# How to hook up tivo to new HDTV?



## ingenue007 (Aug 23, 2005)

I have a series 1 tivo and just bought a new Samsung DLP 46'' HLR series tv. I also just picked up my new HD cable box (Scientific Atlanta 3250 HD).

Since the series 1 only has S-video inputs and analog LR audio, I am wondering how I should hook this up?

I was thinking of setting up the cable box for HDTV viewing and regular Tivo viewing of standard TV. 

For cable box viewing I would either use the DVI output or component to the TV and optical out to my receiver. I would switch the TV input source to cable box when I wanted to watch purely HDTV and preserve the 5.1 sound.

For Tivo viewing I could use the S-video output and analog LR audio from the cable box to the Tivo and output from the Tivo to my TV. I would then change input source on the TV to the Tivo.

Is this what those with HDTV and tivos do? Do you guys have any suggestions? Thanks.


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## Steve_Martin (Jul 18, 2004)

I watch Tivo in SD because it's the only way possible.  

I split the incoming cable. One leg goes directly to the HD TV which has a CableCard installed. This allows me to view analog and digital and pay channels and HD. The other leg connects to a SD cable box (STB). The output of the STB connects to the input of the Tivo, the Tivo output connects to one of the HDTV inputs. The Tivo controls the STB through a serial connection.

This essentially give the Tivo path its own STB to control.


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## Troy J B (Sep 27, 2003)

I also split the incoming cable. One leg goes to the Motorola 6412 with the other leg going directly to the SVR-3000. The 6412 is connected via component video and digital optical to a receiver. 
The TiVo is connected via S-Video and analog LR audio to the same receiver. My receiver is not smart enough to upscale the S-Video and output to the component video connected to the TV, so in addition to selecting TiVo on receiver, I have to select Video 1 on my tv (component is on Video 5)


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## Moebius (Nov 25, 2002)

Another split here. My display has no tuners so I split the cable to two boxes. The HD feeds component through my receiver to the display. The TiVo feeds through a DVD recorder via composite, the upsacled to 480p by the burner and fed to the receiver via component. Then of course the receiver feeds component out the the display.

The nice thing with this setup is that both the SD and HD feed into the same input on the TV, so I can switch through the receiver as I always have.


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## ingenue007 (Aug 23, 2005)

Darn I was hoping not to have to rent another TV cable box. It's another 7.99 I don't want to spend or 3.99 for a cable card from Time Warner.....but the cable card doesn't pick up TNT HD nor Discovery HD according to the rep. Anyone know if this is true or not??


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## dtreese (May 6, 2005)

My fairly old apartment only has one cable connection right now. I have a 3-way splitter that goes:
1)Cable modem
2)loooong cable to the master bedroom TiVo
3)cable to HD cable box/crap DVR (10 hrs of HD)

From my HD cable box (I actually ignore its DVR 99% of the time), I run component out to my HD set and s-video/stereo out to my TiVO. Everything's hooked into my receiver with best possible connections. I mostly watch through TiVo, switching to the direct HD input when I'm watching something in HD. The nice thing is that with the S-vid/stereo output from the cable box, I can record HD programs on TiVo and watch them later in 16:9 without screwing up other TiVO stuff. Not the same as HD, but better than most SD.


I also have an Xbox 360 & a PS2 hooked up to the HD screen. If I can ever tweak the video card properly, I'll use the HDMI connection for one of my desktops w/a bluetooth keyboard & mouse.


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## Steve_Martin (Jul 18, 2004)

ingenue007 said:


> Darn I was hoping not to have to rent another TV cable box. It's another 7.99 I don't want to spend or 3.99 for a cable card from Time Warner.....but the cable card doesn't pick up TNT HD nor Discovery HD according to the rep. Anyone know if this is true or not??


Unknown if its true for your cable system or not. Mine certainly decodes those channels (we have Cox cable).


