My M-cards work fine (and always have) in my S3 with FiOS service. FiOS doesn't have S-cards here yet. Wish they did since it would save me $5/month. I have had several TiVo CSR's tell me that the S3 will not work with the S-card and FiOS, but they are working on it for the future. ;)


I always refer to rule #1 - Never believe anything a CSR tells you.

I'm working now after taking a 5 year "retirement" and I'm a CSR for an insurance company. I'm still in training but I am on the phones.

Sometimes someone will ask me something that's a bit out of my scope or maybe something they've touched on and I can't put it all together. Rather then give no answer I sometimes give them what I honestly think is the answer.

Not the best decision on my part but I think that's kind of the way the human mind works.

And don't worry anyone out there about the "insurance" thing. It's simply taking payments on auto insurance, I don't do claims or anything like that. They may ask me what their next 6 months worth of bills are going to be when they renew and I have a formula for that but sometimes that doesn't match what the computer shows me for the initial payment. I tell them the higher amount. That way if it's lower, no one is p.o.'d. I think.:)

Based on my bad experience with the M cards I had in my S3 and the good experience I have had both with my original S cards and the replacement S cards installed yesterday, I am prepared to accept as true what the Cox techs told me, which is that M cards won’t work reliably in S3s. I do so despite having believed TiVo's representation that the M cards will work just fine.

There is one more possibility, a dire one, which is that the trouble I am having is not with the cards but with my S3. Brrr, I hope not!

Finally, I should observe that the trouble I was having with the M cards was not a pairing issue. The cards were paired and did work some of the time. The problem was that they would randomly lose their authorization to receive programming but a reboot would bring them back – until it wouldn’t. Go figure.

My M-cards work fine (and always have) in my S3 with FiOS service. FiOS doesn't have S-cards here yet. Wish they did since it would save me $5/month. I have had several TiVo CSR's tell me that the S3 will not work with the S-card and FiOS, but they are working on it for the future. ;)It seems unlikely that, if Verizon is using only M-Cards, they will ever use S-Cards in the future (it seems equally unlikely that any cable provider will ever buy any new S-Cards). M-Cards implement a functional superset of S-Card capabilities and are required to work in non-multi-stream capable devices in an S-Card compatibility mode.

Examining your statement, it seems likely that you're confusing the two. S-Cards are the original CableCARDs, which were around for a couple of years before M-Cards appeared. Using S-Cards wouldn't likely save you money; it's the other way around, since some two-tuner devices can use a single leased M-Card where they'd need two S-Cards (this is true for the TiVo HD).

TiVo Series3 was designed with the intention that it be able to use a single M-Card in multi-stream mode, but the M-Card specification was not complete by the time they wanted to finalize TiVo S3's design, so they couldn't test against that spec. TiVo HD was introduced after M-Cards were shipping and were tested with them during development. TiVo Series3 does not work with a single M-Card; there was an effort to make it work, but I've heard that it was abandoned.

I do so despite having believed TiVo's representation that the M cards will work just fine.It's not TiVo's representation alone--it's also the stance of OpenCable and the M-Card manufacturers. M-Cards should work in non-multi-stream-capable CableCARD Hosts interfaces (CCIF 1.0 compliant slots) in a fashion indistinguishable from S-Cards; it's in the spec. It's unreasonable to expect cable providers to stock both kinds (they're pissed enough about having to stock any of them :rolleyes:) and M-Cards are designed to be a replacement for S-Cards, which were kind of an interrim stop-gap measure.

If M-Cards don't work reliably in your TiVo S3, it's not because they're M-Cards. Tons of people in these online forums have reported using M-Cards in TiVo S3s without problem or incident. I'd suggest that your cable provider just happens to have a lot of faulty M-Cards.

There is one more possibility, a dire one, which is that the trouble I am having is not with the cards but with my S3. Brrr, I hope not!

Finally, I should observe that the trouble I was having with the M cards was not a pairing issue. The cards were paired and did work some of the time. The problem was that they would randomly lose their authorization to receive programming but a reboot would bring them back – until it wouldn’t. Go figure.

I sure hope it isn't the S3. I know you paid full price like I did.

You're sure it's not a pairing issue. OK, I'll accept that.

I've written about this before but it appears from my first install that the information about what cable card was in what slot was incorrect. Yet it worked 6 months before something occurred (I can't remember what) and when I went over the card numbers with headend they had them in reverse! Now how in the heck could that happen? Yet it did, I swear.

Oh, and another thing my "experienced techs" told me about cable card install is that not all TiVo's use the same software so that's frequently a problem. I told them this could be true of course if you got an install on day one or two of getting your TiVo and didn't upgrade. So I took them downstairs and showed them that the software for my S3 was exactly the same as the TiVo HD, and in fact that the TiVo HD said Platform: S3. They stared at that for a couple of seconds and didn't say anything.

Anyway, good luck my friend I hope it gets resolved.

Oh, one more thing. Are they doing a signal check? That's the only other thing I could think of. That I'm happy to say was the first thing my guys did when they installed my TiVo HD.

Seems that M-Cards-in-multi-stream-mode for TiVo S3 isn't completely out of the question. Posted yesterday by TiVo product marketing manager Bob Poniatowski, in TiVo Community Forums (here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6149876#post6149876)):...features such as QAM remapping and M-Card S3 support do not target a significant portion of our subscribers, both are in fact very small numbers of subscribers. That doesn't mean that they automatically get set aside, or that TiVo is ignoring or doesn't care about those customers. But it is a consideration when trading off those features against others (M-Card for S3 is technically possible, but also technically very complex. We've learned that there is a lot of risk inherent in that development).I'm reading "don't hold your breath" :rolleyes:. (By "QAM remapping" he's referring to an ability to use TiVo S3 and TiVo HD on cable systems to watch clear QAM channels without leasing CableCARDs; right now, TiVo requires the channel map in CableCARDs to know where digital channels are on the wire. Cable providers change the position of digital channels at their discretion, and tracking those changes to update TiVos from outside of the cable systems is neither simple or easy).

