# Comcast DTA unboxing



## rv65

http://picasaweb.google.com/virgegx/ComcastDTAUnboxing

Some areas are going all digital and are using DTA's. Just a basic box that has no composite input which would have added very little and had better PQ. This DTA does have IR support for older Series 2 models. Now your IR enabled Series 2 can still record those digital channels. DT models can only record a 2nd limited basic channel since limited basic is the only analog tier under this new measure. Just a basic little box that might just work on the older Tivo models.


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## TolloNodre

Cool stuff! 

Thanks for sharing...


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## MickeS

So this DTA is just a stripped down cable box?


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## classicsat

It seems to me it is a QAM tuner that can map to channel numbers, and possibly has an EPG. It apparently cannot decrypt encrypted channels, or use any 2-way services.

I am going to add, it cannot be used directly with a Series 2 DT, since it has no A/V out.


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## fallingwater

A S2DT can receive a STB signal via Ch. 3.


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## rv65

Moto has one as well.


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## rv65

classicsat said:


> It seems to me it is a QAM tuner that can map to channel numbers, and possibly has an EPG. It apparently cannot decrypt encrypted channels, or use any 2-way services.
> 
> I am going to add, it cannot be used directly with a Series 2 DT, since it has no A/V out.


The DTA doesn't have an EPG.


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## gfilicetti

EPG == Extended Programming Guide ??

I guess this box would allow my TVs that are connected straight to the coax to go beyond channel 99, yeah?

That would be worth it to me, but kind of sucks if it doesn't have a guide.

Anyone know if this is available in NH?

G


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## djwilso

gfilicetti said:


> EPG == Extended Programming Guide ??


From my understanding, EPG = Electronic Programming Guide


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## rv65

The DTA can only get Digital starter but it does go over ch. 100. Philly, SF, and Seattle are next in the DTA rollout. Portland is the first market for it. It also uses the same channel numbers as the boxes.,


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## gfilicetti

Here in New England, I've seen some other kind of little STB that kind of looks like this DTA thing....

Both my neighbour and my tenants have it... it seems to be what you get if you want digital cable, but don't want HD or DVR service. So instead of getting the bulky Moto box, they give you this little thing.

I've seen the EPG on it and it uses pretty much the same remote as the moto... 

Any idea what that thing is called?


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## rv65

Motorola DCT700 is the box you are describing.


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## classicsat

fallingwater said:


> A S2DT can receive a STB signal via Ch. 3.


For manual use though.

For full control, the STB needs to connect to the A/V input on the Series 2 DT DVR.

And yes, EPG means Electronic Program Guide.


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## fallingwater

Re-running S2DT's Guided Setup as a test proved you're right, unfortunately.

There is a workaround, but it's probably not cost effective for most applications:
http://www.safemart.com/Net-Media/Tv-Tunerdemodulator-Channel-Sequencer-TUNER.htm
http://www.netmedia.com/tuner.html


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## rv65

They could upgrade to an HD box to use with their S1/S2 or a Tivo HD.


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## ah30k

rv65 said:


> Motorola DCT700 is the box you are describing.


Actually, the Mot DTA is not DCT700 based.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6573422.html
http://connectedhome2go.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/motorola-dta100.jpg


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## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> There is a workaround, but it's probably not cost effective for most applications:
> http://www.safemart.com/Net-Media/Tv-Tunerdemodulator-Channel-Sequencer-TUNER.htm
> http://www.netmedia.com/tuner.html


Re-thinking workarounds; an old VCR would probably work OK as a demodulator even if its cassette transport no longer works.


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## QZ1

rv65 said:


> Philly, SF, and Seattle are next in the DTA rollout. Portland is the first market for it. It also uses the same channel numbers as the boxes.,


Do you have an ETA on Philly getting DTAs?
I live in the suburbs, but I assume it would be for the whole metro area.


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## rv65

I got the philly information from Pace off of another forum. They will deploy them when they start reclaiming the analogs.


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## QZ1

rv65 said:


> I got the philly information from Pace off of another forum.


Interesting that in a Moto area they will be using Pace DTAs.

What forum? 
I read AVS regularly, and there has been no info. I have seen.



> They will deploy them when they start reclaiming the analogs.


Well, of course, but the question remains when? 
How much notice do they give until Analog is reclaimed?


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## TolloNodre

QZ1 said:


> Interesting that in a Moto area they will be using Pace DTAs.
> 
> What forum?
> I read AVS regularly, and there has been no info. I have seen.
> 
> Well, of course, but the question remains when?
> How much notice do they give until Analog is reclaimed?


Check the Detroit forum of AVS. They've started analog reclamation there.


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## Pseudotsuga

I'm a Comcast subscriber in the Seattle area, currently receiving analog cable via a series 2 single tuner. As I understand DTA's will be required for people like me. Does anyone know how this will affect my Series 2 functionality? Thanks.

Here is a link to a recent article in the Seattle Times about the pending DTA rollout.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2008480563_brier08.html


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## ah30k

Pseudotsuga said:


> I'm a Comcast subscriber in the Seattle area, currently receiving analog cable via a series 2 single tuner. As I understand DTA's will be required for people like me. Does anyone know how this will affect my Series 2 functionality? Thanks.
> 
> Here is a link to a recent article in the Seattle Times about the pending DTA rollout.
> 
> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2008480563_brier08.html


You'll need to use an IR blaster and the DT will become a ST.


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## rv65

Also Comcast isn't going to use encryption on the DTA's yet so you could use a clearqam capable device. That doesn't stop them from trying to get a waiver to enable the privacy mode.


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## gastrof

Could someone tell me what DTA stands for? I'm guessing Digital Tuning....what?


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## KwikSilvr

gastrof said:


> Could someone tell me what DTA stands for? I'm guessing Digital Tuning....what?


Digital Transport Adapter


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## jmoak

Why would they want to deploy an all digital box that's not capable of 2-way services? (ppv, on demand,...) Aren't they cutting themselves out of possible revenue streams? This thing can't even tune switched digital channels, right? (not 2-way)

The DCT700 is pretty damn cheap to produce in itself. Is this new box that much cheaper to produce? Pace has a reputation for ultra low end stb's, but are they THAT cheap?


Then again, I may just be missing something.....


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## jrm01

jmoak said:


> Why would they want to deploy an all digital box that's not capable of 2-way services? (ppv, on demand,...) Aren't they cutting themselves out of possible revenue streams? This thing can't even tune switched digital channels, right? (not 2-way)
> 
> The DCT700 is pretty damn cheap to produce in itself. Is this new box that much cheaper to produce? Pace has a reputation for ultra low end stb's, but are they THAT cheap?
> 
> 
> Then again, I may just be missing something.....


Numbers that I've seen are that the DCT700 costs $50 - $60 and the Pace box is less than $50. Ten dollar savings on 12 million boxes equals $120 million.


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## jrm01

KwikSilvr said:


> Digital Transport Adapter


I though it was Digital To Analog (DTA).


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## fallingwater

Pseudotsuga said:


> I'm a Comcast subscriber in the Seattle area, currently receiving analog cable via a series 2 single tuner. As I understand DTA's will be required for people like me. Does anyone know how this will affect my Series 2 functionality? Thanks.
> 
> Here is a link to a recent article in the Seattle Times about the pending DTA rollout.
> 
> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2008480563_brier08.html





ah30k said:


> You'll need to use an IR blaster and the DT will become a ST.


On the 6:30p news last night *KING* announced that Comcast channels above 29 (Limited Basic) will go digital in April. As the _Times_ article states, Comcast will supply two DTA's for free and additional DTA's on the same account will cost $1.99 mo. each.

If a demodulator is used to convert DTA's Ch.3 to composite an S2DT could continue to record two programs at the same time.


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## QZ1

The DTAs are SD clear-QAM tuners using an RF connection. They are similar to the integrated clear-QAM HD/SD tuners in TVs (w/o the HD), in that they only provide clear Digital channels with station IDs; no interactive features. Therefore, those that have clear-QAM TVs won't need these boxes for SD Expd.

They will be using the filtering system for blocking non-Expd. customers from getting Expd. It has been speculated that they will using the same frequencies, so as not to have to re-install filters. There will be extra bandwith in those frequencies, but, so far there have been no reports of HD Expd. channels being in the clear. 

So, having a clear-QAM TV only helps if your TV size to viewing distance ratio is such that PQ is unimportant, and SD will suffice. HD will need a box or CC. I am waiting for tru2way to become common.

I have heard that DCT700 were $70, and the DTAs were $35. However, other quotes may be more accurate. Based on what I had read, I had speculated that the rental fee instead of ~$4, would be ~$2, and that is what it turned out to be.


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## classicsat

The problem is the DCT700 has integrated security, something basically prohibited by the FCC which requires separable security. The DTA box in question has no security at all.


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## rv65

classicsat said:


> The problem is the DCT700 has integrated security, something basically prohibited by the FCC which requires separable security. The DTA box in question has no security at all.


The DTA can support security if you enable the privacy mode.


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## QZ1

I am guessing that the DCT700 must use its security in order to function, while the DTAs don't have to use it. Also, the DTA uses a lesser security protocal, but it still would require an FCC waiver to be able to use.


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## Dongle

I don't Tivo so my question may be moot, except this is one of the only places I've seen any discussion on the Comcast DTA's. I have the expanded basic service with Comcast. Apparently we can get two DTA's free and then they'll charge a rental fee for anything after that. We have more than two tv's in our home and I don't like the idea of extra rental fees. Does anyone know if buying the likes of the Motorola DCT700 will work for our extra tv's that we won't have Comcast DTA's for?

Thanks.


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## fallingwater

Comcast is currently providing digital simulcasts of Extended Basic channels (analog channels above Ch. 29) unencrypted. If their pitch on digital conversion is to be believed they'll continue to do so:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2008480563_brier08.html
_"What we're trying to do here really amounts to a free upgrade," Comcast's regional spokesman, Steve Kipp, said._

HDTiVo cannot map these digital standard-def channels manually so must be used with a CableCARD. If HDTiVo is a Comcast sub's only digital outlet, fine; even an S3 user would have to pay only $1.79 extra for a second CC. However, when a Comcast sub employs a standard-def digital STB in addition to HDTiVo, Comcast's $5.20 'Additional Outlet Fee' applies.

Therefore the cheapest alternative, when a TiVo customer already has one, is to use a Lifetimed S2 and Comcast's free DTA along with HDTiVo. Using an S2DT with a demodulator (like an old VCR) will enable recording two programs at the same time and allow S2DT's tuner to access analog channels 2 through 28 directly.

If a user doesn't have a Lifetimed S2, an option which costs more but offers Comcast's Limited Basic OTA channels in hi-def as well as digital Extended Basic channels with no 'Additional Outlet Fee' is to get Sony's HDR-HDD250 DVR, available from eBay and other sources for around $400. Sony's discontinued but impressive DVR has 250GB of storage and the ability to manually map unencrypted digital channels without a CC (although it can use a CC as well.)


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## fallingwater

_Comcast plans to completely phase out expanded basic service eventually, doing away with the midrange tier between bare-bones basic and the full digital package. It's already made the prices of expanded basic and "start digital service" the same  $55.75 per month._

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2008480563_brier08.html


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## classicsat

If your provider sells the DTA box, or a DCT 700, sure you can buy one. You cannot buy one from eBay or any other unauthorized outside source and expect it to work, or your provider to authorize it (required to make it work).


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## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> _Comcast plans to completely phase out expanded basic service eventually, doing away with the midrange tier between bare-bones basic and the full digital package. It's already made the prices of expanded basic and "start digital service" the same  $55.75 per month._
> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2008480563_brier08.html


http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=413301

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/2008/12/08/some_faqs_on_comcast_digital_s.html


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## slowbiscuit

That FAQ about expanded basic channels being encrypted directly contradicts what the Comcast Chief Ops Officer said for the Portland migration. They're providing the channels in the clear, at least initially. If they're planning on implementing security in the DTAs, they will need a waiver from the FCC that they do not currently have, because these are new devices which would fall under the FCC's separable security mandate (i.e., Cablecard). I smell a court fight if they don't leave it off.


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## mikeyts

slowbiscuit said:


> That FAQ about expanded basic channels being encrypted directly contradicts what the Comcast Chief Ops Officer said for the Portland migration. They're providing the channels in the clear, at least initially. If they're planning on implementing security in the DTAs, they will need a waiver from the FCC that they do not currently have, because these are new devices which would fall under the FCC's separable security mandate (i.e., Cablecard). I smell a court fight if they don't leave it off.


Interesting. I can see where the FCC might grant them a waiver, so long as all the rest of their leased STBs--the ones capable of tuning premium channels, etc--used M-Cards. There's a compelling reason for internalizing security protocols in these things (the need for them to be _extremely_ inexpensive). Of course, if they start deploying them _before_ securing a waiver, they might get slapped with a fine.

I don't think that they can protect these channels with addressable band pass filters the way that they protect the analog ones, but if they can, that would definitely be the way to go. It would still suck for TiVo users opposed to leasing CableCARDs .


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## fallingwater

slowbiscuit said:


> That FAQ about expanded basic channels being encrypted directly contradicts what the Comcast Chief Ops Officer said for the Portland migration. They're providing the channels in the clear, at least initially. If they're planning on implementing security in the DTAs, they will need a waiver from the FCC that they do not currently have, because these are new devices which would fall under the FCC's separable security mandate (i.e., Cablecard). I smell a court fight if they don't leave it off.


Right now the digital equivalents of analog Chs. 30 through 78 are in the clear and analog Chs. 30 through 78 are still available.

Was Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp mistaken in the Dec. 8 FAQ?

_Q: What about TVs with QAM tuners - can they get signals directly from the cable? (NEW)

A: No. "They would need a digital adapter, a standard set top box (DCT) or a CableCard in order to view the channels," Kipp said. "The first CableCard is free with each additional CableCard costing $1.79 per month." This is because the signals will be scrambled/encrypted, and a device from Comcast is needed to descramble them._

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/2008/12/08/some_faqs_on_comcast_digital_s.html


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## QZ1

mikeyts said:


> Interesting. I can see where the FCC might grant them a waiver, so long as all the rest of their leased STBs--the ones capable of tuning premium channels, etc--used M-Cards. There's a compelling reason for internalizing security protocols in these things (the need for them to be _extremely_ inexpensive). *Of course, if they start deploying them before securing a waiver, they might get slapped with a fine.*


IMHO, it would be almost certain.



> *I don't think that they can protect these channels with addressable band pass filters the way that they protect the analog ones*, but if they can, that would definitely be the way to go. It would still suck for TiVo users opposed to leasing CableCARDs .


Some Comcast experts on AVS Forum say, that the filtering system can, and will, be used for now. Comcast has wanted to abandon this system for a while now, due to lack of security and high maintenance costs, but can't just yet. When, and if, they can use any form of encryption for SD Expd. Basic, they will.


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## QZ1

fallingwater said:


> Right now the digital equivalents of analog Chs. 30 through 78 are in the clear and analog Chs. 30 through 78 are still available.
> 
> *Was Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp mistaken in the Dec. 8 FAQ? *


It sure seems like it, as Comcast has no choice at the moment, but to send them as clear-QAM, but we don't know for sure, I guess. If so, the next question would be, was he mistaken unknowingly or on purpose?


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## slowbiscuit

mikeyts said:


> I don't think that they can protect these channels with addressable band pass filters the way that they protect the analog ones, but if they can, that would definitely be the way to go. It would still suck for TiVo users opposed to leasing CableCARDs .


Why not? If they put the SD clear QAM channels on the old analog freqs, the existing traps would still work fine for the limited basic customers.


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## fallingwater

Just picked up two DTA's from the local Comcast store. I'll connect one to a S2DT's line input via a VCR and report on pix quality vs. S3 tuned to the identical standard-def digital channel. 

I was surprised that Comcast has DTA's already. They're from Pace.

The Comcast rep. told me that the actual switch to digital only Extended Basic (Chs. 29 through 78) won't take place until late Spring 2009. Now Chs. 2 through 78 are available both as digital and analog. Digital versions are currently clear QAM unscrambled. 

Sony's DHG-HDDXXX DVR's can manually map clear QAM and provide TVGOS EPG data. Hopefully TiVo's S2 will provide the same functionality via the DTA route. 

Now that the new Moxi hi-def DVR maps clear QAM perhaps TiVo might reconsider providing the same functionality to HDTiVo.

BTW, does anyone have a clue regarding S2's supported IR codes for tuning a DTA through the TiVo interface? Wonder if a DTA utilizes the same code as Comcast's Moto STB?


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## classicsat

I heard TiVo already has a code for the DTA box, listed as "Comcast DTA converter"


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## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> BTW, does anyone have a clue regarding S2's supported IR codes for tuning a DTA through the TiVo interface? Wonder if a DTA utilizes the same code as Comcast's Moto STB?





classicsat said:


> I heard TiVo already has a code for the DTA box, listed as "Comcast DTA converter"


If TiVo has a Comcast DTA converter code it's not at 
http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/supporthome/index.html

Comcast's Moto STB uses a different code.

So at present I can't control Comcast's DTA with TiVo's IR emitters. Hopefully that will soon change because the little DTA is very useful. :up::up::up:

Supplying S2DT's line inputs from the DTA through a VCR used as a demodulator results in an excellent image on my 42" hi-def LCD flatscreen. Of course using both S2DT's tuner and line inputs allows recording two programs at the same time.

S3's analog tuners are somewhat better than S2DT's tuners. At first I thought S2DT had relatively poor tuners but quickly realized that the signal was split between the S2DT and the DTA so the S2DT's signal was 3.5 Db down from the S3's. I swapped coax's thus supplying the S3 with the lower signal. Now the S2DT provides slightly better images than those from S3's analog tuners. S3, from its digital tuners, offers the best standard-def images available.

So, for standard-def, S3's digital is best. S3 can provide an analog image slightly better than that from a demodulated DTA but only when supplied from an unsplit source. S2DT when supplied from an unsplit source provides an image slightly poorer than that from a demodulated DTA, but when its source was 3.5 Db's down the S2DT images were relatively poor. All comparisons were sourced from the same Comcast channels in both their digital and analog versions.

Aside from pix quality the DTA presently offers several digital channels unavailable from Comcast's Extended Basic plus a line-up of music and FM channels. DTA of course doesn't provide Comcast's hi-def OTA simulcasts, just digital standard-def versions. It includes a Universal Remote which can be programmed to operate most TV's including LCD and Plasma flat panels and select between volume and mute controlled from either the TV or DTA itself (but not from a home theater audio system). It's even got an IR receiver extender cable if a user wants to hide the li'l box.

---

Hey one more thing! Merry Christmas! We've got a White one; first I've experienced in years!


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## Bruzer

Hi everyone. I just picked up my three DTA boxes from Comcast (Pace DC50X). I have a Toshiba RS-TX20 (single tuner, DVD reader/writer) that I'm trying to connect one of the DTA's to, but I'm having some problems. Here's what I've done so far:

Connected the DTA between my incoming cable signal and the RF IN on the TiVo
Mounted the IR emitters on the DTA
Connected the IR cable to the TiVo
Rerun the Guided Setup, and selected COMCAST DIGITAL ADAPTER as the brand of cable box
The problem is that it fails the channel changing tests (the channel doesn't change for any of the tests). I went back and selected PACE as the cable box, but still had the same problems. I know the DTA is good, since I set it up on another TV and called to have it authorized.

Does it sound like a problem with the placement of the IR emitters? Has anyone successfully set up this DTA with their TiVo yet?

Thanks for any and all help.


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## jrm01

Another user reported that they got it to work by using Comcast Digital Adaptor and IR code 10104-B.


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## Bruzer

jrm01 said:


> Another user reported that they got it to work by using Comcast Digital Adaptor and IR code 10104-B.


Thanks for the input. I just read that (posted by "duckfan") on the TiVo forums. Does TiVo provide a way to manually enter that IR code?

Also, I notice that there is an "IR input" jack on the back of the DTA. Can I connect directly between the TiVo and the DTA and avoid the IR blasters completely?


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## Bruzer

> Thanks for the input. I just read that (posted by "duckfan") on the TiVo forums. Does TiVo provide a way to manually enter that IR code?


Found the answer to this one posted here. 10104-B is indeed the correct code. The channel changing is now slower with the DTA in the loop, but at least it works.



> Also, I notice that there is an "IR input" jack on the back of the DTA. Can I connect directly between the TiVo and the DTA and avoid the IR blasters completely?


I read somewhere else that it's probably not a good idea to use a direct link, due to possible voltage differences. However, if anyone tries this and it works, please post.


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## fallingwater

http://forums.tivo.com/pe/action/forums/displaythread?rootPostID=10412354

(I can't get it to work using 10104-B)


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## fallingwater

Bruzer said:


> Found the answer to this one posted here. 10104-B is indeed the correct code. The channel changing is now slower with the DTA in the loop, but at least it works.


I can't get 10104-B to work. Has anyone else had any luck with it or any other code?



> I read somewhere else that it's probably not a good idea to use a direct link, due to possible voltage differences. However, if anyone tries this and it works, please post.


If I can find a code that works I'd experiment with the IR extender jack although it's unlikely it would work that way.


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## Bruzer

fallingwater said:


> I can't get 10104-B to work. Has anyone else had any luck with it or any other code?


Hmm, not sure why that one doesn't work for you. What model of TiVo do you have?


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## Adam1115

jmoak said:


> Why would they want to deploy an all digital box that's not capable of 2-way services? (ppv, on demand,...) Aren't they cutting themselves out of possible revenue streams? This thing can't even tune switched digital channels, right? (not 2-way)
> 
> The DCT700 is pretty damn cheap to produce in itself. Is this new box that much cheaper to produce? Pace has a reputation for ultra low end stb's, but are they THAT cheap?
> 
> 
> Then again, I may just be missing something.....


Well, currently their business model is such that you have to subscribe to more expensive 'digital cable' to gain access to on demand.

I'm guessing they want to continue to have the ability to charge more.

But why they can't just develop a cablecard box that they can give and take channels based on your package doesn't make sense to me.

Yes, it would cost more, but they could take advantage of the 'impulse buy', people who upgrade service over the phone...


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## fallingwater

Bruzer said:


> Hmm, not sure why (10104-B) doesn't work for you. What model of TiVo do you have?


Series 2 Dual Tuner with 9.3.2a s/w.


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## mikeyts

Adam1115 said:


> Yes, it would cost more, but they could take advantage of the 'impulse buy', people who upgrade service over the phone...


