Now you can record 2 shows at once with this TCD649080 DT DVR from TiVo. With 80 hours of programming storage capacity, there's plenty of room for everyone in the family to record their TV favorites. Control live TV with pause, rewind, instant replay and slow-motion functions. Find shows by title, actor, sports team or keyword and easily digitally record them. You can even schedule recordings anywhere from the Web.
What does Dual Tuner mean?
Dual Tuner is the ability to record two shows at once. The Series2 DT DVR
can record shows from two basic cable channels, or one basic cable and one
digital cable channel, at once.
The Series2 DT DVR cannot record shows from two digital cable or
satellite channels at once. This is because the DVR can control only one
cable or satellite box.
Basic cable channels are typically channel numbers 1-99, and can be
received without a cable box. Digital cable channels are typically channel
numbers 100 and up, and require a cable box to receive.
What is the Series2 DT user experience like for a basic cable
subscriber?
A basic cable subscriber (with no cable box) gets full Dual Tuner
functionality with no limitations. He can record two shows at once from any
of his channels.
A basic cable subscriber will connect the coax cable coming from the wall
plate to the coax input on the DVR. The DVR has an internal splitter to feed
both tuners.
What is the Series2 DT user experience like for a digital cable
subscriber?
A digital cable subscriber (with a cable box) can record shows from two
basic cable channels, or one basic cable and one digital cable channel, at
once.
A digital cable subscriber will connect the coax cable coming from the
wall plate to the included RF splitter. The user will connect one coax cable
from the RF splitter to the coax input on the DVR. The user will connect
another coax cable from the RF splitter to the coax input on the cable box.
The user will connect the composite or S-video output from the cable box to
the corresponding input on the DVR. The user will connect the serial control
output from the DVR to the serial input on the cable box, or will position
the IR blasters connected to the DVR in front of the cable box's IR sensor,
in order to enable the DVR to change the channel on the cable box.
What is the Series2 DT user experience like for a satellite
subscriber?
A satellite subscriber (with a satellite box) can record shows from one
satellite channel at a time.
A satellite subscriber will connect the composite or S-video output from
the satellite box to the corresponding input on the DVR. The user will
connect the serial control output from the DVR to the serial input on the
satellite box, or will position the IR blasters connected to the DVR in
front of the satellite box's IR sensor, in order to enable the DVR to change
the channel on the satellite box.
(Note: if the satellite subscriber also has basic cable, he can record
shows from two basic cable channels, or one basic cable channel and one
satellite channel, at once. In addition to connecting the satellite box as
described above, he will connect the coax cable coming from the wall plate
to the coax input on the DVR.)
Why didn't TiVo design the Series2 DT DVR to be able to record shows
from two digital cable channels at once?
This capability would have required the ability to control, and receive
an input from, a second cable box. This would have meant a second set of
serial and IR control outputs and a second set of composite/S-video inputs,
which would have necessitated a major change to the back panel layout and
the internal PCB, adding cost to the product. It would have significantly
increased engineering effort for TiVo and lengthened time to market.
While the cost to add this capability was large, we judged the benefit to
be small. We expect the majority of Series2 DT users will be basic cable
subscribers, who with the current design will still get full Dual Tuner
functionality with no limitations.
For digital cable subscribers, we believe that in actual use, not being
able to record shows from two digital cable channels at once is less of a
limitation than it might initially seem. Many shows on digital cable
channels are repeated several times during the week, so that if the user
cannot record a show on a digital cable channel due to a conflict with a
show on another digital cable channel, he will often have the opportunity to
record a future re-airing of that show. We have added guidance to the
documentation and user interface advising the user when a recording conflict
occurs to check for upcoming showings of the same show.
Even if we had enabled control of two cable boxes, we expected that very
few Series2 DT users who were digital cable subscribers would have gone to
the hassle and expense of renting a second cable box from their cable
provider in order to be able to record shows from two digital cable channels
at once. Being able to record shows from two basic cable channels, or one
basic cable and one digital cable channel, at once should still provide for
a very satisfactory user experience for digital cable subscribers.