Seems that M-Cards-in-multi-stream-mode for TiVo S3 isn't completely out of the question. Posted yesterday by TiVo product marketing manager Bob Poniatowski, in TiVo Community Forums (here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6149876#post6149876)):I'm reading "don't hold your breath" :rolleyes:. (By "QAM remapping" he's referring to an ability to use TiVo S3 and TiVo HD on cable systems to watch clear QAM channels without leasing CableCARDs; right now, TiVo requires the channel map in CableCARDs to know where digital channels are on the wire. Cable providers change the position of digital channels at their discretion, and tracking those changes to update TiVos from outside of the cable systems is neither simple or easy).

Ouch, that really sucks. From the link, which was emailed to me by a friend of course: (M-Card for S3 is technically possible, but also technically very complex. We've learned that there is a lot of risk inherent in that development).

Tell that to gwswat. This is the first time I've heard about a problem with the M card and the S3. Did I misinterpret this or is he saying "we might be having some problems getting them to work with the S3"?

In my area that's not a problem because they couldn't find an M card around here even when the President of Time Warner NEO tells them to. I asked for one for my TiVo HD and got a call from the Superviosr of the techs that work my area who assurred me I would be getting an M card.

That's OK however, it works fine with two S cards.

Ouch, that really sucks. From the link, which was emailed to me by a friend of course: (M-Card for S3 is technically possible, but also technically very complex. We've learned that there is a lot of risk inherent in that development). That bolded parenthesized sentence is in the quote in my post.

It's specifically M-Cards in multi-stream mode that's the problem (i.e., using a single M-Card for both tuners); two M-Cards installed in a TiVo S3 should work just fine. As I said before, an M-Card installed in a CCIF 1.0 slot should operate in a fashion indistinguishable from an S-Card--the M-Card spec says that they must, and if they don't they're non-compliant. The cable providers are forced to use CableCARDs in their own equipment since last July and they have no use for S-Cards (at the beginning of the year they claim to have deployed seven times as many CableCARDs in leased boxes as all the CableCARDs they'd leased for use in third party equipment over the previous 2.5 years). I can't believe that they will be purchasing any new S-Cards, so as their meager supply of them dies, only M-Cards will be available. If TiVo S3 has a problem with M-Cards, it will be an increasingly large problem going forward.

Fortunately, gwsat's problem is an aberration--I've heard many people report their boxes working just fine with M-Cards (you and myself included, hookbill)--his is the first report of a problem with M-Cards that I've seen. (I recall some problem with Motorola cards in the beginning, but I think that it was both M-Cards and S-Cards).

I sure hope it isn't the S3. I know you paid full price like I did.

You're sure it's not a pairing issue. OK, I'll accept that.

I've written about this before but it appears from my first install that the information about what cable card was in what slot was incorrect. Yet it worked 6 months before something occurred (I can't remember what) and when I went over the card numbers with headend they had them in reverse! Now how in the heck could that happen? Yet it did, I swear.

Oh, and another thing my "experienced techs" told me about cable card install is that not all TiVo's use the same software so that's frequently a problem. I told them this could be true of course if you got an install on day one or two of getting your TiVo and didn't upgrade. So I took them downstairs and showed them that the software for my S3 was exactly the same as the TiVo HD, and in fact that the TiVo HD said Platform: S3. They stared at that for a couple of seconds and didn't say anything.

Anyway, good luck my friend I hope it gets resolved.

Oh, one more thing. Are they doing a signal check? That's the only other thing I could think of. That I'm happy to say was the first thing my guys did when they installed my TiVo HD.
First, thanks to Hook and everybody else who has contributed to the discussion of my problem, I appreciate it.

I agree that it’s never a mistake to underestimate the intelligence of cable company techs. As a class, the boys and girls are not rocket scientists. Still, in my case Cox’s tech guys were conscientious, did their very best to get me up and running, and got the job done in the end. As I posted earlier, when my M cards were installed a little over a month ago, the tech who came to my house, his supervisor, who also came for awhile, and an assortment of head end folks spent a combined 6 hours on the exercise and used 7 different cards. So my problem wasn’t the result of the Cox folks not trying hard enough.

The first thing the Cox tech who came yesterday did was check the signal and it was perfect, as it has been ever since Cox replaced the cable leading from where the cable comes into my house in the attic to the wall outlet to which my S3 is connected. I have a Cox service policy so none of this stuff has cost me any additional expense. Given the various problems I have had to get Cox to fix, my service policy has proved to be money well spent.

As I type this, my cards are still working, but it’s been less than 24 hours since the new S cards were installed, so I have no idea yet whether this installation will prove to be stable. When the M cards started working they were all right for nearly a week but then went south. Thus, I’m not going to be very confident that my problems really are over until this current setup works uninterruptedly for at least a couple of weeks.

It seems unlikely that, if Verizon is using only M-Cards, they will ever use S-Cards in the future (it seems equally unlikely that any cable provider will ever buy any new S-Cards). M-Cards implement a functional superset of S-Card capabilities and are required to work in non-multi-stream capable devices in an S-Card compatibility mode.

Examining your statement, it seems likely that you're confusing the two. S-Cards are the original CableCARDs, which were around for a couple of years before M-Cards appeared. Using S-Cards wouldn't likely save you money; it's the other way around, since some two-tuner devices can use a single leased M-Card where they'd need two S-Cards (this is true for the TiVo HD).

TiVo Series3 was designed with the intention that it be able to use a single M-Card in multi-stream mode, but the M-Card specification was not complete by the time they wanted to finalize TiVo S3's design, so they couldn't test against that spec. TiVo HD was introduced after M-Cards were shipping and were tested with them during development. TiVo Series3 does not work with a single M-Card; there was an effort to make it work, but I've heard that it was abandoned. :o Unfortunately for me, you are correct. I had confused the two and I have gone back and edited the original post. Thanks for straighting that out.

Here is what TiVo says about M CableCARDs in the S3:

“Currently, the Series3 HD DVR will support M-Cards in single-stream mode, which means that the DVR requires two (2) CableCARDs to run in dual-tuner mode.”

[Emphasis as in the original.]

Do the M cards automatically enter “single-stream mode” when they are installed in an S3 or must the cable company do something at the head end to get them into the proper mode? If something special should have been done at the head end but was not, it might explain the inconsistent results some of us are seeing when trying to use M cards in S3s.

