Tivo is to purchase both the slide face, Advanced Remote, along with the N Router, when you purchase the Tivo XL Premier Box. You must be able to connect the Tivo box to the Internet to receive programing, and to view You Tube, Netflix, Hula, and such. The only way you can is with the N Router Tivo sells.

The Advanced Slide Remote is a much nicer unit than the standard remote Tivo supplies with the XL Premier Box. It makes navigating sites like You Tube much faster and easier. The cost of both the N Router and Advanced Slide Remote is $59.95 each, if I remember correctly. The N Router might be slightly more. It would be nice if Tivo manufactured the box with Wi-Fi capability already installed, and just charge $60 bucks more. That way everything would be in one unit without having to purchase the N Router separately.

The other thing I would recommend is to contact your cable provider about the cost and availability of the Cable Card that is required to allow Tivo to operate, and be compatable with your cable company broadcasting. They must have these avaliable to their customers by Federal law. My cable company, (Cox Communications), were very ignorant about this. They claimed I needed a "channel router" or some such, and I did not. Many people employed by these cable companies either lie outright about these things, or else are ignorant of how Tivo works. It can also be a little frustrating to get a hold of a cable technician who knows how to properly configure the cable card once you install it. You have to remember they prefer you to rent their DVR system, rather than purchase Tivo, so they sometimes need to be "encouraged" to help you set up Tivo.

But if you are prepared for this in advance, and allow yourself a full afternoon to get everything up and running, it isn't all that bad. I've found the more time we spend with this Tivo system, the more we both like it. We've found we are watching less and less live TV as a result. And the time we spend watching is well spent on shows we really like to watch.

jpcamaro70

Get the TiVo app too. This app is great, especially compared to the directv app. Works very well, and you can do lots with it.

__________________
Den:
LG 3D 47" 47LM7600 , LG BP620 BD 3D, Denon AVR-591 A/V Reciever, Klipsch HD Theater 500, HR22-100, TiVo Premier, PS2, Wii, XBox

Living Room
Samsung 46" 3D LED UN46ES7100, Samsung BD 3D BD-E5900ZA, Denon AVR2312CI, Definitive Tech supertower 8040 (pair), ProCenter 1000, ProMonitor 800 (pair), SuperCube 2000, HR21-200

Master Bedroom: Samsung UN22D5003, HR24-500
Daughters room: Samsung UN22D5003, H25-500