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Television Media

Tivo 3.0 'Firebolt' Hits the Wild 272

Posted by CmdrTaco from the good-luck-the-first-round dept.
James Evans writes "Tivo is rolling out version 3.0 of their software, including Ethernet drivers as well as the ability to download program data directly from a cable broadcast without using the phone line." My guess is it'll be awhile before everyone gets it since these things come in waves.
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Tivo 3.0 'Firebolt' Hits the Wild More

Tivo 3.0 'Firebolt' Hits the Wild

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  • Great! (Score:1, Funny)

    by El Pollo Loco ( 562236 )
    Now I can have phone sex while my porno videos are being recorded!

  • Unwitting Testers? (Score:4, Funny)

    by pussycat ( 206606 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @08:18PM (#3362714)
    A small random group of subscribers will transparently receive the update followed by a slightly larger group.

    Suggesting the users won't know they're beta testing, performing a service for Tivo? Can I get beta testers like that? They'd be much less uppity.
    • No, most likely the update will take quite awhile to download. It's probably so they don't exceed their capacity and tie up phone lines forever.

    • Re:Unwitting Testers? (Score:3, Informative)

      by amuro98 ( 461673 )
      I don't know where they got that from...

      The last time Tivo rolled an update out, they took volunteers for an external beta program. I was a beta volunteer for one of the previous updates.

      When the beta program ended, Tivo rolled the update to the rest of their customers.

      Regardless of whether you were a volunteer or not, whenever you get an update, your Tivo gets a message for you with information about what's changed, etc.
      • ...whenever you get an update, your Tivo gets a message for you with information about what's changed, etc...

        Well, I have a tivo and my system now has the 3.0 software, but I didn't get any message other than one about tivo2 available for sale in bestbuy. Of course, I already have a tivo2...

        It was only by luck I happen to notice the software upgrade. My tivo was acting strange, and I went into the system status to see what was going on.

        Overall, I don't notice any change so far, except for the dail-up time is now during the day.
    • My Tivo has been locking up due to the broken-download bug ever since the last upgrade. I got two choices: pay to "fix" it, or wait for another upgrade!
    • >>Suggesting the users won't know they're beta
      >>testing, performing a service for Tivo? Can I
      >>get beta testers like that? They'd be much less
      >>uppity.

      I wouldn't really call it 'beta'... this is how TiVO has been staggering all their releases. Finish the beta program, then randomly give it to SOME customers.... See if there is anything horrible that went wrong that you missed, and guage how many support calls you get from that sample. From that point you start the main rollout. Seems a bit more responsible to me than just tossing it over the fence and hoping for the best :) Also keeps the on-hold times for people that need support reasonable.
  • Neither 1st or 2nd generation Tivo hardware include an ethernet port, yet the 3.0 update includes ethernet support...

    Does this mean that Tivo will be supporting folks popping their 1st gen. boxes open to install an ethernet card/kit like the one www.9thtee.com has been selling? Likewise, will Tivo be publishing a list of supported USB ethernet adapaters for the 2nd. gen boxes?

    Or, is this simply Tivo being nice to the hacker community to by partially integrating ethernet support into their offical product?

    • Re:I'm a bit confused by this... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Bogatyr ( 69476 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @08:31PM (#3362776) Homepage
      It probably simply means that the ethernet support will be unused for first and second gen hardware, and that TiVo didn't feel a need to branch the OS development tree. That's a pure guess on my part, but it's a plausible (to me at least) one.

      • Re:I'm a bit confused by this... (Score:5, Informative)

        by Hallow ( 2706 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @10:38PM (#3363216) Homepage
        Actually, it is meant to support the hacker community. Tivo/TurboNet cards will work without additional software installations, no pulling out your hdd. See this post [tivocommunity.com] by a TiVo employee.

        They won't support it if you call them, but that's why there's http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/ [tivocommunity.com]
        • Tivo/TurboNet cards will work without additional software installations, no pulling out your hdd. See
          this post [tivocommunity.com] by a TiVo employee.

          This rocks...when TiVo rolled out v2.5, I had to reinstall the TiVoNET drivers and reconfigure my TiVo to grab its updates that way. (I think I'll still have to crack it open again to reinstall netcat, ExtractStream, and friends. If the upgrade manages to preserve those, that would be even better.)

