# Roamio and Spectrum (Time Warner Cable)



## noname87 (Jul 14, 2014)

My daughter is considering getting a TiVo. She currently has Spectrum cable (Resarch Triangle Area, NC). She/I have some basic questions:

1) How hard is it to set up the cable card?
2) Will the guide accurately reflect her channel line up?
3) Do the features like commercial skip work the same way as the Roamio OTA?
4) How many shows can be recorded at the same time?

Thanks


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## gigaquad (Oct 25, 2004)

Spectrum is currently rolling out IPTV, which will make her Tivo unusable. If she can use a cable card currently, it will be short-lived in the area. Tivo OTA and FireTV with Kodi are a more sustainable option.


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## noname87 (Jul 14, 2014)

Okay, you answered another question I had.

So you feel that Spectrum is going to a pure internet model? That means giving up all the rental income for set top boxes (I assume you will have an APP for streaming like Sling) and DVRs as well as the DVR service fee. It that in the immediate future?

I agree that OTA and straeming is a better way to go. However her apartment complex requires paying for cable service. They are actually rolling ou the new Spectrum service as we speak.


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## gigaquad (Oct 25, 2004)

Two good threads on the topic:
Spectrum is lowering the boom
Tuning Adapter required by August 1st but they can't provide one


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Most cable systems probably will go to IPTV but I think you have at least a year or two before Spectrum does; i.e., it's not "immediate".

You can record either 4 or 6 channels depending on which model of Roamio you get.

Features like skip generally will work the same as on an OTA TiVo.

The program guide will be as good, and as bad, as it is on OTA.

I'm on Spectrum, formerly TWC, which I believe is the same as your area. Setting up CableCARD has been pretty easy in my experience. Just call the national CableCARD help desk at 866-532-2598. I think you will also need a Tuning Adapter (TA). Setting that up is easy too although keeping them running can require occasional power-cycling.


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## gigaquad (Oct 25, 2004)

noname87 said:


> Okay, you answered another question I had.
> 
> So you feel that Spectrum is going to a pure internet model? That means giving up all the rental income for set top boxes (I assume you will have an APP for streaming like Sling) and DVRs as well as the DVR service fee. It that in the immediate future?
> 
> I agree that OTA and straeming is a better way to go. However her apartment complex requires paying for cable service. They are actually rolling ou the new Spectrum service as we speak.


wait, so you said - as a condition of her living in an apartment - that she MUST buy cable service?
That doesn't seem legal (3rd party purchases...), but I'm not licensed to practice in NC. I guess she could buy service then cancel after the lease starts to get around it and see if there's a notification that flags her.

With regards to "Is that in the immediate future", that depends on your definition of immediate. I like my stuff to work for at least 5 years. And if that's her idea of lasting equipment, then yes, I think it's going to change in the immediate future. I'd say 6mo - 1 year, similar to the poster above.

Food for thought: When we moved from SD to HD the cable company said they'd support SD tuners for the next 10 years, however 3 years later they forced upgrades or the purchase of converter boxes. You can't depend on them to stay on their rollout paths.


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## josim (May 22, 2016)

gigaquad said:


> Spectrum is currently rolling out IPTV, which will make her Tivo unusable. If she can use a cable card currently, it will be short-lived in the area. Tivo OTA and FireTV with Kodi are a more sustainable option.


I'm on Spectrum in Greenville SC. Do you have a link where I can read about this?


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## dsando (Sep 12, 2015)

gigaquad said:


> Two good threads on the topic:
> Spectrum is lowering the boom
> Tuning Adapter required by August 1st but they can't provide one


Requiring the use of a Tuning Adapter has NOTHING to do with IPTV. Tuning Adapters are required on systems that use SDV (Switched Digital Video). While there are several markets that are just now being migrated to SDV, other have been using them for years. (ie, My market, Charlotte, NC). SDV is still QAM video. It is NOT IPTV. The tuning adapter is basically a striped down cable modem that allows the device (Tivo) to request seldom used channels to be assigned a QAM slot to be viewed.

Spectum/TWC issued cable boxes do the same thing. The "tuning adapter" is just built in the cable box.

While it is a bandwidth saving technique, it is not an indication of IPTV. It is more likely Charter trying to align all markets and old companies (Charter/TWC/Brighthouse/etc.)

There is definitely a movement toward IPTV, but IMHO, we are MANY years away...

To answer the questions without all the FUD...

1) How hard is it to set up the cable card?
I have never had a problem. As other said, just call the 866-532-2598 number and they will get you up and running. 
2) Will the guide accurately reflect her channel line up?
Yes - As well as OTA
3) Do the features like commercial skip work the same way as the Roamio OTA?
Yes
4) How many shows can be recorded at the same time?
4-6 depending on Tivo model.


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## dsando (Sep 12, 2015)

josim said:


> I'm on Spectrum in Greenville SC. Do you have a link where I can read about this?


Please refer to my post #8. While Spectrum does have an app for Roku, Samsung TV's, and soon AppleTV, "Spectrum is currently rolling out IPTV" is not an accurate statement. 
IMHO, the app for live tv and on demand is more about forcing you to watch commercials, as they are locked and can't be skipped during on demand, then it is about IPTV.