The entire purpose of DTAs are to be as inexpensive as possible because the providers expect to have to distribute millions of them in order to convert to all-digital systems, most of them at no charge to the subscriber (systems that have rolled them out have offered the first two for free). Making them even $10/unit more expensive wouldn't be likely to be made up by people upgrading to higher end service over the phone.


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## Adam1115

mikeyts said:


> The entire purpose of DTAs are to be as inexpensive as possible because the providers expect to have to distribute millions of them in order to convert to all-digital systems, most of them at no charge to the subscriber (systems that have rolled them out have offered the first two for free). Making them even $10/unit more expensive wouldn't be likely to be made up by people upgrading to higher end service over the phone.


Why not...? Dish Network and DirecTV don't seem to have an issue with it...

The money made on PPV will help off-set it... The random person that might order a boxing match on PPV will help...

And people upgrading to the 'sports pack' because a big game is on NFL network... or people adding HBO because a new series is starting...

The idea being convert some basic customers to premium customers.;..


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## fallingwater

Small dish satellite is all-digital and always has been. Basic Cable is all-analog and will be until cable companies pull the plug on much of it. The change isn't mandated and is taking place to benefit cable companies, not their subscribers.

Many (most?) extended basic customers don't want cable boxes. Just another gadget to deal with (and in many cases pay extra for!) Comcast is making the change as palatable as it can with the simple and (mostly) free DTA. 

I recently picked up and installed a cable box for an elderly neighbor. She didn't want one but was afraid of losing much of her Extended Basic service. I installed a DCT700 and showed her the EPG but she may never use any features beyond what the DTA would offer. Comcast offered either the DCT700 or the Pace DC50X for free because she didn't already have a box. Comcast's standard DCT700 remote (which also controls DVRs and accesses VOD) is much more intimidating than the Pace DTA remote. 

---

It's time for TiVo to come up with a working S2 code for the Pace (and/or Moto) DTA, or if they can't, at least to post here why they can't. Otherwise a suspicion being planted is 'planned obsolescence', which with regards to TiVo service doesn't add up!


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## michael new

so reading thru all this a person CAN install a DTA? I have extended cable no box now and 4 Tivos so what can I do?

Why does Tivo's site say the DTA isnt compatible?
http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._the_Series1_or_Series2_Single_Tuner_DVR.html


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## fallingwater

There's no TiVo IR code currently available which enables channel changing on a DTA.

A DTA can be connected to an S2 and will provide a decent picture but DTA tuned channels must be changed using its OEM remote. Using a DTA with an S2DT will retain S2DT's capability to record two programs at the same time (with a little extra hassle) without paying anything extra to the cable company.

Glad to see that TiVo now acknowledges that DTA's aren't supported.

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._the_Series1_or_Series2_Single_Tuner_DVR.html

_**WARNING: Your cable provider may offer you a Digital Adapter (DTA). Please request a digital cable box instead. Digital Adapters are not currently supported for use with TiVo DVRs.*_

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport...tal_cable_and_the_Series2_Dual_Tuner_DVR.html

_*WARNING: Insist on receiving a 2-way Digital Set Top box. Your cable provider may offer you a Digital Adapter (DTA), but the Digital Adapter does not allow dual tuning on the Series2 DT DVR.*_


----------



## slowbiscuit

That makes no sense to me. What does a DTA have to do with 'dual tuning' on an S2DT box? You have to get two STBs today for dual tuning of all channels, right? If there's a code that works for the DTA it should work just like an STB, in other words.


----------



## Southcross

> Digital Adapters are not currently supported for use with TiVo DVRs.


so, are they saying that they are "working on it"... or a polite way of saying "SOL"

I'm actually interested in the idea of a DTA, I have no use for a "full featured" digital box. Since I use my TiVo box as a receiver, I NEVER turn on my digital box (part of a "package")... all of the channels I care about are in the "analog" area right now


----------



## javabird

So now I'm really confused. My 86-year old mother has a S2DT Tivo and analog cable. I was going to Comcast tomorrow to get the DTA so I could help her re-set up her Tivo. 

But now it sounds like I should NOT get her the free DTA because she won't be able to use the Tivo Remote -- is that correct? She won't be able to handle having 2 remotes, it needs to be as simple as possible for her to be able to use it. 

Can anyone who has done this already shed some light on the correct setup?


----------



## Southcross

I's "hope" that its just a matter of waiting for an updated TiVo OS with the new code(s)... question is, if and when???


----------



## Mindflux

javabird said:


> So now I'm really confused. My 86-year old mother has a S2DT Tivo and analog cable. I was going to Comcast tomorrow to get the DTA so I could help her re-set up her Tivo.
> 
> But now it sounds like I should NOT get her the free DTA because she won't be able to use the Tivo Remote -- is that correct? She won't be able to handle having 2 remotes, it needs to be as simple as possible for her to be able to use it.
> 
> Can anyone who has done this already shed some light on the correct setup?


If your grandma is using Analog cable you don't need a DTA. This only is required if your grandma used rabbit ears.


----------



## Southcross

Mindflux said:


> If your grandma is using Analog cable you don't need a DTA. This only is required if your grandma used rabbit ears.


DTA is for digital Cable, not ATSC


----------



## Mindflux

Southcross said:


> DTA is for digital Cable, not ATSC


So what are all these government subsidized boxes then? They are DTA boxes for people who grab their channels OTA. I know some cable providers are opting to stop transmitting analog cable as well, so perhaps that's what you are meaning? That hasn't happened here yet (thank goodness)


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## mikeyts

Mindflux said:


> If your grandma is using Analog cable you don't need a DTA. This only is required if your grandma used rabbit ears.


"DTA" stands for "Digital Transport Adapter" which are very low cost, rudimentary digital cable STBs. Cable systems are using them to convert to all-digital service, freeing up tons of bandwidth because they can fit 10 standard-definition digital channels into the space consumed by one analog channel. Unfortunately they have millions of lifeline- and extended-basic subscribers who have legacy analog televisions connected without cable boxes (and without cable box lease fees). They have to provide those subscribers with boxes they can use to tune the same services at little to no cost.

S2 TiVos in an all digital system will have to use some kind of cable STB. TiVo is saying that they don't currently support DTAs, but I think that they need to provide support for them, ASAP (of course, it's only S2 users who are screwed by this and they might not care). S2DT users are screwed forever, unless there's some way for them to use two cable boxes.


----------



## mikeyts

Mindflux said:


> So what are all these government subsidized boxes then? They are DTA boxes for people who grab their channels OTA. I know some cable providers are opting to stop transmitting analog cable as well, so perhaps that's what you are meaning? That hasn't happened here yet (thank goodness)


Those are known as "Coupon-Eligible Converter Boxes" or CECBs. (I guess that people will have to find something else to call them after you can't get coupons anymore ).

EDIT: The government is calling them "TV Converter Boxes", though you see them listed as "Digital-to-Analog TV Converter Boxes".


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## javabird

Mindflux said:


> If your grandma is using Analog cable you don't need a DTA. This only is required if your grandma used rabbit ears.


I thought we were talking about the DTA's that Comcast is giving to people to use when they convert to Digital (like they are doing in Seattle when they convert the analog channels to Digital). Maybe I misunderstood.

(I did not mean the adapters the govt is sending the coupons for OTA).


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## Southcross

javabird said:


> I thought we were talking about the DTA's that Comcast is giving to people to use when they convert to Digital (like they are doing in Seattle when they convert the analog channels to Digital). Maybe I misunderstood.
> 
> (I did not mean the adapters the govt is sending the coupons for OTA).


your right... WE are talking about the new Comcast DTAs... as teh Subject line states


----------



## javabird

Well, this is getting more confusing by the minute. The Tivo site now says the DTA adapter is not supported. A cable box will probably cost a rental fee, but Comcast is making the DTA is free. 

It sounds like some people have gotten the DTA to work with the S2 DT Tivo. If you have gotten it to work, would you please post whether you can still use the Tivo remote? Thanks for any help.


----------



## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> A DTA can be connected to an S2 and will provide a decent picture but DTA tuned channels must be changed using its OEM remote. Using a DTA with an S2DT will retain S2DT's capability to record two programs at the same time (with a little extra hassle) without paying anything extra to the cable company.





slowbiscuit said:


> That makes no sense to me. What does a DTA have to do with 'dual tuning' on an S2DT box? You have to get two STBs today for dual tuning of all channels, right? If there's a code that works for the DTA it should work just like an STB, in other words.


After the cutover you won't be able to record two Extended Basic channels simultaneously on S2DT with either a DTA or STB.

But, if in Guided Setup you program S2DT for both a digital STB and analog Extended Basic, after the cutover if two programs conflict, one of them Extended Basic, the other Limited Basic, and you use a DTA and pretune it with its remote and tell S2DT to get 'em both, it will. *There is currently no TiVo IR code for a DTA!*

If a Comcast account has two or more Extended Basic outlets, both with S2DTs, the choice is between paying $5.20 mo. (in my area) to Comcast for additional digital STBs for the convenience of using TiVo as designed or using one or two DTAs (tuned manually) for free. (The options are considerably simpler than writing about them coherently. I hope I've at least partially succeeded.)

TiVo, for its own convenience, has omitted two capabilities, the lack of which causes TiVo users to incur Comcast's _Additional Outlet Fees_: S2's can't control DTAs and HD/S3's can't manually map unscrambled QAM channels.


----------



## Southcross

ATTENTION!?!

Apparently, the DTA is NO LONGER listed as unsupported!
http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._the_Series1_or_Series2_Single_Tuner_DVR.html


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## fallingwater

Has anyone tried re-running Guided Setup on an S2 recently with _Comcast Digital Adapter_ selected as the IR controlled cable tuner?

The single tuner article appears to offer DTA compatibility but omits the diagram: 
http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._the_Series1_or_Series2_Single_Tuner_DVR.html

The dual tuner article promises incompatibility: 
http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport...tal_cable_and_the_Series2_Dual_Tuner_DVR.html

If TiVo has in fact activated a DTA IR control code then a user could retain S2 Dual Tuner functionality by inserting a VCR into the signal path as a demodulator despite what the S2 dual tuner article states: 
WARNING: Insist on receiving a 2-way Digital Set Top box. Your cable provider may offer you a Digital Adapter (DTA), but the Digital Adapter does not allow dual tuning on the Series2 DT DVR.


----------



## ah30k

fallingwater said:


> If TiVo has in fact activated a DTA IR control code then a user could retain S2 Dual Tuner functionality by inserting a VCR into the signal path as a demodulator despite what the S2 dual tuner article states:
> WARNING: Insist on receiving a 2-way Digital Set Top box. Your cable provider may offer you a Digital Adapter (DTA), but the Digital Adapter does not allow dual tuning on the Series2 DT DVR.


I think you are a little confused here. Nothing from the cable company can enable S2 dual tuner capability if the plant has gone all-digital. If the plant has not gone all-digital then any compatable digital tuner the cable company could offer would allow dutal tuning of the analog channel lineup.

I really don't follow your line of reasoning wrt the VCR. If you insert a VCR then what would command that VCR to do the demodulating?


----------



## jrm01

ah30k said:


> I think you are a little confused here. Nothing from the cable company can enable S2 dual tuner capability if the plant has gone all-digital. If the plant has not gone all-digital then any compatable digital tuner the cable company could offer would allow dutal tuning of the analog channel lineup.
> 
> I really don't follow your line of reasoning wrt the VCR. If you insert a VCR then what would command that VCR to do the demodulating?


The problem with a DTA is that it only outputs a modulated RF signal over coax. TiVo S2 DT can't accept that.


----------



## javabird

I went to Comcast and got a cable box for my mom's TV with the S2D2 (per Tivo's recommendations) and a DTA for her other TV. The cable box is a Motorola and it worked with the Serial cable. Re-did her guided setup and selected the "box" for all the channels over 30. That way she will still have dual-tuner capability fow awhile (Comcast states they will still send 1-30 as analog for awhile in the Seattle area.) It seems to be working fine for now, so I hope she won't notice much difference when Comcast switches to all-digital later this year.


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## ah30k

jrm01 said:


> The problem with a DTA is that it only outputs a modulated RF signal over coax. TiVo S2 DT can't accept that.


Hey, I've been wrong before, am wrong now and will likely be wrong again. Thanks for clarifying. Sorry!


----------



## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> Has anyone tried re-running Guided Setup on an S2 recently with _Comcast Digital Adapter_ selected as the IR controlled cable tuner?
> 
> If TiVo has in fact activated a DTA IR control code then a user could retain S2 Dual Tuner functionality by inserting a VCR into the signal path as a demodulator...





ah30k said:


> I think you are a little confused here. Nothing from the cable company can enable S2 dual tuner capability if the plant has gone all-digital. If the plant has not gone all-digital then any compatable digital tuner the cable company could offer would allow dual tuning of the analog channel lineup.
> 
> I really don't follow your line of reasoning with the VCR. If you insert a VCR then what would command that VCR to do the demodulating?





jrm01 said:


> The problem with a DTA is that it only outputs a modulated RF signal over coax. TiVo S2 DT can't accept that.





ah30k said:


> Hey, I've been wrong before, am wrong now and will likely be wrong again. Thanks for clarifying. Sorry!


I proposed using a VCR as a demodulator earlier in this thread and succeeded in restoring S2DT dual tuner functionality by doing so.

Comcast is not going 'all-digital' in my area. Limited Basic Service, Ch.'s 2 through 28, will remain analog.

All Basic Service channels are currently simulcast in both formats. After Comcast digitizes Extended Basic, only Chs. 2 through 28 will be available as analog from a wall outlet without a STB or DTA.

Therefore split the coax outlet between an S2DT and Comcast's DTA. Send the DTA's Ch.3 coax output to a VCR and then from the VCR by composite cable to the S2DT's line input. The S2DT will receive separate analog signals from Limited Basic's Chs. 2 through 28 on its line and coax inputs and Extended Basic's Chs. above 28 on the line inputs. Chs. 2 through 28 will still be tuned by S2DT's internal tuner while all Basic channels are available from the line input. The S2DT retains dual tuner functionality.

I haven't yet been able to control a DTA using S2's _Comcast Digital Adapter_ IR code. Since no TiVo Forums' poster has claimed to have done so, I'll attempt to do so again and post the result.


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## jrm01

fallingwater said:


> I haven't yet been able to control a DTA using S2's _Comcast Digital Converter_ IR code. Since no TiVo Forums' poster has claimed to have done so, I'll attempt to do so again and post the result.


There have been some reports that the PACE DC50X works with 10104-B and other have used the SA 00018.


----------



## fallingwater

No matter what TiVo's website or as yet unverified reports appear to claim no poster at these Forums has reported success at controlling Pace's DC50X. I just tried again. _Comcast's Digital Adapter_ code didn't work; Advanced Code 10104-B (or A or C) didn't work; and SA 00018 (A, B, or C) didn't work!

Reports of S2's DTA compatibility have not proven true. Too bad! The DTA itself works well.

Many S2 users now have to pay an extra monthly fee to Comcast ($5.20 in my area) to maintain TiVo functionality. At the very least TiVo's website shouldn't mislead single tuner S2 users regarding compatibility. :down::down::down:


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## javabird

In our area (Seattle) Comcast provided the cable box for free (my mom had Expanded Basic cable).


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## alansh

fallingwater said:


> But, if in Guided Setup you program S2DT for both a digital STB and analog Extended Basic, after the cutover if two programs conflict, one of them Extended Basic, the other Limited Basic, and you use a DTA and pretune it with its remote and tell S2DT to get 'em both, it will. *There is currently no TiVo IR code for a DTA!*


I don't think anyone is going to consider manually changing the channel on the DTA to be an acceptable solution to keeping a 2nd tuner. It think it's still fair to say a DT will become a single tuner.


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## jrm01

The TiVo website was just changed this week to indicate support for the DTA boxes. I can't believe that they would have done this if they weren't going to provide IR control. If it's not there yet, it will be.


----------



## fallingwater

alansh said:


> I don't think anyone is going to consider manually changing the channel on the DTA to be an acceptable solution to keeping a 2nd tuner. It think it's still fair to say a DT will become a single tuner.


The primary reason not to go with a DTA on S2DT as things now stand is that the number of channels conveniently received through S2's analog tuner(s) is about ⅓ the number a STB would access. If a DTA was only required when two programs conflicted it would be a workaround worth considering.



jrm01 said:


> The TiVo website was just changed this week to indicate support for the DTA boxes. I can't believe that they would have done this if they weren't going to provide IR control. If it's not there yet, it will be.


I tend to agree. But wouldn't it have been far better from a business POV to provide IR control before claiming to in such a half-fast fashion?: http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._the_Series1_or_Series2_Single_Tuner_DVR.html


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## Bruzer

fallingwater said:


> No matter what TiVo's website or as yet unverified reports appear to claim no poster at these Forums has reported success at controlling Pace's DC50X. I just tried again. _Comcast's Digital Adapter_ code didn't work; Advanced Code 10104-B (or A or C) didn't work; and SA 00018 (A, B, or C) didn't work!


You should probably clarify that statement. I AM able to use IR code 10104-B to control my Comcast DTA (Pace DC50X). See post #52 in this thread.

As stated, I have a S2 single-tuner TiVo (Toshiba RS-TX20). It seems like it is the S2DT units that are not working with any IR codes. If someone has gotten S2DT units to work, then no one has come forth to claim as such.


----------



## fallingwater

Bruzer said:


> Found the answer to this one posted here. 10104-B is indeed the correct code. The channel changing is now slower with the DTA in the loop, but at least it works.


Thanks for your reply. I haven't gotten back to this thread until now. It wasn't clear from post #52 that IR code 10104-B had actually worked for you.

I thought that Advanced Code 10104-B might only work with single-tuner S2's when it didn't work with a S2DT with 9.3.2a s/w (post #57), but have since tried it on both single and dual tuner S2's without success. Wonder what's different about Toshiba RS-TX20's s/w?

Has anyone else had any success? It's not convenient for me to swap the single-tuner S2 back in for testing right now.
----
WHOOPS! I've GOT a RS-TX20 running S/W Vers. 9.3.2-01-2-565 which I use to record DVDs from an S3. No problem to re-run Guided Setup just for testing with an IR emitter. Will post the results later!


----------



## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> I've got a RS-TX20 running S/W Vers. 9.3.2-01-2-565. No problem to re-run Guided Setup just for testing with an IR emitter.


I didn't have to re-run Guided Setup, instead just re-ran Channel Changing. Advanced IR code 10104-B did NOT change channels on the Pace DC50X. Comcast Digital Adapter code didn't work either.

I used two different IR blaster sets for testing, one an original TiVo with the purple plug, on the off chance that a blaster set was defective.


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## brendag4

I have been reading lots of messages on using the Pace (Comcast) DTA. I have not seen any that apply to the Series 1. (I don't have the screen to try to enter the codes directly.)

I have tried the Scientific Atlanta, Motorola, Comcast Digital Adaptor, and etc codes and nothing works.

Would it work if I tried using the Motorola main unit?

We do not have digital cable. I am in WA so they are doing the switchover thing. (BTW they told us the date was September 09)

BrendaG4


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## QZ1

brendag4 said:


> We do not have digital cable. I am in WA so they are doing the switchover thing. (BTW they told us the date was September 09)


I heard that the DTAs are typically required 2-3 mos. after intro.; Sept. doesn't sound right, but maybe it is.


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## javabird

The Comcast CSR told me it would be later this Spring, but who knows if that's correct.


----------



## jrm01

Depends on your location. Comcast's announced plans are for the WA cutover to begin in the Spring and be complete by Sept 09.


----------



## mblloyd

javabird said:


> I went to Comcast and got a cable box for my mom's TV with the S2D2 (per Tivo's recommendations) and a DTA for her other TV. The cable box is a Motorola and it worked with the Serial cable. Re-did her guided setup and selected the "box" for all the channels over 30. That way she will still have dual-tuner capability fow awhile (Comcast states they will still send 1-30 as analog for awhile in the Seattle area.) It seems to be working fine for now, so I hope she won't notice much difference when Comcast switches to all-digital later this year.


I am using the Comcast provided Motorola set top box, as you describe, for the S2DT. However, I could not get the serial cable to do the job and had to settle for using the IR blaster. 
By the way, what code did you use for the serial cable hookup (wiring from the S2DT serial connector to the Motorola set top box "service" connection)?


----------



## brendag4

I should have been more clear.. yes Comcast was saying they expected for the transistion to be complete by Sept 09.

I could not get the Pace box to work. I was able to get the Motorola box to work using 00093. The Pace boxes were small and could not change the channel. The Motorola box was the larger box that we were sent.

I cannot complete Guided Setup now. I see on another thread that people with Series 1's are having problems with connecting to Tivo.

BrendaG4


----------



## JoeTaxpayer

Southcross said:


> ATTENTION!?!
> 
> Apparently, the DTA is NO LONGER listed as unsupported!
> http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._the_Series1_or_Series2_Single_Tuner_DVR.html


The picture makes no mention of the IR blaster or serial cable.
DCT700 shows no IR port so I trust the setup shown needs the IR transmitter dongle "IR blaster". I got this right now?
Joe


----------



## fallingwater

As shown the diagram is useless. Such a setup provides no channel changing capabilities from a single tuner TiVo at all!


----------



## classicsat

The DCT 700 needs no IR port, since it "Receives" the IR signal with its IR sensor, form TiVos IR blasters, which connect to TiVo's IR port.


----------



## Bruzer

fallingwater said:


> I didn't have to re-run Guided Setup, instead just re-ran Channel Changing. Advanced IR code 10104-B did NOT change channels on the Pace DC50X. Comcast Digital Adapter code didn't work either.
> 
> I used two different IR blaster sets for testing, one an original TiVo with the purple plug, on the off chance that a blaster set was defective.


Strange that it's working on my RS-TX20 and not yours  I'll check the S/W version that I have, but I think it's the same as yours (9.3.2-01-2-565). I'll check and post back.

The article from the TiVo forum about entering the advanced setup mentions that if you've passed the "Channel Changing" step, you may need to unplug your TiVo so that it repeats the "Guided Setup". I agree that you should be able to go to it directly (as you did), but maybe it's worth running the Guided Setup from the start per the instructions:

LINK


----------



## brendag4

Warning!

Don't repeat your Guided Setup if you think you might be affected by the Series 1 bug that is going on right now where people are getting various errors. You will have to do something like delete your log directory and make multiple calls to get out of Guided Setup.

