# Does the Premiere replace my Comcast cable box?



## Sandbomb (Mar 17, 2010)

One of the more annoying things about my Series 2 DVR was the schism in communication between the cable box and the TiVo box.

One of the selling points in the TiVo ads for the Premiere is the money saved by not having to rent the cable box from Comcast, so I would assume the TiVo box would replace the cable box, but I'd like to be sure.

Thanks


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## caddyroger (Mar 15, 2005)

Yes it does replace the cable company dvr. Be warned it will not do ppv or vod. You can use Netflix and Amazon to view programs. You will need to get a m-card to get the encrypted channels.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Unfortunately, you still won't be able to access Comcast's VOD with the Premiere. It does, however, offer many other VOD options, which is why TiVo is marketing it as a cable box replacement.


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## Sandbomb (Mar 17, 2010)

caddyroger said:


> You will need to get a m-card to get the encrypted channels.


M-card?.. What's that?


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Sandbomb said:


> M-card?.. What's that?


A multi-stream CableCARD.


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## LifeIsABeach (Feb 28, 2001)

Sandbomb said:


> M-card?.. What's that?


It is what TiVo Premiere uses in place of a cable box. You would need to get it from Comcast. If Comcast in your area still has analog channels and you don't need access to any of their digital channels then you would not need one.


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## ewilts (Feb 26, 2002)

caddyroger said:


> Yes it does replace the cable company dvr. Be warned it will not do ppv or vod.


So NO, it does NOT completely replace the cable company DVR.

That said, I don't have a cable company DVR and haven't really missed it.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

ewilts said:


> So NO, it does NOT completely replace the cable company DVR.
> 
> That said, I don't have a cable company DVR and haven't really missed it.


It will support PPV like any other cablecard device. You just have to order over the phone. VOD is what it does not support. I've been ordering PPV for two years with my S3s without any issues.


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## dreleven (Mar 2, 2003)

I have a cable box from Comcast, I thought they said I needed it to receive HD when I got it. Anyway, it is NOT a DVR, just the cable box and I can watch On Demand video by using it. 

It's my understanding I could NOT access the on demand with Tivo Premiere. I know I need these cable card things for the new Tivo, but would it be possible to STILL have the cable box in ADDITION to the premiere tivo?? I know I couldn't record the on demand stuff, but would it be possible to watch something from On Demand and still leave my Premiere tivo available to record other shows -- at the same time?


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

dreleven said:


> ... would it be possible to STILL have the cable box in ADDITION to the Premiere TiVo?


Absolutely. I have two Comcast DVRs in addition to my four Series 3 TiVos for the sole purpose of being able to access VOD. Not a problem at all.


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## vstone (May 11, 2002)

VOD response on my Comcast DVR was so sluggish that I'm glad not to have it.


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## timstack8969 (May 14, 2004)

The "TIVO PREMIERE" will be a much Improvement!!! Anyone using the Comcast Cisco DVR (SARA Guide) know's what I'm talking about.


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## Sandbomb (Mar 17, 2010)

timstack8969 said:


> The "TIVO PREMIERE" will be a much Improvement!!! Anyone using the Comcast Cisco DVR (SARA Guide) know's what I'm talking about.


Yea I agree. I'm not sure if the Comcast DVR I'm using is the one you are referring to, timstack, but it sure is horrible. Instead of returning it to Comcast maybe I'll take it out back and destroy it. It might be worth it.


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## JayBarry (Jan 17, 2008)

I don't get why I would want or need to upgrade from my Tivo xl to the Premiere. I can rent Amazon Movies, stream Netflix, etc. I received an offer to upgrade, but cannot figure out why I would want to. If you told me that I could get Comcast VOD, then I'd bite. What am I missing?


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## ewilts (Feb 26, 2002)

JayBarry said:


> I don't get why I would want or need to upgrade from my Tivo xl to the Premiere. I can rent Amazon Movies, stream Netflix, etc. I received an offer to upgrade, but cannot figure out why I would want to. If you told me that I could get Comcast VOD, then I'd bite. What am I missing?


You're not missing anything - if your current system is doing everything you want it to do, don't spend any money.

I haven't "upgraded" my car every time they released a new model. I don't "upgrade" my TV because there's something newer (and better) out.

