| | The Series3 and TiVo HD DVR can receive over-the-air (ATSC) HD channels through the antenna input. Some cable providers rebroadcast these channels and send them, unencrypted, over the cable connection. If you perform a channel scan, these channels (which are also known as "clear QAM channels") appear in your channel list, but you will not receive Guide data for them unless you order CableCARDs from your cable provider. Here is why CableCARDs are necessary:
~ Unlike analog channels, which are mapped to fixed base frequencies to comply with industry-wide broadcast standards, digital channels can be broadcast on any frequency your cable provider chooses, and the frequency can be changed at any time.
~ Tribune Media Services, which provides Guide data to TiVo, does not collect tuning frequency data from cable providers.
~ As soon as CableCARDs are installed and activated, the cards download channel maps from your cable provider that tell the DVR which frequency to tune to in order to display each channel in your lineup.
~ Without the channel map, the DVR cannot automatically tune to the correct channel to begin a scheduled recording. |