See this thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=410172

I only had a mild case of the problem mentioned and I got stuck in Guided Setup. I had to rename my log directory and do various other stuff to get my Tivo working again.

The very reason I ran Guided Setup was because of getting the DTA from Comcast. We did not have a box before that.

BrendaG4


----------



## Bruzer

Bruzer said:


> Strange that it's working on my RS-TX20 and not yours  I'll check the S/W version that I have, but I think it's the same as yours (9.3.2-01-2-565). I'll check and post back.
> 
> The article from the TiVo forum about entering the advanced setup mentions that if you've passed the "Channel Changing" step, you may need to unplug your TiVo so that it repeats the "Guided Setup". I agree that you should be able to go to it directly (as you did), but maybe it's worth running the Guided Setup from the start per the instructions:
> 
> LINK


As a follow up, my version of the S/W for the RS-TX20 is:

9.3.2a-01-2-565

So there is a small difference between our versions. Not sure what changed between 9.3.2 and 9.3.2a, and if that would result in the IR code working for me but not for you.


----------



## jrm01

Bruzer said:


> Not sure what changed between 9.3.2 and 9.3.2a, and if that would result in the IR code working for me but not for you.


The "a" version went to broadband network users to fix Amazon download issues. Phone-connected users never got it.


----------



## restart88

Not to stray too far off topic but I purchased 2 Digital Stream D/A converters and one of them had a cable option but the other did not. I tried the one that did the 1st day I got limited cable and it didn't work.

Is it possible that it didn't work because I don't have digital cable with Brighthouse? Or is it just something they put in the box's menu that will never actually work??

I did find it curious why a D/A converter would ever have an antenna/ cable option if it was never going to work with cable.


----------



## fallingwater

Bruzer said:


> Strange that it's working on my RS-TX20 and not yours  I'll check the S/W version that I have, but I think it's the same as yours (9.3.2-01-2-565). I'll check and post back.
> 
> The article from the TiVo forum about entering the advanced setup mentions that if you've passed the "Channel Changing" step, you may need to unplug your TiVo so that it repeats the "Guided Setup". I agree that you should be able to go to it directly (as you did), but maybe it's worth running the Guided Setup from the start per the instructions:
> 
> LINK


SUCCESS!!

As per your suggestion I reran *Guided Setup* instad of working from the *Channel Changing* page.

I used Pace's remote extender instead of the IR receiver in the DTA along with the original TiVo supplied IR blaster.

I selected _Comcast Digital Adapter_ as the STB.

The diagram for *Series 1 or Series 2 without a digital cable box (basic cable)* on the link below hasn't changed and still doesn't depict an IR blaster. 
http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._the_Series1_or_Series2_Single_Tuner_DVR.html

After Guided Setup ended I removed Pace's remote extender and attempted to change channels using TiVo's IR blasters directly over the DTA's IR receiver next to the green LED, but channel changing NO LONGER WORKED!!

*So the secret is employing Pace's remote extender to enable DTA channel changing!*

The remote extender employs a stereo-style three conductor mini phone plug while TiVo (and other) IR blasters employ a two conductor mini phone plug so I'm not even going to attempt a direct wire connection between the two jacks!

Unfortunately I can't conveniently check right now whether TiVo (brand) single tuner S2's work the same as Toshiba (but see no reason why not) as I'm testing whether an unsubbed 240 S2 will continue to record manually after swapping it in place last month. If that S2 still records manually two weeks from now I'll swap it out and see if an S2DT can control a DTA using the IR extender.


----------



## Southcross

fallingwater said:


> *So the secret is employing Pace's remote extender to enable DTA channel changing!*


hahaha thats good to know


----------



## Bruzer

fallingwater said:


> As per your suggestion I reran *Guided Setup* instad of working from the *Channel Changing* page.
> 
> I used Pace's remote extender instead of the IR receiver in the DTA along with the original TiVo supplied IR blaster.
> 
> I selected _Comcast Digital Adapter_ as the STB.
> 
> The diagram for *Series 1 or Series 2 without a digital cable box (basic cable)* on the link below hasn't changed and still doesn't depict an IR blaster.
> http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._the_Series1_or_Series2_Single_Tuner_DVR.html
> 
> After Guided Setup ended I removed Pace's remote extender and attempted to change channels using TiVo's IR blasters directly over the DTA's IR receiver next to the green LED, but channel changing NO LONGER WORKED!!
> 
> *So the secret is employing Pace's remote extender to enable DTA channel changing!*
> 
> The remote extender employs a stereo-style three conductor mini phone plug while TiVo (and other) IR blasters employ a two conductor mini phone plug so I'm not even going to attempt a direct wire connection between the two jacks!
> 
> Unfortunately I can't conveniently check right now whether TiVo (brand) single tuner S2's work the same as Toshiba (but see no reason why not) as I'm testing whether an unsubbed 240 S2 will continue to record manually after swapping it in place last month. If that S2 still records manually two weeks from now I'll swap it out and see if an S2DT can control a DTA using the IR extender.


Hey, cool! Glad to hear you got it working.

So, just to understand, you found you had to use BOTH the TiVo-supplied IR blaster (blaster end wrapped around the IR port of the DTA, other end connected to the TiVo) AND the Pace-supplied IR Extender (connected to the Pace DTA) in order to get channel changing to work with the TiVo remote. Is that correct? What IR code was used?

Mine's still working with only the TiVo-supplied IR blaster, and IR code 10104-B. As I mentioned earlier, the channel changing can be a little slow, so I might try the setup that you are using to see whether it's faster.

EDIT: Reading your post again, it sounds like you have the TiVo IR blaster wrapped around the IR port of the Pace extender, and not around the IR port of the DTA. Is that correct?


----------



## fallingwater

For me TiVo's _Comcast Digital Adapter_ code, which most likely is 10104-B, works perfectly when TiVo's IR blasters are placed over Pace's IR extender but not at all when the TiVo blasters are directly over the IR receiver next to the green LED on the DTA. The DTA's remote control works perfectly when pointed at either IR sensor. The IR sensor in the DTA appears quite sensitive; the DTA remote doesn't even have to be pointed toward it.


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## fallingwater

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7050449#post7050449

_It turns out that when TiVo's IR blasters are placed directly over the DTA's IR receiver they grossly overload it. Even placing them six inches away doesn't work. *But when placed three feet away or ten feet across the room they work fine!!!!* Practically speaking, using a DTA's included IR extender is a better solution, but the mystery of controling Pace's DTA through its IR receiver has been solved._


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## mackworth

I also could not get the Tivo IR to work directly with the DTA, had to use the extender they provide. After I taped them together to block out other signals, they worked nicely.

I needed to set to 1 digit, Enter required, before I got 10104-B to work properly.

Note that even if you're paying for more channels, you will only get Digital Starter channels with the DTA, although this is more than the analog I was getting before. I assume this is because the others are encrypted, and they're not allowed to use encryption on this device yet.


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## sfxc13

fallingwater said:


> The remote extender employs a stereo-style three conductor mini phone plug while TiVo (and other) IR blasters employ a two conductor mini phone plug so I'm not even going to attempt a direct wire connection between the two jacks!


Does anyone even make a cable that would work for this? It would be soo much nicer than rigging up IR setups ...


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## classicsat

Not commercially I know of, but with an 1/8 stereo patch cable, some perf board, an optoisolator,and a little box, it could be done.


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## sfxc13

classicsat said:


> Not commercially I know of, but with an 1/8 stereo patch cable, some perf board, an optoisolator,and a little box, it could be done.


You volunteering?


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## sjvbcl

Fallingwater Thank you so much for the secret *"So the secret is employing Pace's remote extender to enable DTA channel changing!"*.
I would still be cursing and trying to make my tivo change the channel on the Pace DC50X DTA.
Again thank you


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## barko192

classicsat said:


> Not commercially I know of, but with an 1/8 stereo patch cable, some perf board, an optoisolator,and a little box, it could be done.


The only thing stopping me from trying is that I'm not sure that I wouldn't accidentally put too much juice into the DTA box. I've taken apart the external remote sensor for the Pace box, and it is a fairly simple setup, I just don't want to give the DTA more voltage or current than it is specced to take.


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## fallingwater

At an early point during my trial and error approach before becoming aware of the specific differences I actually ran a cable with stereo mini-plugs at both ends directly between TiVo's two conducter output jack and the Pace DTA's apparently three conductor IR extender input.

Didn't work of course, but didn't cause damage to either S2 or the DTA.

(Sjvbcl, you're welcome. Glad that my fooling around with all this has been useful!)


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## barko192

fallingwater said:


> At an early point during my trial and error approach before becoming aware of the specific differences I actually ran a cable with stereo mini-plugs at both ends directly between TiVo's two conducter output jack and the Pace DTA's apparently three conductor IR extender input.


How did you wire the three wire plug to the two wire plug? Wouldn't there have been a spare wire on the DTA's end? Or did you use a three contact plug (the type found in stereos) for both the Tivo and the DTA? That would have left the ring circuit in the DTA open. In any case, I think I'm going to check it out, albeit carefully. I think the external IR receiver on the DTA is powered, and I can't imagine that it would be good to deliver that to the Tivo.


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## fallingwater

barko192 said:


> How did you wire the three wire plug to the two wire plug? ...did you use a three contact plug (the type found in stereos) for both the Tivo and the DTA? That would have left the ring circuit in the DTA open...


Yes. At the time I was just winging it and wasn't aware of important details.


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## Paseo

I was having issues with my tivo and the Pace DC50X, but I was finally able to use the Comcast Digital Adapter code 10104-B with the IR blaster pointed directly at the DTA, no extender needed.

On a side not, I am trying to get the code for my universal remote to control the Pace box in another room. So far with no luck. Does anyone know how to access the ir files in the tivo? I would like to get ahold of the 10104-B ir file and convert it for use on my universal remote. Thanks in advance!


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## CraigK

Paseo said:


> On a side not, I am trying to get the code for my universal remote to control the Pace box in another room. So far with no luck. Does anyone know how to access the ir files in the tivo? I would like to get ahold of the 10104-B ir file and convert it for use on my universal remote. Thanks in advance!


I was going to suggest checking the JP1 Remote forum, but it looks like you've already posted there. :up:

Hopefully someone will respond. If not, I have DTA's on the way from Comcast. When they arrive I can use my JP1 learning remote to get the codes.


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## Picacho

I tried the 10104-B code with an IR emitter married to the extender, no luck. Next I placed the IR emitter in front of the DTA and channel chaging worked O.K. I found that it worked more reliably with the extender unplugged. Next I tried the TIVO recommended code for the Comcast DTA (10104-C) and channel changing seemed to work faster.

I'm using one of the cheap visible light IR emitters being sold on ebay cause I lost the TIVO blasters years ago (used serial cable on old cable box).


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## tomeh

Just to throw another possible solution for folks out there. I tried for about two hours tonight to use the Tivo IR Blasters with the Comcast DTA extender with mixed luck. Sometimes the channel would change, sometimes not, sometimes it would, but go to the completely wrong channel. 

I did try the IR Blasters in several places on the DTA and what really worked for me was to adhere the one blaster on each side of of the DTA pointing in toward the IR receiver. The DTA looks a little like a crab now, but it seems to be working.

I did some further testing and found the blasters worked best when they extend beyond the front of the DTA by as much as possible. I left about 1/2" of each blaster "arm" stuck to the device.

I also tested 10104 A, B, & C with a stop watch and found no major difference between the two, each one would have changes as short as 4.8 seconds and as long as 6.5 seconds, but none seem to average shorter overall.


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## fallingwater

Did you hold up a blaster several feet in front of the DTA with the emitter bulb pointing directly at the DTA's IR receiver (just right of the green LED) and test if channels changed reliably?


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## Bruzer

tomeh said:


> Just to throw another possible solution for folks out there. I tried for about two hours tonight to use the Tivo IR Blasters with the Comcast DTA extender with mixed luck. Sometimes the channel would change, sometimes not, sometimes it would, but go to the completely wrong channel.
> 
> I did try the IR Blasters in several places on the DTA and what really worked for me was to adhere the one blaster on each side of of the DTA pointing in toward the IR receiver. The DTA looks a little like a crab now, but it seems to be working.
> 
> I did some further testing and found the blasters worked best when they extend beyond the front of the DTA by as much as possible. I left about 1/2" of each blaster "arm" stuck to the device.
> 
> I also tested 10104 A, B, & C with a stop watch and found no major difference between the two, each one would have changes as short as 4.8 seconds and as long as 6.5 seconds, but none seem to average shorter overall.


Thanks for the post, tomeh. I've got mine mounted in the usual place (top/bottom of DTA, centered over IR sensor, sticking out about an inch), and it seems to work OK. The only strangeness I've seen is that when I use the TiVo remote first thing in the morning, I get strange channel-changing results for about 3-4 minutes, then it works correctly. For example, if I'm on channel 5 and want to go to channel 2, if I hit CHANNEL DOWN, it sometimes doesn't register. Other times if I try to CHANNEL DOWN to a 3-digit channel (617), it will only enter the first digit and take me to channel 6. After a few minutes of this, it seems to settle down and I can cycle up and down through the channels with no problems.

Since I'm using the DTA, it doesn't receive the complete lineup, so I've gone in and removed all of the channels that the DTA doesn't get. I originally forgot to do that, so the CHANNEL UP/DOWN would try to go to channels that I didn't get and that would cause strange results with the DTA.


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## jrm01

Has anyone gotten the Comcast DTA to work with the Series 2 DT, using just the coax feed from DTA to Tivo. I know that will result in only being able to use one tuner, but does it work this way?


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## fallingwater

S2DT can receive a DTA's output on ch. 3, but can't control a DTA except when the DTA's output is received through S2DT's composite/S-video line input. Using an old VCR as a demodulator provides both DTA control and dual tuner functionality for S2DT.


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## fallingwater

tomeh said:


> Just to throw another possible solution for folks out there. I tried for about two hours tonight to use the Tivo IR Blasters with the Comcast DTA extender with mixed luck. Sometimes the channel would change, sometimes not, sometimes it would, but go to the completely wrong channel.
> 
> I also tested 10104 A, B, & C with a stop watch and found no major difference between the two, each one would have changes as short as 4.8 seconds and as long as 6.5 seconds, but none seem to average shorter overall.





Bruzer said:


> ...when I use the TiVo remote first thing in the morning, I get strange channel-changing results for about 3-4 minutes, then it works correctly. For example, if I'm on channel 5 and want to go to channel 2, if I hit CHANNEL DOWN, it sometimes doesn't register. Other times if I try to CHANNEL DOWN to a 3-digit channel (617), it will only enter the first digit and take me to channel 6. After a few minutes of this, it seems to settle down and I can cycle up and down through the channels with no problems.


What settings are you using for the number of digits that must be entered to change channels and whether or not pushing an enter command is required?

I use one digit and no 'enter' with fair success, but on occasion, usually overnight, TiVo loses the DTA's output. Scrolling one channel up or down brings it back. I'm still troubleshooting the problem. It may be caused when a Teleworld Paid Program is recorded and TiVo attempts to return to the previous channel it was tuned to.

---

I use S2DT's IR emitter adjacent to the DTA's IR extender but have found that if TiVo's emitter is several feet in front of and pointed to the IR receiver on the DTA itself that also works well. If my S2DT's emitter is adjacent to the IR receiver on the DTA it doesn't work at all.


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## jrm01

fallingwater said:


> S2DT can receive a DTA's output on ch. 3, but can't control a DTA except when the DTA's output is received through S2DT's composite/S-video line input. Using an old VCR as a demodulator provides both DTA control and dual tuner functionality for S2DT.


That has been my understanding also (in fact I posted as such several pages ago), but I have been told by TiVo management that a software change was made to allow the S2-DT to accept Line-Input on coax and therefore will work with the DTA. Again, I'm not looking for dual-tuner status, just a simple coax input of digital tuned channels.


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## fallingwater

I'll test that configuration and post.


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## fallingwater

jrm01 said:


> ...I have been told by TiVo management that a software change was made to allow the S2-DT to accept Line-Input on coax and therefore will work with the DTA. Again, I'm not looking for dual-tuner status, just a simple coax input of digital tuned channels.


The short answer is: YES, but...

It wasn't easy and definitely not spelled out in Guided Setup steps.

I selected the following options:

1. Cable with a cable box. 
2. NOT splitting the cable as per the diagram and thus losing dual tuner capabilities.
3. Comcast Digital Adapter
4. 1 digit channel entry
5. 'Enter' command not required
6. No premium channels

At first the screen stayed black when attempting to change channels so I went back to the screen verifying that a given station is on a given channel. The first two times that screen stayed black before and after selecting the correct choice.

The third time was the charm, it showed a picture! The first test or two that followed proceded uneventfully. Then the black screens returned. After backtracking a test succeeded. Then (figuratively) two steps forward, one step back. After backtracking several times all the tests eventually succeeded.

Cable line-up was shown as 'Comcast- Digital' so I had to go to the Channel List to delete all the channels that the DTA doesn't receive. Standard-def OTA channels and subchannels are offered but no hi-def. Only two channels that the DTA receives aren't shown on the Channel List, one (thank God!) a religious channel while the other a Comcast Channel similiar to Dishnetwork's Charlie Channel.


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## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> I use one digit and no 'enter' with fair success, but on occasion, usually overnight, TiVo loses the DTA's output. Scrolling one channel up or down brings it back. I'm still troubleshooting the problem. It may be caused when a Teleworld Paid Program is recorded and TiVo attempts to return to the previous channel it was tuned to.





fallingwater said:


> The short answer is: YES, but...
> 
> It wasn't easy and definitely not spelled out in Guided Setup steps.
> 
> I selected the following options:
> 
> 4. 1 digit channel entry


This morning I changed 'one digit' to 'three digits' after noticing a few glitches when channel changing. Seems to be faster and hopefully will eliminate the problem noted in first paragraph above!


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## jrm01

fallingwater,

Thanks for the test. Just a few questions:

1. Which DTA do you have?
2. After selecting cable with box, did you answer YES to Is it a Digital Box?
3. Did you answer NO to Enable Dual Tuner?
4. Where are you located and who is your provider?
5. How many stations are sent analog, and how many in basic digital?
6. Why one-digit channel entry, or 3-digit? I would have thought that your answer would be 2-digit, assuming you only get 2-99 in basic package.


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## Bruzer

fallingwater said:


> This morning I changed 'one digit' to 'three digits' after noticing a few glitches when channel changing. Seems to be faster and hopefully will eliminate the problem noted in first paragraph above!


I changed to "three digit" as well. It does seem slightly faster and in the limited testing that I did, it also seems to have fixed the problem I had posted about channel-changing weirdness first thing in the morning.


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## JoeTaxpayer

classicsat said:


> The DCT 700 needs no IR port, since it "Receives" the IR signal with its IR sensor, form TiVos IR blasters, which connect to TiVo's IR port.


Mt SD H-400 series 2 has a 'serial out' which I'd think would be more reliable than IR. That's why I asked.


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## classicsat

The Serial support only supports DirecTV serial on certain receivers or with the Patersontech adapter, and on the Series 2 , the DCT2000 series boxes with serial port, and enabled.


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## fallingwater

jrm01 said:


> fallingwater,
> 
> Thanks for the test. Just a few questions:
> 
> 1. Which DTA do you have?
> 2. After selecting cable with box, did you answer YES to Is it a Digital Box?
> 3. Did you answer NO to Enable Dual Tuner?
> 4. Where are you located and who is your provider?
> 5. How many stations are sent analog, and how many in basic digital?
> 6. Why one-digit channel entry, or 3-digit? I would have thought that your answer would be 2-digit, assuming you only get 2-99 in basic package.


1. Pace DC50X
2. yes
3. yes
4. Comcast Bellingham WA
5. Right now Extended Basic Ch.s 2-78 are still analog with a digital simulcast. After the transition all channels above 28 will be digital only.
6. 3-digit is fastest and most reliable. DTA accepts single digit entries but then pauses slightly to ensure that more digits aren't coming. If leading zeroes are sent DTA tunes instantly to single digit channels. Comcast provides a handful of 3-digit bonus channels with a DTA.

---

Question 3 can be answered either way depending whether a user employs a VCR to demodulate DTA's ch.3 output to composite which retains S2DT's dual recording functionality.


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## shannon94188

This thread confused me a bit  I've got a Toshiba RS-TX60 (single tuner series 2) - I should be okay with the DTA, correct? We're getting forced to change next month (SF bay area), so we need the DTA for the Toshiba, and then cablecards for our TiVoHD, I think. The friendly folks at Comcast were confused by my situation (and couldn't even tell me if they'd be sending M-cards or S-cards, but that's another story...) - but hopefully I'm good to go for the DTA?

Thanks!


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## jrm01

fallingwater said:


> 1. Pace DC50X
> 2. yes
> 3. yes
> 4. Comcast Bellingham WA
> 5. Right now Extended Basic Ch.s 2-78 are still analog with a digital simulcast. After the transition all channels above 28 will be digital only.
> 6. 3-digit is fastest and most reliable. DTA accepts single digit entries but then pauses slightly to ensure that more digits aren't coming. If leading zeroes are sent DTA tunes instantly to single digit channels. Comcast provides a handful of 3-digit bonus channels with a DTA.
> 
> ---
> 
> Question 3 can be answered either way depending whether a user employs a VCR to demodulate DTA's ch.3 output to composite which retains S2DT's dual recording functionality.


Thanks for the response. I've been trying to help a user in Oregon (on tivo.com) with this setup and he swears he is following these steps in this way, but even though he selects Cable with Box, he never gets an option to select a cablebox. Just glad to know that this does work.

I didn't know about the three digit bonus channels. I had thought that the fastest way to change channels would have been 2-digit with Enter Key, but that wouldn't work with bonus channels.

Just one more question. When you selected the cable box from the list, did you use Pace DC50x or Comcast Digital Adaptor? Did it work as selected, or did you have to go into Advanced Setup and select code 10104-B?


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## classicsat

The Toshiba TiVo should be fine. Being a single tuner, it already includes RF line-in needed for the DTA box.


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## fallingwater

jrm01 said:


> Thanks for the response. I've been trying to help a user in Oregon (on tivo.com) with this setup and he swears he is following these steps in this way, but even though he selects Cable with Box, he never gets an option to select a cablebox. Just glad to know that this does work.
> 
> I didn't know about the three digit bonus channels. I had thought that the fastest way to change channels would have been 2-digit with Enter Key, but that wouldn't work with bonus channels.
> 
> Just one more question. When you selected the cable box from the list, did you use Pace DC50x or Comcast Digital Adaptor? Did it work as selected, or did you have to go into Advanced Setup and select code 10104-B?


