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November 18, 2004

How important is the phone?

Do I need to have a phone connected ALL the time?  I want to put in a second TiVo [this one goes in the bedroom].  There isn't a phone line nearby.  I can run a wire across the room occasionally.  Would that work?
-- Howard

November 18, 2004 in TiVo

Answers

If you would like, that would be fine. Then all you need to do is go into your Settings and force the TiVo to connect to the service.

Posted by: Matt Hawley at Nov 19, 2004 6:27:38 AM

Dude, why not just try it? This isn't some major dilemma. Run it across the room like once a week.

Posted by: Dick at Nov 19, 2004 7:44:33 AM

The real answer depends on the type of TiVo you have.

If this is a DirecTiVo - the DirecTV unit - then it doesn't really need a phone line at all after intitial setup. All of the Guide Data comes down from the satellite. Once in a blue moon it may say it needs to call home - then plug in the phone line. Also, without a phone line you won't be able to order PPV from the remote (you can still order via the web) but the unit should work indefinitely. You may also need to connect to the phone line to get software updates when they happen.

Standalone units need a phone line for initial setup. And they download data going 12-14 days into the future. Since the farther out you go the less accurate it tends to be, I'd recommend connecting at least once a week to update the guide. Note, however, that this means the TiVo will not catch short term changes to the TV schedule. You could also get a wireless modem jack (note *modem* jack - NOT a wireless *phone* jack) to allow the TiVo to use the phone line from another room.

The other alternative, and really the best one IMHO, is to put the TiVo on your home LAN - if you have one. By connecting the TiVo to a broadband connection you can use the web based scheduling at TiVo Central Online, as well as access the online music and photo libraries.

And locally with a LAN you can share content between your units (if they're both Series2 units, and both on the LAN), access music and photos from PCs on your LAN - and soon you'll be able to use TiVoToGo to transfer content to your PCs as well. And you can do this with wired Ethernet or WiFi.

See:
http://www.tivo.com/network
http://www.tivo.com/adapters

Be very sure you use an adapter from that list - and pay attention to brand, make, modem *and version* of the adapter. Too many people are going out and buying Linksys WUSB11v4 adapters - they don't work.

Posted by: MegaZone at Nov 19, 2004 5:54:03 PM

Thanks for responding. I appreciate the efforts. Now, if only DirecTv would make a PVR/TiVo device that has a DVD recorder, I would be in holiday heaven.

Posted by: Howard at Nov 21, 2004 1:49:47 PM

any recommendations on which of the wireless network adapters is the best? Also, any setbacks I should know about for adding this to an Apple Airport wireless network?

Posted by: jeremy at Dec 22, 2004 1:00:26 PM

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