Good old Tivo ...

[gaspode]

Every so often I relaise how wonderful Tivo is ....

Sea of Souls started last night rather than next week like I thought - Luckily the season pass from last year was still in place and Tivo recorded it :~)

If anyone is still thinking about PVR's - Get a Tivo ... There are a still plenty available on line. From Ebay or from the Tivoland web site (and other uk guys)...

It may be older tech than some of the new machines - but they just dont come closs with the season passes and reliability .... Plus you can stick it on the network and download the files to a PC - then DVD em or convert them to DivX (and take out all the ads and crap).

I'll have to get a new Sky~+HD box for HD but the Tivo will still be recording all teh non HD stuff.

Comments

[gaspodex.livejournal.com]

yeah - But you KNOW what Steve is like :). The main thing is if you are using it with Telewest or NTL you WILL need the cable box IR adaptor (which is what he got shirty about as he got a dud, that shouldnt happen with Tivoland) - Its no big deal. As far as Tech support (as in what you get from Sky who do it) - they do do there best but they are limited - BUT I can give you a web site of a guy who does Tivos, and not only will he supply the dongle he will also give you a warrenty on your Tivo box.

http://www.floridavilla.com/tivoland/mainmenu.html

This guy will do everything - Plus the Tivos are pre hacked with new expanded Hdd sizes up to 300GB.

Main thing is to remeber to Order The cable adaptor at the same time - and if you plan to download the shows to you PC buy the Cachecard network card and get it installed at the same time too. I would infact exchange a couple of emails with the guy first - also check out http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=280687 before you buy too - It is THE UK tivo forum with some of the top TIVO Tech heads in the world on it ...

Your only other thing to do once you have it is to decide between the £10 a month subscription for the program guide or the £199 lifetime subscription - We have had teh Tivo for 5 years now so the Lifetime sub paid for itself several years back.

I took the tivo offline for a few weeks when we moved - Rita almost went into meltdown without it.

Expect to Pay £200 + for your basic 80 GB Tivo and work up from there - It's worth checking ebay but be carefull. The Tivo forum is always a good first stop.

[gaspodex.livejournal.com]

Oh - and Tivoland will charge you around £10 for the cable adapter and Sky Support will charge £29 for the same thing.

[gaspodex.livejournal.com]

That link should have been

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=14

Sorry

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'll save all that to look into in March, and may ask your advice again then.

[wimble.livejournal.com]

cable box IR adaptor?

You mean the two IR repeaters that you sit in front of the cable box?
I've never tried my TiVo without, as without requires the IR bouncing from the front of the TiVo, off the opposite wall (or, more accurately, off me!) and back into the cable box. Horribly error prone.
But it did come in the box: I'd be horrified at the concept of buying an "as new" TiVo without one. Second hand, you takes your chances...

[gaspodex.livejournal.com]

No - not the wands - yes they are standard.

This is a little box that is needed to use Tivo with the pacelink cable TV boxes - they use slightly different IR frequencies. This was always an add on from Tivo support even when the boxes were brand new (£29 from Tivo support - £8 now from the various UK tivo 'Dealers') they are now much cheaper... Its basically a little black box that sits between the wands and the tivo.