As mentioned in my earlier post on the procedure setting up the DTA was a bit of a hassle: 
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7134637#post7134637

Pace DC50x wasn't an option; _Comcast Digital Adapter_ is. It worked fine as selected but Advanced Setup does offer code 10104 in three speeds. In the post which followed I reported changing from 1 digit to 3 digit entry. That change sped up channel changing noticiably. Best of all, 3 digit entry appears to be completely reliable.


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## jrm01

fallingwater said:


> As mentioned in my earlier post on the procedure setting up the DTA was a bit of a hassle:
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7134637#post7134637
> 
> Pace DC50x wasn't an option; _Comcast Digital Adapter_ is. It worked fine as selected but Advanced Setup does offer code 10104 in three speeds. In the post which followed I reported changing from 1 digit to 3 digit entry. That change sped up channel changing noticiably. Best of all, 3 digit entry appears to be completely reliable.


Thanks for the info. I had read thru all these posts and couldn't remember who had said what, and was too lazy to go back over them. Glad it's working for you.


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## Seattlenerd

jrm01 said:


> Thanks for the response. I've been trying to help a user in Oregon (on tivo.com) with this setup and he swears he is following these steps in this way, but even though he selects Cable with Box, he never gets an option to select a cablebox. Just glad to know that this does work.


I'm not in Oregon. I'm in Washington.

And, as you note, it didn't work the way the steps described; with the DTA hooked up to RF Coax In under the version of the TiVo software that was installed at the time I was doing this nearly two weeks ago, there was no option to select _any _type of cable box.

So it clearly doesn't work all the time, though *fallingwater *indicates it was a hassle to get this to work. Not a good thing for regular, normal TiVo customers who have other things to do with their time than spend a half-day troubleshooting getting a Series 2 Dual Tuner TiVo to work with a DTA.

Incidentally, TiVo did send out a Service Notice email to customers in Washington State this week (the week of the Comcast digital changeover in my area) telling Series 2 Dual Tuner owners to go to the TiVo support page called "All-digital cable and the Series2 Dual Tuner DVR." (I'd post the link, but the Forum software won't let me.) Tellingly, this page still does not say a DTA will work with the S2DT, and instead stresses that a regular cable box is important.


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## fallingwater

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport...p_a_Series2_DT_DVR_for_all-digital_cable.html

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport...tal_cable_and_the_Series2_Dual_Tuner_DVR.html

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport...t_Up_My_Dual_Tuner_DVR_with_a_Cable_Box_.html


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## lickwid

fallingwater said:


> 6. 3-digit is fastest and most reliable. DTA accepts single digit entries but then pauses slightly to ensure that more digits aren't coming. If leading zeroes are sent DTA tunes instantly to single digit channels. Comcast provides a handful of 3-digit bonus channels with a DTA.


My question is in regards to your answer in #6. I installed the DTA to my bedroom LCD TV. I'm wondering if my ATSC tuner will be able to tune in all the new digital channels without having to use this DTA box? The main reason I don't like it is because it's not giving me the HD locals that I normally would get with my QAM tuner.

And the handful of 3-digit bonus channels seem like mostly duplicates of other channels. I'd prefer to get all my channels I normally get in my Digital starter package on my TivoHD, but I guess that isn't the case without a Digital Set-Top Box. I might have to just fork out for another digital set-top box at this point.


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## fallingwater

Your LCD TV requires a QAM tuner, which is standard, to receive all unscrambled cable hi-def channels.

What Series is your TiVo? 

S2 requires a DTA to receive standard-def QAM channels or a digital cable STB to receive premium channels when subbed in standard-def format. A hi-def cable STB is required for S2 to receive hi-def channels in standard def format. 

HDTiVo used without an 'M' CableCARD will receive all unscrambled QAM channels without EPG data and will map those channels with EPG data when an 'M' card is used.


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## Barrie

I have an original Tivo, an SVR-2000, and am trying to sort out what to do with my hook up. Essentially, we in the SF Bay Area are going to lose all the higher channels after April 6. I have four DTAs in place but the one with the Tivo is a problem and I am loathe to give it up, as I paid a one-time lifetime subscription about ten years ago. The DTA has an IR signal receiver input jack and I am wondering if I could hook the IR out jack from the Tivo into the DTA IR input, to control things. The DTA expects to see channel 3 downstream so that may be a problem.


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## fallingwater

Go back in the thread starting around here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7092549#post7092549


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## classicsat

You repeat guided setup. first off.

Second, since you have a series 1, it has an IR blaster LED in the front. You can place the remote IR sensor from the DT box next to the TiVos front IR blaster.


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## deChez

I could not get the Tivo IR Blaster to work with the small Pace DTA that Comcast gave me. 

After reading this thread, I placed the DTA IR Extender over the sensor on the DTA box...now the IR Blaster works using the default code that Tivo chooses when you set up your cable box as Comcast Digital Adapter.

Thank you.


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## jazzy_james

Thank you! Got it to work after reading this thread!

Comcast does not know crap! At first I called Comcast for help on this and was told that this was a known issue and there was no solution to this. They were supposedly still working on a fix for this. Bull crap!!!


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## MannyL

Ok I'm worrying proactively but just to make sure I understand....

I have a S2 Dual Tuner used with Comcast in Toms River NJ. We have not received any notification of change to all digital. I just purchased the Tivo the other day as a closeout from Radio Shack.

Right now I have a Sci Atlanta box on input 1 and coax going into input 2 and I'm able to record two channels at once.

When my area switches to all digital I'll be able to still use both tuners?


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## FrchTwst

Comcast is switching to mostly digital at the end of April for me. I was hoping someone could verify if the following setup could work for a S2DT.

I currently have a digital cable box and analog hooked up to the tivo.
Can I split the cable input so one end goes to the digital cable box and then the tivo, the other end goes DTA -> VCR -> Tivo?

I haven't seen any mention of using two DTA's or one STB and a DTA.

Also, if the above setup works, is the VCR then just working as an oversized adapter, such that I don't have to leave it on or anything? Also, do I then program the remote to control the DTA or the VCR?


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## fallingwater

MannyL said:


> Right now I have a Sci Atlanta box on input 1 and coax going into input 2 and I'm able to record two channels at once.
> 
> When my area switches to all digital I'll be able to still use both tuners?


If your service switches to '*all* digital', not without changing your setup as outlined in the link below. But if your service switches to '*most* digital' then, yes!



FrchTwst said:


> Comcast is switching to mostly digital at the end of April for me. I was hoping someone could verify if the following setup could work for a S2DT.
> 
> I currently have a digital cable box and analog hooked up to the tivo.
> Can I split the cable input so one end goes to the digital cable box and then the tivo, the other end goes DTA -> VCR -> Tivo?
> 
> I haven't seen any mention of using two DTA's or one STB and a DTA. Also, if the above setup works, is the VCR then just working as an oversized adapter, such that I don't have to leave it on or anything? Also, do I then program the remote to control the DTA or the VCR?


Connect the digital cable box's composite output to S2DT's composite input. Connect the DTA's output to S2DT's coax input. You don't need a VCR. Follow the steps in the post below:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7159535#post7159535


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## FrchTwst

I'm confused by the wording of the other post you linked me to.

I'm going to keep the digital STB connected to the tivo with composite cables. Currently, the tivo controls the STB through IR. (My STB doesn't have a serial port.)

Once I attach the DTA through coaxial, how do I control the DTA and how should I adjust the channel lineup?


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## classicsat

You don't. Or you remove the cable box. The DTA box will be controlled with an IR blaster. 

To clarify what fallingwater said; If you leave your setup alone, you will get dual tuner for the remaining analog channels.
To add:
You cannot get full dual tuners by adding a DTA box. The Series 2 DT will only work with one box of any sort at all. You need to choose between cable box and DTA box. 

If it were me, I'd leave that setup alone, and use the DTA convertor elsewhere, or to supply the TV tuner directly, using the DTA remote to control it.


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## FrchTwst

Okay...so basically there is no way whatsoever to maintain dual tuner functionality if both signals are digital?


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## fallingwater

FrchTwst said:


> I'm confused by the wording of the other post you linked me to.
> 
> I'm going to keep the digital STB connected to the tivo with composite cables. Currently, the tivo controls the STB through IR. (My STB doesn't have a serial port.)
> 
> Once I attach the DTA through coaxial, how do I control the DTA and how should I adjust the channel lineup?





FrchTwst said:


> Okay...so basically there is no way whatsoever to maintain dual tuner functionality if both signals are digital?


No; but it's somewhat of a hassle:

Connect the coax from the wall to the DTA and the DTA's output to S2DT's coax in. S2DT's channel list in TiVo Central _Settings_ has separate entries for 'box' (digital) and 'cbl' (analog) versions of the same channel. Delete all 'cbl' channels except for the channel (3 or 4) that you set the DTA's output to with the switch on the back.

Control the DTA with its own remote; S2DT can't tune a DTA when set to tune another STB.

All recordings from the 'cbl' channel must be tuned from the DTA's remote and set up as manual recordings on S2DT. *The only time you'd use this setup to record manually would be when there was a conflict with a previously scheduled 'box' recording.*


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## FrchTwst

Thanks fallingwater. Sorry for requiring so much clarification. I was hoping to not have to do manual recordings. Any chance complete dual tuning will be supported eventually or is it a hardware compatibility issue and I should save up for a S3/HD?


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## wannarock2

deChez said:


> I could not get the Tivo IR Blaster to work with the small Pace DTA that Comcast gave me.
> 
> After reading this thread, I placed the DTA IR Extender over the sensor on the DTA box...now the IR Blaster works using the default code that Tivo chooses when you set up your cable box as Comcast Digital Adapter.
> 
> Thank you.


Thanks

Have S2 (not a dual tuner) and was fussing with getting the Comcast DTA (Bay Area) to consistently change to the right channels. Took your advice and just plugged in the Comcast DTA Extender, placed it next to the Tivo IR blasters (which are still mounted on the Comcast DTA as Tivo suggests) and it all worked as advertised. Kinda strange, but it works.


----------



## classicsat

It is not a hardware issue, just software. However TiVo's philosophy of the device would likely mean there will be no dual-digital support.
Gett ing a TiVo HD is the only sure solution to the problem.


----------



## fallingwater

FrchTwst said:


> Thanks fallingwater. Sorry for requiring so much clarification. I was hoping to not have to do manual recordings. Any chance complete dual tuning will be supported eventually or is it a hardware compatibility issue and I should save up for a S3/HD?


Definitely recommend HDTiVo! It's extremely unlikely that S2DT's capabilities will be enhanced from those currently available.


----------



## wannarock2

Question for this thread. 

I've got the S2 (no dual tuner), hooked up the Comcast DTA, followed the instructions in this thread (thank you) and seemed to have it working fine changing channels. However, over the next couple of days on recorded material I would receive in the middle of the TV screen a large black box with the following message "One Moment Please" "Your service has been temporally interrupted" "It should be restored momentarily". That combined with having the picture freeze randomly during a recording (with the DTA channel notice appearing in the bottom right part of the TV screen).

I live in the SF Bay Area. I called Comcast technical support (is that an oxymoron?) and described this phenomena and could not get a straight answer out of them on two separate discussions. All they wanted to do is send service.

Anyone one else experience this? Maybe just a bad DTA, but I kind of doubt it. I also have a S3 with cable cards and no issues with signal strength (85&#37;-96% on S3).

Thanks,


----------



## natkins

wannarock2 said:


> Question for this thread.
> 
> I've got the S2 (no dual tuner), hooked up the Comcast DTA, followed the instructions in this thread (thank you) and seemed to have it working fine changing channels. However, over the next couple of days on recorded material I would receive in the middle of the TV screen a large black box with the following message "One Moment Please" "Your service has been temporally interrupted" "It should be restored momentarily". That combined with having the picture freeze randomly during a recording (with the DTA channel notice appearing in the bottom right part of the TV screen).
> 
> I live in the SF Bay Area. I called Comcast technical support (is that an oxymoron?) and described this phenomena and could not get a straight answer out of them on two separate discussions. All they wanted to do is send service.
> 
> Anyone one else experiment this? Maybe just a bad DTA, but I kind of doubt it. I also have a S3 with cable cards and no issues with signal strength (85%-96% on S3).
> 
> Thanks,


I live in Oregon and have been using a couple of DTA boxes for about 3 weeks now without any problems. But night before last, I also received that message on a Tivo recording that was made during the middle of the night. The message appeared in a black box in the middle of the screen.

I shrugged it off as just being a weak signal. But now I wonder if it's something else.


----------



## Bimwad

wannarock2 said:


> Question for this thread.
> 
> I've got the S2 (no dual tuner), hooked up the Comcast DTA, followed the instructions in this thread (thank you) and seemed to have it working fine changing channels. However, over the next couple of days on recorded material I would receive in the middle of the TV screen a large black box with the following message "One Moment Please" "Your service has been temporally interrupted" "It should be restored momentarily". That combined with having the picture freeze randomly during a recording (with the DTA channel notice appearing in the bottom right part of the TV screen).
> 
> I live in the SF Bay Area. I called Comcast technical support (is that an oxymoron?) and described this phenomena and could not get a straight answer out of them on two separate discussions. All they wanted to do is send service.
> 
> Anyone one else experience this? Maybe just a bad DTA, but I kind of doubt it. I also have a S3 with cable cards and no issues with signal strength (85%-96% on S3).


That message screen is somewhat misleading, but apparently the only one that an activated DTA can display when it encounters a problem.

I had that message appear a few times, but only one prolonged freeze. I've seen similar complaints elsewhere but it's hard to judge how common the problem is.

I would have first assumed that it was a poor signal quality issue, but I also have a full STB on the same outlet that has been flawless.

My feeling now is that the tuners in the DTAs are either substandard, or the units themselves are buggy. I invoked the diagnostic screen while the glitches were occurring, and the signal strength was within in the -4 range, with spikes to -6.

If this issue persists, I wouldn't hesitate to have them issue a replacement, or roll a truck. Forcing them into action (and incur cost) is going to speak much louder than a simple phone complaint.


----------



## techmonkey

wannarock2 said:


> Question for this thread.
> 
> I've got the S2 (no dual tuner), hooked up the Comcast DTA, followed the instructions in this thread (thank you) and seemed to have it working fine changing channels. However, over the next couple of days on recorded material I would receive in the middle of the TV screen a large black box with the following message "One Moment Please" "Your service has been temporally interrupted" "It should be restored momentarily". That combined with having the picture freeze randomly during a recording (with the DTA channel notice appearing in the bottom right part of the TV screen).
> 
> I live in the SF Bay Area. I called Comcast technical support (is that an oxymoron?) and described this phenomena and could not get a straight answer out of them on two separate discussions. All they wanted to do is send service.
> 
> Anyone one else experience this? Maybe just a bad DTA, but I kind of doubt it. I also have a S3 with cable cards and no issues with signal strength (85%-96% on S3).
> 
> Thanks,


I also live in the Bay Area (North Bay) and have had this happen a few times as well. I have 3 Tivo brand Series 2 Single Tuners. One is hooked to a cable box and two with DTA's. The one DTA's that I sometimes have issues with has a older TV with no digital tuner. My other TV's are Sony LCD's with digital tuners built in and have no issues at all. I wonder if that has anything to do with it or not? I have my DTA's hooked up so I can use then without the TIVO and I have seen the "One Moment Please" when I watch it without TIVO.


----------



## barko192

Bimwad said:


> I invoked the diagnostic screen while the glitches were occurring, and the signal strength was within in the -4 range, with spikes to -6.


How exactly do you invoke the diagnostic screen on the DTA?


----------



## rdlm

Just for the record, I live in the SF Bay Area, and I successfully connected a PACE DC50X to my Tivo S2 Single Tuner today. I put IR transmitters about an inch in front of the DTA's sensor (just to the right of the green LED; the IR extender is still in the shipping box), told the Tivo that the box is a "Comcast Digital Adapter", and it worked great. I initially tried configuring the Tivo for a PACE box, and that failed. Then I searched the forum! 

Note that I brought the DTA up before connecting the Tivo into the loop. It would tune a couple channels, but most channels would show the "Your service has been temporally interrupted" error. Power cycling the box cleared the issue. It will be interesting to see if it comes back...


----------



## 8886

barko192 said:


> How exactly do you invoke the diagnostic screen on the DTA?


PRESS AND HOLD THE INFO BUTTON FOR 10 SECONDS AND IT WILL GIVE YOU YOUR DIAGNOSTIC'S


----------



## 8886

techmonkey said:


> I also live in the Bay Area (North Bay) and have had this happen a few times as well. I have 3 Tivo brand Series 2 Single Tuners. One is hooked to a cable box and two with DTA's. The one DTA's that I sometimes have issues with has a older TV with no digital tuner. My other TV's are Sony LCD's with digital tuners built in and have no issues at all. I wonder if that has anything to do with it or not? I have my DTA's hooked up so I can use then without the TIVO and I have seen the "One Moment Please" when I watch it without TIVO.


JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE RG6 CABLE AND IT SOULD STOP. OR ITF YOU HAVE SPLITERS MAKE SURE YOU GET NEW ONES! THIS COULD LOWER THE SIGNAL AND CAUSE SIGNAL LOSS ALSO IF THE ARE OLD!

THE INTERUPTION IS DUE TO A LOW CABLE SIGNAL NOT SIGNAL STRENGHT OF THE TIVO. THE TIVO WILL SHOW HIGH STRENGHT BUT IN YOUR CABLE IT IS INTERMINTENLY LOW SIGNAL. IF YOU HAVE RG65 IT WILL NOT CARRY SOME OF THE NEW COMPRESSED SIGNAL. RG6 WILL SALVE IT!


----------



## fabravo

Bimwad said:


> That message screen is somewhat misleading, but apparently the only one that an activated DTA can display when it encounters a problem.
> 
> I had that message appear a few times, but only one prolonged freeze. I've seen similar complaints elsewhere but it's hard to judge how common the problem is.
> 
> I would have first assumed that it was a poor signal quality issue, but I also have a full STB on the same outlet that has been flawless.
> 
> My feeling now is that the tuners in the DTAs are either substandard, or the units themselves are buggy. I invoked the diagnostic screen while the glitches were occurring, and the signal strength was within in the -4 range, with spikes to -6.
> 
> If this issue persists, I wouldn't hesitate to have them issue a replacement, or roll a truck. Forcing them into action (and incur cost) is going to speak much louder than a simple phone complaint.





barko192 said:


> How exactly do you invoke the diagnostic screen on the DTA?


I am having the same problem with the "One Moment Please" message both on my TiVo and not. My Power Level (dBmV) is between -20.0 and -19.0, and my Signal to Noise, is between 30 and 31. Is that good? Bad? Could these be causing my issue?


----------



## techmonkey

8886 said:


> JUST MAKE SURE YOU HAVE RG6 CABLE AND IT SOULD STOP. OR ITF YOU HAVE SPLITERS MAKE SURE YOU GET NEW ONES! THIS COULD LOWER THE SIGNAL AND CAUSE SIGNAL LOSS ALSO IF THE ARE OLD!
> 
> THE INTERUPTION IS DUE TO A LOW CABLE SIGNAL NOT SIGNAL STRENGHT OF THE TIVO. THE TIVO WILL SHOW HIGH STRENGHT BUT IN YOUR CABLE IT IS INTERMINTENLY LOW SIGNAL. IF YOU HAVE RG65 IT WILL NOT CARRY SOME OF THE NEW COMPRESSED SIGNAL. RG6 WILL SALVE IT!


Thanks I will try this and you are right the TV that I am having issues with sometimes DOES have one older coax cable. All the other TV's the newer R6 cables.


----------



## Bimwad

barko192 said:


> How exactly do you invoke the diagnostic screen on the DTA?


Sorry for the delay, TC is only an occasional stop for me.

To get into diagnostic mode, hold down the Info button until the screen comes up. You can then use the CH +/- buttons to cycle between three screens.

To get a channel table listing all the channels and their frequencies, press 123, then use the Enter button to scroll through the tables. Pressing other buttons will return you to the main diagnostic screen.

Pressing the Info button again exits the diagnostic mode.


----------



## techmonkey

techmonkey said:


> I also live in the Bay Area (North Bay) and have had this happen a few times as well. I have 3 Tivo brand Series 2 Single Tuners. One is hooked to a cable box and two with DTA's. The one DTA's that I sometimes have issues with has a older TV with no digital tuner. My other TV's are Sony LCD's with digital tuners built in and have no issues at all. I wonder if that has anything to do with it or not? I have my DTA's hooked up so I can use then without the TIVO and I have seen the "One Moment Please" when I watch it without TIVO.


Well I hooked up a new RG6 Cable and it seemed to help a bit my Power Level (dBmV) on the DTA I sometimes have slight issues with BEFORE the new cable was -11.7 to -12/7. After it was -7.9 to -8.9. NOW the MAIN cable that runs into my house is older so I may still have lower levels because of this but I am not going to mess with replacing it. My second DTA has a different main cable that Comcast hooked up about 4 yrs ago and the power level on that one is +1.3 to +2.3. I am not sure the power level on my full cable box which is hooked to the older line. Does anyone know how to see the power level on a Motorola cable box?


----------



## kwik

I solved a low signal problem with *Electroline Marathon Cable TV Signal Booster Amplifier Splitter*.

$30 incl shipping from cabletvampsdotcom

They'll have what you need to fix the problem.


----------



## techmonkey

kwik said:


> I solved a low signal problem with *Electroline Marathon Cable TV Signal Booster Amplifier Splitter*.
> 
> $30 incl shipping from cabletvampsdotcom
> 
> They'll have what you need to fix the problem.


Anyone know what is considered a low signal? My power level on one DTA was -12.7 and still worked fine most of the time.


----------



## zarchon69

As far as I know, a regular cablebox will solve the all digital signal problem except your Dual tuner will now become a single tuner, cannot hook up a DTA to Series2 that is using a cabel box as there is only one ir port on a tivo and even if you split that port, the chances that the cablebox and DTA having the same ir code would be slim to none


----------



## wannarock2

Thanks to the posters who explained how to enter the diagnostic screen for the Pace DTA. 

