# Tuner allocation



## skid71 (Mar 20, 2013)

How do I control what channels my Pro are buffering?

Thought it would buffer the last six channels entered. Obviously I'm ignorant on this. 

Don't want to record any channel, just ping pong around watching different football games. 
Thanks


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

Each tuner stays on the last channel it recorded. You of course can manually change the channels. Enter a channel number, let it tune to that channel. Then hit the Live TV button. That takes you to the next tuner. Enter channel, wait till it tines, hit Live TV again. Keep repeating till your tuners are buffering what you want it to buffer.

If you just keep entering channels, it only changes the current tuner.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

skid71 said:


> How do I control what channels my Pro are buffering?
> 
> Thought it would buffer the last six channels entered. Obviously I'm ignorant on this.
> 
> ...


In order to what you want to do, you have to explicitly change tuners before entering the new channel.

It would be better to just go ahead and record the games. Too easy to accidentally lose the buffer(s) otherwise.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

And you know about "Info", down arrow to see what's currently on each tuner on one screen?


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## fpirelli (Oct 27, 2014)

lpwcomp said:


> In order to what you want to do, you have to explicitly change tuners before entering the new channel.
> 
> It would be better to just go ahead and record the games. Too easy to accidentally lose the buffer(s) otherwise.


Dumb question but how do you change tuners?


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

fpirelli said:


> Dumb question but how do you change tuners?


Hit the Live TV button.

You can also hit Info, and then down arrow once. You will see a list of what's on each tuner. Highlight the program/tuner you want to switch to and hit Select.


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## fpirelli (Oct 27, 2014)

Awesome. Thank you


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## kokishin (Sep 9, 2014)

lpwcomp said:


> In order to what you want to do, you have to explicitly change tuners before entering the new channel.
> 
> It would be better to just go ahead and record the games. Too easy to accidentally lose the buffer(s) otherwise.


Agree as well as Tivo only buffers each channel for the last 30 minutes.


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## skid71 (Mar 20, 2013)

Great info. Appreciate your time and replies. Yeah, I do know about the Info button. 
Thanks again!


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## PCurry57 (Feb 27, 2012)

kokishin said:


> Agree as well as Tivo only buffers each channel for the last 30 minutes.


The added plus of just recording the game opposed to telling on the buffer, you essentially buffer the entire game.


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## buckyswider (Aug 31, 2003)

Interesting, thanks for the tip on info/down. Is there any way to do it from a mini?


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

waynomo said:


> And you know about "Info", down arrow to see what's currently on each tuner on one screen?


Or you can just use the right arrow while watching TV and it does the same thing and brings up the same overlay menu. Easier on the thumb!


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## humbb (Jan 27, 2014)

HarperVision said:


> Or you can just use the right arrow while watching TV and it does the same thing and brings up the same overlay menu. Easier on the thumb!


I used to use the right arrow to bring up the overlay menu until I realized, after starting play on a new program or channel switch, I would have to wait for the channel/program banner to disappear before it would work. If you can't wait, hit clear, or left arrow quickly to remove the banner - if too slow, the left arrow takes you to the previous menu screen.

The Info button will always bring up the overlay menu even with the banner on-screen.


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## FitzAusTex (May 7, 2014)

The Enter button can be used to swap back and forth between the two most recently used tuners. However, there is an important caveat; maintaining your buffers will only work once you've cycled through all of your tuners (using the Live TV button). If you don't cycle through all the tuners, the Enter button acts like a last channel button and you lose your buffer. 

With that caveat in mind, the Enter button is a really fast way to jump back and forth between two channels, like two football games. Faster than cycling between 4 or 6 tuners.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

FitzAusTex said:


> The Enter button can be used to swap back and forth between the two most recently used tuners. However, there is an important caveat; maintaining your buffers will only work once you've cycled through all of your tuners (using the Live TV button). If you don't cycle through all the tuners, the Enter button acts like a last channel button and you lose your buffer.
> 
> With that caveat in mind, the Enter button is a really fast way to jump back and forth between two channels, like two football games. Faster than cycling between 4 or 6 tuners.