Here is what TiVo says about M CableCARDs in the S3:

“Currently, the Series3 HD DVR will support M-Cards in single-stream mode, which means that the DVR requires two (2) CableCARDs to run in dual-tuner mode.”

[Emphasis as in the original.]

Do the M cards automatically enter “single-stream mode” when they are installed in an S3 or must the cable company do something at the head end to get them into the proper mode? If something special should have been done at the head end but was not, it might explain the inconsistent results some of us are seeing when trying to use M cards in S3s.

I don't believe it has to be set up that way. It's capable of 6 streams but if it's just receiving one stream then that's all it will put out.

Do the M cards automatically enter “single-stream mode” when they are installed in an S3 or must the cable company do something at the head end to get them into the proper mode? If something special should have been done at the head end but was not, it might explain the inconsistent results some of us are seeing when trying to use M cards in S3s.I'm fairly certain that something in the handshake when the card is inserted will tell it that it's in an "S-Host" and will cause it to operate in "S-Mode" (CableLabs' specification language, S-Card, S-Host, S-Mode, M-Card, M-Host, M-Mode). M-Cards can operate in S-Mode when inserted in an S-Host (they can operate on a single stream if they're requested to do so when inserted in an M-Host but that's not quite the same thing).

For details, peruse the OpenCable CableCARD Interface 2.0 Specification (http://www.cablelabs.com/specifications/OC-SP-CCIF2.0-I14-080404.pdf); I'm too lazy to dig the precise info out right now :).

OK, thanks for the advice. I guess it’s back to the drawing board to try to come up with a reason why M cards wouldn’t work reliably, or later work at all, in my S3.

OK, thanks for the advice. I guess it’s back to the drawing board to try to come up with a reason why M cards wouldn’t work reliably, or later work at all, in my S3.


TivoPony is always unreachable but try TiVoStephen and see if you can't get him to help you out. Also I think there is a TiVoJerry that offered me some help when I posted about a problem over there on the TiVo boards when I first got my S3.

Another thing, I know you tried customer service but how far did you go? Did you ask for a level 3 tech? That might help.

Another thing, I know you tried customer service but how far did you go? Did you ask for a level 3 tech? That might help.
During my 6 hour nightmare M card installation with the Cox tech, his supervisor and Cox’s head end, the tech who was the point man here and I got on a conference call with a TiVo CableCARD specialist, who gave me a case number. All three of us were concerned that the problem might lie with the box and not with the cards. Although the Cox tech who was doing the work in my house couldn’t get both cards to work, he did get one going. As it was then 9:00 pm, and he had arrived at 3:00 pm, I thanked him and said that I would call TiVo again the next day.

The TiVo CableCARD specialist had given me a case number, which I planned to use but by the next morning both cards were working, so I didn’t call. Then, over the next four weeks or so, the cards would fail periodically but could be reauthorized by a reboot. Consequently, I resisted stirring the pot because I could make my S3 work most of the time. Then, the cards died for good last Thursday, so I had Cox come again yesterday, Friday. The rest, as they say, is history.

If my current S cards fail in the near future I will contact TiVo again, give my case number, and ask them to replace this box. I hope that it doesn’t come to that, God knows, but if it does I can’t think of anything else to do but replace the box. If it comes to that and I encounter resistance, I shall ask for a Level 3 tech. Thanks for the tip.

By "QAM remapping" he's referring to an ability to use TiVo S3 and TiVo HD on cable systems to watch clear QAM channels without leasing CableCARDs; right now, TiVo requires the channel map in CableCARDs to know where digital channels are on the wire. Cable providers change the position of digital channels at their discretion, and tracking those changes to update TiVos from outside of the cable systems is neither simple or easy.Just to point out: TiVo supports manual recording on clear QAM channels today. These recordings are just as susceptible to channel reassignments by the cable company, yet that is how things work now. Adding guide data to this existing level of support does not introduce any additional risk due to channel reassignments. So TiVo could add guide data for clear QAM channels with no additional risk from channel reassignments than is there already. Now, having the TiVo automatically account for changes to clear QAM channel assignments is more difficult; but this is a different feature, and would apply equally well to both the current manual recording technique, as well as guide data based recording.

How do you add guide data for channels if you don't know where the channels are? The problem is not finding out about "reassignment" of clear QAM channels but finding out about their assignment, period. There is an expectation that if the channel is in the guide and you select it from the guide that TiVo will tune to it; if you choose a program and ask for it to be recorded, TiVo will tune the proper channel and record it at the proper time. But those channels are in MPEG streams on arbitrary QAM carriers with PIDs that cannot be guessed--people who tune them with QAM tuners have to scan for them, tune them and figure out what they are from station ID bugs, etc.

Of course, the association between guide channel numbers and QAM carrier frequencies/PIDs is internal to TiVo. I've had TiVo add channels to my guide that were not actually present on my part of the system (they removed four such today, the sad thing being that press releases were made yesterday to the effect that they'd be added on Tuesday :rolleyes:). If I tried to tune them, it just immediately put up a "channel not available" pop-up. So, yeah, they could put in guide data for channels that they have no mapped tuning for, but it would hardly do anyone any good and would generate large numbers of calls from people wondering why they were getting the "channel not available" message.

EDIT: The one thing that TiVo could do is scan QAM carriers looking for PSIP loops. FCC regulations require that QAM carriers with MPEG streams containing rebroadcasts of over-the-air channels contain PSIP loops for at least those channels (they can optionally contain information about other channels as well). If TiVo implemented discovery and monitoring of these loops and the channel mapping table contained therein, it'd be useful, at least for those cable systems that are compliant with that requirement.

The one thing that TiVo could do is scan QAM carriers looking for PSIP loops.Exactly; that would be the easiest thing to start with. TiVo already parses PSIP and extracts the channel number contained therein, and uses that channel number throughout both the manual recording process and in the channel guide (but no program information is displayed in the guide, just a generic "To Be Announced"). For example, I have an antenna channel at 6.1 and a cable channel at 6.1. Only the antenna version gets guide data; the cable version, on the exact same channel number, gets no guide data. It should be trivial for TiVo to associate OTA guide data onto cable channels that are mapped to the same (OTA) channel numbers via PSIP. No user intervention required. Of course, scheduled recordings would be at risk of frequency reassignments by the cable company, but no more so than the current manual recording support that exists today.

