Support article

Select the type of issue that you are having in Guided Setup:

• I Do Not See My Satellite Provider Listed
• I Do Not See My Cable Provider Listed
• Determining My Cable/Satellite Lineup
• Series3 HD: I Do Not Have CableCARDs Yet. What Do I Select?
• I Don’t See Video From My Cable/Satellite Box
• I Don't See Video From My CableCARD(s)
• IR Channel Changing

I Do Not See My Satellite Provider Listed

The TiVo service provides information about what programs are on particular channels for the two major satellite providers in the United States: DIRECTV and Dish Network. The TiVo service does not support C-Band satellite service.

If you receive satellite service through your local phone company, it may be provided by either DIRECTV or Dish Network. When asked about your satellite provider, select “I’m not sure” and then follow the on-screen instructions. You can always change to a different program provider after Guided Setup if necessary. Refer to What if My Cable or Satellite Provider Changes?

If you live at an apartment, condo, school dorm, or military base, we may have a customized lineup available for you. To see more information about available lineups, you will need to restart Guided Setup and then select "cable" rather than "satellite." To restart Guided Setup, unplug your TiVo DVR for 10 seconds and then reconnect power to it. If your lineup is still not listed, we may need to add a customized cable lineup for you. Please report the issue to TiVo Customer Support.

The recording functions of your DVR will not work correctly until you select your correct program provider. If you reported the issue to TiVo, we will contact you once a lineup has been located for you, or a new one has been added. To select that new lineup, you will need to repeat Guided Setup. Refer to What if My Cable or Satellite Provider Changes?

To complete the Guided Setup process now, you will need to select a temporary lineup. On the Provider Not Listed screen, select “Skip For Now, I’ll Troubleshoot Later”. Next, choose “Yes, continue” on the Are You Sure? screen. Select one of the satellite providers listed to use temporarily provider.

I Do Not See My Cable Provider Listed

If you live at an apartment, condo, school dorm, or military base, we may need to create a customized lineup for you. Please let us know about your cable provider so that we can add it for you.

Many times, cable companies may use different names. This can happen if a cable company is acquired by another company or if cable service is resold by a company. You may be able to locate the current name of your cable company by looking at a recent bill or other correspondence from them. If you are not familiar with any of the cable company names listed in Guided Setup, please let us know about your cable provider so that we can add it for you.

The recording functions of your DVR will not work correctly until you select your correct program provider. If you reported the issue to TiVo, we will contact you once a lineup has been located for you, or a new one has been added. To select that new lineup once it is available, refer to What if My Cable or Satellite Provider Changes?

To complete Guided Setup, you will need to select a temporary lineup. On the Provider Not Listed screen, select “Skip For Now, I’ll Troubleshoot Later”. Next, choose “Yes, continue” on the Are You Sure? screen. Select one of the cable providers listed to use temporarily.

Determining My Cable/Satellite Lineup

During Guided Setup, your TiVo DVR will ask you a series of questions to determine which set of channels (lineup) you receive from your cable or satellite provider. These questions help narrow down which lineup you receive if more than one is available. Note that you may need to be asked about channels that you don't normally watch in order to determine your lineup.

You may be able to find a listing of your cable/satellite channels for in one of the following places:

• On a lineup card received from your cable or satellite provider (sometimes found in the monthly bill)
• In a local newspaper or TV Guide
• On your cable or satellite provider’s web site (comcast.com, cox.com, etc)
• On the onscreen channel guide provided by your cable or satellite service
• On another television in your household

Once you locate a copy of your channel lineup, go back through the screens and answer each question to help your DVR determine your correct lineup.

If you answered all of the questions about lineups in Guided Setup but were not able to find a suitable lineup, please report this issue to TiVo Customer Support that we can add a lineup for you.

The recording functions of your DVR will not work correctly until you select your correct program provider. If you reported the issue to TiVo, we will contact you once a lineup has been located for you, or a new one has been added. To select that new lineup once it is available, refer to What if My Cable or Satellite Provider Changes?

To complete Guided Setup, you will need to select a temporary lineup. On the Lineup Not Determined screen, select Skip For Now, I’ll Troubleshoot Later. Next, choose Yes, continue on the Are You Sure? screen. Select one of the lineups listed to use temporarily.

Series3 HD: I Do Not Have CableCARDs Yet. What Do I Select?

If you already have cable TV service, but you do not yet have CableCARDs, you can set up your new Series3 HD DVR using basic cable as your TV programming source, and enjoy your DVR right away. See How Do I Set Up My Series3 HD DVR? for hardware hookup options. After you set up the hardware, perform Guided Setup. Select Cable (or Cable & Antenna if you also have an antenna), and then answer No to the question "Do you have a CableCARD decoder?"

When you are ready to install CableCARDs, you can simply insert them into the DVR. The gray configuration screen will appear automatically about 2 minutes after a card is inserted. After the cards are activated and tested, the DVR will automatically prompt you to repeat Guided Setup.

If you do not yet have cable service, but you have an antenna, you can set up your DVR with antenna only and perform Guided Setup, selecting Antenna as the TV programming source. You will need to order cable service and CableCARDs. Once cable service is installed, you will need to change your hardware setup to connect the cable from the wall to your DVR, and then repeat Guided Setup, selecting Cable & Antenna as the TV programming source. You will be prompted to install the CableCARDs during Guided Setup. For more information, go to Installing CableCARDs in a Series3 HD DVR.

I Don’t See Video From My Cable/Satellite Box

If you are not able to see video during Guided Setup, do the following:

• Check to make sure that your cable or satellite box is turned on.
• Check to make sure that your cable or satellite box is tuned to a channel that you receive.
• This issue is often caused by incorrect connections between your cable or satellite box and your TiVo DVR. Make sure that audio and video cables are connected from the output of your cable or satellite box to the input section on the back of your TiVo DVR.
• If you are still not getting a video signal, refer to the Start Here booklet or How Do I Set Up My DVR?for diagrams on how to connect your DVR to your other devices.

After making any changes, select OK, the box is now hooked up correctly so that the DVR will retest the video signal.

I Don't See Video From My CableCARD(s)

If a CableCARD is not receiving channels, or is not decrypting properly, contact your cable provider.

IR Channel Changing

For information on setting up the IR cable to control channel changing on your cable box satellite box, refer to the Start Here booklet.

If you need additional information, refer to the following support articles:

If have either a cable or satellite box: How Do I Verify My IR Cable Connections?

If you both a cable and satellite box: How Do I Verify Cable and Satellite Box IR Cable Connections?

If you are still not able to change channels, refer to Advanced Troubleshooting for Channel Changing with IR Control.

This information is only for TiVo-manufactured DVRs. If you need further help, please contact your manufacturer.