My power level was between -13 to -14. According to a "tech" at Comcast the 'sweet spot' for these DTA's is +8 to -8.

I'm trying a amplifier/booster now as well. 

I'll see how it goes before I venture behind my setup to the 'rats-nest' of wires, cables etc. to attempt to upgrade cable and splitters.

Hopefully if one can get the Pace DTA to the power levels suggested by Comcast the dreaded "One Moment Please" screen and the various freezing of the picture will go away.


----------



## Spinniker

rdlm said:


> Just for the record, I live in the SF Bay Area, and I successfully connected a PACE DC50X to my Tivo S2 Single Tuner today. I put IR transmitters about an inch in front of the DTA's sensor (just to the right of the green LED; the IR extender is still in the shipping box), *told the Tivo that the box is a "Comcast Digital Adapter", and it worked great*. I initially tried configuring the Tivo for a PACE box, and that failed. Then I searched the forum!
> 
> Note that I brought the DTA up before connecting the Tivo into the loop. It would tune a couple channels, but most channels would show the "Your service has been temporally interrupted" error. Power cycling the box cleared the issue. It will be interesting to see if it comes back...


Where did you change that at ?


----------



## fallingwater

Bimwad said:


> Sorry for the delay, TC is only an occasional stop for me.
> 
> To get into diagnostic mode, hold down the Info button until the screen comes up. You can then use the CH +/- buttons to cycle between three screens.
> 
> To get a channel table listing all the channels and their frequencies, press 123, then use the Enter button to scroll through the tables. Pressing other buttons will return you to the main diagnostic screen.
> 
> Pressing the Info button again exits the diagnostic mode.


Excellent info. Thanks! :up::up::up:

The channel listing table screens on a DTA, coupled with the North American cable television frequencies linked to below, provide exactly the info needed to map unscrambled QAM channels! 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_cable_television_frequencies


----------



## rdlm

Spinniker said:


> "...told the Tivo that the box is a "Comcast Digital Adapter", and it worked great." Where did you change that at ?


 As I recall, it was right in front of my face, but not where I expected it, so I completely missed it for quite some time.

On the screen where you selected "Pace" as the brand of cable box, scroll to the "C" section and look for "Comcast Digital Adapter". Select that instead of "Pace".


----------



## mickpegg

I've read the entire thread and none of the suggestion make sense to me. I have a single channel Series two. I've connected the Cable from the wall to the DTA and from the DTA to Tivo's Cable in and then from Tivo's cable in to the TV. 

However nothing I do will let me receive a signal from the DTA on my TIVO at all. I do not get any channels. 

I've gone into guided setup twice. It asks me if I'm using a cable box (yes). It asks me if it's a digital box (yes). It asks me if it's Comcast (yes) It asks me what is on channel 30. (FOX sports NW - Yes). That's all it asks. 

This forum talks about "advanced setup" and the ability to enter a special code and the ability to select what kind of cable box you have. My TIVO does not give me the ability to enter any of this information. 

Therefor all the instructions are useless. Comcast has taken my lifetime service TIVO and turned it into a brick.


----------



## rdlm

mickpegg said:


> I've read the entire thread and none of the suggestion make sense to me. I have a single channel Series two. I've connected the Cable from the wall to the DTA and from the DTA to Tivo's Cable in and then from Tivo's cable in to the TV.
> 
> However nothing I do will let me receive a signal from the DTA on my TIVO at all. I do not get any channels.
> 
> I've gone into guided setup twice. It asks me if I'm using a cable box (yes). It asks me if it's a digital box (yes). It asks me if it's Comcast (yes) It asks me what is on channel 30. (FOX sports NW - Yes). That's all it asks.
> 
> This forum talks about "advanced setup" and the ability to enter a special code and the ability to select what kind of cable box you have. My TIVO does not give me the ability to enter any of this information.
> 
> Therefor all the instructions are useless. Comcast has taken my lifetime service TIVO and turned it into a brick.


The first thing I would do is connect the DTA between the wall and the TV, with no Tivo involved. Once you connect the DTA, you need to activate it. For my area, I had the choice of activating over the web (via a browser), or via phone. The instructions that came with the DTA should tell you exactly what you need to do. You will need to set your TV to Channel 3 or 4, again depending on the instructions that came with the DTA. And note that activation can take several hours before the DTA is authorized.

Once this all works, and you can change channels using the DTA remote control (leaving your TV on channel 3 or 4), then you can start connecting the Tivo into the loop. It sounds like you did the right thing: Wall-to-DTA-to-Tivo-to-TV. Again, you will need to use channel 3 or 4 (based on the tivo switch), or you can use a composite video cable if your TV supports that (and set the TV to Line IN or whatever your correct setting is).

Now you need to connect the IR transmitter cable to the back of the Tivo, and set it so the two IT transmitters are an inch or two in front of the IR receiver on the DTA box. There are some sticky tape-like pads that come with it.

Finally, go through guided setup. When it asks you if Fox Sports is on channel 30 (or whatever), only say YES if you actually see that channel 30 is being displayed on the TV, and that it is in fact Fox Sports.

If this doesn't work for you, please be very specific about what steps you have followed, and exactly what you are seeing (or not seeing!). Hopefully I didn't leave out any critical steps!


----------



## Spinniker

_


rdlm said:



As I recall, it was right in front of my face, but not where I expected it, so I completely missed it for quite some time.

On the screen where you selected "Pace" as the brand of cable box, scroll to the "C" section and look for "Comcast Digital Adapter". Select that instead of "Pace".

Click to expand...

_Ok, I'll try that tomorrow. Also I posted in the Help section a question how to set up the dvt / tivo / TV, so that I can watch one channel on the normal inputs and on video 1, watch tivo playback and live TV. Right now having the the cable from the wall to DVT then to Tivo then to TV I'm getting the same channel on both. 
Edit 1 :I have a S2 SINGLE Tuner.
Edit number 2 : I am also getting the "Black Box" now and again...


----------



## MikeAndrews

Spinniker said:


> Ok, I'll try that tomorrow. Also I posted in the Help section a question how to set up the dvt / tivo / TV, so that I can watch one channel on the normal inputs and on video 1, watch tivo playback and live TV. Right now having the the cable from the wall to DVT then to Tivo then to TV I'm getting the same channel on both.
> Edit 1 :I have a S2 SINGLE Tuner.
> Edit number 2 : I am also getting the "Black Box" now and again...


Make the connections from the TiVo to the TV with an SVideo/composite video cable and red/white audio cable. You don't need a coax there at all.

Run a coax from DTA->Tivo RF IN,

That's it.

The TIVo will show you recorded content or Live video. Your choice on the TiVo remote.


----------



## Spinniker

_


netringer said:



Make the connections from the TiVo to the TV with an SVideo/composite video cable and red/white audio cable. You don't need a coax there at all.

Run a coax from DTA->Tivo RF IN,

That's it.

The TIVo will show you recorded content or Live video. Your choice on the TiVo remote.

Click to expand...

_That's the way I did had it before the box. When I tried it with out the coax I got static. Maybe the Pace/Comcast box shift thing will make a diff. I set my kid's Toshiba Tivo/DVD player (to Pace) and it worked great. I would have thought that the term " Comcast Digital Box" would have meant their "In Demand" HD box....

Hmmmm, I think I need to start all over .....I will give it a go tomorrow, bright an early.

Thanks for all of the help.


----------



## NowPlaying

I read this thread and you guys had me worried. Comcast notified me that my area (Menlo Park, California) needed a DTA box. I ordered one and received a Pace DC50X. 

Initially it wouldn't activate and I had to get a tech out to swap the box for another one. Par for the course with Comcast equipment.

Once activated I hooked it to my Tivo Series 2 and ran the Guided Setup. Everything went like it was supposed to and it works just like any other cable box. I am using the stock Tivo IR cable attached to the DTA just like you would with any cable box.

The Pace DC50X DOES work with the Tivo Series 2.


----------



## jgaermom

We have a house with 7 different cable outlets. We have 4 sd tivos one s3 tivo and 2 separate tvs. One with a digital box. We are preparing for the comcast switch and have decided to use the 2 free DTAs on one tv and one sd Tivo. My question is if we hook up the 2 dtas to the tv and tivo and activate them will that have any effect on the other sd tivos or only the dtas we activated. I don't want to give up the other tivos being able to get cable untill we have to. I was concerned because the instructions say to hook both up at the same time and activate them together.


----------



## rdlm

jgaermom said:


> We have a house with 7 different cable outlets. We have 4 sd tivos one s3 tivo and 2 separate tvs. One with a digital box. We are preparing for the comcast switch and have decided to use the 2 free DTAs on one tv and one sd Tivo. My question is if we hook up the 2 dtas to the tv and tivo and activate them will that have any effect on the other sd tivos or only the dtas we activated. I don't want to give up the other tivos being able to get cable untill we have to. I was concerned because the instructions say to hook both up at the same time and activate them together.


It won't impact other cable outlets, or other boxes. In my case, I activated to DTAs via the web interface. When you go to activate them, you enter your id number, and the website "found" both boxes in it's DB and activated them both. There was no option to select only one of the two serial numbers, for example. I assume this is the reason that they want you to do them at the same time. I didn't try the by-phone activation method, but would guess it's the same.

On the other hand, I can almost guarantee that if you talked to an actual person in service, they could activate them individually.


----------



## chakk

jgaermom said:


> We have a house with 7 different cable outlets. We have 4 sd tivos one s3 tivo and 2 separate tvs. One with a digital box. We are preparing for the comcast switch and have decided to use the 2 free DTAs on one tv and one sd Tivo. My question is if we hook up the 2 dtas to the tv and tivo and activate them will that have any effect on the other sd tivos or only the dtas we activated. I don't want to give up the other tivos being able to get cable untill we have to. I was concerned because the instructions say to hook both up at the same time and activate them together.


The Tivos and 2 separate TV without a DTA or a regular cable box between them and the wall outlet will only be able to receive the channels that Comcast is keeping in its analog set -- something like channels 2 thru 32. In other words, you can only record channels 2 thru 32 on those Tivos without a DTA. However, on the one Tivo WITH a DTA, you can record and watch all of the channels in your purchased service, and, if your Tivos are all connected to you home's local area computer network, then you can transfer programs on the one Tivo-with-DTA to any of the other Tivos-without-DTA, for watching on the TVs connected to those other Tivos.


----------



## kdeanda

fallingwater said:


> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7050449#post7050449
> 
> _It turns out that when TiVo's IR blasters are placed directly over the DTA's IR receiver they grossly overload it. Even placing them six inches away doesn't work. *But when placed three feet away or ten feet across the room they work fine!!!!* Practically speaking, using a DTA's included IR extender is a better solution, but the mystery of controling Pace's DTA through its IR receiver has been solved._


Just popping in to add another Series 1 success... in large part due to the many notes in this thread. Currently using the standard 10104 code (as the -B option isn't available for the s1 anyway) listed under Comcast Digital Adapter, using 2 digit/fast/with 'enter'.
Actually, this was ultimately far less hassle then the cablecard setup for my S3. 

In reference to the quoted, the only difficulty I ran into was initially with the channel changing - and after a bit of trial and error found that the remote receiver included in my set was faulty. No operation with either Tivo or the stock remote. After a few minutes of hate, found it worked without it and having the blasters set ~6 inches from the built-in receiver. No problems seen yet, so perhaps they've made some correction to recent boxes for this overload. In any case, clearly trying multiple blaster/receiver configurations should be done before calling the setup a bust.

Just to confirm again, the DTA does in fact output a standard BTSC stereo signal (was sometimes called MTS on consumer devices), so we're not quite stepping back all the way to 1985 equipment capability. 
(tho I'm having evil thoughts of opening the box to probe for baseband AV signals to tap before it gets modulated back out.)

edit: also add that the DTA sends CC through and Tivo seems to record & play such without errors, though I don't see a way to select what caption stream is used as source (not nearly as flexible as even the CECBs.) Probably only CC1/DTVCC1.
SAP is not available from the RF, so you don't want to set the Tivo audio options to use this. From the DTA remote though you can cycle through the available audio streams.


----------



## techmonkey

kdeanda said:


> Just popping in to add another Series 1 success... in large part due to the many notes in this thread. Currently using the standard 10104 code (as the -B option isn't available for the s1 anyway) listed under Comcast Digital Adapter, using 2 digit/fast/with 'enter'.
> Actually, this was ultimately far less hassle then the cablecard setup for my S3.
> 
> In reference to the quoted, the only difficulty I ran into was initially with the channel changing - and after a bit of trial and error found that the remote receiver included in my set was faulty. No operation with either Tivo or the stock remote. After a few minutes of hate, found it worked without it and having the blasters set ~6 inches from the built-in receiver. No problems seen yet, so perhaps they've made some correction to recent boxes for this overload. In any case, clearly trying multiple blaster/receiver configurations should be done before calling the setup a bust.
> 
> Just to confirm again, the DTA does in fact output a standard BTSC stereo signal (was sometimes called MTS on consumer devices), so we're not quite stepping back all the way to 1985 equipment capability.
> (tho I'm having evil thoughts of opening the box to probe for baseband AV signals to tap before it gets modulated back out.)
> 
> edit: also add that the DTA sends CC through and Tivo seems to record & play such without errors, though I don't see a way to select what caption stream is used as source (not nearly as flexible as even the CECBs.) Probably only CC1/DTVCC1.
> SAP is not available from the RF, so you don't want to set the Tivo audio options to use this. From the DTA remote though you can cycle through the available audio streams.


I have two series 2's with DTA's and the IR blasters are only a few inches from the front of the DTA and they seems to work fine. I did make sure they are DIRECTLY over the DTA eye which you may need to use a flash light to find and also the blasters are both pointing to the DTA eye. In other words the blasters are not in each others way both little "eyes" on the blasters can fully see the eye on the DTA.

I used the three digit way to change channels and I have had maybe one time on each DTA where lets say I wanted to record channel 044 but when I went to watch the show it has actually recorded channel 004 but this also has happened on my regular cable box. Seems to be very isolated and does not happen often.


----------



## chakk

techmonkey said:


> I used the three digit way to change channels and I have had maybe one time on each DTA where lets say I wanted to record channel 044 but when I went to watch the show it has actually recorded channel 004 but this also has happened on my regular cable box. Seems to be very isolated and does not happen often.


I had a case or two of this "incorrect channel changing" also. Switching to the even slower speed C rating on my S2 solved the problem. There now is about a 3/4 second pause between each channel digit entry by the tivo when it invokes a channel change for the startup of a recording.


----------



## techmonkey

chakk said:


> I had a case or two of this "incorrect channel changing" also. Switching to the even slower speed C rating on my S2 solved the problem. There now is about a 3/4 second pause between each channel digit entry by the tivo when it invokes a channel change for the startup of a recording.


Hmmm interesting, I may change this setting if it happens again. Where exactly do you make this change?


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## AquaX

mickpegg said:


> I've read the entire thread and none of the suggestion make sense to me. I have a single channel Series two. I've connected the Cable from the wall to the DTA and from the DTA to Tivo's Cable in and then from Tivo's cable in to the TV.
> 
> However nothing I do will let me receive a signal from the DTA on my TIVO at all. I do not get any channels.
> 
> I've gone into guided setup twice. It asks me if I'm using a cable box (yes). It asks me if it's a digital box (yes). It asks me if it's Comcast (yes) It asks me what is on channel 30. (FOX sports NW - Yes). That's all it asks.
> 
> This forum talks about "advanced setup" and the ability to enter a special code and the ability to select what kind of cable box you have. My TIVO does not give me the ability to enter any of this information.
> 
> Therefor all the instructions are useless. Comcast has taken my lifetime service TIVO and turned it into a brick.


Exact same problem here. Did you ever figure out a solution?


----------



## jrm01

AquaX said:


> Exact same problem here. Did you ever figure out a solution?


Is your problem exactly as stated by OP:



> However nothing I do will let me receive a signal from the DTA on my TIVO at all. I do not get any channels.


If so, did you set the 3/4 switch to 3 and did you call to have the box activated? Does it work if you connect the box directly to the TV?


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## AquaX

jrm01 said:


> Is your problem exactly as stated by OP:
> 
> If so, did you set the 3/4 switch to 3 and did you call to have the box activated? Does it work if you connect the box directly to the TV?


My DTA is indeed active, set to channel 3, and works when connected directly to my TV.

As the OP stated, he doesn't get the choice of Cable with box. He has to choose Cable, then "Yes" on the box choice, but it never asks which box, and what type of connection it sends out a signal with.


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## jjberger2134

AquaX said:


> My DTA is indeed active, set to channel 3, and works when connected directly to my TV.
> 
> As the OP stated, he doesn't get the choice of Cable with box. He has to choose Cable, then "Yes" on the box choice, but it never asks which box, and what type of connection it sends out a signal with.


Did you try a re-boot then go through guided setup again? I was having a similar problem and reboot/guided setup seemed to work for me. The choice of box (Comcast DTA) is towards the end of guided setup, just before the IR testing.

I am having a problem entering 3 digit channel numbers. It seems to either not work at all, or change to the first two digits, or last two digits. Very random.


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## AquaX

I have a few times already. Something's weird with Guided Setup -- it never asks me what brand/model my cable box is, even though I chose to use one. I may just give up and dig out the Moto cable box that Comcast provided a few years back and see if it'll work.


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## yukit

jjberger2134 said:


> ...
> I am having a problem entering 3 digit channel numbers. It seems to either not work at all, or change to the first two digits, or last two digits. Very random.


Comcast just switched channels 39-59 to digital in my area.
I am having a similar issue with the Comcast DTA tuning 3 digit channels.

I looked at the advanced options, the only possible options that looked worthwhile to tweak was the Enter option, but this is not needed if I am using the DTA's remote directly. Anyone figure out a workaround?

Hopefully, I don't need to use the 3 digits channels often.

BTW, the DTA is connected to my S2-540. 
I moved the old GI STB to the S2DT since I trust the serial connection better than the IR blaster. I am thinking about replacing this one with a TivoHD.


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## yukit

I just found one of my DTAs to be stuck in one channel.

Channel change from the Tivo remote was unresponsive, so I thought that my cat somehow moved the IR blaster/receiver, but they were placed correctly. I used the DTA's remote to try to change channels, but that was not working either. I had to reboot the DTA by unplugging the power to make it work again.

My Tivo did record Tonight's show on Fri, but a few programs recorded this morning were the wrong channel.

Not sure how this happened, but it would be a coincidence to blame the DTV switch-over

Anyone experience such weirdness with the DTAs?


----------



## rdlm

yukit said:


> I just found one of my DTAs to be stuck in one channel...Anyone experience such weirdness with the DTAs?


This happens to one of my DTAs about once every other week. Just happened yesterday. The other one seems fine. It's on a TIVO that doesn't get used much, so it hasn't driven me to try to replace it... yet.


----------



## techmonkey

yukit said:


> I just found one of my DTAs to be stuck in one channel.
> 
> Channel change from the Tivo remote was unresponsive, so I thought that my cat somehow moved the IR blaster/receiver, but they were placed correctly. I used the DTA's remote to try to change channels, but that was not working either. I had to reboot the DTA by unplugging the power to make it work again.
> 
> My Tivo did record Tonight's show on Fri, but a few programs recorded this morning were the wrong channel.
> 
> Not sure how this happened, but it would be a coincidence to blame the DTV switch-over
> 
> Anyone experience such weirdness with the DTAs?


I have wrong channels record would say about 1% of the time or less. It has happened on two different DTA's as well as my cable box all using IR blaster's. BUT I have never actually had one "stick" on one channel where the remote was unresponsive.


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## 2004raptor

One of my DTA's did the same thing. Only had it hooked up a little over a week. Does that mean the DTA might be bad or is this just something I have to deal with?


----------



## yukit

techmonkey said:


> I have wrong channels record would say about 1% of the time or less. It has happened on two different DTA's as well as my cable box all using IR blaster's. BUT I have never actually had one "stick" on one channel where the remote was unresponsive.


Yeah, it was really weird to be stuck in one channel. Unlike a regular STB, you have no idea what channel the DTA is tuned on till you check liveTV. It was a fluke to discover it the following day since I was curious to see if DTA was able to tune to the free HBO channel (no) otherwise I probably have not discovered it for several days since the DTA is connected to a S2 that I rarely watch.

I have been using this DTA for about 3 weeks. I did a bit of a spot check of several random shows over the last few weeks, they appear to be ok. The DTA & Tivo are on a UPS so it could not have been a power failure. As I reported earlier, it does seem to act random at 3 digit channels, but I don't have any season passes with 3 digit channels. Quality control on these DTAs are probably not that stringent.

I also have a regular STB with a serial cable connection. It is an old big ugly black box but I don't think it has ever missed a channel change in about a year.


----------



## techmonkey

2004raptor said:


> One of my DTA's did the same thing. Only had it hooked up a little over a week. Does that mean the DTA might be bad or is this just something I have to deal with?


If it does not happen that often I would not worry about it. Like I said I have had it happen on two different DTA's and even on a full cable box. I know you can "tweak" the was TIVO changes the channels using the IR blasters but with me it seems to happen once of every 100 recordings if that.


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## ekrock

I was also having the problem where my TiVo Series 2 Single Channel was able to make the Comcast Pace DC50X DTA box change to 2-digit channels OK but *failed* to change the channel to 3-digit channels. For me, the solution was to set the TiVo to "code 10104-B, 3 channel digits, no enter button," and the 3-digit problem went away.

Background: 

How It Was Set Up When I Was Having the Problem
-----------------------------------------------
Based on a tip I had seen somewhere on the web but now can't locate, I set the TiVo to "code 10104-C, 3 channel digits, no enter button" and put all three IR emitters right in front of the DC50X IR receiver port as follows: TiVo IR #1 above the receiver port, TiVo IR #2 below the receiver port, and the DC50X extender to the left. 

This was the best configuration I'd seen yet because I could reliably change to any 2-digit channel. However, anytime I tried to change to a 3-digit channel, the DTA gave up on waiting for the third digit and just ignored the whole command command before the TiVo sent out the 3rd digit.

So I changed to "code 10104-B, 3 channel digits, no enter button," and the 3-digit problem went away.

