Features
TiVo Programming
Remote Control
Inputs and Outputs Notes
Specifications
Features
Overview:
The SVR-3000 is an 80GB hard-drive Digital Video Recorder (DVR) that
allows you to receive and record over the air NTSC television broadcasts, satellite broadcasts, and
cable TV. It cannot be used to record Digital TV or other non-NTSC signals or
Dolby Digital and, due to Macrovision support, cannot be used to record
copy-protected DVDs or video tapes. MPEG-II compression is used. A guided
setup program helps you configure the DVR for maximum usage of its features.
Watching Live TV: While
watching live TV, the DVR simultaneously records the program onto the hard
drive. This allows you to pause live TV for up to 30 minutes and resume watching
the program from where you left off. You can also rewind or fast forward through
the saved portion of the program at three different speeds, or playback in slow
motion or one frame at a time in either direction. If you miss a line of dialog
or want to view something again, the Instant Replay feature will instantly show
the previous eight seconds of the program. Once you've viewed a recorded
portion, you can instantly advance the program to catch up with the live
broadcast. If you change channels, the saved portion of the previous channel is
lost, and a new recording begins on the new channel. Note: You cannot
watch live TV while another channel is being recorded, unless you have split
your cable/antenna signal to a VCR or TV as well as the SVR-3000.
Watching Pre-recorded Programs: While
watching a pre-recorded program, you can pause, rewind or fast forward (one of
three speeds), watch in slow motion or frame-by-frame in either direction,
Instant replay, or advance instantly to the end of the program. You can even
begin to watch a program from the beginning even if it hasn't completely
finished recording. If you decide to stop viewing the program to watch another
program or turn off the system, you can resume playback from the point where you
left off. Unlike a VCR, you can watch a pre-recorded program at the same time
another program is being recorded.
High Speed Picture Search: You
can search forward or backward through a program in one of three speeds: 3x, 18x
or 60x normal speed.
Recording Time: You can record
up to 80 hours of programming on the unit's hard drive. The total recording time depends on the
Recording Quality you select--the higher the Recording Quality, the less total recording time you will
have:
| Recording
Quality |
Total
Recording Time |
Suggested
Use |
| Basic
Quality |
Up
to 80 hours |
News |
| Medium
Quality |
Up
to 52 hours |
Daytime
Talk Shows, Animation |
| High
Quality |
Up
to 40 hours |
Dramas,
Films |
| Best
Quality |
Up
to 24 hours |
Sports,
Action Movies |
Saving to VCR: To make room for
future recordings, you can archive recorded programs by dubbing them from the unit to a standard VCR.
This is done in real time--no high speed dubbing is available. If you own a Sony
VCR, the supplied IR Control Cable can be used to automatically start and stop
the VCR during this function. Note: While Saving to VCR, you cannot watch
another program at the same time. You can, however, record a program while
saving a previously recorded program to VCR.
Deleting Programs: Once you
have viewed a pre-recorded program, you can delete it from the memory to make
room for future programs. As the memory gets close to capacity, programs will
automatically be deleted to make room for future recordings. Programs can be
"Saved until Deleted", however, a full memory can prevent future
programs from being recorded.
Program Banner and Status Bar: Whenever
you watch a live or pre-recorded show a banner will display the program's title,
running time and rating for about 5 seconds. The program banner can be switched
between large, medium or small, depending upon the amount of information you
want displayed. When you use playback functions such
as pause, fast forward or rewind, a status bar appears indicating the position
of the program you are currently in (example: Minute 14 of a 30-minute program).
TiVo
Programming
TiVo Service:
The "brains" of the SVR-3000 is the TiVo service, which gives you
total flexibility in what you watch or record on the unit. The TiVo service
provides program data for up to 14 days, plus any software updates for the unit. The current cost for TiVo service is
$12.95 a month, or you may pay a one time fee of $299 to receive service for the
life of the unit. (The TiVo service is currently available only in the United
States and the United Kingdom. It is not available in Puerto Rico or Canada.)