While Kodi is 100% legal, MOST of the add-ons that allow "free TV" are completely illegal.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

dsando said:


> .........
> To answer the questions without all the FUD...
> 
> 1) How hard is it to set up the cable card?
> ...


err, yes, as I said in post #5 (a +1 would have sufficed)


dsando said:


> .......
> While Kodi is 100% legal, MOST of the add-ons that allow "free TV" are completely illegal.


Technically the apps are not illegal and using them isn't illegal. The internet sites that provide the copyrighted content are illegal however. Bottom line is still that people are knowingly violating copyrights using these apps. Basically because they can get away with it.


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## josim (May 22, 2016)

dsando said:


> Please refer to my post #8. While Spectrum does have an app for Roku, Samsung TV's, and soon AppleTV, "Spectrum is currently rolling out IPTV" is not an accurate statement.
> IMHO, the app for live tv and on demand is more about forcing you to watch commercials, as they are locked and can't be skipped during on demand, then it is about IPTV.
> 
> While Kodi is 100% legal, MOST of the add-ons that allow "free TV" are completely illegal.


Thanks! Been using a cable card and TA for years, first with a cable card tuner with WMC and almost 3 years in my Roamio Basic. The IPTV statement was news to me!


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

gigaquad said:


> Spectrum is currently rolling out IPTV, which will make her Tivo unusable. If she can use a cable card currently, it will be short-lived in the area. Tivo OTA and FireTV with Kodi are a more sustainable option.


This is absolutely false. @dsando is 100% correct. They are NOT rolling out IPTV, not even close. The Spectrum app is NOT IPTV. It will be many years before Spectrum abandons QAM.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

mdavej said:


> This is absolutely false. @dsando is 100% correct. They are NOT rolling out IPTV, not even close. The Spectrum app is NOT IPTV. It will be many years before Spectrum abandons QAM.


Agree. The Spectrum website refers to their Roku and smart TV app as IPTV. It is way different than what Comcast is calling IPTV, which is based on their cable boxes.


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## OrangeCrush (Feb 18, 2016)

noname87 said:


> My daughter is considering getting a TiVo. She currently has Spectrum cable (Resarch Triangle Area, NC). She/I have some basic questions:
> 
> 1) How hard is it to set up the cable card?
> 2) Will the guide accurately reflect her channel line up?
> ...


1.) It's not difficult, but it can be a time consuming hassle if you're not prepared. Not a lot of Spectrum reps or technicians know what they're doing around cable cards and if you get the wrong one, they will give you wrong information.

You will probably need a tuning adapter in addition to the cable card, you should be able to go to the cable company office and pick these up yourself. You also need a specific USB cable to connect the tuning adapter to the Tivo--USB 2.0 Type B (printer-style). Spectrum didn't give me one, but I was able to steal one from an old printer. Make sure you've got one on hand, or order one. It's $5 on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...31405424&sr=1-3&keywords=usb+a-male+to+b-male

Also, activate the cable card by itself. *Do not even connect the Tuning Adapter to the cable line until the cable card is working. * If channels don't show up, or you're using a Tivo that was previously set up for antenna, repeat guided setup. I was banging my head against a wall for A WHILE before I tried repeating setup and then everything worked wonderfully.

Connect the tuning adapter exactly as the Tivo manual describes, using a splitter. You should only be connecting ONE screw-on cable to the tuning adapter. Spectrum may tell you to connect them Cable Jack --> Tuning Adapter --> Tivo, but don't do it, you will have reception problems.

2.) The guide will accurately reflect her channel lineup, if you pick the right lineup during guided setup. You might have multiple choices for surrounding cities. Use Tivo online, enter her zip code, and find the lineup that matches her actual channels: http://online.tivo.com/start/guide

All the garbage channels will show up, but you can un-check them to get rid of them in the channels menu.

3.) Commercial skip works fine, but only on the more popular shows. Obscure stuff and reruns don't always get skip mode, same as OTA.

4.) 4 to 6 depending on which Tivo you get.



mdavej said:


> This is absolutely false. @dsando is 100% correct. They are NOT rolling out IPTV, not even close. The Spectrum app is NOT IPTV. It will be many years before Spectrum abandons QAM.


I believe the app actually is IPTV, it only works on their network, but they still broadcast to the boxes via QAM.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

OrangeCrush said:


> I believe the app actually is IPTV, it only works on their network, but they still broadcast to the boxes via QAM.


With such a definition of IPTV, then all OTT and video stream services are IPTV (DirecTV NOW, Youtube TV, Sling TV, Netflix, etc.). This is not the case. IPTV REPLACES QAM, not supplements it. Many cable companies have apps, networks have on demand, all delivered via "IP". But this does not make them IPTV. PS Vue also only works in your home, like Spectrum's app, yet nobody would call it IPTV.

A true example of IPTV is Uverse. Rather than QAM, they deliver channels, one at a time, to their cable boxes via IP. If Spectrum calls their app IPTV, they are simply misusing the term and misleading the public.

When Spectrum and other cable companies truly roll out IPTV, it will replace QAM entirely.

In any case, the main point is to refute the claim that the internet based Spectrum app is supplanting QAM and would render Tivo useless in the near future. When I started using the Spectrum app on a Roku several years ago, I did not have to throw my Tivo in the garbage. It continues to work fine on Spectrum and will for the foreseeable future.


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