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## ingenue007 (Aug 23, 2005)

dtreese said:


> From my HD cable box (I actually ignore its DVR 99% of the time), I run component out to my HD set and s-video/stereo out to my TiVO. Everything's hooked into my receiver with best possible connections. I mostly watch through TiVo, switching to the direct HD input when I'm watching something in HD. The nice thing is that with the S-vid/stereo output from the cable box, I can record HD programs on TiVo and watch them later in 16:9 without screwing up other TiVO stuff. Not the same as HD, but better than most SD.
> .


Nice. That looks like what I planned to do so I don't have to pay for another box/card. Thanks for the reply. I hope it works out with my box too.


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## JoeyImage (Oct 22, 2004)

Can someone also answer the same "How to hook up tivo to new HDTV?" question but with a series 2 Tivo, a SA 4200HD cable box, and a surround sound receiver combo machine? I am stumped...

TIA


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

The same way, essentially.


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## mrjam2jab (Jul 23, 2004)

Steve_Martin said:


> I watch Tivo in SD because it's the only way possible.
> 
> I split the incoming cable. One leg goes directly to the HD TV which has a CableCard installed. This allows me to view analog and digital and pay channels and HD. The other leg connects to a SD cable box (STB). The output of the STB connects to the input of the Tivo, the Tivo output connects to one of the HDTV inputs. The Tivo controls the STB through a serial connection.
> 
> This essentially give the Tivo path its own STB to control.


Im looking at getting a HD-ready tv....hopefully this week. So this thread caught my attention.

In the above model...the TIVO is still hooked directly to the HD TV....is the SD cable box downgrading the cable before it enters the Tivo?

My current situation is cable from wall to Tivo to non HD TV. I dont have a SD cable box. Im sure some shows have to be coming thru as HD right now...but i can still watch all the shows....

What am i missing about HD? How is my current setup gonna be affected by trading the "monitor" at the end of the line with a HD "monitor"???


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## Steve_Martin (Jul 18, 2004)

mrjam2jab said:


> Im looking at getting a HD-ready tv....hopefully this week. So this thread caught my attention.
> 
> In the above model...the TIVO is still hooked directly to the HD TV....is the SD cable box downgrading the cable before it enters the Tivo?
> 
> ...


The Tivo is connected directly to ONE of the inputs of the TV. Anything through the Tivo will be SD only. My particular STB cannot tune HD channels. If it did, in order to get HD quality signals out of it would require either component video out or HDMI. The other input is the CableCard which is installed in the TV (its a PCMCIA laptop style card) and perfroms the same functions as a HD STB.

You state your proposed TV is HD-ready - you might want to check and see if additional hardware is required to receive over the air (OTA) HD content.

What you may be not undrstanding is that not every channel is broadcast in HD all the time. Our cable company carries about 12 channels in HD - and these are broadcast on separate standalone channels. For example, our cable company carries ABC in SD on channel 7 and the HD version is on channel 707.

In short, for any HD content to be displayed you need a component video or HDMI level signal at the input of the TV (not counting OTA).


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## mrjam2jab (Jul 23, 2004)

You are right...I really dont understand the whole HD thing..thats why i came here...to see if a HD TV would effect the Tivo....i found this TV...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat03002&id=1099394446947

shopping by size...as my entertainment center is only so big...I see where is says built-in HD tuner but set top box needed for HD cable...so im thinking the HD is all in the Digital range?....which i dont currently have...

So since im not recving HD content...it shouldnt affect me at all??

Or do i still have it wrong???


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## Steve_Martin (Jul 18, 2004)

It looks like the only way to see HD on that particular TV is via an antenna or a cable STB. Over the air HD uses the old UHF bandwidth. You will need some form of antenna to receive OTA HD. I can't receive OTA HD because we live in an RF hole.


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## greg_burns (May 22, 2004)

mrjam2jab said:


> i found this TV...
> 
> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat03002&id=1099394446947
> 
> shopping by size...as my entertainment center is only so big...


I bought a 30" Sony HD. It has a built-in ATSC tuner, which means I can pick up some OTA HD without needing cable. (I got mine at a Sony factory outlet for $765 including a 5 year warranty. :up: )

I suggest you head over to avsforum before laying down any money on the Philips to see what others have to say.