The subscription requires connection to a telephone line for daily programming
and occasional software updates. Although the TiVo
service is not required, the unit will have extremely limited functionality
without it. The recorder was designed to be used exclusively with the TiVo service. No functionality is represented, warranted, or should be expected without a subscription to the TiVo service.
Daily Phone Call: To receive
the latest programming information and software upgrades, the DVR will
automatically make a daily phone call. This call typically takes about 5-10
minutes, and often occurs late at night. In most areas, there is a local access
number. In areas where there is not a local access number, a long distance call
is required for each update, and you will be billed for long distance calling.
If you wish to use the phone during the unit's daily call, the unit will
instantly terminate the daily call whenever another phone on the line is picked
up. The unit will make several attempts to complete the call in case the daily
call is interrupted, or the line isn't available at the time of the call. Note:
During initial setup, the phone call to download programming is usually
20-30 minutes in length.
Parental Controls: Parental
Controls allow you to set limits on movie and television ratings and to lock
specific channels so that a 4-digit password is required to view them. Ratings
limits can be set separately for TV programs and movies, based on the industry's
rating systems.
TiVo Live Guide: While watching
live TV, the TiVo Live Guide provides instant access to up to 14 days of
programming. The Guide is divided into two sections. On the left is a list of
channels and their current programs. The currently tuned channel is highlighted
and a description of the program appears at the top of the screen. On the right
is a list of upcoming programs on the highlighted channel. You can look ahead to
see what programs are coming on the highlighted for up to 14 days. From this
guide, you can choose which programs to record or watch.
Cable/Broadcast Lineup: Based
on your zip code, the TiVo guide will provide you with the names and channels of
your local broadcast stations, or the channel lineup for your local cable
provider. You can choose for the TiVo guide to display all available stations or
simply a few selected "Favorite" channels.
Satellite Lineup: If you
receive programming from a Digital Satellite provider such as DirecTV or Dish
Network, the channel lineups are listed for the provider you have. You can also
list additional local channels you receive, either by antenna or through your
satellite provider. The guide can display all available channels or just your
Favorite Channels.
Favorite Channels: You can create a subset of channels you like most. This allows you to browse
only your Favorite Channels on the TiVo Live Guide or, if desired, browse all
available channels.
Search By Title: The TiVo
service allows you to find and record programs by their title. You can search
through "All Programs" or limit your search to a particular category
or genre. Using the arrow keys on the remote or the unit's front panel, you can
select from a grid of letters to begin spelling the title of the program you're
looking for. As you enter more letters, the list of programs changes until the
name of the program you're searching for appears. Once the program has been
selected, you can view upcoming episodes, choose which episodes to record, or
get a Season Pass.
Season Pass: If you have a
favorite program you want to record frequently, the Season Pass feature can
automatically record all episodes of that program when it is broadcast, even if
the date or time slot changes. Once you have a Season Pass, you can choose the
recording quality and the maximum number of episodes to keep (up to 5). You can
record first-run episodes only or all episodes including repeats. You can select
how long to keep the program--from "Space Needed" to a selected number
of days to "Until I Delete." You can start recording up to 10 minutes
before a program begins. You can also set a recording to continue for up to
three hours after it's scheduled to end in case of overtime sports contests or a
delay in the start of the broadcast. Once you have several programs on a Season
Pass, the Season Pass Manager allows you to set priorities on each program in
case there are any space or time conflicts between shows.
WishLists: A WishList is a
powerful search tool that can locate upcoming programs. You can create a
WishList by category or with key words, by an actor's name or director's name.
Wishlists using key words can search for something very specific--for example, a
WishList with key word "Giants" and the category of
"Football" would locate all Giants football games, but not Giants
baseball games. If you have a favorite actor/actress and want to locate all
broadcasts of movies/TV shows with that actor, you can create an Actor Wishlist.
