Can someone tell me how to hook-up my TIVO to an A/V receiver?

Did you RTFM? I thought this was covered in the manual, and even in the large colored setup sheet. Anyway, connect its audio and video outputs to a set of audio-video inputs on your receiver. Use the yellow jack if you take composite video to the TV from your receiver; use the S-VHS jack if you take S to your TV. Don't mix the two, because most receivers will only output the type of video fed into them.

You could also use the channel 3 output to feed a signal to your TV, but if you are doing this, then you are not setting up your A/V receiver the best way. If you are, describe how it is connected and further answers will come your way.
Now, conceptually, the easiest way I have seen to connect these and to conceive of how they work with a satellite receiver, is this:
The TiVo is an audio/video amoeba, and it has just absorbed your satellite receiver. The TiVo remote chooses your satellite channels. Just connect the outputs of the TiVo where you had your satellite receiver connected.

Realize that when you choose any satellite channel, you are not looking at the satellite receiver, you are looking at the satellite receiver through a window in this A/V amoeba. So if you want to set up a pay-per-view, you choose your channel with the TiVo, and then pick up the satellite remote and do that part of the setup. When you are done, the satellite receiver has to be watching a channel, with no menu up, for the TiVo to change channels again.

This is also what you do if you need to check the satellite signal levels or whatever else requires the satellite menu.

If I had the owners manual I would have known how to connect it. I bought the unit secondhand and the guy misplaced the owners manual. Thank you.

TIVO sucks unless it is dierectivo...SO slow when it has to control another box. Set up time is friggin rediculous too.

McNasty,
yes, that is totally true. I have also lost at least one customer because TiVos have been unreliable. I now hook them up for people who go buy them, and i tell the people that I will not be responsible for anything the TiVo does or does not do. The new ones are indeed quicker to set up because they let you watch live TV while the damn 4-bit memory circuits chew their cuds for four to six hours creating a guide the first time.

I have no idea why it takes so long for the TiVo to change the channels of the DSS receivers. One thing that you have GOT to applaud them for, though, is that when you hit "channel up", the TiVo does not send out a "channel up" signal, it sends out the actual channel number. That way, if someone has messed with the satellite channels at any time, it is instantly correct again. "Channel down" works similarly.

Are you saying that maybe I should of looked at Replay TV instead or do they have similar quirks?

Yeah, I want a VCR that I have to pay each month to use, and that I can't remove the tape from. That sounds like a great idea just like the DVIX player Circuit City sold me.

"Let the American infidels bask in their illusion"

Why am I not surprised you bought a DIVX player?

Sad thing is that he bought it last week...........

Again...

OLDPOST, Irrelevant Response

Sorry, I'm a bit behind. When did Tivo start making VCRs? I thought they just made the industry's best method for watching TV, esp if you have DirecTV.

I have a Tivo for over 2 years now (not direct) connected to satellite and honestly cannot imagine for the life of me a world without it. I think it’s one of the single most amazing components I own.

Spiky, since as you say, you are a bit behind, let me catch you up. TIVO is basically a computer hard drive that is used as a VCR. They have through marketting only, managed to obtain a sizable share of the VCR market. They provide no real advantages over a real VCR and have several drawbacks.

Drawback 1- You have to pay a subscription to use a home theater product you own. What other VCR system requires or required this?

Drawback 2- The material recorded cannot be removed from the VCR to use on another unit. This is akin to having a VHS unit with the tape permanently stuck in the deck. Some people would counter that you can back-up the information to tape, but you are making a copy and as such suffer from degredation inevitable in any copy process. Why not just start with a recording on tape?

Drawback 3- Sharing recorded movies is a heck of alot harder. If you have a recording that a friend wants to watch, you need to either make a back-up copy, lend out the whole unit, or have them watch it at your place. A tape based system allows you to share recordings alot easier.

Drawback 4- If the unit requires servicing, it must be done by TIVO themselves. Every city has one or two repair places that can work on VCRs and have you up and running prety fast, most of these places cannot work on the TIVO recorders.

Basically TIVO has gotten where they are today by marketting only. They have not provided a product with any new features or advantages that were not present with the S-VHS recording system. Basically TIVO is alot like Monster Cable, Sony, and BOSE, all the money is spent on marketting so that the customer can think they have a great product.

hmmm... I wonder when they added these features to VCR's

True One Touch recording through an interactive On screen menu/guide system

Pause Live TV, and skip through commercials... even while the program is being broadcast.

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As to your Drawbacks...

1: Its NOT just a VCR. Its a Way of Life.

2: My Ultimate TV has over 100Hours if Space on it... Thats a lot more than "A Tape". And it is not hard to dump to tape if need be.

3: Huh? I know your a bit behind, but they recently came up with a great concept... Video Rental Stores. You can rent just about any movie you could ever want to see for like $3.00. Most of these places even rent DVD's!!!! but I;m sure your opposed to though too.

4: Everything Breaks eventually. Deal with it.

You really have confirmed to eveyone here that you are truely delusional with that last comment.

1. The unique features of TiVo, and similar systems, is that they can read the TV schedule and make recording decisions on their own. A VCR is stuck recording Ch 2 at 8pm on Thursday. This functionality, which is the heart of the DVR sytstem, requires software and program data. That is what the subscription pays for.

2. The material can be moved from one unit to another. TiVo's Home Media Option (HMO) includes streaming from one TiVo to another via an LAN connection with three of the four quality settings streaming at real-time or faster. ReplayTV also has a similar option except Replay can also do it over the internet (though you better have a lot of time when transfering over the internet). Both boxes have video out so you can record shows to VHS, SVHS, DVD, miniDV, etc. TiVo has a Save to VCR function which prevents anything else from inturrupting the transfer.

3. OK. Do you do this often? If you are recording something to share then use your VCR to record it.

4. There are a number of companies that service TiVo other than TiVo. Just do a google searsh for "service tivo" and you'll find them. TiVo is just a dedicated computer (runnin Linux). The most common problem is hard drive frailure, as the hard drive is the only moving part. There are instructions available on-line for replacing the hard drive yourself just as millions of computers users so with their computer's hard drives.