Exactly; that would be the easiest thing to start with. TiVo already parses PSIP and extracts the channel number contained therein, and uses that channel number throughout both the manual recording process and in the channel guide (but no program information is displayed in the guide, just a generic "To Be Announced"). For example, I have an antenna channel at 6.1 and a cable channel at 6.1. Only the antenna version gets guide data; the cable version, on the exact same channel number, gets no guide data. It should be trivial for TiVo to associate OTA guide data onto cable channels that are mapped to the same (OTA) channel numbers via PSIP. No user intervention required. Of course, scheduled recordings would be at risk of frequency reassignments by the cable company, but no more so than the current manual recording support that exists today.IMHO (as opposed to the standards) PSIP loops on cable should have CVCTs (Cable Virtual Channel Tables) and not the TVCTs (Terrestrial Virtual Channel Tables). This is idiotically poorly specified in the ATSC standards, which specify that cable PSIP need only have one or the other. I'd further specify that the channel must correspond to the channel assigned on the cable. Knowing what the terrestrial channel number is for a rebroadcast on cable is profoundly useless--the only thing that would match up to available cable system guide data is the cable system channel numbers. This is particularly true in the case of subchannels not-equal-to 1, since there are no subchannels in cable channel numbering. Most systems are going to put broadcast 6-1 on cable channel 6 (or x06--706, 806, etc--until the analog stuff is gone); if there are any subchannels (like say, channel 6-1 locally is NBC and 6-2 is Weather Plus) that subchannel could be anywhere in the cable system (for example, locally NBC and Weather Plus are 7-1 and 7-2, but on my cable system they are 707 and 253).

Now that I think of it, the terrestrial channel numbers might not be entirely useless. TiVo can find guide data for the channels from those if they're being tuned off the air. The problem is associating the proper tuned channel with it, since it should be 707 and 253 (for instance) instead of 7-1 and 7-2.

These channel tables are supposed to contain short_name fields for every channel, being 1 to 7 character long strings like "KETV", "KPBS", etc; it should be possible for TiVo to determine what the station is--and hence, what its guide data should be--from those, even given the useless terrestrial channel numbers.

As for potential reassignment after you scan for PSIP loops, I'm not sure what you do, since you need a tuner to monitor those loops. Maybe you have to do background scans when the undisplayed tuner isn't in use for recording or something.

IMHO (as opposed to the standards) PSIP loops on cable should have CVCTs (Cable Virtual Channel Tables) and not the TVCTs (Terrestrial Virtual Channel Tables).I agree with you there. In Austin, that is exactly the case (at least it used to be). Even without CableCARDs, clear QAM channels were mapped to the CVCT channels via PSIP. TiVo owners there could get full guide data for their clear QAM channels without CableCARDs.

However, I think the most important thing is consistency, regardless of whether it's CVCT or TVCT channels numbers. Consistency would allow TiVo to rely on it for all markets and develop a viable system that would work everywhere. I saw a recent poll where over half of the respondents said they got TVCT channels via PSIP over clear QAM cable. And I think that was the intention of the FCC. I also heard a rumor about 4 months ago that the FCC was considering a ruling that would make PSIP usage over clear QAM cable mandatory, well-defined and consistent...but I haven't been able to confirm that rumor.
As for potential reassignment after you scan for PSIP loops, I'm not sure what you do, since you need a tuner to monitor those loops. Maybe you have to do background scans when the undisplayed tuner isn't in use for recording or something.Yes the TiVo could do background scans at night when one tuner is idle, perhaps triggered by first tuning to all current clear QAM channels to detect any changes. However, I personally don't feel that TiVo needs to solve the problem of automatic handling of clear QAM frequency reassignments. My reasoning is that: 1) the current manual recording support for clear QAM channels suffers equally from frequency reassignments, so there is a TiVo precedent for basically having the user deal with it; 2) frequency reassignments aren't common in the vast majority of markets where the HD locals have generally settled onto a consistent set of frequencies; 3) manually initiating a channel scan when one detects a change is a simple process for the user; and 4) if your MSO happens to frequently shuffle HD locals around, and you don't like having to manually initiate channel scans and/or have some scheduled recordings fail, then you're always free to get CableCARD(s).

I also heard a rumor about 4 months ago that the FCC was considering a ruling that would make PSIP usage over clear QAM cable mandatory, well-defined and consistent...but I haven't been able to confirm that rumor.It is mandatory and has been from "the beginning"--it's part of the codification of the plug-and-play-DTV-over-cable agreement into FCC regs, Code of Federal Regulation, Title 47 §76.640 (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=a17531817de0c2e402babefbf6634409&rgn=div8&view=text&node=47:4.0.1.1.4.11.3.15&idno=47)(b)(1)(iv):
(iv) For each digital transport stream that includes one or more services carried in-the-clear, such transport stream shall include virtual channel data in-band in the form of ATSC A/65B: “ATSC Standard: Program and System Information Protocol for Terrestrial Broadcast and Cable (Revision B)” (incorporated by reference, see §76.602), when available from the content provider. With respect to in-band transport:

(A) The data shall, at minimum, describe services carried within the transport stream carrying the PSIP data itself;

(B) PSIP data describing a twelve-hour time period shall be carried for each service in the transport stream. This twelve-hour period corresponds to delivery of the following event information tables: EIT–0, –1, –2 and –3;

(C) The format of event information data format shall conform to ATSC A/65B: “ATSC Standard: Program and System Information Protocol for Terrestrial Broadcast and Cable (Revision B)” (incorporated by reference, see §76.602);

(D) Each channel shall be identified by a one- or two-part channel number and a textual channel name; and