Additional Note 1: Comcast Pace DC50X DTA box randomly hangs: There is a separate problem with my Pace DC50X DTA box. I've discovered that randomly (after 7-10 days of working fine, typically), the Pace DC50X DTA box will fall into a mode where it ignores all channel change input and tunes to public access channel 27. When this happens, I have to power cycle the Pace DC50X DTA box, then the problem instantly disappears. I've now verified this sequence of events twice, so it's clearly a bug with the Pace DC50X DTA box (presumably hanging internally), not the TiVo. I'm debating whether to swap for a 2nd box or just try switching to AT&T Universal. ;-)

Additional Note 2: After this transition, my access to Science Channel (272) and NatG (273) has mysteriously disappeared. I'm assuming that Comcast has reorganized its offerings and put these in an even higher-priced package. Will take that up with Comcast tomorrow. ;-)

MANY, MANY thanks to all the people who have painstakingly contributed to this thread and sorted all these issues out!!!


----------



## yukit

ekrock said:


> I was also having the problem where my TiVo Series 2 Single Channel was able to make the Comcast Pace DC50X DTA box change to 2-digit channels OK but *failed* to change the channel to 3-digit channels. For me, the solution was to set the TiVo to "code 10104-B, 3 channel digits, no enter button," and the 3-digit problem went away.
> 
> Background:
> 
> How It Was Set Up When I Was Having the Problem
> -----------------------------------------------
> Based on a tip I had seen somewhere on the web but now can't locate, I set the TiVo to "code 10104-C, 3 channel digits, no enter button" and put all three IR emitters right in front of the DC50X IR receiver port as follows: TiVo IR #1 above the receiver port, TiVo IR #2 below the receiver port, and the DC50X extender to the left.
> 
> This was the best configuration I'd seen yet because I could reliably change to any 2-digit channel. However, anytime I tried to change to a 3-digit channel, the DTA gave up on waiting for the third digit and just ignored the whole command command before the TiVo sent out the 3rd digit.
> 
> So I changed to "code 10104-B, 3 channel digits, no enter button," and the 3-digit problem went away.
> 
> Additional Note 1: Comcast Pace DC50X DTA box randomly hangs: There is a separate problem with my Pace DC50X DTA box. I've discovered that randomly (after 7-10 days of working fine, typically), the Pace DC50X DTA box will fall into a mode where it ignores all channel change input and tunes to public access channel 27. When this happens, I have to power cycle the Pace DC50X DTA box, then the problem instantly disappears. I've now verified this sequence of events twice, so it's clearly a bug with the Pace DC50X DTA box (presumably hanging internally), not the TiVo. I'm debating whether to swap for a 2nd box or just try switching to AT&T Universal. ;-)
> 
> Additional Note 2: After this transition, my access to Science Channel (272) and NatG (273) has mysteriously disappeared. I'm assuming that Comcast has reorganized its offerings and put these in an even higher-priced package. Will take that up with Comcast tomorrow. ;-)
> 
> MANY, MANY thanks to all the people who have painstakingly contributed to this thread and sorted all these issues out!!!


I just verified that my code is already set to [10104-B]
I can sometimes manually tune to a 3-digit channel, but I just removed all 3-digit season pass programs. At least I have another Tivo to record these programs.

As far as the DTA freezing, it is good to get a confirmation from others experiencing the same problem. I don't think it has happened to me in the last week. Again, my solution was to move the season pass to another Tivo in case the DTA starts acting up again, but I am sure we are the isolated incidents so I am just going to stop worrying about the problem.


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## ekrock

Just discovered last night that I'd been completely misinformed in my discussion a month ago with Comcast support. I'd called for clarification a month ago and been told that I should REPLACE my General Instrument set top box with the Pace DTA. Turns out that's completely incorrect.

As a better support rep explained last night, if you have a full-function STB, you don't need the DTA at all. DTAs are for freestanding TVs that lack their own full-function STB. 

So I swapped out the DTA, swapped back in the STB, and everything is working fine again.


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## dverespey

Thanks to all who posted here I just set up my old upstairs S2 with DTA and it went great.


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## arhynas

ekrock said:


> How It Was Set Up When I Was Having the Problem
> -----------------------------------------------
> Based on a tip I had seen somewhere on the web but now can't locate, I set the TiVo to "code 10104-C, 3 channel digits, no enter button" and put all three IR emitters right in front of the DC50X IR receiver port as follows: TiVo IR #1 above the receiver port, TiVo IR #2 below the receiver port, and the DC50X extender to the left.


The IR receiver included with the DTA is optional, it's mainly only necessary if you need to put the DTA in a location where you would not have line of sight with the remote to the front of the box.



ekrock said:


> Additional Note 1: Comcast Pace DC50X DTA box randomly hangs: There is a separate problem with my Pace DC50X DTA box. I've discovered that randomly (after 7-10 days of working fine, typically), the Pace DC50X DTA box will fall into a mode where it ignores all channel change input and tunes to public access channel 27. When this happens, I have to power cycle the Pace DC50X DTA box, then the problem instantly disappears. I've now verified this sequence of events twice, so it's clearly a bug with the Pace DC50X DTA box (presumably hanging internally), not the TiVo. I'm debating whether to swap for a 2nd box or just try switching to AT&T Universal. ;-)


This is usually a result of a test of the public emergency broadcast system, they switch all digital equipment over to the test broadcast, I've seen several DTAs get stuck on C-Span afterwards. Might need a swap, might just see if it persists.


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## kdeanda

arhynas said:


> The IR receiver included with the DTA is optional, it's mainly only necessary if you need to put the DTA in a location where you would not have line of sight with the remote to the front of the box.


It may also be worthy of note that attaching the remote receiver disables the internal one. Found this out after I placed the new receiver in a plastic tube with the Tivo transmitter, and then the DTAs stock remote no longer worked unless shined directly into the tube, or I disconnected the remote receiver. Just something to be aware of.

FWIW, three months now with no DTA stuck-on-channel, nor other tuning issues yet on two S1 installations. If of interest, the DTAs operating information is:
Hardware version: 2
Firmware version: 1.466.2.1.2.1
Immutable firmware: 1_425_2_2/1_425_2_2
Bank A: GOOD PACEDC50X_0108
Bank B (active): GOOD PACEDC50X_0115

The second DTA is the same except for bank A/B, which is:
Bank A: GOOD PACEDC50X_0117
Bank B (active): GOOD PACEDC50X_0115

Maybe there's some faulty firmware out there... 



arhynas said:


> This is usually a result of a test of the public emergency broadcast system, they switch all digital equipment over to the test broadcast, I've seen several DTAs get stuck on C-Span afterwards. Might need a swap, might just see if it persists.


I utterly hate these. Happens weekly, usually at prime time here. On my HD these often cause a hard crash of the Tivo forcing pull-the-plug reset if recording, and if not then all playback operations are locked out (no FF/REW/change channel/menu/etc.) Probably has something to do with changing the video encode type mid stream... e.g. a HD format to SD without a real channel change operation having been performed. :down::down:


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## dverespey

The last two days I keep finding my DTA series 2 combo stuck on channel 26, the old channel guide channel.

Changing the channel with the Tivo or DTA remote does nothing. I end up power cycling the DTA and then I resync the two to channel two.

After that it works as before. Anyone have any info on this?


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## chakk

Two possibilities come to my mind for your problem with the Comcast DTA hanging up on one channel after a few days of normal operation:

(1) your local TV provider has made changes (again!!!) to their digital channel lineup, and a power-cycle of the DTA is required to resync the DTA with the new lineup. The PBS station in the local SF Bay Area is advising their viewers to "rescan" their channel lineups regularly from now until mid-October, as they are expecting transmission frequency variations while they move their permanent transmitting antenna to a new location.

(2) The reception signal to your DTA provided over your cable is weak, and the DTA may be periodically losing sync. You can check the signal strength on your DTA by pressing and holding the INFO button on the DTA remote (with the TV turned on) until an information screen appears (this takes about 5 seconds of holding the INFO button down). Then, press the Channel UP button twice to view the third page of information. One of the listed items is named "Power Level". I read somewhere on this or another forum that the number shown here should ideally be between -8.0 and -4.0. If the number shown is less than -8.0, then your signal may be too weak. You could contact your TV signal provider for a fix, or, in my case, I purchased a signal amplifier from Radio Shack, which boosted my signal up from about -11.0 to -6.0. This solved my early problems with weak signal, although I suspect that enough other neighbor subscribers have complained to the provider that they have taken steps on their own to boost their signal strength in our neighborhood. So, I may have to turn down the amplification level on my Radio Shack box to avoid an overly strong signal, which could also create problems.

Press the INFO button again to clear the information screens and return to normal TV screen display.


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## chakk

techmonkey said:


> Hmmm interesting, I may change this setting if it happens again. Where exactly do you make this change?


Sorry to be so late in responding to this question to me, as I have been offline for several weeks while vacationing.

I made this change in the Tivo Main Menu -- Messages & Settings -- Settings -- Channels -- Channel Changing -- Advanced Setup.

At this point, you should see the 10104 on your screen. Just type each of those in again and then press the right arrow key and you should receive an option to select A, B, or C. A is the fastest simulated keypress, C is the slowest simulated keypress.


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## dverespey

Thanks for the "info", I'll check the settings tonight when I get home.


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## oskarrogg

rdlm said:


> ...!


Some of this has been said before, but a couple of things I found useful after I spent most of the weekend finally getting Tivo to work with the various Comcast digital boxes DC50X et al... (comments in the forum were very useful)

First - activate the comcast digital boxes before you try to make Tivo work. Otherwise, Tivo will give you some misleading error messages, like specifying that you should connect the DC50X to the Tivo using the composite cables, even though the DC50X doesn't support composite cables.

Second, as somebody else pointed out, the IR emitters need to be 4-5 inches in front of the DC50X box in order to work correctly. I used tongue depressors duct taped to the comcast DC50X box to support the IR emitters at the proper distance - looks like a kluge, but it works. BTW, the IR receiver is right next to the LED on the DC50X box.

By comparison, the Comcast Motorola box was much more straightforward - Emitters about 1 inch in front of the receptor - receptor is about 1/2 inch from message light - standard installation.

Since I had never needed the IR emitters before Comcast imposed the digital boxes, mine had long since disappeared. At least in the Atlanta area, no retail outlet carries the IR emitters; the clerk at Best Buy commented that people had been coming in all week looking for them. Rather than waiting the week to get them online for $12-15, I just bought a used Tivo on Craigslist for $40 bucks, giving me an additional remote as well.

That said, if I owned Tivo stock, I would short it - with all due respect to TIVOJERRY, when you spend most of the weekend struggling to connect two tivos, and end up with IR emitters duct-taped to tongue depressors, it's kind of laughable to read how Tivo thinks the IR emitters work great. Unless Tivo comes up with a 'game changer', Comcast DVR is going to drive Tivo out.


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## 2004raptor

oskarrogg said:


> Second, as somebody else pointed out, the IR emitters need to be 4-5 inches in front of the DC50X box in order to work correctly. I used tongue depressors duct taped to the comcast DC50X box to support the IR emitters at the proper distance - looks like a kluge, but it works. BTW, the IR receiver is right next to the LED on the DC50X box.


I know you said you just got it hooked up but I would like to know if you are expereinceing any issues changing the channles, etc???? Can you possibly post a picture of how you have all of this laid out?


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## GGray

sfxc13 said:


> Does anyone even make a cable that would work for this? It would be soo much nicer than rigging up IR setups ...


I built a cable that provides a direct connection. Send me a note and I give you a link to the page describing the cable.

Gary


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## rdlm

Back in June, I reported that one of my two DTA boxes would periodically hang: neither the Tivo nor it's own remote control could get it to change channels. This would happen once every week or two. 

I replaced that DTA box the first week of July, so I've had the replacement a bit over a month now. So far, no issues. And the other DTA box has been flawless since day one.


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## ictwywtv

so i just read this whole thread.

IIUC when comcast screws me completes the digital migration in my area, my 'box' input of my Series 2 Dual Tuner (S2DT) which is currently connected to a STB (Set Top Box) will be fine. But my 'cable' input, which gets the cable wire directly from the wall to the tivo (well, thru a splitter) ,and which currently records ch 2-99 using the tuner inside the tivo (no ir blaster nor serial cable) will only record ch 2-28 (or so).

The tivo site calls this "retain dual tuner capabilities" but they dont say "recording 1/3 as many channels as before". That seems misleading to me. I OFTEN am recording one channel 29-500 and viewing another 29-99, or recording two channels, one 29-500 and one 29-99.

So for the most part, my Dual Tuner is becoming a Single Tuner. Many people/posters have said that, and those ppl seem honest to me.

so...

here's an idea. I figured if this exists, the ppl here are likely to know abt it.

Couldnt there be a box that takes the cable from the wall as input, with digital only extended basic ch 28-99 and converts ALL those channels to analog and outputs them on another coax in analog form. Why do all the boxes 'tune' a single digital channel and output only that channel Why can't it tune ALL of them and output them all.

Cuz then i could just plug that right into my 'cable' input of my S2DT and i'd be happy.

does such a thing exist?

could it?


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## CharlesH

ictwywtv said:


> Couldnt there be a box that takes the cable from the wall as input, with digital only extended basic ch 28-99 and converts ALL those channels to analog and outputs them on another coax in analog form. Why do all the boxes 'tune' a single digital channel and output only that channel Why can't it tune ALL of them and output them all.


Because you would need a device with 71 digital tuners and digital->analog converters?


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## Adam1115

ictwywtv said:


> Couldnt there be a box that takes the cable from the wall as input, with digital only extended basic ch 28-99 and converts ALL those channels to analog and outputs them on another coax in analog form. Why do all the boxes 'tune' a single digital channel and output only that channel Why can't it tune ALL of them and output them all.
> 
> Cuz then i could just plug that right into my 'cable' input of my S2DT and i'd be happy.
> 
> does such a thing exist?
> 
> could it?


Sure, if you want to spend $50,000 building a cable plant in your basement.

Yes, such a thing exists, I support an apartment complex that takes both SD and HD from Dish Network, reoutputs the SD as analog cable and the HD as QAM.


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## blocktek

fallingwater said:


> I use one digit and no 'enter' with fair success, but on occasion, usually overnight, TiVo loses the DTA's output. Scrolling one channel up or down brings it back. I'm still troubleshooting the problem. It may be caused when a Teleworld Paid Program is recorded and TiVo attempts to return to the previous channel it was tuned to.


Have you gotten to the bottom of this? I've recently taken posession of the Comcast DTA. Though I'm not using TiVO, I am using a DVR (an EyeTV) with an IRBlaster (ZephIR). I'm having the same issue. It seems to occur every couple of days. Use of the Comcast remote to change channels brings back functionality. I am not recording paid programs. I can't figure out the cause of this for the life of me. I have emails out to both Pace and Comcast, but don't have high hopes. VERY frustrating.


----------



## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> I use one digit and no 'enter' with fair success, but on occasion, usually overnight, TiVo loses the DTA's output. Scrolling one channel up or down brings it back. I'm still troubleshooting the problem. It may be caused when a Teleworld Paid Program is recorded and TiVo attempts to return to the previous channel it was tuned to.





blocktek said:


> Have you gotten to the bottom of this? I've recently taken posession of the Comcast DTA. Though I'm not using TiVO, I am using a DVR (an EyeTV) with an IRBlaster (ZephIR). I'm having the same issue. It seems to occur every couple of days. Use of the Comcast remote to change channels brings back functionality. I am not recording paid programs. I can't figure out the cause of this for the life of me. I have emails out to both Pace and Comcast, but don't have high hopes. VERY frustrating.


I later changed to three digits, as quoted below. Scroll down from the post linked to below for further comments.



fallingwater said:


> This morning I changed 'one digit' to 'three digits' after noticing a few glitches when channel changing. Seems to be faster and hopefully will eliminate the problem noted in first paragraph above!


----------



## oldradio99

I just spent the better part of an hour on the phone with Comcast.

I own a Humax Series 2 single tuner and I connect without a cable box.

There is no IR receptor on the side of the DTA as shown in the support pages of Tivo and using the front IR receptor is not reliable.

What I was told by Comcast was that I could get a cable box but since I already had cable cards, I would have to pay $5.99 per month.

This is highway robbery. So at the end of September I will get less service for the same money.


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## sfxc13

oldradio99 said:


> I just spent the better part of an hour on the phone with Comcast.
> 
> I own a Humax Series 2 single tuner and I connect without a cable box.
> 
> There is no IR receptor on the side of the DTA as shown in the support pages of Tivo and using the front IR receptor is not reliable.
> 
> What I was told by Comcast was that I could get a cable box but since I already had cable cards, I would have to pay $5.99 per month.
> 
> This is highway robbery. So at the end of September I will get less service for the same money.


Call back. I had a rep give me a free cable box even though I have cable cards. Had been told previously I would have to pay.

If they argue with you I would say that cable card is not equivalent because does not give access to on demand services which is part of your subscription costs. So they should either reduce your bill or give you a free cable box. (guess which option they will pick ...)


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## 2004raptor

I am having more and more trouble with this DTA and my Series 2 tivo. It worked fine last night and now today when you change a channel, the # changes and the info but the same show remains. I have unplugged it twice with no fix. UNplugged it again and going to wait an hour just to see if that helps.

I think the least comcast should do would be to give me the cheap cable box as a replacement. Just not sure if it will be much better.


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## oldradio99

sfxc13 said:


> Call back. I had a rep give me a free cable box even though I have cable cards. Had been told previously I would have to pay.
> 
> If they argue with you I would say that cable card is not equivalent because does not give access to on demand services which is part of your subscription costs. So they should either reduce your bill or give you a free cable box. (guess which option they will pick ...)


The hilarity of all this is I received a call from a local technician. He actually wondered outloud if you used a double ended mini plug from IR to IR if that would work. He was going to try and call me today.

In the meantime I received an email from Comcast ecare (supposedly their top notch customer service reps). In that email they said the DTA would not work with TIVO and there was NO Way that the Tivo could change the channel on the DTA.

I have responded with the link to their own web site citing the reference and telling ecare that they are wrong. Will see if I get a response.

Fighting with Comcast is a game for me. And I feel like the Energizer Bunny, I just keep going and going.

So today is a waiting game - will I get a call and will I get an email?

By the way - beware of that free box. I had a free box for a year but then they audited the aco****s and they made me turn it in. Make sure you get it in writing that the box is free.


----------



## bicker

LINK

Essentially, the FCC has approved the use of embedded (low-grade) security in low-cost QAM tuners issued by cable companies to serve the needs of expanded basic cable consumers. The FCC evidently feels that many subscribers will benefit from greater low-cost access to advanced services through the availability of a less expensive converter box. (No one really benefits from forcing cable companies and cable subscribers to use higher-cost STBs for expanded basic cable networks.)

This waiver helps level the regulatory playing field, a small amount at least, between cable and satellite, which has been biased in satellite's favor for many years.

There is a down-side for some subscribers though: Cable companies have been considering a few options in the absence of the waiver. The temporary intention seems to generally be to rely on traps to secure the first level of advanced services (often called "expanded", including networks such as Disney, A&E, USA, FX, TNT, etc.) Traps are expensive to maintain, and therefore represent a significant cost of service, but the up-side of traps for consumers is that once you purchase access to a channel, you can receive that channel on every television in your home, with a tuner capable of tuning it in. With this waiver, the need for traps is relieved; instead that first level of advanced services can be secured with the DTA's privacy mode, which can be enabled and monitored remotely, representing much less cost. However, it means that QAM tuners without CableCARDs are unable to tune in these channels.

Despite this waiver, CableCARD still remains the means by which the industry complies with the federally-mandated requirement to allow consumers to use their own host devices. When considering the value of a QAM tuner a customer may own or purchase, whether it is stand-alone, embedded in a television, DVR, or PC card, a customer must always consider that the promise that that QAM tuner will work is limited to one signal service from each local broadcaster (and not necessarily the main-channel HD service), unless the QAM tuner is CableCARD capable and a CableCARD is installed and paired.


----------



## sgip2000

Bunch of BS. What good was the "Separable Security" requirement if they're going to keep rescinding it?


----------



## bicker

The haven't rescinded it. They waived it for specific services, for specific devices.

It's a tough balance that the FCC has to achieve. In the end, *many* people will benefit from getting expanded basic service on one of their two included ("free") DTAs, instead of having to pay extra for a STB. This is one of those cases where more advanced users have to defer to the needs of the overwhelmingly large group of less advanced users.


----------



## chakk

2004raptor said:


> I am having more and more trouble with this DTA and my Series 2 tivo. It worked fine last night and now today when you change a channel, the # changes and the info but the same show remains. I have unplugged it twice with no fix. UNplugged it again and going to wait an hour just to see if that helps.
> 
> I think the least comcast should do would be to give me the cheap cable box as a replacement. Just not sure if it will be much better.


If you are changing a channel with the Tivo remote, but the DTA is not switching to the new channel, then either your IR blasters have slipped and are no longer correctly providing signal to the DTA, or the channel you are attempting to switch to on the DTA is no longer on the air (in which case the DTA stays where it was rather than go to a blank channel), or the DTA itself has failed and should be returned to sender for a replacement.

If this happens for every channel number you choose with your Tivo remote, then the problem is with the first or third option listed above. If this happens for only some (or one?) channel, I would suggest unplugging the DTA for 30 seconds, then plug it back in so it can re-sync the channel lineup with your service provider.


----------



## gastrof

bicker said:


> The haven't rescinded it. They waived it for specific services, for specific devices.
> 
> It's a tough balance that the FCC has to achieve. In the end, *many* people will benefit from getting expanded basic service on one of their two included ("free") DTAs, instead of having to pay extra for a STB. This is one of those cases where more advanced users have to defer to the needs of the overwhelmingly large group of less advanced users.


In earlier cable boxes (analog) it was possible to have both unscrambled channels carried along with ones the box had to be programmed to unscramble for THAT household.

Don't tell me the same can't be done with current boxes.

If Comcast and others wanted to, they could continue to provide ("expanded") basic channels unscrambled, along with other channels that need to be unscrambled on a per household basis.

This desire to use the DTAs as full-fledged cable boxes in no way messes with anything. The standard cable channels could still be provided in an unscrambled form, tunable by the DTAs or QAM tuners.


----------



## bicker

gastrof said:


> In earlier cable boxes (analog) it was possible to have both unscrambled channels carried along with ones the box had to be programmed to unscramble for THAT household. Don't tell me the same can't be done with current boxes.


