moorehed

just hypothetically, is there any way to get a cable box to work with a tivo? since the channels change via cable box is there any way to get the tivo to do its thing?

nevermind

Yeah they have an IR blaster which changes the channels for you.

moorehed

dbrink, could you explain this a little more? how it works? thanks.

nevermind

Sure. I don't have cable, I have Dish Network, but it's the same thing. Basically it's a wire with two little Infared Blasters on the end. You place these in front of the cable box IR eye. In setup you tell it what type of box you have(there's a sh*tload to choose from). It gives you a bunch of codes to try, and you pick the one which works the best. It's not 100%, but I've gotten it to where it only drops a digit once a month or so. You can build a "fort" around the front of the box with cardboard and aluminum foil, which keep all the other IR "noise" out of the way.

[Edited by dbrink on 04-15-01 at 05:55 PM]

moorehed

cool thanks. do i have to buy this thing? or does it come with my tivo?

nevermind

Comes with it.

moorehed

thanks... hmm now i wonder where mine is

nevermind

Did you buy the thing new?

It was in the wiring bag. Looks like two little plastic "L"s, and a long skinny wire.

TheBang

Otherwise if your cable box has a serial remote port, you should use that with the serial cable that comes with the TiVo, because it is much faster and more reliable than the IR Blaster.

adamblast

Serial remote port: that's the answer I've been looking for.

Our cable company starts offering digital as of this month. Looks like I need to investigate what kind of box they'll be using.

I wonder: If it doesn't have a port, do they let you buy your own, rather than rent their box?

jeffkjoe

I just got Tivo and I use a cable box.

The cable box is the traditional Time-Warner one that's black and has a red-tinted window with the digital channel read-out.

It has no serial output, so I had to use the IR-blaster wire that came in the Tivo box.

I had to use the adhesive strips and physically attach the IR end (the rubber L-shaped thing with the small bubble on the tip) to the front of the cable box, right over the IR blaster. It's kinda hard to find...You have to shine a flashlight onto the red window in front of the cable box, and you'll see the IR blaster underneath the red glass. It's a circle-shaped eye.

It seems like an odd set-up, but sure enough, it enables the Tivo to change channels on your cable box automatically.

Hope this heps.