I was also shopping based on the size of my entertainment cabinet. I had found a 34" Toshiba @ BestBuy that was the same width as the 30" Sony, but decided to go with the built-in tuner for less money and the quality.

Now that I have it, HD is very underwhelming for me.  Entirely due to the small size of the screen. 30" widescreen is puny. Regular 4x3 programming is even smaller than a 27" set, unless you stretch it to fill the screen.

This is definalety going to be just a stepping stone in my HD travels. If you want to experience true HD, I wouldn't waste your time with a 30", IMO. Xbox 1 sure looks pretty though. Wishing I hadn't sold my xbox 360 on ebay last year. Eh... no I'm not. $$$


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## PhillyGuy (Mar 12, 2006)

You should be able to watch HDTV with the built-in ATSC/QAM with no additional hardware, assuming that your cable company has not encrypted the HD channels. You don't have to make any changes to your current set-up.

If you are interested in receiving HBO or Showtime on HD and possibly ESPN or TNT HD, then you'll need a cable box.

You may want to use antenna to receive the OTA channels instead of getting them from your cable company if you can. Picture quality tends to be a bit better without further compression through cable. You can check what channels you can get at http://antennaweb.org


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## jchapman (Mar 29, 2005)

In my case, I split the cable four ways (with a signal booster). One goes to the TV for analog cable tuning, one goes to the TiVo, another goes to the cable box for digital (HD) decoding, and the last connection goes to the Media PC. All the devices (along with DVD, Xbox, etc) output to a receiver that feeds the TV, although I send the second set of outputs from the TiVo to the TV as well; allowing the splitscreen/PIP TV features to use the Tivo on one side and whatevers coming from the receiver on the other.


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## Spiderbeagle (Jun 15, 2004)

Steve,
I too live in Orange County, and am a Cox customer as well. I recently purchased a large screeen HDTV. Like you, I ordered a cable card rather than an HDTV STB. Your set up sounds interesting. 

However, I am somthing of an amateur at all of this, so I have a few basic questions:

1. Is it possible to remove the analog box from your setup and plug the Tivo directly into the TV on a separate path than the cablecard path? If so, how would this be inferior to your set-up?

2. With your current set up, can your Tivo record one channel through the Analog STB while you watch another via the cable card path?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.


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## Steve_Martin (Jul 18, 2004)

Spiderbeagle said:


> Steve,
> I too live in Orange County, and am a Cox customer as well. I recently purchased a large screeen HDTV. Like you, I ordered a cable card rather than an HDTV STB. Your set up sounds interesting.
> 
> However, I am somthing of an amateur at all of this, so I have a few basic questions:
> ...


1. Yes, you could connect the Tivo directly to one of the coax legs without a cable box, however, the Tivo only has an analog tuner in it so it will only be able to tune channels 1-99. Just use the S-video or composite outptuts of the Tivo to connect to your TV since the RF jack is used for the cablecard path (plus S-video is a better quality signal).

2. Yes, the Tivo path has it's own decoder box to control. I can watch one HBO channel while I record another HBO channel (actually, I can watch and record any combination of channels with my setup). The CableCard decodes all the digital channels as well as the premium channels that you are subscribed to (HBO, SHO etc). The Tivo controls the channel changing on the decoder box via its serial output port.

A standard definition digital channel when tuned with the CableCard provides a stunning picture. SD analog channels through the CableCard largely depends on the quality of the signal provided by Cox (i.e. it varies by channel).

Feel free to ask any additional questions. Where in OC are you?

We're in Trabuco Canyon.


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## kb7oeb (Jan 18, 2005)

ingenue007 said:


> Darn I was hoping not to have to rent another TV cable box. It's another 7.99 I don't want to spend or 3.99 for a cable card from Time Warner.....but the cable card doesn't pick up TNT HD nor Discovery HD according to the rep. Anyone know if this is true or not??