          (Looks like the upgrade hasn't come through to me yet.../proc/version still says "Linux version 2.1.24-TiVo-2.5" after rebooting.)

    • Neither 1st or 2nd generation Tivo hardware include an ethernet port, yet the 3.0 update includes ethernet support...

      This is mainly, I suspect, to support the USB port built into the Series 2 TiVo boxes. TiVo have been semi-officially talking about a USB Ethernet adaptor for some time now on the TiVo boards.

    • Re:I'm a bit confused by this... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by rogueuk ( 245470 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @08:35PM (#3362797) Homepage
      From the article:
      "For the hacker community, Firebolt includes ethernet drivers, allowing TiVo to download programming data from the Internet using a special backdoor key."

      So right now, the capability is being built in for ethernet but it's not offical yet.
      The FAQ on Tivo's site also talks about future broadband capabilities. Since the new series2 has USB ports, I wouldn't be surprised if they come out with official USB ethernet support.

    • Re:I'm a bit confused by this... (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      The series 1 Tivos always had ethernet drivers tucked away inside. (the development environment uses an ethernet 'debug' board that plugs into the same edge connector that the Tivonet/Turbonet boards use) Tivo isn't really doing anything spectacular here - it's just saying "we know that you know that ethernet is in there, and we're embracing it, not removing or disabling it".
    • The deal is they are unofficially supporting both the tivonet and turbonet boards in gen 1 boxes, and including support for various usb-ethernet dongles.

      They have actually worked with the developers of both the tivonet and turbonet to include specialized drivers for those devices-- ie jafa, creator of the turbonet as a pretty fine tuned driver for the board, and they are including that driver with 3.0 - unofficially supporting turbonet with no software hacking.

      to sum it up get a gen 1 standalone box with 3.0 on it stick a turbonet or tivonet board in there, and it will work, not software tweaking involved (as long as you have a dhcp server there to hand out an ip address)

    • Re:I'm a bit confused by this... (Score:4, Informative)

      by pmcneill ( 146350 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @09:38PM (#3363013)
      It actually goes beyond Tivo being nice to the hacker community -- it's saving them money. When Tivo dials up each night, it uses a UUNet internet connection, so each call costs Tivo money. By allowing hackers to use their broadband connections, Tivo no longer has to support UUNet for that customer. Support costs don't increase, since I'm sure Tivo won't support a hacked unit. So all in all, its a win-win situation.

    • Re:I'm a bit confused by this... (Score:5, Informative)

      by aligas ( 167845 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @10:08PM (#3363088)
      For those who didn't read the article and have Series2 units, this is from the article/thread.

      List of supported USB adapters:
      3Com USB Ethernet 3C460B
      USB 10/100 Fast Ethernet
      USB HPNA/Ethernet
      Accton USB 10/100 Ethernet Adapter
      SpeedStream USB 10/100 Ethernet
      ADMtek ADM8511 Pegasus II USB Ethernet
      ADMtek AN986 Pegasus USB Ethernet (eval. board)
      Allied Telesyn Int. AT-USB100
      Belkin F5D5050 USB Ethernet
      Billionton USB-100
      Billionton USBE-100
      Billionton USBEL-100
      Billionton USBLP-100
      iPAQ Networking 10/100 USB
      Corega FEter USB-TX
      D-Link DSB-650
      D-Link DSB-650TX
      D-Link DSB-650TX(PNA)
      Elsa Micolink USB2Ethernet
      Hawking UF100 10/100 Ethernet
      IO DATA USB ET/TX
      IO DATA USB ET/TX-S
      Kingston KNU101TX Ethernet
      LANEED USB Ethernet LD-USB/T
      LANEED USB Ethernet LD-USB/TX
      Linksys USB100TX
      Linksys USB10TX
      Linksys USB Ethernet Adapter
      Linksys USB USB10TX
      MELCO/BUFFALO LUA2-TX
      MELCO/BUFFALO LUA-TX
      SpeedStream USB 10/100 Ethernet
      SmartNIC 2 PnP Adapter
      SMC 202 USB Ethernet
      SOHOware NUB100 Ethernet
    • It's (un)supported.. Which basically means it works, but don't call Tivo's customer service about it. It supports TivoNet and TurboNet cards on series 1 boxes, USB->Ethernet devices on series 2 boxes (that have the Pegasus chipset), and serial over PPP if you can get it working.
    • Tivo spent a good bit of time ensuring that 3.0 works with TivoNet, TurboNet, and AirNet (or whatever the 802.11b thing is called).