(E) The total bandwidth for PSIP data may be limited by the cable system to 80 kbps for a 27 Mbits multiplex and 115 kbps for a 38.8 Mbits multiplex.The addition of that to the regulations was ordered by FCC 03-225 (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-225A1.pdf) on 10 September 2003--see item 7 at the bottom of PDF page 48.
However, I personally don't feel that TiVo needs to solve the problem of automatic handling of clear QAM frequency reassignments. My reasoning is that: 1) the current manual recording support for clear QAM channels suffers equally from frequency reassignments, so there is a TiVo precedent for basically having the user deal with it;It's that very "precedent" that it's desirable to get rid of. As a implementor and designer of consumer electronics user-interface firmware for a couple of decades, I can tell you that a successful device does not presume any intelligence or knowledge on the part of the user. Right now, TiVo is pretty much unusuable for clear QAM transmissions by people unless they know and understand a ton of technical crap. It's a tiny fraction of a percent of TiVo's target customer base. There are plenty of people who might buy TiVo to use it for the digital channels in core basic cable (hell, 95% or more of what I use TiVo to record is broadcast on digital channels in core basic cable) without having to fuss with CableCARDs or spend money leasing them (or pay the "digital cable service" fee that often come with them, whether you subscribe to any digital services tier or not).

Right now, TiVo is pretty much unusuable for clear QAM transmissions by people unless they know and understand a ton of technical crap. It's a tiny fraction of a percent of TiVo's target customer base. There are plenty of people who might buy TiVo to use it for the digital channels in core basic cable (hell, 95% or more of what I use TiVo to record is broadcast on digital channels in core basic cable) without having to fuss with CableCARDs or spend money leasing them (or pay the "digital cable service" fee that often come with them, whether you subscribe to any digital services tier or not).
This is certainly consistent with my experience. I was never able to use my TiVo's tuners to tune local digital channels via QAM, although I knew the channel numbers that Cox OKC had assigned to them. I did get the job done with the built in QAM tuners in both of my HDTV sets but finding Cox’s channel assignments in the first place had not been a trivial task.

In fairness to TiVo, I should add that I have no need for QAM via TiVo because I subscribe to Cox’s HD package, which includes all of the local network affiliates’ digital feeds, anyway.

It is mandatoryThe quoted words "when available from the content provider" make it not so. Also, the regs don't state what the channel number should be (CVCT? TVCT? Made-up gibberish?) resulting in ambiguity and lack of standardization. Those were the things for which the FCC was considering a ruling.
Right now, TiVo is pretty much unusable for clear QAM transmissions by people unless they know and understand a ton of technical crap.If PSIP is properly populated with TVCT channel numbers, it's not that bad and much like using a TV with a digital cable tuner: 1) Do a channel scan. 2) All the local HD channels show up at the OTA channel numbers (6.1, 8.1, etc). 3) Tune them with Channel Up/Down or by entering "6-1". The TiVo works the same way.

Lots (lots!) of people tune their local HD channels this way through their digital cable ready TVs. Both my mom and my dad do, and they are completely incompetent technically. :)

I think it's much harder to explain to people why the way they currently tune and watch their local HD channels won't work well with a TiVo. I have had to explain it to several people and I can tell you without a doubt, it is why they have not bought a TiVo.

In fairness to TiVo, I should add that I have no need for QAM via TiVo because I subscribe to Cox’s HD package, which includes all of the local network affiliates’ digital feeds, anyway.Well, it does and it doesn't. Whether you subscribed to their HD package or not, FCC regulations require that they position all rebroadcasts of local over-the-air transmissions in the core basic tier and forbid that anything in the core basic tier be scrambled or encrypted. Further, the lowest level of cable subscription (i.e., "local basic" or so-called "lifeline cable") must include the core basic tier. So, if you are a cable subscriber at all, all the local DTV channels carried by your provider are available to you on QAM carriers in unencrypted form.

Finding out where they are is the trick--if you also lease CableCARDs, you'll get their location in the channel maps downloaded in the cards. The regs that I quoted require that the identity of any core basic cable channels be revealed in PSIP loops contained in the streams in the QAM carriers where they're rebroadcast on cable. Most televisions and STBs with QAM tuners can scan those. So far as I know, TiVo can't.

My TivoHD uses an M-card on Comcast with no trouble. However, there are some clear QAM channels that Comcast has not mapped yet for the cable boxes or cable cards. I know the raw frequency/channel/pid for these. Is there a way to manually tune them from the Tivo?

The quoted words "when available from the content provider" make it not so. Also, the regs don't state what the channel number should be (CVCT? TVCT? Made-up gibberish?) resulting in ambiguity and lack of standardization. Those were the things for which the FCC was considering a ruling.Well, I'll agree that "when available from the content provider" is in a bad position and should probably be revised. I can understand that they shouldn't be required to make up event tables if the content providers aren't broadcasting that stuff, but they certainly know the virtual channel numbers and station-ID of the channels in core basic whether the content providers are broadcasting PSIP properly or not and the reg should require that they expose that much information regardless. Given that information reliably, TiVo could scan the cable PSIP and maintain channel maps for use with its guide data.

As for what the channel number should be, that's detailed in ATSC A/65B: “ATSC Standard: Program and System Information Protocol for Terrestrial Broadcast and Cable (Revision B) (http://www.atsc.org/standards/a_65cr1_with_amend_1.pdf) as cited in the regulations (they're actually issued Rev C 2 years ago and Rev B is no longer online).

will this new device work with Tivo's as well, or just cable/sat boxes? Specifically, output HD content via the Tivo component outs to this new recording device?

http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/hauppauge-hd-pvr
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hd_pvr.html

will this new device work with Tivo's as well, or just cable/sat boxes? Specifically, output HD content via the Tivo component outs to this new recording device?

http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/hauppauge-hd-pvr
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hd_pvr.html

You can move your Tivo recordings to a PC using the Tivo Desktop or TivoToGo for free. You don't need the Hauppauge device to capture them.

kept in HD quality?

for some reason, I thought it got downres'd during the transfer and/or you couldn't burn it to disc in anything other than standard dvd quality.

kept in HD quality?

for some reason, I thought it got downres'd during the transfer and/or you couldn't burn it to disc in anything other than standard dvd quality.