Actually, the Enter/Last button will perfrom whatever the _*last*_ tuner action was. If the last action was to change the channel on the active tuner, it will change back. If the last action was to switch to another tuner, it will switch back. There is absolutely no reason to "cycle through all the tuners" and is in fact pointless since you have to explicitly select the other tuner (call it tuner B) while tuner A is the active tuner.


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## kokishin (Sep 9, 2014)

PCurry57 said:


> The added plus of just recording the game opposed to telling on the buffer, you essentially buffer the entire game.


Exactly Pam!


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## FitzAusTex (May 7, 2014)

lpwcomp said:


> Actually, the Enter/Last button will perfrom whatever the _*last*_ tuner action was. If the last action was to change the channel on the active tuner, it will change back. If the last action was to switch to another tuner, it will switch back. There is absolutely no reason to "cycle through all the tuners" and is in fact pointless since you have to explicitly select the other tuner (call it tuner B) while tuner A is the active tuner.


net, net is if I don't cycle through them, then Enter acts like a last channel button and my buffer gets dumped. If I cycle through my tuners then I am not at risk of dumping my buffers. So perhaps I am misunderstanding you, but perhaps you are misunderstanding me. At any rate, why don't you tell us how we can swap btwn two (only) tuners without dumping the buffers on those 2 channels.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

They only way to do it for sure is to record what is on both channels. Otherwise, just one errant button press, and you will lose what is in the buffer. It's digital. it's much easier to just record. The TiVo will delete it on it's own or you can delete it yourself. Eitherway it's much easier than messing around with going between buffers. You just record ANYTHING you might want to see. You don't have to watch everything you record.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

FitzAusTex said:


> net, net is if I don't cycle through them, then Enter acts like a last channel button and my buffer gets dumped. If I cycle through my tuners then I am not at risk of dumping my buffers. So perhaps I am misunderstanding you, but perhaps you are misunderstanding me. At any rate, why don't you tell us how we can swap btwn two (only) tuners without dumping the buffers on those 2 channels.


You're on tuner A, bring up the info screen, down arrow to whatever you want to be tuner B, select it. At this point, Enter/Last will swap between the two tuners.

Ponimayu, tovarishch?


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

lpwcomp said:


> You're on tuner A, bring up the info screen, down arrow to whatever you want to be tuner B, select it. At this point, Enter/Last will swap between the two tuners.
> 
> Ponimayu, tovarishch?


And if you aren't recording from those two channels, and something needs to start recrording, it could take one of those tuners. Or you accidentally hit a number on the keypad, and poof, the buffer is gone because it changed to that channel. You record what is on each channel and then there will definitely be no issues going back and forth between buffers.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> And if you aren't recording from those two channels, and something needs to start recrording, it could take one of those tuners. Or you accidentally hit a number on the keypad, and poof, the buffer is gone because it changed to that channel. You record what is on each channel and then there will definitely be no issues going back and forth between buffers.


Why are you telling me? I posted earlier that you should record anything you want to watch.

The current discussion is about what you need to do to easily swap between 2-tuners, not whether or not it is a good idea to depend on the live buffers when doing so.

BTW, I use this method to swap between two NFL games on Sundays. However, I am recording them.


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## FitzAusTex (May 7, 2014)

lpwcomp said:


> You're on tuner A, bring up the info screen, down arrow to whatever you want to be tuner B, select it. At this point, Enter/Last will swap between the two tuners.
> 
> Ponimayu, tovarishch?


ok, that way is fine, too. I prefer to just push Live TV button and cycle, than pushing Right, Down, Right, (and potentially Down up to 4 times) and then Select. But either way works.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

FitzAusTex said:


> ok, that way is fine, too. I prefer to just push Live TV button and cycle, than pushing Right, Down, Right, (and potentially Down up to 4 times) and then Select. But either way works.


Lets test that proposition. 6-tuner Roamio. Active tuner already on the channel you want. You must hit the "Live" button 5 times, enter the channel you want it to be on, hit live TV one more time to get back to your original tuner. You're also assuming that the last tuner in the cycle is not currently recording.

Feel free to continue to do it that way if it makes you happy. But do not tell other people that they _*have*_ to do it that way.