Good point. There is no question that some channels can remain in the clear, and we know that that indeed will be the case since at least one signal from each local broadcast station must be carried that way.



gastrof said:


> If Comcast and others wanted to, they could continue to provide ("expanded") basic channels unscrambled, along with other channels that need to be unscrambled on a per household basis. This desire to use the DTAs as full-fledged cable boxes in no way messes with anything. The standard cable channels could still be provided in an unscrambled form, tunable by the DTAs or QAM tuners.


I think the point is that the need to encrypt expanded basic exists. There is way too much value being provided to not employ a means of securing that value. So the only question left is whether that will mean that everyone will have to pay to rent a STB on every television, or pay only one third as much to have a DTA on every television.


----------



## gastrof

Poppycock.

We've had cable-ready tuners in TVs and recorders for years.

We should continue to have the same now.


----------



## bicker

Poppycock.

We used to be able to check two bags when flying somewhere. Not anymore on many airlines. We also sometimes pay for food and beverages which used to be free, and we also sometimes pay for blankets and pillows.

We used to be able to get into see Illuminations at Epcot in Orlando without paying admission. Not anymore.

We used to be able to get copies of certain medical records for free. Not anymore.

We used to be able to throw out as much garbage as we wanted each week. Not anymore. We have to pay $2 per bag beyond a cap.

We used to be able to throw out newspaper and corrugated cardboard and plastic and glass. Now we have to sort the containers into separate bins, and break down the cardboard, and tie the broken-down cardboard and newspapers up neatly.
Things change.

We used to get free rice at Chinese restaurants. Not anymore at many restaurants.

We used to get paper bills for every service that we use. Now some service providers charge extra to get a paper bill.

We used to get free conversions of documents onto your Kindle. Now the charge for the conversion is assessed.​
If you expect that nothing will ever change, you'll lead a life of continual disappointment and bitterness.

The fact remains that all four of Comcast's competitors here in Burlington all *already require a box on every television *for cable networks. Comcast is playing catch-up. They offered what you want longer than the rest. That's something to be grateful for.


----------



## rv65

Comcast is turning on the Privacy mode encryption in it's Portland system next month. It's a 2 phase rollout. November 10 is phase 1 while November 17 is phase 2. This is according to an email sent out to all employees.


----------



## Judremy

gastrof said:


> This desire to use the DTAs as full-fledged cable boxes in no way messes with anything. The standard cable channels could still be provided in an unscrambled form, tunable by the DTAs or QAM tuners.


They currently are for me. It's just the channels are hard to figure out:

55 = 75.3

101 = 83.2

You can still use your TV if it has a QAM tuner, just need to make a chart of the channels.


----------



## SalemCat

I've also been investigating this the last few days. Getting Comcast Technical Support to give me a straight answer is like pulling teeth.

I hooked up the Coax from Comcast to (2) different Tuners that are DIGITAL-ONLY, and NO Channels were received.

Then I hooked up an ANALOG Tuner to their DTA, and received Channel 3. I then used the DTA Remote to scroll thru the Channels.

I have concluded Comcast is sending a signal down the cables that no Digital Tuner can use. And that you must use their DTA and an Analog TV.


----------



## SalemCat

fallingwater said:


> Comcast will supply two DTA's for free


FREE ? Sorry, no - and maybe.

I've been told they are on LOAN - if you lose them they will charge you $$$.

The Comcast Rep told me this. Of course Comcast Rep's have been never been wrong before (snicker).


----------



## MrSinatra

comcast is evil, period.

first of all, cable is a monopoly, they abuse that monopoly power. they should not be allowed to.

secondly, the tech exists, via cable cards or tru2way cards, to allow the cable company to secure their signal while at the same time not require the customer to use their damn boxes, which they FORCE you to rent and don't offer to sell! amazing they get away with that.

thirdly, lots of older people simply can't keep up with or understand all these changes. it simply isn't fair to them.

people expect the cable company to protect their signal, thats fine. its the HOW that sucks. that cable companies want to force their hardware on people isn't surprising, b/c as a monopoly, they can. (and don't say they aren't a monopoly, clearly they are. sat can't NOT have a box, and verizn is small potatoes and also forces a box, but thats because in both cases the tech dictates it. not so in trad cable)

and don't get me started on NFL network...


----------



## gastrof

fallingwater said:


> ...Comcast will supply two DTA's for free...





SalemCat said:


> FREE ? Sorry, no - and maybe.
> 
> I've been told they are on LOAN - if you lose them they will charge you $$$.
> 
> The Comcast Rep told me this. Of course Comcast Rep's have been never been wrong before (snicker).


And you felt the need to reply to a post from _December of last year _because...?

Oh, and by the way, you're *wrong*.

Cable boxes normally include a monthly charge, and since these don't they are "free". When you don't have to pay for something, that's what it's called.

"Free".

Look it up!

As for needing to pay for them if you lose them, OOOOOOH! There's a surprise. As if you wouldn't need to also pay for a rented box you lost.

How DO you lose a cable box anyway? Hmmmm?

Oh please....


----------



## bicker

SalemCat said:


> FREE ? Sorry, no - and maybe.
> 
> I've been told they are on LOAN - if you lose them they will charge you $$$.


$115 ea. I recently received a bill from Comcast for four of them... I'm going into the office today to try to straighten it out. (I have the DTAs, but was never given an opportunity to return them...)

Also, note that what Comcast is saying to me is that with my level of service, Digital Economy, I cannot have them. So you're right... not free. You pay for them as part of your Digital Starter or higher level of service. I'm clearly not paying for them with my Digital Economy service.


----------



## bicker

MrSinatra said:


> first of all, cable is a monopoly, they abuse that monopoly power.


Totally incorrect. The US Court of Appeals recently spanked the FCC for making the same mistake you have, i.e., refusing to recognize satellite service providers are effective competition for cable service providers. So you're in good company in your error.



MrSinatra said:


> secondly, the tech exists, via cable cards or tru2way cards, to allow the cable company to secure their signal while at the same time not require the customer to use their damn boxes, which they FORCE you to rent and don't offer to sell! amazing they get away with that.


What are you talking about? They do secure their service using CableCARD, and folks are indeed allowed to use their own CableCARD-compatible boxes instead of one rented from the cable company. I know: I have a TiVo S3 and it works great!

Beyond that, what makes you think cable companies are allowed to sell these boxes? They don't make them. They purchase them under contract from companies like Motorola, Cisco, Thompson, Pace, Samsung, etc. It is up to those companies whether or not to allow their boxes to be sold to the general public. These consumer electronics manufacturers have made it very clear from their own actions that they have absolutely no interest in doing business with folks like us.

Finally, it was the FCC who granted this waiver. This isn't a loophole. It's not a mistake or an oversight or an exploit. It was a deliberate decision by an agency that is traditionally very anti-cable. They even impose regulations on cable that they waive for satellite providers -- that's just how much they work against cable. They granted this waiver because it is good for subscribers. It provides a lower cost solution than requiring a CableCARD-compatible box for all cable channels, once they're all encrypted.



MrSinatra said:


> thirdly, lots of older people simply can't keep up with or understand all these changes. it simply isn't fair to them.


There is no merit in your accuastion in that regard.


----------



## Kenji

rdlm said:


> mickpegg said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've read the entire thread and none of the suggestion make sense to me. I have a single channel Series two. I've connected the Cable from the wall to the DTA and from the DTA to Tivo's Cable in and then from Tivo's cable in to the TV.
> 
> However nothing I do will let me receive a signal from the DTA on my TIVO at all. I do not get any channels.
> 
> I've gone into guided setup twice. It asks me if I'm using a cable box (yes). It asks me if it's a digital box (yes). It asks me if it's Comcast (yes) It asks me what is on channel 30. (FOX sports NW - Yes). That's all it asks.
> 
> This forum talks about "advanced setup" and the ability to enter a special code and the ability to select what kind of cable box you have. My TIVO does not give me the ability to enter any of this information.
> 
> Therefor all the instructions are useless. Comcast has taken my lifetime service TIVO and turned it into a brick.
> 
> 
> 
> The first thing I would do is connect the DTA between the wall and the TV, with no Tivo involved. Once you connect the DTA, you need to activate it. For my area, I had the choice of activating over the web (via a browser), or via phone. The instructions that came with the DTA should tell you exactly what you need to do. You will need to set your TV to Channel 3 or 4, again depending on the instructions that came with the DTA. And note that activation can take several hours before the DTA is authorized.
> 
> Once this all works, and you can change channels using the DTA remote control (leaving your TV on channel 3 or 4), then you can start connecting the Tivo into the loop. It sounds like you did the right thing: Wall-to-DTA-to-Tivo-to-TV. Again, you will need to use channel 3 or 4 (based on the tivo switch), or you can use a composite video cable if your TV supports that (and set the TV to Line IN or whatever your correct setting is).
> 
> Now you need to connect the IR transmitter cable to the back of the Tivo, and set it so the two IT transmitters are an inch or two in front of the IR receiver on the DTA box. There are some sticky tape-like pads that come with it.
> 
> Finally, go through guided setup. When it asks you if Fox Sports is on channel 30 (or whatever), only say YES if you actually see that channel 30 is being displayed on the TV, and that it is in fact Fox Sports.
> 
> If this doesn't work for you, please be very specific about what steps you have followed, and exactly what you are seeing (or not seeing!). Hopefully I didn't leave out any critical steps!
Click to expand...

Hey. I'm having the same problem that mickpegg had. I know that my DTA box is working because if I plug its output directly into my TV, the DTA box works fine. However, when I plug the DTA box's output into the TiVo's RF input and run Guided Setup, all goes well until the TiVo box asks me if I can see video - all I see is a black screen.

How have people who had this problem solved it? Thanks much.


----------



## CrispyCritter

Get the DTA working on the TV itself (as some have done here), and have the TiVo setup for normal direct tuning (redo guided setup if you have a non-working TiVo setup right now).

Then, before running guided setup, connect the DTA to the RF input of the TiVo. Tune the TiVo to channel 3 (or 4, depending on how you have things set up - make sure the DTA and TiVo agree on either 3 or 4!). You should now be getting a signal from the DTA, and be able to change channels and see it on the TV by using the DTA remote itself (you have to keep the TiVo channel fixed on 3 or 4).

Only once you've tested you're getting all the channels you need through the DTA, then run guided setup on the TiVo. The purpose of the guided setup is to tell the TiVo how to control the DTA box, and that channel changes on the TiVo remote should not change the channel that the TiVo gets things on, but should just be passed on to the DTA box by the IR emitter (and to get the new DTA channel list)


----------



## Kenji

I appreciate the reply, but I've already done everything you said and when I get to the part of Guided Setup where it says "your channels are all set up. Are you seeing video now?", all I see is a black screen. Anyone else?


----------



## CrispyCritter

Kenji said:


> I appreciate the reply, but I've already done everything you said and when I get to the part of Guided Setup where it says "your channels are all set up. Are you seeing video now?", all I see is a black screen. Anyone else?


So you're saying that right before you're running "Guided Setup", the DTA signal is going through the TiVo, and you can see all DTA channels on your TV (though you have to use the DTA remote to do it)? And the back of the TiVo 3/4 switch is set to the proper one that the DTA is outputting?

If you're now getting a black screen, try changing the DTA channel with the DTA remote again, just to confirm everything is still working (you should be able to get all channels again, unless the 3/4 switch is wrong). The only two scenarios that should result in a black screen now are
1. the TiVo tuning the DTA to some non-existent channel (like 0), in which case the issue is getting the IR blaster to communicate properly.
2. The 3/4 switch is not set or functioning correctly and the TiVo is trying to read the signal on the wrong channel. Using the TiVo remote to change to the other one might work, I don't know. If you have the option, change both the TiVo and the DTA to use the other channel.


----------



## Kenji

I solved the problem.

During Guided Setup, the TiVo box asks you if you receive any premium channels. Until now, I answered "yes", since I receive HBO and Encore as part of my cable package used by my HDTV in another room. Apparently, doing that sends the TiVo tuner into Deep Space, and it won't tune any analog channels at all (I tested this by plugging my cable directly into the TiVo box's RF input after Guided Setup completed, and I couldn't tune a single channel). It also causes Guided Setup to not ask you what type of cable box you have, or to even try to change the channels on the box.

Answering "no" to the "do you receive any premium channels" question fixes everything. Hopefully this knowledge will help someone else down the road.


----------



## fallingwater

bicker said:


> $115 ea. I recently received a bill from Comcast for four of them... I'm going into the office today to try to straighten it out. (I have the DTAs, but was never given an opportunity to return them...)
> 
> Also, note that what Comcast is saying to me is that with my level of service, Digital Economy, I cannot have them. So you're right... not free. You pay for them as part of your Digital Starter or higher level of service. I'm clearly not paying for them with my Digital Economy service.


Such a deal! 

Actually it appears that, at least in NW WA, Comcast is no longer offering _Digital Economy_ service to new customers. Instead it's offering a promo for _Digital Starter_ @ $29.99/mo. for 6 mos. Terms and Conditions for the promo state 'limited to service on a single outlet'. After 6 mos. the standard charge of $57.45/mo. applies and service is no longer limited to a single outlet.

Interestingly, although Comcast implies that a DTA can only be used in conjunction with the account it's linked to when activated, that doesn't appear to be true. I took one of mine over to a neighbor so she could try it out and it continued to work fine.

EBay listing #170411073088 offers a Comcast Pace DC50X DTA NIB for $149.99 and has ignored 5 lower offers.


----------



## bicker

fallingwater said:


> Interestingly, although Comcast implies that a DTA can only be used in conjunction with the account it's linked to when activated, that doesn't appear to be true. I took one of mine over to a neighbor so she could try it out and it continued to work fine.


The way I understand it, there is no way to tell where within a neighborhood a specific piece of equipment is located.


----------



## MrSinatra

bicker said:


> Totally incorrect. The US Court of Appeals recently spanked the FCC for making the same mistake you have, i.e., refusing to recognize satellite service providers are effective competition for cable service providers. So you're in good company in your error.


which will be appealed to the us supreme court. come on, everyone knows cable companies are monopolies. what is it with you, work for one?



bicker said:


> What are you talking about? They do secure their service using CableCARD, and folks are indeed allowed to use their own CableCARD-compatible boxes instead of one rented from the cable company. I know: I have a TiVo S3 and it works great!


cablecards are NOT available in most locations, including where i live. cablecards don't give you ondemand access. but the point is i should be able to buy a full cablebox from ANYBODY and have it work with any cable system, just like a cable modem, (ie. have a DOCSIS type standard for cableboxes) and not rent it either as a line item or as part of my overall service.



bicker said:


> Beyond that, what makes you think cable companies are allowed to sell these boxes? They don't make them. They purchase them under contract from companies like Motorola, Cisco, Thompson, Pace, Samsung, etc. It is up to those companies whether or not to allow their boxes to be sold to the general public. These consumer electronics manufacturers have made it very clear from their own actions that they have absolutely no interest in doing business with folks like us.


thats crazy. these companies sell cable modems. secondly, the cable companies DO own them, they don't rent them from motorola or anyone else. while i'm sure thy have contracts for support of these boxes, it's not like they could return them all and get their money back. where do you get these "facts???"

if you think this isn't collusion, then why is it not one company does sell these boxes to the public? its b/c not one cable system would support it! the companies don't sell to the public b/c thats EXACTLY what the cable systems want, duh! the cable box makers know who their real customers are, and it isn't us.



bicker said:


> Finally, it was the FCC who granted this waiver. This isn't a loophole. It's not a mistake or an oversight or an exploit. It was a deliberate decision by an agency that is traditionally very anti-cable. They even impose regulations on cable that they waive for satellite providers -- that's just how much they work against cable. They granted this waiver because it is good for subscribers. It provides a lower cost solution than requiring a CableCARD-compatible box for all cable channels, once they're all encrypted.


which waiver? you need to clarify what you mean b4 i can respond.



bicker said:


> There is no merit in your accuastion in that regard.


what nonsense, who do you think you are, god? i deal with old people all the time and what i said is true. older people are by and large confused and angry by all the crap comcast and others are pulling these days.


----------



## bicker

MrSinatra said:


> which will be appealed to the us supreme court. come on, everyone knows cable companies are monopolies. what is it with you, work for one?


Everyone knows that cable companies are not monopolies. Folks like to deceive themselves about this issue to make themselves feel better about themselves and their baseless pot-shots. You want the Supreme Court to overturn this. They haven't. Your assumption that they will is very telling vis a vis your bias and how blindly you hold to it.

And no, I have never worked for a cable company. My perspective is a balanced perspective, factoring in both your consumer bias and the perspective of business.



MrSinatra said:


> cablecards are NOT available in most locations, including where i live.


That is unfortunate for you. The reality is that all major cable companies are required to provide them. Your marginal experience, experienced by so little of the country, is not what determines the reality overall.



MrSinatra said:


> but the point is i should be able to buy a full cablebox from ANYBODY


You want your dentist to be required to sell you a STB? That insane. What you probably meant to say is that you should be able to buy a STB from any STB manufacturer. On what tenet of law are you basing your assertion that the government has any right to force a manufacturer to sell anything? That's socialism. This is not a socialist country.



MrSinatra said:


> thats crazy.


No, it's reality. A reality you don't like -- I respect that -- but a reality all the same.



MrSinatra said:


> if you think this isn't collusion, then why is it not one company does sell these boxes to the public?


If you think it is collusion, prove it in the justice system. Otherwise, you're just blowing smoke, whining about what you want, as a consumer, but cannot have, because there is not a sufficient profit motive to justify providing it.



MrSinatra said:


> which waiver?


You really should read up on a subject before you post about it. The DTA privacy mode waiver has been discussed in this thread already, and is a major factor in the issues you're attempting to participate in a discussion about.



MrSinatra said:


> what nonsense, who do you think you are, god?


No: Rather, just someone who actually knows what he's talking about, and someone willing to acknowledge that reality is not necessarily only what is best for me personally as a consumer.


----------



## fallingwater

bicker said:


> $115 ea...





fallingwater said:


> Such a deal!
> 
> Actually it appears that, at least in NW WA, Comcast is no longer offering _Digital Economy_ service to new customers. Instead it's offering a promo for _Digital Starter_ @ $29.99/mo. for 6 mos. Terms and Conditions for the promo state 'limited to service on a single outlet'. After 6 mos. the standard charge of $57.45/mo. applies and service is no longer limited to a single outlet.
> 
> Interestingly, although Comcast implies that a DTA can only be used in conjunction with the account it's linked to when activated, that doesn't appear to be true. I took one of mine over to a neighbor so she could try it out and it continued to work fine.
> 
> EBay listing #170411073088 offers a Comcast Pace DC50X DTA NIB for $149.99 and has ignored 5 lower offers.





bicker said:


> The way I understand it, there is no way to tell where within a neighborhood a specific piece of equipment is located.


In line with your info that Comcast essentially prices its Pace DTAs @ $115.00 and that they may not work everywhere, I submitted a _Best Offer_ of $125.00 to the eBay seller if he allows the DTA to be returned for a full refund within 7 days. The offer is currently pending.

I can use a 3rd DTA but also am curious about whether they can be used anywhere on Comcast's system.

The difference between _Digital Economy_ and _Digital Starter_ is hi-def availability. The 6 mos. _Starter_ promo is Comcast's lure to entice viewers to spring for hi-def.

In this area, Comcast is scrambling all _Extended Basic_ Channels but OTA hi-def simulcasts are in the clear. All other hi-def channels are scrambled.

DTAs of course can't receive any hi-def channels but provide a good-looking 480i 4x3 picture to any standard-def recorder such as S2. Funai's QAM tuner DVD recorder can receive unscrambled hi-def channels and can record them in 480i 16x9 format which looks pretty good.


----------



## fallingwater

MrSinatra said:


> lots of older people simply can't keep up with or understand all these changes. it simply isn't fair to them.
> 
> people expect the cable company to protect their signal, thats fine. its the HOW that sucks. that cable companies want to force their hardware on people isn't surprising, b/c as a monopoly, they can. (and don't say they aren't a monopoly, clearly they are. sat can't NOT have a box, and verizn is small potatoes and also forces a box, but thats because in both cases the tech dictates it. not so in trad cable)...


*WAAAGH!*

Life isn't fair.
http://www.atg.wa.gov/pressrelease.aspx?&id=24860


----------



## fallingwater

fallingwater said:


> In line with your info that Comcast essentially prices its Pace DTAs @ $115.00 and that they may not work everywhere, I submitted a _Best Offer_ of $125.00 to the eBay seller if he allows the DTA to be returned for a full refund within 7 days. The offer is currently pending.


The seller declined my offer and won't accept returns for any reason. Caveat Emptor!


----------



## comedygirl24

fallingwater said:


> *WAAAGH!*
> 
> Life isn't fair.


Uhuh... that's disturbing...


----------



## MikeAndrews

Kenji said:


> Hey. I'm having the same problem that mickpegg had. I know that my DTA box is working because if I plug its output directly into my TV, the DTA box works fine. However, when I plug the DTA box's output into the TiVo's RF input and run Guided Setup, all goes well until the TiVo box asks me if I can see video - all I see is a black screen.
> 
> How have people who had this problem solved it? Thanks much.


Yeah. It's typical auto-tune failure and it cost me some hair. I got "No signal on Cable 1 in."

Do a restart on the TiVo to make it scan to tune the channel and you'll see the signal.


----------



## MikeAndrews

SalemCat said:


> FREE ? Sorry, no - and maybe.
> 
> I've been told they are on LOAN - if you lose them they will charge you $$$.
> 
> The Comcast Rep told me this. Of course Comcast Rep's have been never been wrong before (snicker).


The DTA itself has a label that says "Property of Comcast - must be returned...."


----------



## kheller2

I'm have similar problems in getting the S2 to even ask me what cable box type I have. I have a Sony SVR-3000 S2. The DTA works with the tv just fine. When doing guided setup, it asks if I have a cable box and or digital comcast and then I say "no" to premium channels. It never asks me what brand of cable box or even what input it is hooked to. I just goes and asks if I see a picture, which I don't, it is all a black screen. I've run through the "skip for now I'll troubleshoot later" and the "yes its working" but still where on earth do I pick the cable box type and input? I want to trouble shoot! 

I'm new to TiVo, been using ReplayTVs with DTAs and this is getting frustrating, especially over a modem (I have a USB ethernet dongle coming), and then after disconnecting having to wait for the "loading info organizing..." where is the turbo button?.

Also, when trying to follow the instructions here:
h t t p://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/357#ogs
on changing the IR codes, there is no "advanced" settings...