I could be wrong here, but I transferred a portion of the Masters from yesterday to my Mac (using Tivo Transfer - part of Roxio Toast Titanium), and I was disappointed by the video quality. It didn't look like HD anymore, so it might have been downres'ed.

kept in HD quality?

for some reason, I thought it got downres'd during the transfer and/or you couldn't burn it to disc in anything other than standard dvd quality.


I'm sure mine are kept in HD. I have transferred recordings to my PC and back again to the Tivo and they appear to be in HD in all places.

DVD's do not support High Definition. I think there are people that burn their HD transfers to Blue Ray. You'll have to check the Tivo forums for better information since I don't have Blue Ray equipment.

The Hauppauge device is only for video capture to a PC.

kept in HD quality?

for some reason, I thought it got downres'd during the transfer and/or you couldn't burn it to disc in anything other than standard dvd quality.

Yes.

Check out this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=371324) TCF thread for details. (you'll need an HD-DVD or BRD player of course)

You can move your Tivo recordings to a PC using the Tivo Desktop or TivoToGo for free. You don't need the Hauppauge device to capture them.

You don't even need that. All you need is a browser.

Point your browser to : https://<your-tivo-ip-address/

The login is : "tivo"
The password is : your media access key

The browser will show you the contents of your TiVo's Now Playing List. You can click on any UNPROTECTED show's link, and it will begin downloading to your computer immediately.

I'm sure mine are kept in HD. I have transferred recordings to my PC and back again to the Tivo and they appear to be in HD in all places.

DVD's do not support High Definition. I think there are people that burn their HD transfers to Blue Ray. You'll have to check the Tivo forums for better information since I don't have Blue Ray equipment.

The Hauppauge device is only for video capture to a PC.

About the second part that DVDs do not support High definition. This is totally
untrue. You can capture full Hi-def in its full resolution and write it to a standard DVD in the AVC-HD format, but that standard DVD disc must then be played back on a Blue-ray player, not a standard DVD player. It's not necessary to write Hi-def to a Blue-ray disc unless you have a very long Hi-def program and you want to put it all on one disc as Blue-Ray discs can carry more content.

Yes.

Check out this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=371324) TCF thread for details. (you'll need an HD-DVD or BRD player of course)

great. another long technical thread to sort through. modern tech life is such a pain to deal with. :rolleyes:

[end of whining]

THANKS for the link!

Guess it's finally time for me to set up that new wireless router I bought well over a year ago. :o

great. another long technical thread to sort through. modern tech life is such a pain to deal with. :rolleyes:

[end of whining]

THANKS for the link!

Guess it's finally time for me to set up that new wireless router I bought well over a year ago. :o

What's taken you so long?:)

You don't even need that. All you need is a browser.

Point your browser to : https://<your-tivo-ip-address/

The login is : "tivo"
The password is : your media access key

The browser will show you the contents of your TiVo's Now Playing List. You can click on any UNPROTECTED show's link, and it will begin downloading to your computer immediately.
Thanks for the reminder, Paul. I had the IP address for my S3 saved as a favorite in my browser but had forgotten what the username and password requirements were. Thanks to you, I'm all set again.

I just happened to notice that my S3 was outputting at 480p today as I flipped inputs on my TV (the TV display showed the current input resolution).

I am wondering if this was caused by the 9.3 software update I got a couple weeks back.

Just thought I would share this in case any one didn't notice that they weren't watching HD anymore.

I just happened to notice that my S3 was outputting at 480p today as I flipped inputs on my TV (the TV display showed the current input resolution).

I am wondering if this was caused by the 9.3 software update I got a couple weeks back.

Just thought I would share this in case any one didn't notice that they weren't watching HD anymore.

Nope, it's cause by your set up. If you have 720P Hybrid or 1080i Hybrid then it will broadcast in 480p.

My upstairs TV won't pick up 480i through the HDMI to DVI connector so I use 720p Hybrid.

Nope, it's cause by your set up. If you have 720P Hybrid or 1080i Hybrid then it will broadcast in 480p.

My upstairs TV won't pick up 480i through the HDMI to DVI connector so I use 720p Hybrid.

Hook - I think this was something different.

I had the output set to a fixed 720p previously, but when I noticed this, I went into the settings, and it was changed to 480p FIXED. I didn't do this - so my only explanation is the software update did it.

EDIT: FYI - I don't use the hybrid settings, since the delay as the TV switches resolutions drives me crazy.

Actually - on second thought, I did flip the breaker for the circuit that the Tivo was plugged into a couple weekends back when I was trying to find the breaker for one of the bedrooms. I wonder if a power loss might do this too? I don't think it would, since power losses for me aren't that uncommon.

This is a follow up to my posts of 4-04 and 4-05, in which I described how 2 consecutive M card installations had failed to work properly in my S3, but that replacement S cards, which were installed on 4-04, had worked perfectly.

It has now been 12 days since Cox OKC installed those S cards in my S3 and they have worked perfectly ever since. An earlier pair of S cards, which had to be replaced only because one of them failed to accept a firmware download, had worked perfectly, too, until they were replaced with M cards, which, as noted, NEVER worked reliably in my S3. Make of this what you will.

Hook - I think this was something different.

I had the output set to a fixed 720p previously, but when I noticed this, I went into the settings, and it was changed to 480p FIXED. I didn't do this - so my only explanation is the software update did it.

EDIT: FYI - I don't use the hybrid settings, since the delay as the TV switches resolutions drives me crazy.

Actually - on second thought, I did flip the breaker for the circuit that the Tivo was plugged into a couple weekends back when I was trying to find the breaker for one of the bedrooms. I wonder if a power loss might do this too? I don't think it would, since power losses for me aren't that uncommon.
It's always a good idea to have the TiVo on a UPS. All my electronics are on a UPS.

It's always a good idea to have the TiVo on a UPS. All my electronics are on a UPS.

Yeah - I know... Unfortunately, it normally would be on a UPS, but I have temporarily moved it to another room. It will go back on the UPS later this summer.

Hook - I think this was something different.

I had the output set to a fixed 720p previously, but when I noticed this, I went into the settings, and it was changed to 480p FIXED. I didn't do this - so my only explanation is the software update did it.