      Its rudementary support right now -- just allows your daily call to go over the net, instead of dial up. When Tivo "officially" adds support for interactive and multimedia content via a USB adapter to the Gen2 units, they will also support that functionality on the Gen1 units that have been hacked.

  • (hey that rhymes :)
    I'm disapointed that the haven't chosen this release to announce any sort of partnership w/ a company to get TiVo in Canada. I think they could really be sitting on a good market here. We like TV just as much as any American, and historically we've been quicker to adopt new technologies too. It's a real shame too, as the only thing that comes close is a PVR offered by Bell as part of their ExpressView satellite service (which, of course, requires the satellite service) and is a poor comparison to TiVo

  • well that explains (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @08:57PM (#3362877) Homepage
    The TiVo broadcasts I have been seeing on local cable channels at 2 am
    a screen full of vertical blanking interval data with TIVO broadcast in the center of the screen and a "please excuse us this is a Tivo broadcast" voice over with corney music running in the background.

    Cool.
    • The TiVo broadcasts I have been seeing on local cable channels at 2 am a screen full of vertical blanking interval data with TIVO broadcast in the center of the screen and a "please excuse us this is a Tivo broadcast" voice over with corney music running in the background

      That wouldn't be a software upgrade since TiVo currently only uses their dial-up service to perform software upgrades and maintenance releases. What you're likely seeing is the download of the previews and magazine that are buried a few menus below the main TiVo menu. There is speculation that over-the-air software updates might be coming at some point for the DirecTiVo boxes, but I've not heard anything about such a thing for cable service.

      • I'm a beta tester, and since firebolt is out, I'm free to talk.

        The broadcast is a way to load data through the tv instead of through the phone line. It allows (if it works) a way to get a bulk of data through broadcast and then the machine will only call for incremental data updates.

        That is, if it works. Digital cable can mess up the signal, so the tivo tries to get the program from the analog portion of the channels. It does work over DirecTV, for most users.

        Its nothing fancy yet, but a better way to help with the large costs of the phone services. If you can reduce your connect time for a majority of the machines, you save lots of money.

        3.0 is nice. Not great, since its mostly a backend upgrade, but nice. Menus are much quicker and more responsive.

        Backdoors are officially closed, but we'll see if they stay that way. The old passwords no longer work, and the new one is encrypted. But again, we'll see what happens in the next month or two.

  • There goes my uptime (Score:3, Funny)

    by JeffL ( 5070 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @09:04PM (#3362900) Homepage
    I am at 180 days uptime on my Tivo. I guess that is how long it has been since the 2.5.1 update.

  • Tivo Beta preview results (Score:5, Informative)

    by twfry ( 266215 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @09:07PM (#3362911)
    I was lucky enough to get on the tivo 3.0 beta program and received the update about a week ago. Here is what I noticed.

    1) For the most part the user interface is the same. The update seems to have focused on improvements to the core app. For example the now playing list draws much faster.

    2) It records many more shows from the suggestions list which is good. I bumped my tivo up to 100+ hours a while back and it used to record only 3-4 unscheduled shows a day. Now it graps something like 10 and really makes use of all that space.

    3) TivoNet warning: it will overwrite all of your setup files if you installed a network card. Looks like its time to open the box again. :(

    Here is what Tivo has to say about the update.

    Improvements to TiVo's Suggestions

    TiVo's Suggestions has gotten even better at finding programs you might enjoy. If your TiVo automatically records TiVo's Suggestions, you may notice improvements soon.

    If you have chosen not to automatically record TiVo's Suggestions, this is a good time to try them again. You can automatically record TiVo's Suggestions again by going to TiVo Central > My Preferences > TiVo's Suggestions.

    Even if you don't automatically record TiVo's Suggestions, you can always browse through them (and set up your own recordings) by going to TiVo Central > Pick Programs to Record > TiVo's Suggestions

    Improved Data Downloads

    Your TiVo can now record TiVo Service data from specially broadcast programs. It receives these programs automatically and will never cancel or delete your shows to get them. This means shorter Daily Calls. If you do not have cable as your program source, TiVo will use the phone line as always.