A similar search can be done with a favorite director. Wishlists can be browsed
(alerting you when they are broadcast), or automatically recorded.
Conflicts: Each time a new
program is selected for recording, TiVo checks the current schedule of programs
to be recorded for any time conflicts. When a conflict arises, you will be given
the choice of recording the newly selected program or to cancel the selection.
When time conflicts exist between Season Passes, the program with the highest
priority will be recorded.
To Do List: You can see which
programs are scheduled to be recorded by looking at TiVo's To Do List. Under
this menu, you can also view recording history to find out which programs were
deleted, which were not recorded, and which will not be recorded and the reasons
why. This will allow you to potentially avoid missing a program because of a
scheduling conflict.
TiVo Suggestions: TiVo will
suggest shows that you may like based on prior viewing habits. By using
the thumbs up and down buttons on the remote you can personalize the suggestions
by teaching the unit your likes and dislikes.
TiVo Menus: Most of the
functions of this unit are accessed through on-screen menus. The TiVo Central
Menu gives you the following choices of sub-menus:
- Now Playing List: Lists all
programs
that have been recorded. From this sub-menu you can select a program to
watch, delete a program (to regain recording time) or to save a program to a VCR.
- Watch Live TV: Exits out of
the menu to live TV programming
- TiVolution Magazine: Updated every
day, TiVolution Magazine provides a guide to the best upcoming shows.
- Network Showcases: Shows events and
programs coming up from various networks
- Pick Programs to Record: Allows you
to search for programs by name or category, browse by channel or time,
manually record (allows you to select a future date, channel, start and stop
time and record quality).
- Messages & Setup: Allows
you to view any messages sent by the TiVo Service and to change your set up
parameters (in case you move, get a new service provider or components, or
if you want to change recording quality settings.)
Remote
Control
Remote Control (RMT-V303): The supplied
infrared remote controls this unit, plus basic controls of many brands of TVs
(power, volume, mute) and A/V receivers (volume, mute). The unit is pre-coded
for most brands of TVs and receivers. By using the supplied control cables
(Serial or IR), the unit can control compatible cable boxes and satellite
receivers. When Saving (a program) to VCR, the IR control cable can be used with
Sony VCRs for automatic recording to the VCR.
Learning Functions: If the
brand of your TV or A/V receiver is not on the list of codes, the unit's remote
can learn the codes from the TV or receiver's remote control for TV Power,
Volume Up/Down, and Mute.
Inputs
and Outputs Notes
Rear panel:
- Serial Control Out: Minijack
for use with supplied Serial Control cable to connect to DirecTV receivers allowing the unit to change
channels and control the receiver. ( If your receiver does not have a
serial port you can use this unit's IR blaster to control the receiver.)
- IR Control Out: Minijack for
use with supplied IR Control cable to
connect the supplied IR blaster to either or both a satellite set-top box or
a cable box that doesn't have a serial control input. This can also be used
to control a Sony VCR only so that the unit can automatically
save programs to the VCR.
- USB: Two full-size USB jacks
for future use.
- Phone Line: RJ-11 jack to connect
unit to a phone line for accessing the TiVo Service (a 25' phone cord is
supplied).
- Line Out: Two pairs of RCA stereo
audio, 2 composite video and 2 S-Video outputs to connect the unit to a TV,
VCR, audio receiver, etc.
- Line In: Stereo audio RCA, composite
video and S-Video input to connect a cable box or satellite
receiver to the unit.
- RF Input and Output: Threaded coax
jacks for use with televisions, cable boxes, etc. that don't have A/V jacks.
- Channel 3/4 switch: When using the
RF output jack, you can select the channel to view the unit on.
Specifications
Specifications:
- Power consumption: 29 watts
- Operating Temperature: 70 to
113 degrees F
- Operating Humidity: 5 to 80
percent
- Hard Drive Size: 80 GB
