The TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD cannot record ANY digital stations from Rogers, whether SD or HD. Period! It can ONLY record analogue cable from Rogers but that comes at a trade-off that you won't like. If you let it record analogue from Rogers then you can't use it to record HD from over the air. That is because the guide data for Canada still does NOT contain OTA HD information. As a result to get TiVo to record OTA HD, you need to pick a corresponding U.S. border town as your location for the purposes of getting guide data. In doing so, that U.S. border town is not going to have the same analogue stations on its cable line up as Rogers. So it is good for ONLY over the air info which is identical to Canadian towns and cities across the border.

So, if you are using the TiVo S3 or TiVo HD to record HD over the air, it will NOT record any HD from Rogers. So, purchasing the Rogers HD lineup is pointless if you want to record it. You can, of course, watch it live through your HD TV (through another input – bypassing the TiVo).

So, I have a TiVo S2 which records everything I want from my Rogers cable (well I did before I cut the chord – that's another story) and an S3 to record everything OTA.

FYI, your OTA mileage will differ. I get a couple dozen stations OTA, friends in other part of Toronto without Southern views only get a few local HD stations.

…Dale

Also, does this mean, then, that any specialty station that is available in HD but not OTA (e.g. TSN HD) would not be able to be recorded by the TiVo?

This is so much more confusing than the Series 2! Thanks in advance.

All the info you need is in my Using the Series 3 TiVo in Canada blog posted here (which is already also linked into the post above):

http://daledietrich.com/imedia/using-tivo-series-3-in-canada/

Short answer – you’ll never be able to record HD off of cable in Canada unless and until Parliament/the CRTC mandates cablecard support by cablecos and satcos in Canada. Just like their bretheren to the south, big cable and big satellite in Canada will likely never voluntarily support the standard because it is against their vested interested in keeping technological choice away from Canadians. The only way the standard came about in the U.S. was when Congress and the FTC forced cable companies to support it. Write your MP in Canada if you’d like to see this changed.

On the other hand, over the air HD recording with a TiVo S3 works wonderfully in the greater Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal – when close to U.S. major markets, where you can get Tribune/Zap2it guide information from a corresponding U.S. market. Again, see my other post referenced above.

…Dale

Any comments?

Thanks in advance,
Paul

…Dale

Scott