WMC to TiVo

[Sammy2]

Maybe this is a stupid question. Is the quality of the Xfinity On Demand through the Tivo the same as with the cable box, or is it more dependent on the internet connection like the Xfinity App would be on an iPad? I always figured there was some special two-way communication going on with dedicated bandwidth when running through the cable box. I have one cable box in my house just to retain good quality on-demand, and to have a TV that works when WMC decides to have one of its "moments" and not work properly.

Xfinity OnDemand is delivered through the cable not over the internet. The app selects through the internet and instructs the box to tune to the OnDemand channel. I think you can catch the TiVo still tuned to the OnDemand channel if you quit out to the guide (I've only witnessed it once). Quality is the same as the Cable Co box. I find that the On Demand TV shows have a limited color range compared to broadcast.

How is it doing on demand? I thought M-Cards were unidirectional?

[barnabas1969]

Maybe this is a stupid question. Is the quality of the Xfinity On Demand through the Tivo the same as with the cable box, or is it more dependent on the internet connection like the Xfinity App would be on an iPad? I always figured there was some special two-way communication going on with dedicated bandwidth when running through the cable box. I have one cable box in my house just to retain good quality on-demand, and to have a TV that works when WMC decides to have one of its "moments" and not work properly.

Xfinity OnDemand is delivered through the cable not over the internet. The app selects through the internet and instructs the box to tune to the OnDemand channel. I think you can catch the TiVo still tuned to the OnDemand channel if you quit out to the guide (I've only witnessed it once). Quality is the same as the Cable Co box. I find that the On Demand TV shows have a limited color range compared to broadcast.

How is it doing on demand? I thought M-Cards were unidirectional?

Shortcut already explained that. See text in blue above. Oh, and M-cards themselves are not uni-directional. It's the host into which you plug the card that is uni-directional. The "host" in this case is the TiVo. In the case of a Ceton InfiniTV tuner, the "host" is the InfiniTV.

[blueiedgod]

It will be cheaper to get a new wife than switching to TiVO.

If you think $1300 for a Tivo Plus w/2 Minis is more than a wedding and all that goes with it, sure. But most people, unlike you, don't instinctively threadcrap on Tivo at the mere mention of it.

For literal Jimmies out there, we don't have cheap friends. We made money on the wedding. The gifts were more than enough to cover the wedding, associated costs, honeymoon, and some spending cash.

BTW, I am getting $1700 for Roamio, 2x Mini's and 2x MoCA adapters

Order summary
TiVo Roamio Pro – Qty: (1) $599.99
Product Lifetime service$499.99
Limited warrantyIncluded

TiVo Mini – Qty: (2) $99.99
Product Lifetime service$149.99
Limited warrantyIncluded

MoCA Adapter – Qty: (2) $49.99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subtotal: $1,699.92

[Sammy2]

Shortcut already explained that. See text in blue above. Oh, and M-cards themselves are not uni-directional. It's the host into which you plug the card that is uni-directional. The "host" in this case is the TiVo. In the case of a Ceton InfiniTV tuner, the "host" is the InfiniTV.

Thank you for the clarification. I read right through that and didn't pick up on the fact that it is an app. I suppose this is something ceton could have done with the echo on android but that is never going to happen. I also didn't realize that the host was the issue with bidirectional support and not the card itself.

[Sammy2]

It will be cheaper to get a new wife than switching to TiVO.

If you think $1300 for a Tivo Plus w/2 Minis is more than a wedding and all that goes with it, sure. But most people, unlike you, don't instinctively threadcrap on Tivo at the mere mention of it.

For literal Jimmies out there, we don't have cheap friends. We made money on the wedding. The gifts were more than enough to cover the wedding, associated costs, honeymoon, and some spending cash.

BTW, I am getting $1700 for Roamio, 2x Mini's and 2x MoCA adapters

Order summary
TiVo Roamio Pro – Qty: (1) $599.99
Product Lifetime service$499.99
Limited warrantyIncluded

TiVo Mini – Qty: (2) $99.99
Product Lifetime service$149.99
Limited warrantyIncluded

MoCA Adapter – Qty: (2) $49.99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subtotal: $1,699.92

IIR this was related to exchanging the wife for one that tolerates the echo rather than getting a TiVo set up.