    The special programs will be recorded about once a week, usually between 2am and 5am. If you watch TV at these times, the TiVo Service may ask to change the channel to receive a special program. While the TiVo Service will work if the special programs do not record, it's a good idea to allow such channel changes whenever you can.

    Record All Episodes with Duplicates

    Season Passes will not record a program if the program's description is long enough and matches the description of another program recorded within 28 days. This is called the "28 day rule" and is used to avoid duplicate recordings.

    However, you may want to record shows with identical descriptions. You might want to do this if your child expects a certain program to be recorded every week, or if a program is pre-empted (e.g., for news or a ballgame in overtime) and the broadcaster airs the same program a week later.

    You can now turn off the 28 day rule and record duplicate episodes by selecting a new recording option, "Show Type: All (with duplicates)." Just go to TiVo Central > Pick Programs to Record > Season Pass Manager. Select the Season Pass, then select "Change Recording Options." Change "Show Type" to "All (with duplicates)."

    • 1) For the most part the user interface is the same. The update seems to have focused on improvements to the core app. For example the now playing list draws much faster.

      2) It records many more shows from the suggestions list which is good. I bumped my tivo up to 100+ hours a while back and it used to record only 3-4 unscheduled shows a day. Now it graps something like 10 and really makes use of all that space.

      Only 3 or 4 a day? I upgraded my DirecTiVo to 225 hours (2 x 120GB hdd), and it recorded everything in sight. I guess you rarely use the ThumbsUp/ThumbsDown buttons? I use them all the time. When the extra space appeared after the upgrade, the unit was recording suggestions practically all day long. My "Now Showing" list took five minutes to draw sometimes. I turned off automatic recording of suggestions to avoid the lengthy delays.

      Now if they've speeded up drawing "Now Showing" I may turn that feature back on.

      BTW, I'm almost completely used to the continuous HD chatter from the little black box on top of the TV now... I should have put in 5400 rpm drives, but the 7200s were on sale.
      • What's changed is that the suggestions now are getting information through the call. It indexes the suggestions sort of like Amazon's suggestions. It looks for other user's likes and dislikes. So if you like show X, tivo knows that 100 other people who liked show X like show Y but not show Z, and acts accordingly.

        Look for this to get better and better with time.

        But it does leave the option of trying to social engineer the suggestions. It also may leave a wide open gap for Tivo to make a suggestion of their own (which I think already happens).
        • That does sound better. I found that some of the suggestions it was recording were things like CNN war coverage, or the local newscast. That's because I like Discovery Wings channel and NPR's Frontline, which are usually classed as "news/documentary/war" or somesuch, same categories as CNN war coverage and local news.
  • There's an article in either this or last month's Computer Shopper about how to build your own DVR for about $250. With an Athlon 950 and MB running for around $100 (including NIC, sound, no video), you could probably put together a non-subscription DVR for under $500.
    About a month ago CompUSA had the cheap (in both senses) ATI TV-Wonder for about $20 after rebate. It can record decent quality with a fast drive and processor. The included Windows software includes some limited programmability, guide, and a multimedia center, so it's an inexpensive way to get your feet wet.
    Unfortunately, the Linux drivers aren't quite there yet. I'm using Mandrake 8.2 with the xawtv package but am limited to watching TV and AVI/WAV capture.

    • Re:Build your own (Score:3, Informative)

      by Sc00ter ( 99550 )
      Okay, where's my season passes that automatically record programs for me so I don't have to keep entering in times and channel numbers? where's the ability to only record new shows and not repeats, where's my thumbs up/down so it will automatically record shows it thinks I might like?

      There's more to TiVo then just a ditital VCR.

      • Re:Build your own (Score:3, Interesting)

        by CMiYC ( 6473 )
        I agree with you.

        I'd also like to add that its cost effective for me to spend $12/mo to let TiVo get the guide and take care of itself. Sure someone might say the data is free (from some easily obtainable resource which I have yet to see someone mention) and that you could write/download the software to handle it all. Of course, $12 equals about 15 minutes of my time. So I can either spend $12 or 2-4 hours a month dicking around with a computer sitting in my living room that lets me watch TV.