EDIT: FYI - I don't use the hybrid settings, since the delay as the TV switches resolutions drives me crazy.

Actually - on second thought, I did flip the breaker for the circuit that the Tivo was plugged into a couple weekends back when I was trying to find the breaker for one of the bedrooms. I wonder if a power loss might do this too? I don't think it would, since power losses for me aren't that uncommon.

Excuse me here for a few minutes while I lose my mind.

Yes. The update did this. The updates are always responsible whenever anything goes wrong with a TiVo. Now the fact that probably your TiVo is the only one that this happened to, that doesn't mean anything. I'm sure it was the update.

And I'm sure there will be many others who may report the same thing too. I say that so you don't feel alone.

It is an absolute fact that every update causes a problem of some sort with someones TiVo. There can't be any mitigating circumstance like that power outage, which by the way makes as much sense as the upgrade causing the problem so what the heck let's not even go there.

The update changed your settings from 720p to 420p. I absolutely believe this.

I also believe that all the other problems that seem to happen like pixelation, program deletions and hard drives dying are all due to these updates.

Updates are evil. Bad. And the people at TiVo who put these things together rush them out before properly testing their software. TiVo is so bad I think I just might run out and get one of those new TW SA 8300 with the Navigator software. Oh sure I won't be able to transfer programs but WTF TW has put copy restrictions on all digital channels to prevent that anyway.

It just couldn't be possible that somebody else in the house, perhas a child or a wife or somebody accidentally pushed the button to set it at 480p while they were messing with it. Nope. It has to be the update.

There. I've admitted it. And the fact that you don't have a UPS? Hell, that's no reason, I mean all it may do is keep your recordings going about an hour longer then it would go dead. Of course it would prevent a power surge that would fry the hard drive, but I think the next update after this one is set to do that anyway.

That ends my sarcasam.

I am now going to bed. And spiff72, all of this is not personal to you at all. Really you didn't ask anything out of the norm and please don't take my sarcastic response personally. But if I had a dime for every person who asked "Do you think the update caused......" over the last 8 years that I've been around TiVo's of some sort, I'd be doing quite well.:)

I just wish I'd get the damn update. And If my settings change from 720p Hybrid to 480p, I'll let you know. If my S3 goes from Native to something else I'll let you know. But if nothing changes I won't say anything.

Good night guys. I'll look forward to the responses in the morning.:eek:

Whoah there, Hook...

All I was doing was making an observation. I can guarantee that my wife or child (still unborn as of right now) didn't make a change in the video settings.

And I was just speculating (there was a question mark in my post title). I even admitted that I had accidentally cut power to it once recently, and allowed for the fact that it could have caused the output resolution to change.

I know it wasn't a personal attack, but when someone puts that much effort into a post like that, it is easy to feel that way...no hard feelings though. ;)

I look forward to hearing whether your resolution changes after the update!

An a somewhat unrelated note, I would like to comment about the update itself, I actually find it seems to slow the interface down a bit. I thought I read that it was supposed to help with interface responsiveness (specifically in the area of the season pass manager), but I just don't see it. Maybe it is because it is an early testing release? Just my $.02. I also noticed that the font size in the ToDo list got smaller, but the font in the now playing list seems the same. Very odd, if you ask me.

All in all, I am still a die-hard Tivo fan.

Speaking of TiVo quirks (and also trying to calm the waters :D), does anyone know if the occasional video breakups on some TiVo channels (only SPEED, HGTV and FNC in my case) will be fixed by the next update?

Whoah there, Hook...

All I was doing was making an observation. I can guarantee that my wife or child (still unborn as of right now) didn't make a change in the video settings.



I don't know. Kids are clever even at an early unborn age.;)

I understand buddy, I was just in a bit of a mood and like I said everybody always finds something that "happens" after the update. I thought I made that clear in my last paragraph and I wasn't trying to make fun of you so please again don't take that personally.

Speaking of TiVo quirks (and also trying to calm the waters :D), does anyone know if the occasional video breakups on some TiVo channels (only SPEED, HGTV and FNC in my case) will be fixed by the next update?

I heard that the update actually makes those break up that occurres on those channels changed to total freeze up's and lost of pictures.;)

HILLTOP SAILOR usually those type of problems are signal related. Think about it, why would it only affect a few digital channels?

I can remember when I lost a few digital channels but everything else was fine. TW came out, checked all my signals and put a booster in the basement. Problem solved.

That was in the SA 8300 days and it wasn't the SA 8300's fault. For once. ;)

I heard that the update actually makes those break up that occurres on those channels changed to total freeze up's and lost of pictures.;)

HILLTOP SAILOR usually those type of problems are signal related. Think about it, why would it only affect a few digital channels?

I can remember when I lost a few digital channels but everything else was fine. TW came out, checked all my signals and put a booster in the basement. Problem solved.

That was in the SA 8300 days and it wasn't the SA 8300's fault. For once. ;)The fact that it only affects 3 channels out of the hundreds that I receive makes me think it is not signal related. The fact that my FiOS HD STB does not have this problem is also an indicator.

The fact that it only affects 3 channels out of the hundreds that I receive makes me think it is not signal related. The fact that my FiOS HD STB does not have this problem is also an indicator.

I don't know anything about FIOS, other then it's direct digital etc. I think my point about it affecting just a few channels is still valid. Will FIOS come out and take a look?

Also have you called TiVo? Ask for a level 3 tech if it isn't a FIOS problem. I tend to agree that probably it isn't FIOS related but I'd have FIOS look first if they haven't already.

The fact that it only affects 3 channels out of the hundreds that I receive makes me think it is not signal related. The fact that my FiOS HD STB does not have this problem is also an indicator.If you take the TiVo and plug it in where the FiOS STB is, does it still have the problem? If not, that'd be an indication that it is signal related.

