TIVO Question--Can we tape one show and watch another?

[Tigger&Belle]

We just got Tivo and my DH is saying that we cannot watch one show and tape another without getting a splitter. I know that I read here that someone thinks that with picture in picture on the tv that a person can do this. Does anyone know for sure? And if that is possible, does the screen have the little PIP in it when watching and taping?

Thanks!

 

[Jennifer S]

Not sure - we got the splitter so we can watch and tape at the same time.

Congrats!! You are going to LOVE Tivo

 

[Crankyshank]

I have the 40hr tivo with a regular tv with digital cable and I can't tivo one show while watching another show.

I can tivo a show while watching a tivo'd show though

 

[barkley]

we can't use our pip function if we want to tape and watch a second show at the same time (or as we more often do, tape 2 while we are watching one already recorded). call the service that you get your shows from (for us it's direct tv) they can walk you through the tivo you currently have installed and let you know what your current set-up is able to do.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I thought you were suppose to be able to do that kind of thing, but we cannot with our Tivo.

 

[Cindy B]

Yes you can!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Yes you can!

Do tell....HOW?

How do you keep a fool in suspense?

 

[bicker]

With non-DirectTV TiVos, recording one program while viewing another is possible -- as long as the program that you're viewing is one that you recorded previously. With DirectTV TiVos, you can indeed record one program while viewing another, even if the program you're viewing is being broadcast at the current time.

The determining factor is the number of tuners in the recorder. Like practically all VCRs and DVD recorders, non-DirectTV TiVos have a single tuner. DirectTV had TiVo install two tuners -- a nice bonus.

We have two TiVos. With that set-up, we can record two programs at the same time, and then watch either program later on either TiVo, regardless of which TiVo the program was originally recorded on. The additional TiVo currently costs $50, plus $7 per month in service fees, a bargain for what we get, given that all the networks insist on putting all the good programming on at the same time.

 

[Cindy B]

With non-DirectTV TiVos, recording one program while viewing another is possible -- as long as the program that you're viewing is one that you recorded previously. With DirectTV TiVos, you can indeed record one program while viewing another, even if the program you're viewing is being broadcast at the current time.

:

Yes, that is what we have. We have one Directv Tivos, which enables us to watch something else on another channel while this one is recording. It also records up to two shows at once as well.

 

[bicker]

Though if you're recording two shows at the same time, you cannot watch a third.... it's all a matter of the number of tuners available.

 

[SeaSpray]

I really like our TIVO, but that (not being able to watch a different "live" show while taping a show) is the greatest disappointment about it!

 

[bicker]

As someone else mentioned earlier, it is possible to do so if you split your cable and put your television on an A/B switch (most televisions have them built-in these days -- I have have an A/B/C/D switch in mine! )

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Guess we'll have to go the splitter route. That is a disappointment about the TiVo. One my DH neglected to tell me when convincing me to get TiVo. Hmmm, wonder if he knew in advance.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I remember a thread like this from before, and when I said how I did it (watched one show, while TIVOing another) people thought it was a little odd, but it works!

I turn the TV off with the TIVO remote, and turn it back on with the regular TV remote. Then you can watch a different show while TIVO still records, but you don't get the TIVO benefits of the who you're watching, like being able to stop/rewind.

Hey...it works!

 

[becka]

We don't have Tivo but a DVR from our cable company with only one receiver. We cannot record a show and watch something being broadcast at the same time with our cable box. We can watch something we have recorded on the DVR while it is recording something else or if what we want to watch is not on a digital channel we just watch the broadcast show through our VCR. We can't pause, etc.. but at least we can still watch it.

We have to do that on Tuesdays since I want to DVR Amazing Race but we also like to watch My Name is Earl.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Mary Ann, I'll play around with it. Or tell my 15yo to figure it out--he seems to be smarter than me in that area. LOL

 

[Pugsley]

What we do (and I think this is what Mary Ann is saying) is watch TV off the antenna while recording a show off the satellite. But this limits us since the show we’re watching has to be on one of the major networks. We have DirecTV and we could have gotten two lines but they would have had to drill a hole in our wall and we didn’t want that.

 

[Olaf]

I LOOOOVE my DirectTV Tivo--best thing since sliced bread.

Did you know that you can also record two programs and watch one that you've already recorded at the same time? Pretty cool, eh?

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We were told we could when ours was installed but, so far, no luck.

 

[Olaf]

We have DirecTV and we could have gotten two lines but they would have had to drill a hole in our wall and we didn’t want that.

I don't have two lines. We have a wireless modem jack hooked up to one of our unused phone wall jacks, and another one plugged in by the TV/DirectTV Tivo--works great.

Oops, I went back and reread the quoted message. I think you mean two cable lines? That's odd, I only have one coming into the box.

I would definitely contact DirectTV if I weren't able to record and watch at the same time.