# How to set default channels for my 4 tuners.



## josim (May 22, 2016)

I have a Roamio basic w/cable card and a Roamio OTA. 

As I understand Tivo operation, all four tuners of my Roamios are continually recording a half hour buffer. I would find it useful to select channels in which to default when those tuners were not otherwise in use recording or live viewing shows I have selected. 

Is this possible? If so, how?


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

There is no magic sequence. The channel you are viewing is on a tuner. You can not set another tuner to that channel (without a Mini). It's easier with TE3, but can be done with TE4. I find with TE4 using the Diagnostics works better than the right arrow.

When the box does a restart, tuner 0 is on the channel you were viewing when you began the restart. So are all the other tuners. Using the guide, select channel A. Now (with TE3) hit Right & down to see all the tuners. Select the next tuner. With the guide, select channel B. Repeat for channel C and D. Now check the Diagnostics and you will have four tuners on four different tuners. As long as you only select one of those channels, they will always be the same. If you need to check channel E, you can, but you must hit "Last/Enter" to go back. Play with it. You'll get the logic and then it will be easy.

Understand the tuners and you will understand the channel selection.


----------



## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

josim said:


> I would find it useful to select channels in which to default when those tuners were not otherwise in use recording or live viewing shows I have selected.


Unless you have Suggestions enabled, tuners remain on a channel until they are needed for recording or until you manually select a new channel. There is no mechanism to revert to another channel when a tuner is no longer live or recording.

Even worse, I've occasionally had the TiVo highjack the tuner I was using for live viewing, in order to start a recording from the ToDo list, even though other tuners were available.


----------



## BrettStah (Nov 12, 2000)

josim said:


> I have a Roamio basic w/cable card and a Roamio OTA.
> 
> As I understand Tivo operation, all four tuners of my Roamios are continually recording a half hour buffer. I would find it useful to select channels in which to default when those tuners were not otherwise in use recording or live viewing shows I have selected.
> 
> Is this possible? If so, how?


This will get you close most of the time:

Set up four simultaneous manual recordings on the four channels, and turn off suggestions from being recorded. Schedule these in the early morning hours before you wake up, when nothing normally is being recorded.


----------



## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Also, set their priority to the lowest.

-KP


----------



## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

josim said:


> I would find it useful to select channels in which to default when those tuners were not otherwise in use recording or live viewing shows I have selected.


As others have said, the capability to designate "default" channels does not exist. Scheduling any 4 simultaneous recordings will set the tuners to those channels, but as soon as the box needs to do another recording on a different channel, your "default" on one of those tuners is gone.

The same thing will happen if you use the Ch+- buttons to change channels - if you cross a new channel not already playing on one of the tuners, then you have changed one of those "defaults". With TE3, that will only happen with the one tuner that you were watching when you started surfing, but if you are running TE4, it is quite possible that all four tuners will be changed to unwanted channels, depending on how many different channels you cross during the surfing.


----------



## josim (May 22, 2016)

Thank you for your responses. I didn't think there was a easy and useful way to do this and you folks confirmed my thoughts.

Thanks again.


----------