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## kokishin (Sep 9, 2014)




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## FitzAusTex (May 7, 2014)

lpwcomp said:


> Lets test that proposition. 6-tuner Roamio. Active tuner already on the channel you want. You must hit the "Live" button 5 times, enter the channel you want it to be on, hit live TV one more time to get back to your original tuner. You're also assuming that the last tuner in the cycle is not currently recording.
> 
> Feel free to continue to do it that way if it makes you happy. But do not tell other people that they _*have*_ to do it that way.


I, in no way, told anyone that they HAVE to do anything. Try reading what you respond to. I stated that either works, and that I prefer my way.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

FitzAusTex said:


> I, in no way, told anyone that they HAVE to do anything. Try reading what you respond to. I stated that either works, and that I prefer my way.


You might try reading what you actually wrote:


> there is an important caveat; maintaining your buffers will only work once you've cycled through all of your tuners


Which is completely false.


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## FitzAusTex (May 7, 2014)

lpwcomp said:


> You might try reading what you actually wrote:
> Which is completely false.


For what I was actually talking about, it is not false at all. If you use the cycle method and have not visited all four (or six) tuners in the cycle, than using the Enter button will dump the buffer of the most recently tuned to channel. I was never saying that one MUST cycle, but if one does, to make sure they cycled through all tuners for the Enter button to swap, rather than act like a typical Last Channel button.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

FitzAusTex said:


> For what I was actually talking about, it is not false at all. If you use the cycle method and have not visited all four (or six) tuners in the cycle, than using the Enter button will dump the buffer of the most recently tuned to channel. I was never saying that one MUST cycle, but if one does, to make sure they cycled through all tuners for the Enter button to swap, rather than act like a typical Last Channel button.


IOW, what you're saying now is if you use your method of cycling through all of tuners, you have to cycle through all of the tuners. Do you happen to work for the Department of Redundancy Department? You also seem to be unable to recognize the flaws in your method.

When I posted that the "Enter/Last" button reverses whatever the most recent tuner action was whether it be a channel change or a tuner swap, you reiterated the requirement that you *must* cycle through all of the tuners.


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## kokishin (Sep 9, 2014)

Come on guys,

It's the eve of Thanksgiving.

Aren't there bigger turkeys (in lieu of fish) to fry (or bake or BBQ)?

The OP was given various methods to change tuners. No sense burning the turkey (or this thread) up.

My wife is in the kitchen already cooking for tomorrow. Smells delicious.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.


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## FitzAusTex (May 7, 2014)

lpwcomp said:


> IOW, what you're saying now is if you use your method of cycling through all of tuners, you have to cycle through all of the tuners. Do you happen to work for the Department of Redundancy Department? You also seem to be unable to recognize the flaws in your method.
> 
> When I posted that the "Enter/Last" button reverses whatever the most recent tuner action was whether it be a channel change or a tuner swap, you reiterated the requirement that you *must* cycle through all of the tuners.


You are apparently incapable of understanding anything other than what you think someone else is talking about. I readily admitted your method effective at accomplishing what I was talking about. Your complete inability to grasp what I'm actually talking about (rather than what you THINK I'm talking about) has finally made me decide to discontinue responding to your replies on this topic. Just not worth trying to get you to understand, because you're responding to something other than what I'm talking about.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

FitzAusTex said:


> You are apparently incapable of understanding anything other than what you think someone else is talking about. I readily admitted your method effective at accomplishing what I was talking about. Your complete inability to grasp what I'm actually talking about (rather than what you THINK I'm talking about) has finally made me decide to discontinue responding to your replies on this topic. Just not worth trying to get you to understand, because you're responding to something other than what I'm talking about.


In deference to the holiday, I will withold my response until tomorrow.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

waynomo said:


> Hit the Live TV button.
> 
> You can also hit Info, and then down arrow once. You will see a list of what's on each tuner. Highlight the program/tuner you want to switch to and hit Select.


Yeah, this is great for basketball, especially during March Madness. I record everything to "reserve" the tuner in advance, and then I can flip between them with this screen.



FitzAusTex said:


> ok, that way is fine, too. I prefer to just push Live TV button and cycle, than pushing Right, Down, Right, (and potentially Down up to 4 times) and then Select. But either way works.


If you do right>down>right, it shows you what is on each tuner, and you can directly select. The benefit of that is even larger on a Roamio with 6 tuners than on my XL4.


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