# Tivo Premiere & Directv...Could I use it like my current Series 2 Tivo with directv?



## omelet1978 (Mar 7, 2006)

I'm interested in getting the Premiere for the Netflix and future Hulu Plus capabilities as well as the larger hard drive.

I live in a condo that has Directv, so cable cards won't work. I've got a series 2 hooked up to my dtv box and was wondering if you could hook up the Premiere the same way?


----------



## fredct (Nov 15, 2004)

No, the HD and the Premiere do not work with cable/satellite boxes. Only with antennas & cable & cablecards.

However, there will be a DirecTV TiVo coming again:
http://www.tivo.com/products/source/satellite/tivo-directv/index.html


----------



## omelet1978 (Mar 7, 2006)

fredct said:


> No, the HD and the Premiere do not work with cable/satellite boxes. Only with antennas & cable & cablecards.
> 
> However, there will be a DirecTV TiVo coming again:
> http://www.tivo.com/products/source/satellite/tivo-directv/index.html


So it absolutely has to have a cable card and will not work without it?

My directv box has AV cables coming from the DTV box to the Series 2 Tivo and then from the Tivo to the TV...that won't work with the Premiere?


----------



## GBL (Apr 20, 2000)

omelet1978 said:


> So it absolutely has to have a cable card and will not work without it?
> 
> My directv box has AV cables coming from the DTV box to the Series 2 Tivo and then from the Tivo to the TV...that won't work with the Premiere?


Have you looked at the back of a Premiere? Where do you think you can plug in AV cables from the DTV box?


Click for high-resolution version.


----------



## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

omelet1978 said:


> So it absolutely has to have a cable card and will not work without it?
> 
> My directv box has AV cables coming from the DTV box to the Series 2 Tivo and then from the Tivo to the TV...that won't work with the Premiere?


Series 3/HD/XL and Premiere/XL will work with or without cable cards, antenna and cable only. They do not have Video/Audio inputs to allow any kind of set top box for satellite or cable box.


----------



## omelet1978 (Mar 7, 2006)

GBL said:


> Have you looked at the back of a Premiere? Where do you think you can plug in AV cables from the DTV box?
> 
> 
> Click for high-resolution version.


Oh...well I guess that solves that 

I would be interested in the dtv tivo but I'm guessing it's not going to have cool features like tivotogo and netflix though.


----------



## jaywtivo (Aug 29, 2004)

omelet1978 said:


> Oh...well I guess that solves that
> 
> I would be interested in the dtv tivo but I'm guessing it's not going to have cool features like tivotogo and netflix though.


You could connect Windows Media Center 7 to your TV... Netflix, Hulu, etc... You could do it all, then switch over to D* when you want to watch TV. Use a DirecTV HRXX DVR to record shows.


----------



## snedecor (Jun 27, 2001)

jaywtivo said:


> You could connect Windows Media Center 7 to your TV... Netflix, Hulu, etc... You could do it all, then switch over to D* when you want to watch TV. Use a DirecTV HRXX DVR to record shows.


That's what I ended up doing when TiVo abandoned us satellite users, and OTA switched to digital. I use a HTPC with Windows 7 Media Center to do Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and other Internet TV, along with 4 tuners for HD OTA (antenna) and 1 tuner for satellite.

I stream all my pictures, music, videos, home movies, and DVD's from my home server.

If/When the DirecTV TiVo comes to fruition, I will re-evaluate.

P.S. Still have a series 2 in the bedroom for my wife. Have to decide in November whether it's worth $100/year to keep it running.


----------



## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

sender said:


> P.S. Still have a series 2 in the bedroom for my wife. Have to decide in November whether it's worth $100/year to keep it running.


You could probably find a used S2 with lifetime service for less than $100, especially if it needs a hard drive or a power supply. You could swap out parts from your existing S2. It doesn't make sense to keep paying a subscription for an S2.


----------



## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

omelet1978 said:


> Oh...well I guess that solves that
> 
> I would be interested in the dtv tivo but I'm guessing it's not going to have cool features like tivotogo and netflix though.


Oh yeah. You can also count on DirecTV preventing the DirecTiVo from having any of the DirectTV "cool" features, as well (streaming MRV among others?). DTV has been less than enthusiastic about the often delayed and forthcoming DirecTiVo.


----------



## uh60james (Apr 4, 2011)

Would it not work for a SD Directv receiver, as a dumb dvr anyways? Coax in from the Directv receiver and just leave the Tivo on channel 3?


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

omelet1978 said:


> I'm interested in getting the Premiere for the Netflix and future Hulu Plus capabilities as well as the larger hard drive.
> 
> I live in a condo that has Directv, so cable cards won't work. I've got a series 2 hooked up to my dtv box and was wondering if you could hook up the Premiere the same way?


If you do have satellite, then I assume you don't have cable.

If you don't have cable, you don't need to reserve the cable input on the back of the Premiere.

Assuming the Premiere does analog cable, you can use the RF output of your satellite receiver, if it has one, set to channel 3 or 4, tell the Premiere that you have analog cable, and tune it to channel 3 or 4.

If your satellite receiver doesn't have an RF output, you can get hold of an RF modulator to pretend to be an analog cable channel.


----------



## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

unitron said:


> Assuming the Premiere does analog cable, you can use the RF output of your satellite receiver, if it has one, set to channel 3 or 4, tell the Premiere that you have analog cable, and tune it to channel 3 or 4.
> 
> If your satellite receiver doesn't have an RF output, you can get hold of an RF modulator to pretend to be an analog cable channel.


To record with the Premiere you would have to pay for TiVo's guide service, but with that kind of hookup you wouldn't be using it. You would have to program everything manually to record channel 3 or 4 (receiver output).


----------