On my unit: TiVo Central -> Messages & Settings -> Settings -> Channels -> Channel List (only option there) -> A listing of my channels, with Enter for wrong lineup and Done to quit out.

This is software version: 9.3.2b-01-2-110
It says Source input is Coax RF IN.


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## uncdrew

Ugh, just got the letter from Comcast (Atlanta) telling me I'll need the DTA device.

Not looking forward to this. Lost all my IR blasters years ago...


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## CraigK

uncdrew said:


> Ugh, just got the letter from Comcast (Atlanta) telling me I'll need the DTA device.
> 
> Not looking forward to this. Lost all my IR blasters years ago...


I just hooked up my Series 2 single tuner to a Pace DTA with this cable.

Works like a charm. :up:

TiVo to Comcast DTA Cable


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## MikeAndrews

kheller2 said:


> I'm have similar problems in getting the S2 to even ask me what cable box type I have. I have a Sony SVR-3000 S2. The DTA works with the tv just fine. When doing guided setup, it asks if I have a cable box and or digital comcast and then I say "no" to premium channels. It never asks me what brand of cable box or even what input it is hooked to. I just goes and asks if I see a picture, which I don't, it is all a black screen. I've run through the "skip for now I'll troubleshoot later" and the "yes its working" but still where on earth do I pick the cable box type and input? I want to trouble shoot!
> ...
> 
> This is software version: 9.3.2b-01-2-110
> It says Source input is Coax RF IN.


I had a similar problem when trying to use RF input for the DTA.

When I was hacking it appeared to me that the during guided setup the TiVo checks for live signals on the inputs, but I still had no luck with one S2DT, while the other worked every time - until I converted the RF input to composite A/V using a VCR as tuner. That worked every time on the troublesome one.

When the S2DT didn't detect the signal on composite-in it also didn't ask what brand of box it is.

See starting here:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7691928#post7691928


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## uncdrew

CraigK said:


> I just hooked up my Series 2 single tuner to a Pace DTA with this cable.
> 
> Works like a charm. :up:
> 
> TiVo to Comcast DTA Cable


I may very well buy that. But I have to wait to see if my DTAs are Pace models first, right?

Or is it assured that's what I'll get?


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## Southcross

I hate my digital cable box... don't even have the stupid thing plugged in, but because they combined Digital with Expanded Basic (into Digital Starter) I'm stuck with the Comcast Breadwarmer (seriously... have you ever felt how freeking hot they get when they aren't even on????)... I wish they offered DTAs in the Denver Market


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## MikeAndrews

Southcross said:


> I hate my digital cable box... don't even have the stupid thing plugged in, but because they combined Digital with Expanded Basic (into Digital Starter) I'm stuck with the Comcast Breadwarmer (seriously... have you ever felt how freeking hot they get when they aren't even on????)... I wish they offered DTAs in the Denver Market


 Not only that. I just got my electric bill that suddenly was 1000KwH higher last month than normal - more than twice normal. I racked my brain for changed and could only come up with that I have 2 old VCRs on 24x7 for the DTAs. 

(I'm pretty sure the meter reader made a mistake, but I haven't checked yet.)


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## Southcross

The DTAs are only rated to consume like 25-50 watts... _shouldn't_ be the DTAs, if they were consuming heinous amounts of power, they should be quite warm (hot?) to the touch


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## CraigK

uncdrew said:


> I may very well buy that. But I have to wait to see if my DTAs are Pace models first, right?
> 
> Or is it assured that's what I'll get?


I think Comcast uses other DTA models besides the Pace. I'd wait until you get them. You usually have quite a bit of time to hook them up after you get them before the final cutover.

Somebody here from the Atlanta area might chime in with some info or you might check the AVS forum for an Atlanta specific Comcast thread.

If you read back through this thread you'll see that hooking up the IR Blasters to the DTAs is a pain, but this cable takes care of that problem.


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## uncdrew

CraigK said:


> I think Comcast uses other DTA models besides the Pace. I'd wait until you get them. You usually have quite a bit of time to hook them up after you get them before the final cutover.
> 
> Somebody here from the Atlanta area might chime in with some info or you might check the AVS forum for an Atlanta specific Comcast thread.
> 
> If you read back through this thread you'll see that hooking up the IR Blasters to the DTAs is a pain, but this cable takes care of that problem.


Yes, I read this whole thread. And that cable you show probably costs the same-ish and seems to fix the issue.

My DTAs arrive in a week or so and I'll report back for the Atlanta crowd. I think I'm among the first being moved, though I could be wrong. I haven't heard anyone at work talk about it yet.


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## rv65

netringer said:


> Not only that. I just got my electric bill that suddenly was 1000KwH higher last month than normal - more than twice normal. I racked my brain for changed and could only come up with that I have 2 old VCRs on 24x7 for the DTAs.
> 
> (I'm pretty sure the meter reader made a mistake, but I haven't checked yet.)


Broadcom has a new DTA SoC that produces around 2.5w. The current DTA's produce around 4 to 5 watts. The new DTAs based on this chip will be much smaller.


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## rv65

Comcast is working on DTA 4.0 which will be smaller and more energy efficient. DTA 4.0 will be more network agnostic meaning it can work with both Cisco and Motorola networks. I wonder what happened to DTA1.0-3.0?

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=187666&site=lr_cable
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=187627&site=lr_cable


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## uncdrew

uncdrew said:


> Yes, I read this whole thread. And that cable you show probably costs the same-ish and seems to fix the issue.
> 
> My DTAs arrive in a week or so and I'll report back for the Atlanta crowd. I think I'm among the first being moved, though I could be wrong. I haven't heard anyone at work talk about it yet.


DTAs just arrived, with a switchover date less than a month from now.

They are Motorola, so guess don't work with that cable that's on eBay.


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## gastrof

uncdrew said:


> DTAs...are Motorola, so guess don't work with that cable that's on eBay.


I got a Comcast DTA that apparently was by Thomson, not Pace.

The cable's working great.

Is there an IR sensor jack on the back of your Motorola, or is there a reason you don't want to try it with the Moto box?


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## DVRFarSling

Setting up the comcast dta (pace dc50x) has been a long and painful process. I have the Tivo series 2 dvr attached to a slingbox pro. It has worked fine until comcast forced this peice of cr*#p on me. BTW, here in massachusetts the box comes free for two additional dta's to the STB, after that there is a 1.99 per month rental per box. Yes, I feel this whole thing is a scam, but what are you to do.

So initially I recieved two dta's, both thompsom DCI1011COM. I couldn't get the remote working with the slingbox or figure out the TIVO connection. So after reading a lot of posts on both TIVO and Sling sites, I requested a Pace model...comcast wouldn't supply or even try to get me one. So I traded a thompsom for a pace with a friend. BTW, they are all recorded serial #'s to the account they were sent. So after trying unsuccessfully to activate using the phone assistant, I spoke with a rep. Luclily they ok'd the switch and activated it. Next I tried several times to get the ir to work and have at least the slingbox to be able to control the dta. Important part here was the 4 inch separation. Finally got that working. Next I tried the tivo. I read and reread posts here, but not one mentioned how important it was to wipe all setting from the TIVO before using the guided set up. So once I ran the setup wizard, and saw where to change the settings for using a comcast cable box I was half way there. After selecting comcast box and setting the proper channel lineup, there was some testing and all done. I wish I had got there before ordering the direct line wire, but I'll use that once I get it to clean up the whole setup. Right now it looks like a science experiment.
Since I didn't see many experiences with a tivo/slingbox/comcast dta, I thought I'd share mine. Hope this helps others out there. Note, wiring is also key. I have the coax going into dta-->coaxed to tivo and then composite to slingbox. And I opted for just one tuner within tivo, always had issues with dual tuner and skipping while recording and watching anyway.


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## uncdrew

gastrof said:


> I got a Comcast DTA that apparently was by Thomson, not Pace.
> 
> The cable's working great.
> 
> Is there an IR sensor jack on the back of your Motorola, or is there a reason you don't want to try it with the Moto box?


I really want to try the cable. I emailed the guy selling them on eBay and he told me while he designed it for Pace, he received word back that it's worked on a few other devices. No one yet has told him if it works on Motorola or not.

The motorola DTA has one IR input -- clearly meant for the little sensor they provide.

Think the cable will work?

I'm frugal and don't really want to spend $15 unless it works. But at the same time don't look forward to trying to duct tape TiVo's IR blaster to the sensor and have that contraption be in charge of changing channels.


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## rv65

The Motorola DTA uses the exact same remote as all the other DTA's.


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## MommyP

the cable company tells me that I cannot hook a DTA box if there is a splitter on the line. I did have a splitter to go from the cable and one to tivo so that my shows would record and we could watch kid shows when they are on.
any insights on this? can anyone tell me how to make this work?
Thanks ahead of time.


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## bicker

You can hook a DTA up on a line with a splitter. However, the splitter and the line both need to be of high quality and in good condition. So you can "try" it, and if it doesn't work, then you can fix it, or pay someone to fix it.


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## scandia101

MommyP said:


> the cable company tells me that I cannot hook a DTA box if there is a splitter on the line. I did have a splitter to go from the cable and one to tivo so that my shows would record and we could watch kid shows when they are on.
> any insights on this? can anyone tell me how to make this work?
> Thanks ahead of time.


That's just more bull crap from Comcast.

I have a DTA that's on a line that is split three times (not one 3 way split, but three separate 2 way splits) and everything is just fine.


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## bkc56

bicker said:


> You can hook a DTA up on a line with a splitter. However, the splitter and the line both need to be of high quality and in good condition. So you can "try" it, and if it doesn't work, then you can fix it, or pay someone to fix it.


I will confirm this.

When I was setting up my system with the new DTAs (two of them) I was having a lot of trouble. So I removed my 3-way splitter with a different 4-way one (one output unused) and everything started working just fine. The 3-way one was simply not good enough to handle the requirements of the DTAs even though it had worked fine for my Tivos and the TV.


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## DocNo

fallingwater said:


> Comcast will supply two DTA's for free and additional DTA's on the same account will cost $1.99 mo. each.


And the cable co's ride the "all digital" wave and worm back into per outlet pricing.

Nice 

I think we can safely say cable card is a COMPLETE failure 

(not that it wasn't pretty obvious before, but this just makes it stand out even more)


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## oarsman

My brother has a Series 2 Tivo in Pittsburgh and Comcast is eliminating analog channels. He's received a Pace DTA and asked me about hooking it up to the Tivo. Have people had good experience using a homemade opto-isolator cable to connect the Tivo output to the DTA IR input jack? Or do the emitters aimed at the remote IR sensor work reliably enough most of the time? I'm debating making a direct cable for him using plans on the web.
Thanks.


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## classicsat

Many people have successfully used the Gary Gray cable. 

I have done the optoisolator thing on a satellite receiver once.


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## scandia101

oarsman said:


> Or do the emitters aimed at the remote IR sensor work reliably enough most of the time?


When my mom had a S2 with a DTA the OEM emitters would get all pushed around in the tv stand and knocked out of place, but somehow she never missed a recording, ever.


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## jtlytle

In Florida, all Comcast subscribers are required to have DTA starting today. I went to Comcast office today to pick up three DTAs ( First three are free). I asked them will this DTA works with TiVo? they said no and suggest me to give up all of my four Tivos with Lifetime subscribers and get Comcast DVR with monthly payment instead!! I told them NO!

All DTA have remote to change channels. Will it works with our TiVo?? two tuners too?? Please advise!!

Thanks,

John


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## SoBelle0

I use GGray's cable, with my DTA, and it works perfectly. I do not have two turners on that unit, so I cannot speak to that. 

I can't figure out how to copy a thread link on my pad... But, the thread where I learned about this solution is called IR to IR with Comcast DTA.


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## GGray

Here's a link to the last page of the thread SoBelle0 mentioned.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=430994&page=4

Gary


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## bassque

Thumbs up on the Mad Money plug...


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## jtlytle

So all of my Dual TiVos are now Single tuner TiVos ???


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## jtlytle

SoBelle0 said:


> I use GGray's cable, with my DTA, and it works perfectly. I do not have two turners on that unit, so I cannot speak to that.
> 
> I can't figure out how to copy a thread link on my pad... But, the thread where I learned about this solution is called IR to IR with Comcast DTA.


Tell me more about Gray's cable, please.


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## classicsat

Yes, your dual tuners become single tuners, because you no longer have analog cable for the analog tuners in the TiVo to use. One tuner becomes the RF tuner for the RF out on the DTA box.

The Gray canle is basically an active coupler between the TiVo IR out and IR in on the DTA box. You use that instead of the blaster.


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## GGray

Here's a link to some information about my direct cable:

http://www.grayeng.net/TiVotoComcast.htm

Gary


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## drjlb

Is there any way to get an unsubbed S2 to control a DTA? Without it being subbed, I can't re-run guided setup can I? We just use the box for trick play once in a while, and I have no desire to pay the monthly fee (for a year) just to be able to re-run guided setup.


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## classicsat

You can re-run guided setup without subscription just fine.


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## mattack

Even if you had to pay, why would you expect it to be a year? Don't they allow month-to-month subscriptions anymore?


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## classicsat

Yes, but you need to commit for a year. Or you could cancel within 30 days.


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## drjlb

Thanks for the replies. Yes, to reactivate this TiVo, the website says I have several options (due to MSD), but they all require a year commitment. I wasn't aware that guided setup would run successfully without service.


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## timeispassing

I'm about to rip my hair out. I've read this thread twice and still can't seem to find an answer to my problem. Here's my setup:
*-I've got a Tivo Series 2 Dual Tuner that I can't seem to get working with a Comcast DTA.*
-I also have a Humax Tivo Series 2 with DVD Recorder which works just fine with a Comcast DTA, and there is a Sony VCR in the mix there.
-Series 3 Tivo with CableCards also working fine.

I am NOT trying to set up Dual Tuning with the S2DT, I just wanna be able to hook up the IR blasters and watch/record/pause all my Comcast channels which I can normally watch when the DTA is plugged directly into the TV.

First, I tried hooking the Tivo up to the DTA like so:
Wall RF->DTA RF->Tivo RF->TV
Could not get a picture on the TV unless the Tivo was off or in Standby, and in either of those instances, I was able to change the channels using the Comcast DTA Remote.

I tried performing Guided Setup about 4 times with this setup, changing options like "Cable" to "Cable/Satellite without box," changing the hookup for Tivo->TV from RF to Composite, doing a hard reset of the Tivo, but could never get a picture through the Tivo.

In another room, I have a Humax Series 2 Tivo with DVD Recorder which is working just fine.

Here's that setup:
Wall RF->Comcast DTA RF->Sony VCR RF->Humax Tivo Component->TV
_This setup works absolutely fine!_

So I tried to switch the Humax box for the Tivo S2DT, hoping that because this system has been working fine with the Humax set, maybe it will work with the S2DT.

The new setup is like this:
Wall RF->Comcast DTA RF->Sony VCR RF->Tivo Composite->TV
NO DICE! 

So then I switched the VCR from RF output to Composite.  
Wall RF->Comcast DTA RF->Sony VCR Composite->Tivo Composite->TV
_Still nothing._

I should note that every time I changed a connection, I checked to see if it worked and then ran Guided Setup another time when it didn't. _I think I have done Guided Setup about 10 times._ 

All the while, I am able to tune through the Comcast DTA when the Tivo is off or on standby.

I completely reset the Tivo (erased everything) and tried again. Still nothing.

My sister, who gave me the S2DT Tivo, said she had it working at her home plugged directly into the wall with RF and to the TV with RF. [Wall RF->Tivo RF->TV] She only got local channels, and with no internet connection, could not download program guides and thus could only record one half hour at a time.

Hearing this, I decided to try to recreate that setup here, just to see if maybe I am going absolutely crazy. So here's yet another setup!
Wall RF->Tivo Composite->TV

And now the Tivo Guided Setup isn't giving me an option for Cable without a box. When I choose "Cable/Satellite without box," I am asked who my Satellite provider is (options are DirecTV, Dish Network, or Angel Something-Or-Other). Not having a satellite provider, I don't know where to go from here...?

*UPDATE:* I went back and chose "Cable" rather than "Cable/Satellite without box" and am now able to get the basic local channels. *shrug*

This is so frustrating. I must've spent 10 hours working on this by now. My DTAs both work on their own. One works with the Humax Tivo just fine, but *neither* works with the Tivo Series 2 Dual Tuner. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? :...(

My_ ideal _setup would include the DTA, as I'd like to be able to watch/record/pause more than just the local channels, but at this point, anything but a _black screen_ would be an improvement. ANY help/advice I can get from the Tivo Community would be *GREATLY APPRECIATED*!!


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## lpwcomp

When you redid guided setup to configure the TiVo to use the DTA, did you tell the TiVo that it was connected to a cable box via RF and tell it the correct channel to use (3 or 4, depending on how you have the DTA set)?


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## timeispassing

lpwcomp said:


> When you redid guided setup to configure the TiVo to use the DTA, did you tell the TiVo that it was connected to a cable box via RF and tell it the correct channel to use (3 or 4, depending on how you have the DTA set)?


Thanks for the response!

I told the Tivo that it was connected to a cable box, but there is no option to specify RF or Composite.
(The following screen asks about connecting a splitter and setting up Dual Tuning, using both an RF and Composite connections, to which I answer, "No, I do not wish to set up Dual Tuning.")

Both the DTA and the Tivo are set to Channel 3, although the Tivo never asks about this setting during Guided Setup.


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## MikeAndrews

timeispassing said:


> Thanks for the response!
> 
> I told the Tivo that it was connected to a cable box, but there is no option to specify RF or Composite.
> (The following screen asks about connecting a splitter and setting up Dual Tuning, using both an RF and Composite connections, to which I answer, "No, I do not wish to set up Dual Tuning.")
> 
> Both the DTA and the Tivo are set to Channel 3, although the Tivo never asks about this setting during Guided Setup.


The trick is that the TiVo is trying to detect what input you're using and doesn't ask first. If you don't have the input LIVE when it scans the inputs during Guided setup it won't ask the right questions.

SOOOOOOOO...I bet you have something on the composite input. UNPLUG IT.

Connect the RF from the DTA to ANT/Cable *IN* and make sure the DTA is powered up. Run Guided setup. It should see the RF input with no composit input...and eventually detect the channel or give yuou an error message that it doesn't see the box.

If you get no joy try changing the channel out on the DTA and try again.


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## lpwcomp

You might want to look at this post and the immediately following posts.


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## timeispassing

netringer said:


> The trick is that the TiVo is trying to detect what input you're using and doesn't ask first. If you don't have the input LIVE when it scans the inputs during Guided setup it won't ask the right questions.
> 
> SOOOOOOOO...I bet you have something on the composite input. UNPLUG IT.
> 
> Connect the RF from the DTA to ANT/Cable *IN* and make sure the DTA is powered up. Run Guided setup. It should see the RF input with no composit input...and eventually detect the channel or give yuou an error message that it doesn't see the box.
> 
> If you get no joy try changing the channel out on the DTA and try again.


I originally set it up without any composite input involved and it didn't work then. I repeated Guided Setup at least 3 times during this setup and still never could get a picture. I even tried using the Comcast DTA Remote to change the channel. When that didn't work, I unplugged the DTA from the Tivo and instead plugged it directly into the TV (to make sure the remote was working and actually changing the channels) and I got a perfect picture. I also plugged the DTA into the Tivo and the Tivo into the TV using RF and got a signal on the TV from the DTA when the Tivo was _not on_. So the DTA works while plugged into the Tivo, but only as a bypass.



lpwcomp said:


> You might want to look at (POST COUNT TOO LOW TO POST LINKS, SORRY) and the immediately following posts.


I did read this post, and I did try the Guided Setup like this, _more than once_, but never ever got a picture. Not even a snowy one.

Could this be a defective unit? The fact that it works with the basic/local channels leads me to believe not... but this issue with the DTAs shouldn't be happening... right?


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## RonC

Pseudotsuga said:


> I'm a Comcast subscriber in the Seattle area, currently receiving analog cable via a series 2 single tuner. As I understand DTA's will be required for people like me. Does anyone know how this will affect my Series 2 functionality? Thanks.
> 
> Here is a link to a recent article in the Seattle Times about the pending DTA rollout.
> 
> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2008480563_brier08.html


I have a series 2 single tuner in the bedroom with a DTA. The unit works fine. I picked up a cable from eBay that replaces the IR and have had no problems.


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## shwru980r

timeispassing said:


> I originally set it up without any composite input involved and it didn't work then. I repeated Guided Setup at least 3 times during this setup and still never could get a picture. I even tried using the Comcast DTA Remote to change the channel. When that didn't work, I unplugged the DTA from the Tivo and instead plugged it directly into the TV (to make sure the remote was working and actually changing the channels) and I got a perfect picture. I also plugged the DTA into the Tivo and the Tivo into the TV using RF and got a signal on the TV from the DTA when the Tivo was _not on_. So the DTA works while plugged into the Tivo, but only as a bypass.
> 
> I did read this post, and I did try the Guided Setup like this, _more than once_, but never ever got a picture. Not even a snowy one.
> 
> Could this be a defective unit? The fact that it works with the basic/local channels leads me to believe not... but this issue with the DTAs shouldn't be happening... right?


I had to do the following to get a comcast DTA to work.

Run guided setup and tell the Tivo you have both cable and satellite TV and that you are using a cable box. This will force the tivo to look at both the RF input and the composite input and let you select the RF input for the cable box. Since you don't have satellite tv, just lie to the tivo about all the settings for satellite.

Once guided setup is complete, go back into channels under messages and settings and tell the Tivo that both lineups are incorrect and then reselect only the cable box. This will get rid of the satellite channels permanently and let the Tivo update only the cable channels.


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## lpwcomp

Looks like the s/w mod to make S2DT's work with a DTA has a few bugs.


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## timeispassing

shwru980r said:


> I had to do the following to get a comcast DTA to work.
> 
> Run guided setup and tell the Tivo you have both cable and satellite TV and that you are using a cable box. This will force the tivo to look at both the RF input and the composite input and let you select the RF input for the cable box. Since you don't have satellite tv, just lie to the tivo about all the settings for satellite.
> 
> Once guided setup is complete, go back into channels under messages and settings and tell the Tivo that both lineups are incorrect and then reselect only the cable box. This will get rid of the satellite channels permanently and let the Tivo update only the cable channels.


Hm, this is something I haven't tried yet! I'll give it a shot this weekend and let you all know how it goes!!


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