If you purchase a TiVo I would appreciate it if you put me down as your referrer (raianoat AT gmail DOT com).

Recently I was lucky enough to receive a Slingbox AV via the TiVo rewards program (thanks for all the referrals BTW). Here’s a couple of screenshots of the SlingboxPlayer connected up to my Series 3 TiVo.

Overall, I’m extremely happy with my Slingbox. The picture quality has been great and the setup was extremely easy. I would definitely recommend a Slingbox to anybody who wants to be able to watch there TiVo from anywhere in the world.

Update (7/19 @ 11:12PM):  The site is back up and I don’t see any changes.  Sorry if I got you excited ;).

I just noticed that www.tivo.com/rewards is currently down for maintenance. Could this mean that we are going to see new products added to the rewards program or is this just wishful thinking? I’ll be sure to check back tomorrow morning.

Last Thursday I blogged about my phone conversation with Time Warner Cable and how I setup an appointment to get two CableCARDs installed in my Series 3 TiVo. Well, my appointment was yesterday and after two hours of dealing with Time Warner’s incompetence, I am happy to say that I now have two CableCARDs installed and working in my Series 3 TiVo. Before I get into any more detail about the installation, I’d like to make it clear that the issues I encountered, had nothing to do with my S3 TiVo. All of the problems I had, stemmed from the fact that the Time Warner Cable (TWC) reps that I worked with had no clue about CableCARDs and how to install them. If the TWC reps were more capable, it would have only taken a couple of minutes to get both cards installed. I’m not trying make a blanket statement that all TWC employees are bad. Instead, all I’m trying to say is that the individuals that I had to work with didn’t know how to install a CableCARD and get it working properly.

My appointment was scheduled for 12-5PM however, around 11:15AM my wife called me at work to let me know that the TWC installer was at our house (45 minutes early). Since I expected there to be a problem, I left work to go home. While on the way home, my wife called me and told me that the rep asked if the TV could be removed from its wall mount so that he could install the cards. I told my wife that it wasn’t necessary and that I would be home shortly. Along with this comment, the rep also mentioned to my wife that he “hates this kind of job”. I’m not sure what that means. Maybe it is because he didn’t know what he was doing and TWC should get him some training?

When I arrived home, I was surprised to see that the console table that holds my electronic devices had been moved. There really wasn’t a need for the rep to move it but I didn’t say anything because I could tell that the rep was confused. Right from the get go, the rep was puzzled as to why I needed two CableCARDs, I explained it to him why I need two cards and he went ahead and got another card out of his truck. I gave the rep the instructions (PDF) that are included with all Series 3 TiVos and the rep proceeded to install each of the cards.

I can’t even tell you how many times the rep popped each of the cards in and out of my TiVo. Each time he did, he seemed to be hoping that something would magically start to work. In the end, the problem had to do with the fact that the agent that he spoke with, didn’t actually “activate” the second CableCARD. Until they activated the second card, I wasn’t able to get any high definition content on the second CableCARD. The entire time the rep was pretty much helpless. He wasn’t able to understand any of the diagnostic screens and I even had to help him troubleshoot the problem. On a number of occasions, I mentioned to the rep that he probably had to activate or pair the cards with my DVR. Maybe I should get a job with TWC. What do you think?

The entire experience really was a pain. Like I said before, the Series 3 worked just fine, all the problems that I encountered were the result of TWC not knowing how to install and configure their CableCARDs properly. Maybe the latest FCC mandate will force TWC to become smarter.

For whatever reason, my S3 TiVo doesn’t get all the channels that a standard TWC DVR receives. For example, I no longer am able to get A&E HD as well as ESPN2HD. I’m not sure if that is because the channels are switched digital or if it because of some other reason. Maybe somebody could shed some light on this? Along with A&E and ESPN2, I’m also not able to get any of the video on demand (VOD) content which I knew I wouldn’t get with a S3 due to the fact that the CableCARD 1.0 standard only supports one way communication.

Honestly, I really don’t care that I can’t get the content mentioned above. The S3 is so much better then a TWC DVR that I’m willing to give up VOD and some other channels for the sake of having the TiVo experience. If you’ve ever used a cable company DVR then you know what I am talking about. In actuality, I’m really not giving up a lot of content since my S3 allows me to record HD over the air using my antenna. Prior to the S3, I use to watch OTA content live.

