Help with Cable DVR...will this box work with my comcast digital Cable??

[dispatch dave]

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out if a Scientific Atlanta 8000 DVR will work with my comcast digital cable. I'm in the Dallas area.

Any advise greatly appreciated!

 

[Unregistered]

Nope. You must use the box supplied by the cable company. Any other box will not be 'authorized' and will fail to tune the stations. This will not change until CableCard becomes mainstream.

 

[Unregistered]

Dvr

I have a few questions regarding DVRs.

1) Will any DVR work with cable lines, providing you sign up with the provider such as Tivo?
2) If you don't sign up with the service such as Tivo can you still use the DVR to record, just not the TV guide functions?
3)In your honest opinion do you think it is cheaper/easier/better to use a pc instead of a DVR? I already have a loaded pc, been building them for a few years now, but I am new to this aspect of DVRs.
4) Finally is it possible to network/USb/IDE cable to the DVR from my pc in order to burn the saved TV shows on my computer and DVDs?

Any input on these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[BMXTRIX]

1. Many DVR's will work with cable and you will be able to record anything that is output from the cable box. This is what Tivo is all about (not DirecTV models). But, you still need a cable box for premium channels or digital stations and it does not record HD broadcasts ever.
2. If you buy a non-Tivo DVR then it works out of the box. Companies like Panasonic make DVD recorders with built in hard drives that allow you to record a show then watch the beginning while it is recording the rest of the show. While I am not intimate with these devices, my understanding is that they work very similar to a VCR, but are digital.
3. I don't think using your PC for that type of stuff is almost ever easier unless you are a PC junkie. The PC may crash, or be in use, or need to be dedicated to give you the kind of performance you are looking for. A $1,000.00 PC dedicated to your theater is probably more than you want to spend.
4. I have not seen any networking personally, though it may be possible. A lot of copyright issues as far as I know at this point.

 

[JohnA]

here you go

I have a few questions regarding DVRs.

1) Will any DVR work with cable lines, providing you sign up with the provider such as Tivo?

2) If you don't sign up with the service such as Tivo can you still use the DVR to record, just not the TV guide functions?

3)In your honest opinion do you think it is cheaper/easier/better to use a pc instead of a DVR? I already have a loaded pc, been building them for a few years now, but I am new to this aspect of DVRs.

4) Finally is it possible to network/USb/IDE cable to the DVR from my pc in order to burn the saved TV shows on my computer and DVDs?

Any input on these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

1) Stand alone regular TiVo's and Replay systems will work

2)Yes, you can record , but you won't have the ability to tell it to record a program or automaticlly record ...you have to do it manually.

3)PC DVR's are becoming the new hot thing; there are a lot of options out there for the PC including FREE stuff. If I had time and $$$ I would build a HTPC and have DVR through that. Remember that Tivo and Replay systems are nothing more than a Linux box

4)Yes you can. The Tivo is harder than the Replay ones....Replay has a network jack and can be networked to your PC...More or less plug-n-play. The Tivo has to have some hacks done. Search www.thescreensavers.com they have done several episodes on Tivo mods and networking DVR's to PC's.

I hope that helps

 

[dawndawn]

dvr compatible issue

i'm trying to find out if my DVR will work with a different service provider if I run it off the cable box? I am moving and love my Motorola HD DVR, the ones provided by my new service suck!

 

[10010011]

Just buy a Tivo.

Tivo-HD and Tivo series-3's have cablecard slots and record everything on any cable system. I believe recent regulations require all cable companies to support cablecards in user owned equipment.

HTPC is "OK" for the technology nuts, but until you can purchase a cablecard compatible PC tuner card. You are limited to OTA and unencrypted cable channels.

 

[dawndawn]

are you replying to me ?

 

[bandphan]

Y E S i think so