Exchanging a wife can be much, much more costly than just the initial expenditure..

I'm using an HTPC with two Echos, and the WAF has declined to alarming levels.

It will be cheaper to get a new wife than switching to TiVO.

[barnabas1969]

Exchanging a wife can be much, much more costly than just the initial expenditure..

Yeah, I can attest to that. My divorce cost me...

$60K in legal expenses.
$100K for my half of the home equity.
My entire 401(k).
$1,500/month until my kids finish high school.
$1,000/month for life (and this will probably increase to at least $2500/month after the child support obligation is gone)
...and plenty more.

So far, my divorce has cost me about $587,000.00. If I live until age 75, my divorce will have cost me somewhere between $925K - $1.5M, and possibly even higher.

Why is divorce so expensive? Because it's worth it.

[barnabas1969]

Thank you for the clarification. I read right through that and didn't pick up on the fact that it is an app. I suppose this is something ceton could have done with the echo on android but that is never going to happen. I also didn't realize that the host was the issue with bidirectional support and not the card itself.

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I've always thought that the host device was made uni-directional because the various cable systems in the US require a different method of up-stream communication. So, at a minimum, you would need one host device that could communicate with Motorola head-end equipment, and a different host device for Scientific Atlanta/Cisco head-ends. And, back when they decided all this stuff... they didn't know how many players would eventually exist in the market.

Later, along came SDV. So... they invented the Tuning Adapter/Resolver, and we got one for Motorola and one for SA/Cisco. Though, I don't know why they didn't think, "Hey... let's make the TA capable of requesting on-demand content and create a unified method for the host's software to communicate with the TA." I guess I'm just too logical. That would make too much sense.

[barnabas1969]

BTW, I am getting $1700 for Roamio, 2x Mini's and 2x MoCA adapters

Order summary
TiVo Roamio Pro – Qty: (1) $599.99
Product Lifetime service$499.99
Limited warrantyIncluded

TiVo Mini – Qty: (2) $99.99
Product Lifetime service$149.99
Limited warrantyIncluded

MoCA Adapter – Qty: (2) $49.99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subtotal: $1,699.92

You don't need the MoCa adapters. The Pro has MoCa built-in. So does the Mini.

[Sammy2]

Exchanging a wife can be much, much more costly than just the initial expenditure..

Yeah, I can attest to that. My divorce cost me...

$60K in legal expenses.
$100K for my half of the home equity.
My entire 401(k).
$1,500/month until my kids finish high school.
$1,000/month for life (and this will probably increase to at least $2500/month after the child support obligation is gone)
...and plenty more.

So far, my divorce has cost me about $587,000.00. If I live until age 75, my divorce will have cost me somewhere between $925K - $1.5M, and possibly even higher.

Why is divorce so expensive? Because it's worth it.

OUCH. I'm staring down that same barrel right now, trying to avoid that $60k part but in the long run, it's worth it.

[shortcut3d]

Shortcut already explained that. See text in blue above. Oh, and M-cards themselves are not uni-directional. It's the host into which you plug the card that is uni-directional. The "host" in this case is the TiVo. In the case of a Ceton InfiniTV tuner, the "host" is the InfiniTV.

Thank you for the clarification. I read right through that and didn't pick up on the fact that it is an app. I suppose this is something ceton could have done with the echo on android but that is never going to happen. I also didn't realize that the host was the issue with bidirectional support and not the card itself.

This is something Microsoft could have done a long time ago with WMC. TiVo worked with Comcast to setup an IP based service request system. Unfortunately, MS gave up on expanding WMC functionality. Comcast has been able to tell source of a request is within their network since cable modems. CableCARD authorization gives you access in the IP based service request system. Other than that, the card is not really required.

[blueiedgod]

BTW, I am getting $1700 for Roamio, 2x Mini's and 2x MoCA adapters

Order summary
TiVo Roamio Pro – Qty: (1) $599.99
Product Lifetime service$499.99
Limited warrantyIncluded

TiVo Mini – Qty: (2) $99.99
Product Lifetime service$149.99
Limited warrantyIncluded

MoCA Adapter – Qty: (2) $49.99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subtotal: $1,699.92

You don't need the MoCa adapters. The Pro has MoCa built-in. So does the Mini.

hrm, you are right. Just looked up the spec for it, and it does indeed appear to have MoCA connection. So, knock $100 off the $1700 price.