If I was buying a new TiVo today, I'd buy the Premiere. I'm not upgrading my S3 though.


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## magnum68 (Aug 22, 2004)

So with the new Tivo Premiere, the cable company will have to install a cablecard like the S3s?


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## StevesWeb (Dec 26, 2008)

magnum68 said:


> So with the new Tivo Premiere, the cable company will have to install a cablecard like the S3s?


Yes, if you want to access digital cable channels you'll need a CableCard.


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## magnum68 (Aug 22, 2004)

StevesWeb said:


> Yes, if you want to access digital cable channels you'll need a CableCard.


What a shame, I guess I'll pass then. I had Comcast here several times when I got my S3 a few years ago and they could not get it right with the cable cards. they tried on several visits but no luck. They were too dumbfounded about S3s.


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## StevesWeb (Dec 26, 2008)

magnum68 said:


> What a shame, I guess I'll pass then. I had Comcast here several times when I got my S3 a few years ago and they could not get it right with the cable cards. they tried on several visits but no luck. They were too dumbfounded about S3s.


If it has been a few years it might be worth it to try again. There has been general improvement in the competence of cable installers when working with the CableCards. TiVo will give you a 30 day return window.

I just ordered a Premiere XL yesterday but I only intend to use it for over the air HD, basic cable, and a few local HD digital channels that are not encrypted. We also have a Dish Network DVR.


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## magnum68 (Aug 22, 2004)

StevesWeb said:


> If it has been a few years it might be worth it to try again. There has been general improvement in the competence of cable installers when working with the CableCards. TiVo will give you a 30 day return window.
> 
> I just ordered a Premiere XL yesterday but I only intend to use it for over the air HD, basic cable, and a few local HD digital channels that are not encrypted. We also have a Dish Network DVR.


I wouldn't chance it cause I live in South Florida where there are a bunch of morons living and working here. Nobody cares about anything down here. So sad.


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## Tambourineman (Mar 18, 2009)

Is there a list somewhere of what one loses with a Tivo compared to a cable company DVR?

I personally don't care if I lose VOD. Do you lose PPV also (not that I care about that either), but i would like to know what capabilities would be lost.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Tambourineman said:


> Do you lose PPV ... ?


You cannot order PPV directly through the TiVo like you can with the cable box, but I believe you can still order it the old fashioned way over the phone.


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## Huxlay (Aug 12, 2010)

StevesWeb said:


> If it has been a few years it might be worth it to try again. There has been general improvement in the competence of cable installers when working with the CableCards. TiVo will give you a 30 day return window.
> 
> I just ordered a Premiere XL yesterday but I only intend to use it for over the air HD, basic cable, and a few local HD digital channels that are not encrypted. We also have a Dish Network DVR.


Thanks for you information i newly join and so nice post I agree with you. Your complement is so informative ....


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

StevesWeb said:


> If it has been a few years it might be worth it to try again. There has been general improvement in the competence of cable installers when working with the CableCards. TiVo will give you a 30 day return window.
> 
> I just ordered a Premiere XL yesterday but I only intend to use it for over the air HD, basic cable, and a few local HD digital channels that are not encrypted. We also have a Dish Network DVR.


My experience from Monday this week shows that they still can't get it right. I had not decided on my digital channel lineup when I requested the CableCard activation, and when the guy came to install it, everything seemed to go OK (well, except for the firmware update to the CableCard decoder; screen went black and we couldn't see whether it completed or not so we waited 30 minutes and then unplugged/replugged the Premiere). Everything seemed OK when it finished rebooting, and I had more channels than before (local hi-def, specifically), so I let the cable guy leave.

I called Comcast around 5pm and asked them to turn on "Digital Classic" and the additional non-premium HD channels, which they couldn't do at that time because the #%*!^& cable guy hadn't closed out the service ticket yet. So I called back at 6pm, waited on hold for 30 minutes, and was able to get them to make the necessary changes to my account.

Unfortunately, nothing happened on my Tivo; my channel lineup remained steadfastly the same as it was before, and the M-Card status says "Not Staged." A subsequent call with a request for a "Staged Hit" also had no effect.

The cable guy is coming back tomorrow morning (Friday the 13th, just my luck) to try again. I'm not optimistic.