        I'd rather just spend the $12 and know there is a 1-800 number I can call when something goes wrong.
        • free guide data here [zap2it.com] It's html so it should be easy enough to decode and the search engine works well so some simple queries should do something similar but more limited to tivo.

    • Re:Build your own (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Meowharishi ( 550240 )
      Its not the hardware that really matters with the Tivo, its the software and the back-end services from Tivo that make it so cool.. And lets not forget about the little Tivo remote control thats ooh-so-sexy!

  • hey! support OPENPVR instead! (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @09:18PM (#3362953)
    Instead of spending money on a tivo, go to http://sourceforge.net/projects/openpvr/
    and get involved. when this is done, you'll be able to turn your linux box into something like a tivo for only the cost of a tv tuner card and possibly another hard drive.
    • Used to support OPENPVR/Snapstream and the like, at least until I actually got a UTV. yes, you can do it with a computer, but it isn't going to be nearly as well put together as a stand alone unit. Does it pass the girlfriend/wife test??? There is no computer PVR out there that will come close. (And in some cases, a real PVR might not either, but it comes much closer!!)

    • Re:hey! support OPENPVR instead! (Score:5, Funny)

      by hobbs ( 82453 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @10:55PM (#3363272)
      Yeah, turn the $1000 Linux box + $300 accelerated video card with TV tuner into a $400 TiVo. Rock on!

    • Look at how I did it (Score:2, Informative)

      by linuxguy ( 98493 )
      See http://cheema.com/vcr/

      I cannot release the source because I am doing some
      related stuff at work and dont want to make them
      unhappy.

  • Can anybody read the schedule data? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @09:25PM (#3362976) Homepage
    Can anyone read the broadcast TV schedule data? That would be a useful data source to have freely available. Open-source PVRs could use it, for example.

    Is it encrypted?

    The guide data probably isn't copyrightable. Phone directory data isn't copyrightable, nor are databases of facts. ("The standard of originality for copyright is low, but it exists." - U.S. Supreme Court)The formatted data may be copyrightable, but you probably want to get it out of TiVo's format into something more useful anyway.

    • This brings up an interesting point. There's a lot of people that say "you don't want me to steal this, don't push it into my house" arguments for DirecTV and for listening to cell/cordless phones. Now that anybody can get this, and you're not calling into there servers I bet you'll see a lot more people hacking TiVos to get free listings.

    • Re:Can anybody read the schedule data? (Score:4, Informative)

      by pmcneill ( 146350 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @09:44PM (#3363030)
      The data is indeed encrypted. Tivos will still have to dial-in to get the decryption keys, which presumably will expire to keep people from stealing subscriptions. More info here. [tivocommunity.com]

    • Re:Can anybody read the schedule data? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Jerf ( 17166 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @09:46PM (#3363031) Journal
      The guide data probably isn't copyrightable.

      Actually, it probably is, if it contains all the data the current guide data does. The program summaries, ratings, and categorizations are definately copyrightable. You'd have to ask a copyright lawyer if you could extract the raw titles and times, which are what most people care about. You'd be extracting non-copyrightable material from a copyrighted feed, and I don't know if that counts as a "derivative product". (Note I wouldn't put any stock in wild Slashdot theories on this point; I study IP as much as any non-lawyer, and I don't think a non-lawyer can answer this question. It may not even have an answer.)

      And of course if it's encrypted at all, the DMCA will completely protect it, regardless.
    • The guide data probably isn't copyrightable.

      It doesn't matter if it is copyright or not -- if you are only going to read and use the information. Copyright is about copying stuff.

  • Life, or Tivo? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Digitech ( 572815 )
    I have been interested in TiVo for a while now, but I have heard from several people that you have a life, or you have TiVo. Because it records things you might like to see, you spend most of your time trying to watch them. Is this the case for most TiVo owners, or only those with no TV willpower?

    • Re:Life, or Tivo? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gasp ( 128583 )
      Bah. Not a problem for me. I've been using my Tivo almost 2 years. Yes, it records more than I can ever watch. So most of it goes unwatched.

      I find Tivo indespensible now for 2 reasons:

      1. The ability to pause or replay anything I watch. I can't even tell you how often I replay the last 10 seconds to catch something I missed, or pausing while I got check the meat on the BBQ. And my wife calls me in often to replay something for me that she found interesting or funny.