If it can't it defeats the point of having a cable card. You lose PPV and probably the guide (unless yours has TV Guide built in)



ingenue007 said:


> I also just picked up my new HD cable box (Scientific Atlanta 3250 HD).


It might be herasy on this board but the 1394 port on that cable box can be used to record HD to a digital VCR


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## Spiderbeagle (Jun 15, 2004)

Thanks for the info, Steve! Believe it or not, I'm in Trabuco Canyon as well (Robinson Ranch).

One other follow up question - When I connect my Tivo (a Tosh SD-H400) directly to my new TV, however, I get no signal. Perhaps my model doesn't include a tuner?


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## Steve_Martin (Jul 18, 2004)

Spiderbeagle said:


> Thanks for the info, Steve! Believe it or not, I'm in Trabuco Canyon as well (Robinson Ranch).
> 
> One other follow up question - When I connect my Tivo (a Tosh SD-H400) directly to my new TV, however, I get no signal. Perhaps my model doesn't include a tuner?


Coincidences, coincidences! Our downstairs Tivo is a Toshiba SD-H400 too. The HDTV we have is a Panasonic PX50U.

I think it has a tuner, I've never used mine without a cable box. Have you run guided setup and told it you're using cable without a box?


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

All standalone DVRs have an analog tuner. The DVD combos just don't have an RF modulator.


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## Spiderbeagle (Jun 15, 2004)

I took your advice Steve and got a standard digital cable box to devote to my Tivo. It seems to be working, although for some reason I can only get channel 2-13 through the new box. I have to work with Cox on that one. Once its all solved, however, I think it will be a really nice set up. Thanks again for your help!


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## Steve_Martin (Jul 18, 2004)

Spiderbeagle said:


> I took your advice Steve and got a standard digital cable box to devote to my Tivo. It seems to be working, although for some reason I can only get channel 2-13 through the new box. I have to work with Cox on that one. Once its all solved, however, I think it will be a really nice set up. Thanks again for your help!


Sure, no problem!

Can I blame you for Cox not showing up for the last 2 days?.... 

They called Friday saying they were on the way, then never showed. They called again Saturday and said they hadn't forgotten and would be by in the afternoon - they still didn't show. Arrrrgh.


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## sfmobius (Nov 30, 2006)

I bought a new Panasonic TH42X600 (or something close). I upgraded to an HD cable box from Comcast and I have a SD Tivo 2 series DVR. For the life of me I cannot get the audio to work from live TV filtered thru the tivo. Any previous recorded shows on TV work fine and the tivo sounds come thru fine. 

I'm using a standard 3 prong A/V plug from back of tivo to cable box however, cable box now only has two rows of 5 a/v slots. I plugged into the correct 3 of the 5 slots (and per comcast this should make it work) but still no sound.

Do I need an extra cable to get the sound or am I just doing it wrong?


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## Steve_Martin (Jul 18, 2004)

Hmm. Could you try temporarily bypassing the TiVo and connecting the cable box directly to the TV? It sounds like you have either the wrong connections from the cable box, or the cable box is broken or configured wrong.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

You need Y splitters to split the audio to the TV adn the TiVo.


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## Bina (Jun 5, 2007)

I just got a Toshiba Regza 42" HD. I have the cable coming into the house through a splitter, out to the HD cable box and out directly into the tv (for watching another channel while recording). I have the cable box hooked into the Tivo (coax) and the Tivo hooked to the tv (s-video). 

My question is, am I not getting the HD signal (even on the "cable" source) because the cable box is hooked into Tivo? 

I understand that without the Series 3 I can't record or playback in HD, but I should be able to still receive the HD signal, correct? 

People I know are telling me I either need to get the ComCast DVR (blechhh) or suck it up and get the Series 3 (which I can't afford - plus have lifetime service on the series 2). 

Sorry for the long post but I want to make sure I've tried everything! Thanks to anyone who can help.


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## JimSpence (Sep 19, 2001)

You're losing HD by using the TiVo. Here's what I would do.
Split the cable with one line going to the TiVo to record the analog channels and the other line to the HD cable box for watching HD live. 

