Recording with a Digital cable box question

[planet_tv]

I did Google this but all I got was information from 2005.

I have a question if you have a Digital cable box can you tape one channel and watch another?

I asking because the cable I have is moving the Hallmark Channel to where you need a digital cable box to get it and my dad is going to be getting a Digital cable box since he likes the Christmas movies on the channel and ask me if I wanted one.

I know with a cable box, the ones that were out when SG1 was on Showtime, that you can only record the channel you are watching.

My tv is an HDTV and I have a vcr/dvd combo hooked up via HDMI cables but do have the RCA (yellow, red and white) ones if I need to use them but don't want to have to use them, since my SNES hooked up that way, unless I would have to.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[lordofseas]

It depends on which brand, which company, what widgets, etc.

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

I've gone back in time....

If all your digital channels are being broadcast through the same TV channel (it used to be called AV on mine.. but in 2011 it is HDMI 1) then no you can only record the channel you're watching as the VCR (I assume that's what you're using because tivo and recordable DVDs haven't been invented yet) can't distinguish between the different frequencies used by the Digital cable box.. so it will only record what you can see on the screen...

I would suggest try it and see what happens... but from what I remember I don't think you can..

But things do get better.. I can record two channels at once on my digital box.. as it has an internal harddrive.. I can even watch a third channel while the two are recording.. or watch something I recorded earlier. I can also watch shows from the previous week through the on-demand service, which is also available online

[planet_tv]

I wasn't sure because it's been a long time since there was a cable box in my house and my family and I only had it for about a season's worth of SG1, one of the first 3 seasons.

Then I'll go check Sharp, LG and Charter's websites and see what they say.

The only problem I see is that if I get it I won't be able watch anything I want Tuesdays since I tape Flashpoint for my mom on ION so she can watch it off her VCR and TV but it's no problem right now as my TV is the only one that gets it because of it being an HDTV.

I do know that my grandmother had a digital cable box once and I think she had a switch so she could switch to regular cable so she could tape stuff.

[SaberBlade]

A plain digital box shouldn't allow multiple recordings. You need to see if you're able to get a digital box with DVR capabilities. These should come with multiple tuners allowing you to program what you want recorded while leaving you free to watch anything else.

[planet_tv]

So if I had a digital box with DVR capabilities would I still be able to record stuff with my LG VCR-DVD combo because I don't want to have to make my mom come upstairs just to watch Flashpoint off the DVR.


I did another Google search based on the digital box with DVR capabilities and it said you can still be able to record one thing with VCR-DVD combo and watch another channel if you had a splitter. (link to item in the search I did that I'm referring to: http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics...eo/154707.html)

Would I be correct in assuming that I would need a splitter? If so would that still work if my LG VCR-DVD combo is hooked to my TV with HDMI cable (Input3 HDMI3 is what I turn to on my TV to use it)?

[Skydiver]

You can't. I have a digital cable box. how I have a coax (analog) that runs to other vcr's and dvr's and I can record multiple things at once via the tuner. But the digital 'out' has to be recorded live.

One good thing with hallmark channel, look for rebroadcasts. many channels like that air stuff at least twice, east coast and west coast feed. 2am repeats are your friend

That's how I can get dexter recorded or some other shows that have primetime conflicts. Your digital cable box may also have a timer feature, that changes the channel while you're not home. You then sync your recorder to record the show.

[Skydiver]

What you can do depends on how many outs you have on your cable box, and how many ins your tv has.

I have an out going straight into an input on my dvr. I also have coax going into the cable in on that dvr, so i can record 'line' recording - straight off the dvr - or tuner recording, using the dvr's internal tuner to change channels.

I also have the coax going to another vcr, which is hooked into a different input of my tv, so i can use the dvr to tape a digital feed, but have the tv set to the vcr input then I can use the vcr to watch a show while the dvr is recording.

I'll freely admit my tv set up is spaghetti It boggles the mind of the cable guy because I'm able to record up to 4 things at once (which i rarely do anymore)

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

As long as you connect the VCR to the Digital box it should record.. but you're back to the only recording what you can see on the screen issue... But you would still be able to record other programs with the DVR at the same time..

I used to record from my old digital box (without DVR) without the use of a splitter.. It's all about the way you connect the VCR, Digital Box and TV together. Been a while since I've had to think about it.. But I think it went signal source (aerial, cable etc..) to VCR to Digital Box to TV..

I don't really know whether you would need a splitter to be able to record one channel and watch another.. it may depend on the VCR and if it is able to pick up the individual digital channels.. It may just recognise them all as one channel.. since they would all be shown on the same HDMI channel... It's been a while since I've used one and mine was only a basic model.. so you'll have to experiment with the settings.. the link you posted suggested setting the VCR to 'cable' instead of 'air' so it would have to be able to pick up digital signals from the cable as well as the analogue RF signal..

Depending on the Digital Box you get, you may be able to record to DVR and then transfer the recording to CD/DVD bypassing the VCR issue entirely...

*edit: Of course! If you have an analogue signal than you don't need to worry about the DVR/cable box issue at all.. Just connect the analogue source to the VCR and tune it to a different separate channel to the digital source.. then you can record from that without having to go through the Digital box.. unless I'm misunderstanding your situation..

[Skydiver]

digital channels are not available via analogue tuners.

I can get channels 1-99 via my analogue tuner, but any digital channels are inaccessible via analogue tuners. For example, national geographic is channel 75 and is invisible to my dvr, vcr or even the digital tuner in my recorder.

3/4 of my cable channels are in the digital range and only recordable directly out of the cable box. Fortunately 90% of what I watch are on the analogue channels.

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

It's a bit different in the UK.. There are only 5 analogue channels... If I wanted to watch two programmes that were on at the same time and one was on an analogue channel I could set the VCR to record from either a channel from 1-5 and watch the digital programme on the AV channel.. or record from AV which limited viewing to channels 1-5.. and there was a noticeable difference in picture quality

[magictrick]

Should look into getting a PVR, since they are so popular nowadays the deals on them are really good. You can record one program while watching another. Then you can copy a recorded program to VCR/DVD while watching TV. You won't miss a beat.

[planet_tv]

I was looking at the manual for my LG VCR-DVD and it mention something about cable boxes then I look at the notes section and this is what it said: "With this connection, you cannot record one program while viewing another."

I don't mine having to watch what I'm taping if it's Sanctuary or some award show like the Oscars or SAG awards but then I can see where a DVR would be useful to me in terms of shows like Ghost Hunters which I tape just in case I miss it and in case of House MD I tape it for that reason and if I don't feel like watching it at the time it's on.

I also looked at my Sharp Aquos TV manual and it says the HD cable set top box can be connected with HDMI cable in addition to the other option for an HD box, component. I think right now I have my cable, non cable box cable, going into or connected to my VCR-DVD combo but I'm not sure because I have an a/b switch.

I'll have to ask my dad which type of digital cable box he's getting basic or one with DVR capabilities. I'll just have to hope the kind he gets can be hooked up with HDMI or component cable because don't want to have have to use my composite for it because I only have one of them and have more HDMI slots/hookups/ connections or whatever it would be called, 4 total and 2 free and 2 component cable slots/hook ups, both free.

If I do decide to go for it it will be the first time anyone in my house has used a DVR.

I just hope it won't hinder my able to video capture off of VHS tape if I ever figure out how to do that using a VCR-DVD combo but that's off topic for this thread.

edit: magictrick - I'll have to look into that as I had to Google it just now since this is the first time I have heard of PVR.

[Ben 'Teal'c would WIN!!' Noble]

With the TiVo box you can record 3 while watching a 4th.