TiVo For Dummies Table of Contents
Introduction
What’s in This Book?
How to Use This Book
Don’t Read These Parts
How This Book is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Before Buying Your TiVo
Chapter 1
Knowing the TiVo
Pausing Live TV
Controlling Your Own Instant Replays
Putting Your Television to Work
Zipping Past the Commercials
TiVo’s Sweet Little Gifts
TiVo and Your Home Computer
Saving Shows to VCR or DVD Burner
Just What Does TiVo Look Like?
Chapter 2: Buying the Right TiVo Model
What Your TiVo Needs
Paying for the TiVo Service
The TiVo Box
Choosing the Right TiVo for You
Chapter 3: Setting Up Your TiVo
Throwing in the Towel and Calling a Professional Installer
The Three Steps to Installing TiVo
Identifying Your Cables and Connectors, and Choosing the Highest Quality
Placing TiVo Near Your TV Set
Connecting TiVo to Your Phone Line
Connecting TiVo to Your Television Signal
Hooking Up TiVo without a Satellite or Cable Box
Connecting TiVo with a Cable or Satellite Box
Connecting TiVo’s Sound to Your Stereo
Connecting a VCR and Other Accessories between TiVo and Your TV
Recording One Show While Watching Another Live Show
Part II: Using the TiVo
Chapter 4: TiVo’s Remote and the Guided Setup
Preparing for TiVo’s Guided Setup
Knowing Your Remote
Completing Onscreen Guided Setup
Fine-tuning TiVo’s Remote
Chapter 5: Watching and Recording Live TV
Turning On and Watching Live TV
Recording Live TV
Pausing and Restarting Live TV
Instant Replays and Slow Motion
Finding Your Place in the Status Bar
Viewing Information about the Show You’re Watching
Changing Channels
Viewing and Recording through the Channel Guide
Weaning Yourself from Live TV
Live TV Remote Shortcuts
Chapter 6: Recording and Watching Favorite Shows
Creating a Season Pass to Record a Series
Entering Letters and Numbers Using the Remote
Creating WishLists to Record Favorite Things
Handling Scheduling Conflicts with the Season Pass Manager
Managing Your Recording Space
Checking TiVo’s List of Upcoming Recordings
Manually Recording by Time, Day, and Channel
Finding Interesting Shows to Record
Watching Recorded TV with TiVo
TiVo’s Suggestions and Your Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down Buttons
Recorded TV Remote Shortcuts
Chapter 7: Fine-Tuning Your TiVo
Finding TiVo’s Settings and Preferences Menu
Turning Off the Remote’s Beeps
Weeding Out Unwanted Channels and Adding the Favorites
Reading TiVo’s Messages
Changing TiVo’s Phone Number and Dialing Options
Blocking Content with Parental Controls
Customizing the Channel Banner Display
Changing the Default Video Recording Quality
Making TiVo Stop Recording Suggestions
Part III: The Home Media Option
Chapter 8: Setting Up the Home Media Option
Understanding the Home Media Option
Knowing What Home Media Option Requires
Setting Up a Home Network and Connecting TiVo
Purchasing the Home Media Option
Installing TiVo Desktop on Your Computer
Troubleshooting the Home Media Option
Chapter 9: Putting TiVo’s Home Media Option to Work
Scheduling Recordings through the Web
Publishing Music and Photos to TiVo
Viewing Digital Photos on TiVo
Playing MP3s on TiVo
Sharing Shows between Two TiVos
Tips and Shortcuts for Music and Photos
Chapter 10: Fancy Home Media Option Tricks
Organizing Your Computer’s Files for TiVo
Enhancing TiVo Publisher with Other Programs
Part IV: Upgrading and Fixing Your TiVo
Chapter 11: When Things Go Wrong
Fixing Wrong Channel Lineups
Controlling Your TV’s (And/Or Stereo’s) Power and Volume with TiVo’s Remote
Fine-Tuning TiVo’s Suggestions
Troubleshooting Video Problems
Troubleshooting Sound Problems
Channel Changing Problems
Examining the Recording History
Solving Phone Problems
I Need More Storage Space!
Gathering Information about Your TiVo
Setting Up TiVo When You Move
Restarting or Resetting TiVo, or Starting from Scratch
Chapter 12: Adding More Storage Space to Your TiVo
Understanding Your Upgrade Options and Risks
Buying a Hard Drive Upgrade Kit
Opening Your TiVo
Removing the Old Drive
Adding the New Drive
Replacing TiVo’s Case
Making Sure TiVo Works
Chapter 13: Finding More TiVo Information on the Web
TiVo’s Own Web Site
Web Links to TiVo Fan Sites
TiVo Hacking Sites
Links to Upgrade Kit Vendors
Part V: The Part of Tens
Chapter 14: Tips for Watching Live TV
Keeping Away from Live TV
Recording Live Shows On-the-Fly
Recording a Short Portion of a Live Show
Cutting Commercials from Live TV
Returning to a Paused Show
Recording Digital Cable Music Stations
Toggling between Two Live Shows
Chapter 15: Tips for Watching Recorded TV
Letting Shows Scroll Off Naturally
Fast-Forwarding 30 Seconds at a Time
Repeating Missed Dialogue
Creative Uses for Closed Captioning
Playing or Deleting Saved Shows Quickly
Saving Recorded Shows to a VCR
Chapter 16: Tips for Recording Shows
Finding Interesting Shows to Record
Making Sure TiVo Doesn’t Miss the Very End (Or Beginning) of Your Shows
Automatically Recording TV Premieres
Avoiding Overflows from TV Show Marathons
Navigating Menus More Quickly
Recording Movies or Shows with Forgotten Names
Setting Up TiVo for Vacations
Recording Sports Events
Chapter 17: Tips for Sharing TiVo with Family or Roommates
Sharing TiVo with a Roommate
Saving Space When Recording Long Shows
Buy a Second Remote
Setting Parental Controls Appropriately
Scheduling Children’s Shows
Adding Current Schoolwork to WishLists
Hiding the Remote from Children and Guests
Chapter 18: Ten Warning Screens and Their Cures
The Show Is Currently Being Recorded
The TiVo DVR Needs to Change the Channel
The Recorder Is Not Getting a Video Signal
The DVR Cannot Display Live TV
Please Activate Service
A Problem Occurred While Accessing the Server
Read New TiVo Messages and Setup
Press Thumbs Up to Record
Error Code: Error #32
Black Screen
Chapter 19: Ten Differences between TiVo and Generic DVRs
TiVo Automatically Searches for Shows
TiVo Offers a Season Pass
TiVo Offers a WishList
A Standalone TiVo Won’t Record in Dolby 5.1 Sound
TiVo’s a Time-Tested Technology
You Own TiVo
The DVR Lets You Watch One Show Live and Record Another Simultaneously
Chapter 20: Ten Big Differences between Series 1 and Series 2 TiVos
Differences in the TiVo Central Menu
Differences in the Now Playing Menu
Differences in the System Information Screen
Limitations of Series 1 TiVos