Does the cable box have composite outputs? If so, then you could use those to the TiVo to record SD channels. You'd select whichever TV input is appropriate.


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## Bina (Jun 5, 2007)

Thanks, Jim! I'll give it a try.

I am so wired out and confusing myself now!


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

yes you have to have the cable to the TiVo to record.
The series 2 does not do HD so to get HD you need a cable box hooked directly to the TV.
what Jim did was hook up cable to the TiVo without a set top box so you can record the analog channels (typically those below 99)
if yopu want to record Digital channels then you need a second set top box or else you give up HD on the TV


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## TiVo Troll (Mar 23, 2006)

Troy J B said:


> I also split the incoming cable. One leg goes to the Motorola 6412 with the other leg going directly to the SVR-3000. The 6412 is connected via component video and digital optical to a receiver.
> The TiVo is connected via S-Video and analog LR audio to the same receiver. My receiver is not smart enough to upscale the S-Video and output to the component video connected to the TV, so in addition to selecting TiVo on receiver, I have to select Video 1 on my tv (component is on Video 5)


A neat thing about the 6412 is that its menus and EPG are only viewable on its DVI/YPbPr output when a resolution other than 480i is selected. I use the 6412's DVI output to a hi-def monitor and S-video from the 6412 to S2's line input. Then S-Video from S2 to the monitor's standard-def input.

I can watch hi-def programming in hi-def and even record in hi-def if it's worth doing so, but most programming is recorded as standard-def on the S2. S2's standard-def picture through its line input is significantly less grungy on all but the strongest channels than tuning the same channel through S2's internal tuner.


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## Bina (Jun 5, 2007)

Thanks! I don't really care about recording the digital channels.

So, to reiterate:

I should have the cable coming into the house split, one going to the cable box and one to the Tivo. Connect the Tivo to the cable box via composite cables (this is the red/white/yellow or blue/green/whatever, right?). What's going into the tv itself? 

This is going to drive me to drink!


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## TiVo Troll (Mar 23, 2006)

Bina said:


> So, to reiterate:
> 
> I should have the cable coming into the house split, one going to the cable box and one to the Tivo. Connect the Tivo to the cable box via composite cables (this is the red/white/yellow or blue/green/whatever, right?). What's going into the tv itself?
> 
> This is going to drive me to drink!


Does your TV have two inputs? RF Coax and a line input at the very least?

The line input is yellow for video w/red and white audio and/or S-Video w/red & white.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Bina said:


> I should have the cable coming into the house split, one going to the cable box and one to the Tivo. Connect the Tivo to the cable box via composite cables (this is the red/white/yellow or blue/green/whatever, right?). What's going into the tv itself?


If your cable box has COMPONENT or HDMI, you want to hook those to the TV. You will NOT get HD from the cable box with composite (yellow for video plus red/white for sound).

I only skimmed this, but it sounds like you want to tune HD directly WITH THE TV... To do that, you'll need to split the cable THREE ways, one going to the cable box, one going to the Tivo (since you said you don't care about recording digital), and one going to the TV..

Heck, if you don't care about RECORDING digital, maybe you don't care about WATCHING digital, and you can downgrade to 'expanded basic' or whatever they call it. You'll still get the HD channels unencrypted that you can tune with your TV if the TV has a QAM tuner (which would be the only reason to hook directly to the TV... unless it has a cablecard slot and you want to get cablecard(s) for the TV)


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## Bina (Jun 5, 2007)

Ideally, I'd like to watch/record everything, including digital but I would give that up for the HD signal if I had to. The tv has a bazillion inputs, including 2 HDMI ones. I guess I'm confused about what wires I should be connecting into what inputs. It's also important to me to be able to watch one thing while another is recording, which is why I currently have a coax split from the wall directly into the tv, as the cable box and tivo need to be on the same station to record.

I think I need some kind of expert to come set this up for me! Aaarghhh!!!!


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