A few Tivo NZ questions

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Ultimate Geek

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Reply # 560809 22-Dec-2011 20:45
If you have more than one Tivo on your network and linked to your TiVo account, the Media Access Key applies to all of them. All the brand new "Holiday Edition" Tivos on Trademe are old stock with either purple or white stickers on the box explaning that the offer has expired. Otherwise it's around $129 or you won't be able to get recorded items on or off your Tivo and onto a PC. I use the free Java based program Kmttg (Google it. It may well work on a Mac also) to get stuff off my Tivos, and the excellent Vuze as mentioned above to transcode mkvs and Avi's etc which become available automatically in the Tivo's "Now Playing" list. You select the show you want to view and the Tivo copies it to its HDD and you can then start playing it within seconds, as it copies. I believe the Tivo Desktop isn't a great piece of software but I haven't tried it personally.

graemeh

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Reply # 560908 23-Dec-2011 10:09
Spong:I believe the Tivo Desktop isn't a great piece of software but I haven't tried it personally. The Tivo Desktop is a total dog but it does work and gets the job done. Edit: By "total dog" I mean it can be slow and the software isn't very smart but it does allow you to copy recordings off the Tivo and reformat them for other devices.

JimmyH

752 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 562543 29-Dec-2011 16:59
I just picked one up in the boxing day sales for $199....woohoo. Couple of questions of my own: 1. "The TiVo constantly records 1 hour of the channel the tuner is set to..." Can I shut this "feature" off? I want to use it for occasional recordings, and not flog the hard drive 24/7 recording stuff I will never watch. Issues of excessive power consumption aside, having it set this way sounds like a really pointless way to drastically shorten the service life of the drive. 2. Expander drives - do I need to purchase the official, and really really expensive, expander drive? There are instructions on US websites for using bog-standard eSata enclosures with series 3 Tivos using the "kickstart 62" procedure - has anyone tried this on the NZ box. 3. File transfer - is the Home Network Package worth $90 AUD, and what sort of transfer speeds (MB/sec or hours for a HD and SD show) are people typically getting with it? I am grappling with whether just using my Hauppauge HD PVR might be a speedier way of getting material off the box (either over component, or via HDMI using an HDCP stripper)? 4. Drive upgrades - has anyone had any luck swapping out the internal drive for one of a bigger capacity. Thinking of this both for more space when drive prices get back to sanity, and whether I can do this if the drive dies (see point 1 above).

freitasm

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Reply # 562583 29-Dec-2011 18:01
JimmyH: 1. "The TiVo constantly records 1 hour of the channel the tuner is set to..." Can I shut this "feature" off? I want to use it for occasional recordings, and not flog the hard drive 24/7 recording stuff I will never watch. Issues of excessive power consumption aside, having it set this way sounds like a really pointless way to drastically shorten the service life of the drive. It's a moving window and it's 30 minutes only, and it's not "recording". It's a buffer. If you turn the TV on now and see something interesting you can rewind to watch the previous 30 minutes. Or if you hit the record button it will record from the previous 30 minutes. It's not recording programs left and right. JimmyH: 3. File transfer - is the Home Network Package worth $90 AUD, and what sort of transfer speeds (MB/sec or hours for a HD and SD show) are people typically getting with it? I am grappling with whether just using my Hauppauge HD PVR might be a speedier way of getting material off the box (either over component, or via HDMI using an HDCP stripper)? Up to you, but I never used it, the few times I tried it I got mixed results - mostly bad. The transfer time, encoding, decoding is terrible. Just watch on the TiVo itself. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

old3eyes

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Reply # 562587 29-Dec-2011 18:05
freitasm: JimmyH: 1. "The TiVo constantly records 1 hour of the channel the tuner is set to..." Can I shut this "feature" off? I want to use it for occasional recordings, and not flog the hard drive 24/7 recording stuff I will never watch. Issues of excessive power consumption aside, having it set this way sounds like a really pointless way to drastically shorten the service life of the drive. It's a moving window and it's 30 minutes only, and it's not "recording". It's a buffer. If you turn the TV on now and see something interesting you can rewind to watch the previous 30 minutes. Or if you hit the record button it will record from the previous 30 minutes. It's not recording programs left and right. JimmyH: 3. File transfer - is the Home Network Package worth $90 AUD, and what sort of transfer speeds (MB/sec or hours for a HD and SD show) are people typically getting with it? I am grappling with whether just using my Hauppauge HD PVR might be a speedier way of getting material off the box (either over component, or via HDMI using an HDCP stripper)? Up to you, but I never used it, the few times I tried it I got mixed results - mostly bad. The transfer time, encoding, decoding is terrible. Just watch on the TiVo itself. I must beg to differ about buffering the last 30 minutes. The only way it can buffer is to record that last 30 minutes so the drive will ware out. Mine did after 11 months.. Regards, Old3eyes

freitasm

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Reply # 562588 29-Dec-2011 18:07
old3eyes: freitasm: JimmyH: 1. "The TiVo constantly records 1 hour of the channel the tuner is set to..." Can I shut this "feature" off? I want to use it for occasional recordings, and not flog the hard drive 24/7 recording stuff I will never watch. Issues of excessive power consumption aside, having it set this way sounds like a really pointless way to drastically shorten the service life of the drive. It's a moving window and it's 30 minutes only, and it's not "recording". It's a buffer. If you turn the TV on now and see something interesting you can rewind to watch the previous 30 minutes. Or if you hit the record button it will record from the previous 30 minutes. It's not recording programs left and right. JimmyH: 3. File transfer - is the Home Network Package worth $90 AUD, and what sort of transfer speeds (MB/sec or hours for a HD and SD show) are people typically getting with it? I am grappling with whether just using my Hauppauge HD PVR might be a speedier way of getting material off the box (either over component, or via HDMI using an HDCP stripper)? Up to you, but I never used it, the few times I tried it I got mixed results - mostly bad. The transfer time, encoding, decoding is terrible. Just watch on the TiVo itself. I must beg to differ about buffering the last 30 minutes. The only way it can buffer is to record that last 30 minutes so the drive will ware out. Mine did after 11 months.. It's a "buffer" and needs storage. Obviously not volatile (RAM or othewise) so permanent (HDD). But it is technically a buffer. It's not recording a specific program, but whatever comes down the wireless tube. As for wearing the HDD, so be it. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

