TiVo : swapping tivo and v+ around

[freakgirl]

Sorry if there's another thread on this

I got new tivo downstairs and v+ in my room but mum can't handle the picture on the tivo she was much better with v+ so my question is it possible to swap the boxes round myself or would I need to get someone from virgin round to do it?

[nodrogd]

Try it and see. It's only a case if unscrewing the F connector at the back. TiVO boxes are more dependant on signal levels being in tolerance, but if it doesn't work, you can always swap them back again. Make sure the connections are screwed in tight when reconnecting the boxes.

[freakgirl]

Cheers do v+ and tivo used the same plugs or would I need to swap the plugs around as well when I swap them?

[spiderplant]

You need to move the power supply with the TiVo, but otherwise the connections are the same. If there is an attenuator like this on the end of the cable, you should leave it on the cable rather than move it with the box.

[freakgirl]

Cheers, also is it ok to turn off the tivo by mains at night, because I have it in the same place as tv, dvd plug etc and I have to switch them off at night, easier then unplugging them

[Superblade7]

Originally Posted by freakgirl

Cheers, also is it ok to turn off the tivo by mains at night, because I have it in the same place as tv, dvd plug etc and I have to switch them off at night, easier then unplugging them

You can switch it off at night if you wish but a few things to consider:

it won't record anything set to record whilst it is switched off;
the TiVo boxes take around 5 - 10 minutes to do a full boot up after being switched off / reset so you'll have to wait this long before you can use it;
VM tend to do updates to their STBs overnight every now and again so when one of these has been done, it'll take even longer to boot up in a morning;
also, I'm not sure constant power ups / reboots would be good for the box (although one of the techs on here may be able to advise more).

My advice would be to leave it powered on in standby if you can as it then won't affect the performance of the box.

[freakgirl]

Going to leave it on standby, got an extension, so it's now in a separate one from tv etc

[Smithgo]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and this is my first post...

Current set-up:
I have a Tivo Box in my living room and a V+ box in my bedroom. These were both installed by Virgin Media engineers and it's all above board.

Change:
I'm buying a 3D Smart TV for the bedroom and I've heard that the selection for 3D is not as good on the V+ Box.

Question:
I'm thinking of buying a new Tivo Box on ebay and swapping it for the V+ box in my bedroom. That would mean I had a Tivo box in both rooms. Would this work and would I swap the card from the v+ into the new Tivo Box?

I'm not very technical...so please keep replies simple

[Superblade7]

Originally Posted by Smithgo

Hi, I'm new to this forum and this is my first post...

Current set-up:
I have a Tivo Box in my living room and a V+ box in my bedroom. These were both installed by Virgin Media engineers and it's all above board.

Change:
I'm buying a 3D Smart TV for the bedroom and I've heard that the selection for 3D is not as good on the V+ Box.

Question:
I'm thinking of buying a new Tivo Box on ebay and swapping it for the V+ box in my bedroom. That would mean I had a Tivo box in both rooms. Would this work and would I swap the card from the v+ into the new Tivo Box?

I'm not very technical...so please keep replies simple

Firstly, welcome to the forum Smithgo!

Secondly, the simple answer is no. Don't buy any VM equipment off eBay as it is illegal as all equipment remains the property of VM and should be returned if you cancel your services. Also, your smart card and the V+ Box are paired on your account so wouldn't work with any other equipment.

Hope this helps :-)

[Smithgo]

Thanks superblade7,

Really helpful...I got the box in the bedroom free when I upgraded to Tivo (no monthly rental), so I'm sure they'll tag me with another monthly charge if I asks to upgrade the box.

Is there a smart way of doing this?

Cheers Gordon

[Superblade7]

The whole 3D thing isn't my cup of tea so can't really advise you on that although one of the other CF members maybe able to. However, from reading some of the threads on here, I get the impression there is not an awful lot of 3D content available in general. You therefore might want to see what you can get via your existing TiVo and compare it against what is available on your V+ to see if there is much difference.

You also never mentioned whether you have a 3D TV as your main TV? If not, you could always swap your existing boxes around if you wished.

However, if you did then still want to swap the V+ to a second TiVo, the only option would be to ring VM and tell them what you want and see what deals they can do for you. You'll then be able to decide if it's worth it for you.

[spiderplant]

As far as I can tell, V+ and TiVo have exactly the same selection of 3D content anyway.

[Smithgo]

Thanks guys ;-)