      2. Efficient use of viewing time. I don't care enough about TV to go out of my way to watch something when it airs, and I sure don't care to watch everything Tivo records. (My hacked unit is only 52 hours.) What is important is that for the few hours a week that I _do_ want to watch TV, I am able to select the best of the best. That is, I tell Tivo to record only things I like, and then I watch only what I want, when I want. The ability to FF through commercials means it only takes about 42 minutes to watch an hour show, so the time I spend watching TV is maximized.

    • Re:Life, or Tivo? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gad_zuki! ( 70830 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @11:29PM (#3363374)
      Well, I seem to be watching the same amount of TV. I was never an addict to begin with and when I switched to directv I had a choice: buy a reciever box for $50 or a Hughes DirecTivo for $120. Guess what I went for.

      Right now I have it set to record a few shows (7-8) in season pass mode. I shut off the auto-record suggestions mode because it really just recorded crap. Just because I like the Simpsons doesn't mean I like everything thats animated, especially stuff for the 4-7 year old demographic. I spent some time just rating movies and TV shows and it still was pretty lousy. Plus, I really don't want to watch lots of TV unless its interesting. The programs I choose are good enough and if I'm channel surfing I'll check whats on the various discovery-type channels and movie channels.

      The real fun part is that I never look at the clock and think "Hey the Daily Show is on" or whatever. Even if I know something good is on I prefer to catch it 10 minutes or so late so I can skip the commercials, boring parts, bad guests, etc. Its weird how clock oriented I was toward TV. If I cancel I'll probably be using the hell out of my VCR.

      The real problem is I can't stand live TV with its ads. Its bad when you haven't seen a commercial break in months and now you have to find ways to entertain yourself for 3 minutes 4 times a show. So I just hit record and walk away. Come back and skip commercials as usual.

      Its great at catching every showing of something. So if you like the Power Puff Girls you're going to get four per day, unless otherwise programmed. Great, one of those is probably one I haven't seen. The interface is sweet compared the directv boxes and because its a DirecTivo I'm always recording at MPEG-2. It doesn't compress anything, it just records everything raw - highest quality from directv.

      The pitfalls for most people is that they load up on the suggestions and veg away. Avoid that. Make TV your bitch. I did.
      • because its a DirecTivo I'm always recording at MPEG-2. It doesn't compress anything, it just records everything raw - highest quality from directv

        AFAIK, all Tivo devices use MPEG-2 technology. And, AFAIK, there is _no_ Tivo mode that does lossless compression.

        T

        • DirecTivos cannot compress anything. They just use the already compressed mpeg-2 satellite broadcast and record it directly to disk. That's one of the reasons why they're so much cheaper than stand-alone Tivos. In fact, a DirecTivo cannot be used without directv service because of this reason.
    • I watch 1 - 1.5 hours of TV each day since getting my Tivo. It does require some willpower to walk away from it sometimes, but as long as you don't have too many shows that you "have to see", you should be OK.
    • Is this the case for most TiVo owners, or only those with no TV willpower?

      Some people watch more TV, some people watch about the same amount (either by number of shows, or by total number of hours).

      Some people watch more because, well, it catches more of the shows they like, and lets them play them back whenever. So if their social life has them out a few week nights, but leaves Sunday free they can watch the shows from the week nights.

      Some people go out more (because of the above!) and either watch the same amount of TV, or more.

      Personally I do about the same amount of other stuff, but I now do all my fiddling around on the net in front of the TV because I can skip back and watch whatever I missed, and skip over commercials that tend to catch my eye when I'm trying to do something like read slashdot :-)

      What will it do to you? Buy one and find out...I mean are you chicken? :-)

    • Actually, I watch the same shows I always wanted to watch, they're just 1/3 shorter without the commercials. And I don't ever watch the last 5 minutes of something that's on before what I want to see, or watch a show that's between two shows I enjoy just to kill the half-hour.

      Plus, the TV fits *my* schedule now. For example, I'm usually out doing something on sundays now, rather than watching the simpsons or futurama (and the crap in between). I watch 10 minutes or so of the shows while i grab breakfast or with dinner (and finish the rest the next day, etc...), rather than watching whatever's on and then later also watching the shows i really want to see.