I hope that this post doesn’t detract you from buying a Series 3 TiVo. In my opinion, the S3 is the best DVR on the market. Don’t be discouraged if it takes you awhile to get CableCARDs installed in your S3. It really is well worth it….

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As a side note, I would like to thank Jeff for putting me down as his TiVo rewards referrer. If you’d like to put me down as your referrer, all you need to do is enter my email address (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your TiVo. Thanks Jeff!

Thanks for the referral Elias! Now I’m only two referrals away from getting a Slingbox or the Bose sounddock.

Congratulations! Your friend Elias credited you with a TiVo® service activation.

No need to lift a finger. Your TiVo Rewards™ account has automatically been credited with 5,000 TiVo Points.

Just thought you’d like to know. Plus, it gives us an excellent excuse to thank you for being the wonderful TiVo Rewards™ member that you are! We appreciate your support.

To review your TiVo Rewards™ account summary, browse rewards or redeem TiVo Points, simply sign in at www.tivo.com/rewards anytime.

As always, if you’d like to send a referral my way, you can do so by entering my email address (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your TiVo.

My free Series 3 TiVo is here! Right now I am going through the process of setting it up. I haven’t spoke with Time Warner yet so, as of right now, I am setting it up with basic cable (NTSC only). I plan on give TWC a call either later tonight or sometime tomorrow to setup an appointment for them to install two CableCARDs (wish me luck). I also plan on using my antenna for over the air HD content (I’m not setting it up now because something is wrong with my antenna).

When I first placed the order for my S3, a confirmation email from TiVo said that it could take up to ten weeks for the DVR to arrive. Luckily for me, it only took TiVo eight days!

I’ll post more late tonight or tomorrow when I get some free time. For now, I just wanted to let everybody know that my Series 3 has arrived. I also would like to thank everybody who gave me enough referrals for this DVR. I really do appreciate it.

Today I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that Daniel gave me yet another TiVo rewards referral. Along with the referral, Daniel also sent me the following email:

Hey,

I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed your blog. In fact, I just got a series 2 and entered your email as a referral! I got a great deal on the box; Circuit City was selling it for $150 and Tivo offers a rebate for $170. I’ll actually be getting paid $20 for purchasing this Tivo! Keep up the good blogging,

Dan

Enjoy your TiVo Dan and thanks again for the referral. If you’d like to give me a referral, you can enter my email address when you activate your TiVo (raianoat AT gmail DOT com).

I just received an email from TiVo letting me know that my Series 3 TiVo is on its way. I guess it isn’t going to take 10 weeks like TiVo had initially said.

Now I need to get on the phone with Time Warner cable and setup a service call so that they can install two CableCARDs. Wish me luck….

Great news ! Your TiVo Store order was shipped on 05/29/2007. Depending on your choice of shipping methods, it may take four to six days for your order to arrive.

Thanks for the referral Jarrod. I really do appreciate it.

Congratulations! Your friend Jarrod credited you with a TiVo® service activation.

No need to lift a finger. Your TiVo Rewards™ account has automatically been credited with 5,000 TiVo Points.

Just thought you’d like to know. Plus, it gives us an excellent excuse to thank you for being the wonderful TiVo Rewards™ member that you are! We appreciate your support.

To review your TiVo Rewards™ account summary, browse rewards or redeem TiVo Points, simply sign in at www.tivo.com/rewards anytime.

If you’d like to give me a TiVo referral, you can do so by entering my email address (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your TiVo. All referrals are greatly appreciated!

Thanks to John (a.k.a Mr. Tangent), I placed my order today for a free Series 3 TiVo! That’s right, John as well as several other TiVoBlog readers have been kind enough to give me enough referrals for a free Series 3 TiVo. In fact, since October 2004, I’ve referred 22 people via the TiVo Rewards program.

Back in Oct. 2006 when TiVo added the Series 3 TiVo to their rewards program, I thought it was nearly impossible for me to ever get enough referrals for the Series 3.

Obviously, I’m very excited to get this DVR. I look forward to being able to record HD OTA as well as being able to get rid of my Time Warner DVR. I plan on keeping my Series 2 and using it mainly for transferring shows to my iPod. I also plan on using my Series 2 for my son’s TV shows. The Series 3 will be used mainly for HD content as well as an occasional standard def program. As soon as my Series 3 arrives I’ll be sure to let everybody know. Stay tuned for more information. TiVo said that it could take up to 10 weeks for me to get my Series 3. I really hope it doesn’t take that long….