Skolink

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Reply # 562702 29-Dec-2011 22:50
JimmyH: I just picked one up in the boxing day sales for $199....woohoo. Was that today? They were not on special at Noel Leeming today.

mattwnz

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Reply # 562711 29-Dec-2011 23:02
old3eyes: freitasm: JimmyH:?1. "The TiVo constantly records 1 hour of the channel the tuner is set to..." Can I shut this "feature" off? I want to use it for occasional recordings, and not flog the hard drive 24/7 recording stuff I will never watch. Issues of excessive power consumption aside, having it set this way sounds like a really pointless way to drastically shorten the service life of the drive.? It's a moving window and it's 30 minutes only, and it's not "recording". It's a buffer. If you turn the TV on now and see something interesting you can rewind to watch the previous 30 minutes. Or if you hit the record button it will record from the previous 30 minutes. It's not recording programs left and right. JimmyH:?3. File transfer - is the Home Network Package worth $90 AUD, and what sort of transfer speeds (MB/sec or hours for a HD and SD show) are people typically getting with it? I am grappling with whether just using my Hauppauge HD PVR might be a speedier way of getting material off the box (either over component, or via HDMI using an HDCP stripper)? Up to you, but I never used it, the few times I tried it I got mixed results - mostly bad. The transfer time, encoding, decoding is terrible. Just watch on the TiVo itself. ? I must beg to differ about buffering the last 30 minutes. ?The only way it can buffer is to record that last 30 minutes so the drive will ware out. ?Mine did after 11 months.. You can put it into standby if you are not going to be using it, which I think stops recording, but it is a bit of a pain going to that in the menu each time.

old3eyes

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Reply # 562777 30-Dec-2011 08:38
mattwnz: old3eyes: freitasm: JimmyH:?1. "The TiVo constantly records 1 hour of the channel the tuner is set to..." Can I shut this "feature" off? I want to use it for occasional recordings, and not flog the hard drive 24/7 recording stuff I will never watch. Issues of excessive power consumption aside, having it set this way sounds like a really pointless way to drastically shorten the service life of the drive.? It's a moving window and it's 30 minutes only, and it's not "recording". It's a buffer. If you turn the TV on now and see something interesting you can rewind to watch the previous 30 minutes. Or if you hit the record button it will record from the previous 30 minutes. It's not recording programs left and right. JimmyH:?3. File transfer - is the Home Network Package worth $90 AUD, and what sort of transfer speeds (MB/sec or hours for a HD and SD show) are people typically getting with it? I am grappling with whether just using my Hauppauge HD PVR might be a speedier way of getting material off the box (either over component, or via HDMI using an HDCP stripper)? Up to you, but I never used it, the few times I tried it I got mixed results - mostly bad. The transfer time, encoding, decoding is terrible. Just watch on the TiVo itself. ? I must beg to differ about buffering the last 30 minutes. ?The only way it can buffer is to record that last 30 minutes so the drive will ware out. ?Mine did after 11 months.. You can put it into standby if you are not going to be using it, which I think stops recording, but it is a bit of a pain going to that in the menu each time. Tried that. No it doesn't. The last 30 minutes of the channel that the TiVo was last set to is still there.. Regards, Old3eyes

RXV

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Reply # 562779 30-Dec-2011 08:43
Skolink: Was that today? They were not on special at Noel Leeming today. I got one for the folks. The sign said ends Wednesday so you just missed out. I tried Bond & Bond first and they were still charging $299 and couldnt price match, so I had to drive to Noel Leeming to get the deal. Maybe try again in the New Year sale?

Skolink

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Reply # 562951 30-Dec-2011 17:49
RXV: Skolink: Was that today? They were not on special at Noel Leeming today. I got one for the folks. The sign said ends Wednesday so you just missed out. I tried Bond & Bond first and they were still charging $299 and couldnt price match, so I had to drive to Noel Leeming to get the deal. Maybe try again in the New Year sale? Thanks, too late though. Father-in-law was really keen and rushed out and bought one yesterday.

PimpMyMagic

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Reply # 562962 30-Dec-2011 18:38
Skolink: JimmyH: I just picked one up in the boxing day sales for $199....woohoo. Was that today? They were not on special at Noel Leeming today. I was in the Wairau Park branch yesterday (Thursday) and they had a small stack just inside the door at that price - or maybe it was next door in Bond and Bond that I saw them.

RXV

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Reply # 562966 30-Dec-2011 18:49
Skolink: Thanks, too late though. Father-in-law was really keen and rushed out and bought one yesterday. $299 isnt a bad price though.

Skolink

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Reply # 562970 30-Dec-2011 19:15
RXV: Skolink: Thanks, too late though. Father-in-law was really keen and rushed out and bought one yesterday. $299 isnt a bad price though. Agreed! When it first came out here we got one all the way from Oz so we paid AU$500 rather than NZ$900

JimmyH

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Reply # 563032 30-Dec-2011 21:45
Skolink: JimmyH: I just picked one up in the boxing day sales for $199....woohoo. Was that today? They were not on special at Noel Leeming today. Leemings, and I think the sale ended on Wednesday.

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