      So, I watch slightly fewer shows, no extra "filler" i don't really want to see, and everything takes 30% less time to watch. All in all, I'm pretty damned happy with it.

  • The Real Details and Current Discussion (Score:4, Informative)

    by aligas ( 167845 ) on Wednesday April 17, 2002 @10:17PM (#3363146)
    You can find the the best information on this subject on the TiVo Community forums thread called "3.0 will (UN-)Support Broadband Connections. Its linked below.

    http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread. ph p?s=&threadid=54620

  • The real skinny on ethernet support! (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18, 2002 @01:56AM (#3363811)
    From the 3.0 software itself, in the TClient-lib.itcl file (where the dialing code used to be).

    Stupid slashdot lameness filter! A # was in front of every line of the following...


    If you're looking for the TClient scripts which were used in the
    1.x and 2.x releases of the TiVo software - they no longer exist.

    In 3.0, the TClient process was entirely rewritten in C++, and the
    old TCL implementation was retired. The primary reason for doing
    this was memory usage - the tivosh shell was rather memory-hungry,
    and this caused some system problems during daily-call processing.
    The new C++ implemention of TClient is smaller, faster, and more
    efficient.

    The bad news is that if you came to this file to (re)install the
    "PPP over the serial port" modification which has been floating around
    on the Net, you can't do so by editing anything in this directory.
    The call management just isn't done that way any more.

    Because this appears to have been a popular mod among many of our
    most avid users, I was able to get permission to add PPP-over-the-
    serial-port support to the C++ implementation of TClient. You can
    enable this feature from the user interface via a back-door code.

    To do so, go to Setup and Messages -> Recorder & Phone Setup ->
    Phone Connection -> Change Dialing Options -> Set Dial Prefix.

    Enter a dialing prefix of "Pause Enter X N N" (displays as ",#XNN")
    where "X" is the backdoor code ("2" or "3") and "NN" is the first two
    numeric digits of the serial port speed you wish to use. Use a
    backdoor code of "2" if your PPP server simply starts negotiation
    with no preamble. Use a backdoor code of "3" if your PPP server
    includes a modem emulation and expects to go through a dial / connect /
    prompt / login sequence prior to beginning PPP negotiation.

    For example, ",#219" selects a speed of 19200 bits/second and begins
    PPP negotiation immediately. ",#357" selects a speed of 57600
    bits/second and performs modem-dialing emulation and login prior
    to starting PPP negotiation.

    Speeds that the software will recognize include 96[00], 19[200], 38[400],
    57[600], 11[5200], and 23[0400] bits/second.

    High speeds may or may not work properly - success will depend on
    the type of PC you're using, the length of the serial-port cable,
    and probably on the phase of the moon. The TiVo external serial port
    does not support flow control - configure your peer equipment
    accordingly. Specifying speeds which are either too high, or too
    low may result in loss of data and poor throughput.

    PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN UNSUPPORTED FEATURE. It is "officially
    undocumented". TiVo does not promise that it will work for you,
    either now or in the future, and doesn't promise that it'll always
    be available. TiVo does not recommend that you use this un-
    feature, does not encourage you to do so, and disclaims any
    responsibility for any problems which may occur, directly or
    indirectly, should you choose to make use of this un-feature.
    As the preacher said in Blazing Saddles: "Son, you're on your own!"

    Please do NOT call TiVo Customer Care with bug reports, or for assistance
    with this un-feature, or to ask how to set up a PPP server - they
    either won't know what you're talking about, or will tell you that
    they can't help you. There's a good deal of information available
    out on the Web (especially via the TiVo forum at AV Science) concerning
    TiVo and home-grown PPP servers, network address translation (NAT'ing,
    IP masquerading, IP proxying), etc. - please refer to these sources rather
    than calling TiVo. If a bunch of people start calling Customer Care
    demanding help and support for this un-feature, I may be told to pull
    it out of future software releases.

    OK? OK, I hope.

    That being said - one Linux configuration I tested this with,
    quite successfully, used the following command to configure the PPP
    server:

    /usr/sbin/pppd /dev/ttyS1 115200 $MYADDR:$HISADDR passive \
    persist local proxyarp nocrtscts noauth holdoff 10 nodetach nodeflate

    In most cases, home-broadband users would probably want to use
    NAT / IP masquerade, rather than (or in addition to) proxy ARP.