[jeonunh]

Shortcut already explained that. See text in blue above. Oh, and M-cards themselves are not uni-directional. It's the host into which you plug the card that is uni-directional. The "host" in this case is the TiVo. In the case of a Ceton InfiniTV tuner, the "host" is the InfiniTV.

Thank you for the clarification. I read right through that and didn't pick up on the fact that it is an app. I suppose this is something ceton could have done with the echo on android but that is never going to happen. I also didn't realize that the host was the issue with bidirectional support and not the card itself.

I was under the same impression, but I probably should have realized sooner since my last couple cable boxes have had cable cards in them. duh!

[blueiedgod]

Exchanging a wife can be much, much more costly than just the initial expenditure..

Yeah, I can attest to that. My divorce cost me...

$60K in legal expenses.
$100K for my half of the home equity.
My entire 401(k).
$1,500/month until my kids finish high school.
$1,000/month for life (and this will probably increase to at least $2500/month after the child support obligation is gone)
...and plenty more.

So far, my divorce has cost me about $587,000.00. If I live until age 75, my divorce will have cost me somewhere between $925K - $1.5M, and possibly even higher.

Why is divorce so expensive? Because it's worth it.

You should watch a really old movie, Divorce, Italian Style. It will make you laugh, and more importantly appreciate the legal system in the US.

Not sure if it is available for streaming on Netflix, but we got it on DVD from them.


P.S. If shortcut3d didn't know, it was a joke to get a new wife, but now that we are on the subject, perhaps one could set up a situation where the old and the new wife are cohabitating. But, that is more of Jerry Springer type of material.

[staknhalo]

Well on the plus side if you get divorced you no longer have to deal with WAF.

That's gotta be worth something

[barnabas1969]

Well on the plus side if you get divorced you no longer have to deal with WAF.

That's gotta be worth something

Well, I got a new wife a couple of years ago. So WAF is still a factor. Fortunately, my new wife is much more tech savvy (and sane) than the old one.

[Crash2009]

Well on the plus side if you get divorced you no longer have to deal with WAF.

That's gotta be worth something

Well, I got a new wife a couple of years ago. So WAF is still a factor. Fortunately, my new wife is much more tech savvy (and sane) than the old one.

I just got rid of the old wife. (She couldn't learn how to turn on the Tv) Not planning to get a new one, unless she passes the "Turn on the Tv" test.

[barnabas1969]

I just got rid of the old wife. (She couldn't learn how to turn on the Tv) Not planning to get a new one, unless she passes the "Turn on the Tv" test.

ROTFLMAO...

There are other qualifications too. Hopefully, you learned your lesson with Wife 1.0.

[richard1980]

Though, I don't know why they didn't think, "Hey... let's make the TA capable of requesting on-demand content and create a unified method for the host's software to communicate with the TA." I guess I'm just too logical. That would make too much sense.

1. It costs money to do that, and cable companies are greedy.
2. Allowing 3rd-party hosts to access the VOD system negates one of the key incentives to lease a cable box, and cable companies are greedy.

[barnabas1969]

Though, I don't know why they didn't think, "Hey... let's make the TA capable of requesting on-demand content and create a unified method for the host's software to communicate with the TA." I guess I'm just too logical. That would make too much sense.

1. It costs money to do that, and cable companies are greedy.
2. Allowing 3rd-party hosts to access the VOD system negates one of the key incentives to lease a cable box, and cable companies are greedy.

Yeah, but one of the reasons they don't like CableCARD is because it takes away their on-demand revenue stream, and cable companies are greedy.

[deihmos]

For someone just getting into dropping cable co hardware the Tivo set up is very close to what it would cost for a wmc set up. If you dont already have PC to use. I'd definitely consider if I hadn't already invested into wmc.

You can't be serious. I use a bookshelf pc that cost 150 hooked up to my HDTV. It plays 1080p without a hitch.