Question about recording for Doug

[Chris Blount]

Hey Doug, I have a dumb question.

If I'm having trouble with my local OTA digital broadcast (antenna problems, bad reception, etc), will the HD Tivo record the SAME show at the same time using a separate season pass in standard def?

Example.. Let's say "8 Rules" is on at 8pm on my local OTA station. The same thing is also showing on my local channel that comes through DirecTV in standard def from satellite. Can the HD Tivo record both shows at the same time on 2 different season passes?

I know it should because it has two tuners but I was wondering if the season passes might be an issue since they are recording the same show.

The reason why I ask is that my local OTA can be a little flaky and I thought that recording a backup in standard def might be a good idea.

[dswallow]

Season passes are channel specific so having 2 set up for the same show but on different channels would present no problem. If you had another season pass for a show that aired at the same time, the order the season passes are listed is how priority is determined. Since with TiVo based units the recordings are made based on when the show airs, a network might move a program around the schedule and where you previously had no such conflict, you now could have one. So you do need to be somewhat aware that could happen, and order your season passes based on how important each is to you.

There's also a "28 day rule" concept in the units; so unless you specifically tell the unit to record a show again, if it's already been recorded in the past 28 days it won't pick it up again from a wish list or season pass. This sort of thing is helpful when conflicts arise from season passes and a show isn't recorded, since some networks air the same episode again later in the week, it could get picked up for you automatically. However the program information would identify the HD and SD versions of the show to be the same show, so if the 2 season passes weren't recording simultaneously, the 28 day rule would prevent the season pass from recording the show again. For example, if the HD show was recorded by one season pass but there were reception problems during it, TiVo would still think it recorded it. Unless your second season pass was recording the same show in SD at the same time, it wouldn't pick up a later showing since the show ID info would have matched the HD versions ID info and it would not record it because it thought it already did.

But it's a good idea to keep a lookout from time to time on TiVo's "To Do" list just to see if anything gets marked as "won't be recorded" due to a new scheduling conflict. You can override it at that point if you choose to.

[Chris Blount]

Thanks Doug! Excellent information. Luckily there are really only a few shows that I find important enough to make SD backups. I honestly don't think I will have any OTA problems but you never know. :)