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## CharlesH (Aug 29, 2002)

gweempose said:


> You cannot order PPV directly through the TiVo like you can with the cable box, but I believe you can still order it the old fashioned way over the phone.


As I understand it, there are two ways to do PPV.

In one of them, there are a set of channel numbers which are dedicated to PPV, and they show their offerings on a schedule pretty much like premium channels such as Showtime. The only difference is, when you sign up for a normal premium channel, your settop box/TiVo is sent the authorization code for that channel for as long as your subscription to that channel is active. OTOH, for PPV, your settop box (or TiVo) is sent the authorization codes for the specific PPV channel when the particular showing starts, and the authorization is revoked at the end. With this mechanism, the only question is how to sign up for a PPV showing and thus get the authorization code for the desired interval, with phone signup being a potential alternative to the settop box GUI that TiVo does not have.

The other hand, PPV is sometimes implemented using the OnDemand mechanism, with no fixed channel for sending the programming to you. Since TiVo does not support OnDemand, if your provider sends PPV over that mechanism, you are SOL on a TiVo.


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

Well, it took close to 3 hours yesterday for Comcast to get my entire channel lineup provisioned, but all is working as it should be at this point. Of course, the guy Comcast sent to get things activated didn't actually *do* anything except relay to the folks at the head end what was and wasn't working. He spent 90% of his time listening to music-on-hold while waiting for an engineer working for our local area to get things properly configured.


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## Dodge DeBoulet (Aug 3, 2010)

I should also mention that Comcast *did* credit my account $20 for the inconvenience caused by the need for a 2nd visit (the initial visit cost $16), so I'm technically ahead of the game. I work from my home office so it's not like I had to take time away from work


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## junctionby (Aug 15, 2010)

Always wanted a Tivo - finally ready to get one! I only use basic cable and plan to get the wireless adaptor. Anything else I need to purchase? From what I read here, I don't need to a cable card because I'm not using digital cable. I don't even have a Comcast cable box in fact - just a cable plugging into my TV. I'd like to take advantage of Amazon's new $199 price. Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated!


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## DaveWhittle (Jul 25, 2002)

junctionby said:


> Always wanted a Tivo - finally ready to get one! I only use basic cable and plan to get the wireless adaptor. Anything else I need to purchase? From what I read here, I don't need to a cable card because I'm not using digital cable. I don't even have a Comcast cable box in fact - just a cable plugging into my TV. I'd like to take advantage of Amazon's new $199 price. Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated!


Keep in mind, even without cablecard, you will need to purchase a service plan for the TiVo.


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## junctionby (Aug 15, 2010)

Yes, I know I need a service plan. This may sound like a silly question, but, if I don't use a cable card, can I plug the cable into Premiere?


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

junctionby said:


> Yes, I know I need a service plan. This may sound like a silly question, but, if I don't use a cable card, can I plug the cable into Premiere?


sure.. You just won't be able to record any digital cable channels. And any clear HD digital channels won't have guide data.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

junctionby said:


> Yes, I know I need a service plan. This may sound like a silly question, but, if I don't use a cable card, can I plug the cable into Premiere?


yes but you won't get guide data for any of the local HD stations, and won't get many of the encrypted digital stations. Pretty much you need a CableCARD with a unit if you're using cable.,

Diane


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## DaveWhittle (Jul 25, 2002)

junctionby said:


> Yes, I know I need a service plan. This may sound like a silly question, but, if I don't use a cable card, can I plug the cable into Premiere?


If you can get good reception from an antenna, you can plug that in to get free local HD stations. This would be in addition to all the analog channels from your cable company.


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## jbernardis (Oct 22, 2003)

Yes you can plug cable into a premiere without a cable card, but you will only be able to receive analog channels and clear QAM channels (the latter for which your tivo will NOT have any guide data). If you want to receive digital cable channels with guide data, you will need a cable card.


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## Bai Shen (Dec 17, 2004)

Anybody know if the regular comcast cable box(not the dvr) can do OnDemand? And if the OnDemand stuff is in HD?


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## caddyroger (Mar 15, 2005)

Bai Shen said:


> Anybody know if the regular comcast cable box(not the dvr) can do OnDemand? And if the OnDemand stuff is in HD?


Yes they will I have a non dvr hd box so I can do PPV and VOD in HD.


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