    We've been given the OK to add a similar level of non-support for
    another popular non-feature - TiVo daily calls via a broadband
    network adapter.

    To use this non-feature, you'll need a network adapter of a variety
    that your particular TiVo system (un)supports. For the Series 2
    systems, the adapters in question are various USB models based on the
    Pegasus and RTL8150 chips. We've tested several such Ethernet
    adapters (there are some HomePNA adapters also but we haven't tested
    these) but can't recommend specific models - manufacturers change
    their designs fairly frequently. For the original "standalone" TiVo system,
    you probably know what you need, hardware-wise (*cough*tivonet*cough*)
    and you've read and understood and accepted all of the dire warnings
    about the risks of opening up the cabinet and installing unsupported
    and untested hardware.

    You'll also need a local area network, on which is running a device
    which acts as a DHCP server capable of "leasing out" an IP address
    to your TiVo system and providing network/netmask/default-gateway
    information. Most of the popular "home gateway / router / firewall"
    products are capable of acting as DHCP servers, as are Linux- and
    other Unix-type systems. TiVo can't help you select, purchase,
    configure, or troubleshoot any such devices or software. It's a
    *very* good idea to have some such device acting as a firewall between
    your home LAN and the Internet, no matter what sorts of PCs and
    Internet-enabled devices you have installed in your home.

    In order to use a broadband connection, the network adapter must
    be suitably configured (if it needs configuration) before you
    plug it in. It must be connected to the TiVo recorder when the
    system is powered up - "hot plugging" of a USB network adapter is
    not currently supported, "hot unplugging" of an adapter while in
    use might crash the system, and of course any sort of "hot
    [un]plugging" of an ISA network adapter would be an incredibly
    bad idea.

    If a suitable network adapter is found at boot time, the TiVo device
    will start up a DHCP client and will configure the adapter for use.

    In order to actually cause daily (or other) TiVo service calls to
    use your broadband connection, you must enable this feature via
    another dial-prefix "back door" code - use ",#401". Once this
    feature is enabled, the system will attempt to use your network
    adapter (if present) for all daily and service calls. The system
    will not, at this time, "fall back" gracefully and revert to the
    modem if your broadband connection is down - it's broadband or
    nothing. To switch back to the modem, clear the back-door dial
    prefix string.

    If you make a modem-based call, the PPP daemon will deliberately remove
    any "default" network route(s) specified by your DHCP server, in order to
    ensure that the call traffic actually travels via the modem. If you
    then wish to start "making calls" via your broadband adapter, you must
    enter the dial-prefix backdoor code, and then arrange to have the
    DHCP software re-install a default route to your local network gateway.
    You can do this by waiting until your DHCP lease is renewed (the lease and
    renewal times are specified by whatever DHCP server you're running), or
    more quickly by restarting your TiVo recorder.

    There's no non-support yet for 802.11b wireless networking. For
    one thing, the Linux drivers for the adapters available on the
    market today are not stable enough for us to want to ship them. For
    another, proper use of 802.11b requires some form of user interface
    to set the network ESSID and the network encryption keys, and we
    haven't had time to write this yet.

    All of the things I said about PPP support being Really and Honestly
    Unsupported So Please Don't Call Us, apply just as much to
    this Ethernet support.

  • Where to buy a ethernet card for your TiVo.. (Score:3, Informative)

    by xTK-421x ( 531992 ) on Thursday April 18, 2002 @08:13AM (#3364662) Homepage
    Surprised no one posted this yet...

    TurboNet Adapter $69.25 [9thtee.com]

    Works with Series 1 and DirectTiVos, slips right in, then the new 3.0 will autodetect it and install the right drivers. After installation, put ",#401" as your phone number and it will use the net connection from now on.
  • Well, I finally got my DirecTivo system - nice dish and a Philips DSR6000. Then the guy came over to install it and went "Nope, this won't work."

    It's like in those Cable anti-dish commercials. "Yeah, you can get 150 channels for cheaper than cable. But first you have to chop down that 300 year old maple tree for us."

    I personally think there's plenty of places I can get a decent view of the southern sky from, but apparently putting up poles or something doesn't work for the installers.

    Oh well, I guess I'll send it back and get the much lamer IMO Series 2.

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