There could be some corrupted cable or coax fittings somewhere in your household wiring that's screwing things up on only a narrow range of signal frequencies. I had exactly that problem once, where 3 or 4 of my analog channels were a little fuzzy (no digital simulcast at the time) and I lost reception on 2 digital channels. The cable tech who came out to fix it looked for the problem and couldn't find it, then brought another line in from the distribution box and hooked my television up to it to demonstrate that the problem wasn't present on it and must be in the wiring in the house, which he'd be happy to fix if he could find it but which wasn't the cable company's responsibility. He looked, couldn't find it and was about to leave when I mentioned something about the 3rd line in the other bedroom which made him come back and look for splitters (there were only 2 lines coming into the house from the cable company's box outside). He climbed up into the attic and found the original owner's handiwork running the 3rd connection and replaced the corroded splitter and some scraps of cable, after which everything worked just fine.

[QUOTE=michaeltscott;13666284]
I called both TiVo and FiOS today and got nowhere. Too hard to switch STB's. Since the problem is intermittent and on only 3 channels that I do not watch that often, I guess I will just live with it. :(

I did have to chuckle when the FiOS tech said I should shift over to a FiOS HD DVR and drop my TiVo. Yeah, like that's going to happen! :p

Sometime overnight I got a TiVo update. It changed the order of selections on some screens (eg. the 'To Do' list is now at the bottom, the print is smaller and the 'look' is more spread out). I cannot see that it has really changed anything noticeably yet. Just cosmetic changes to the casual observer, but I know the company has done some internal changes that I cannot detect. Maybe the changes will solve my minor PQ problem on those 3 channels.;)

I am surprised that there is no message in my TiVo telling me of the update.:confused:

Software now reads: 9.3a-01-2-648

Sometime overnight I got a TiVo update. It changed the order of selections on some screens (eg. the 'To Do' list is now at the bottom, the print is smaller and the 'look' is more spread out). I cannot see that it has really changed anything noticeably yet. Just cosmetic changes to the casual observer, but I know the company has done some internal changes that I cannot detect. Maybe the changes will solve my minor PQ problem on those 3 channels.;)

I am surprised that there is no message in my TiVo telling me of the update.:confused:

Software now reads: 9.3a-01-2-648

Exactly the same here.

This is the first time that I can remember getting a non-minor update without any notification from TiVo. I've been forcing network connections on a daily basis to get the 9.3a drop, and it looks like it happened on it's own last night sometime.

The smaller font on the ToDo list is to ensure that they can actually fit the channel ID text without having to resort to an ellipses. They were running into situations, particularly with the HD channels, where there were simply too many characters in the channel name and have to resort to using an ellipses (i.e. ESPN2HD would appear as ESPN2... ).

There are also many reports of improved menuing speeds, although I really didn't see it in cruising the menus tonight. I shuffled some SeasonPasses, deleting and reordering some of them, and it appeared as it always has IMHO.

I'm sure there's a LOT of work that's been done under the hood. It's been a while since the last release, and you know the programmers haven't been idling. I'm thinking bug fixes and laying foundations for new stuff. Such as the XMPP client to enable instant downloads/updates/what-have-you, which recently was introduced in the TiVo Desktop 2.6.x release.

All 7 of my S3/TiVoHD boxes have the update now after forcing a connection this evening for the 6 boxes that hadn't received it yet.

I got the 'Y' update a few weeks ago and have been playing with it. I've also got TiVo Desktop Plus 2.6.1 on my PC. The combination of the two gives my TiVo S3 a huge menu of downloadable web content viewable on my TV. (For example, I subscribed to the Animated New York Times cartoons.)

It downloads the web content to the PC, converts it to TiVo format (and apparently sticks an ad on the end) and uploads it to the TiVo.

I got the 'Y' update a few weeks ago and have been playing with it. I've also got TiVo Desktop Plus 2.6.1 on my PC. The combination of the two gives my TiVo S3 a huge menu of downloadable web content viewable on my TV. (For example, I subscribed to the Animated New York Times cartoons.)

It downloads the web content to the PC, converts it to TiVo format (and apparently sticks an ad on the end) and uploads it to the TiVo.

This functionality has also been replicated in pyTivo as well. With the additional benefit of far more transcode support for free. Also : no memory leaks.

This functionality has also been replicated in pyTivo as well. With the additional benefit of far more transcode support for free. Also : no memory leaks.

I don't understand the pyTivo. Paul can you give me a link and some instructions on how to use that?

I tried something else and shows that I deleted from my computer were still showing up as being available on the "Now Playing list." So in an attempt to show how stupid I can be I instructed both my S3 and TiVo HD to download those shows. Of course it couldn't and I got stuck with a blue download light.

So I figure, ok I'll just reboot my computer and it crashed my hard drive. I thought I don't want to use that again and paid for the TiVo 6 desktop 6.0 (upgraded to 6.1 no). Then I spotted the memory leak and my computer was running at a snails pace.

I've tried to google it but I seemed to get lost. How about some help?

I don't understand the pyTivo. Paul can you give me a link and some instructions on how to use that?

pyTivo is a set of Python (programming language) modules which aims to replace TiVo Desktop. It is an HMO and TiVoToGoBack server. You can use it to serve video, music and pictures from your PC to your TiVo.

pyTivo's home is : HERE (http://pytivo.armooo.net/)
pyTivo discussion forum : HERE (http://pytivo.krkeegan.com/).

It's pretty simple to set up. Start by installing Python on your machine, by going to python.org and downloading the latest 2.5 release. Next step is getting pyTivo on your machine. There is a super-simple Windows installer which handles everything for you. Linux and OSX require a bit of text file editing, which is very simple. Then, you fire up pyTivo.

From that point on, it should function exactly as TiVo Desktop does, except that it supports MANY more formats than even TD+ does, does not leak memory like crazy, and is being improved on a daily basis by a dedicated team of developers. SD videos transcode in faster than real time, while HD streams transcode a bit slower (perhaps 1/3 real time).

Recent work has added rudimentary XMPP support, in order to support the "web videos" functionality that's been added to TD 2.6.

Video and music shares appear at the bottom of your Now Playing List. You can choose to serve more than one directory, and they may be hierarchical or flat directories (your choice). Photo shares appear in the "Music, Photos, Products..." menu.

Video and music shares appear at the bottom of your Now Playing List. You can choose to serve more than one directory, and they may be hierarchical or flat directories (your choice). Photo shares appear in the "Music, Photos, Products..." menu.

Videos I see. Music I do not. And what is "hirearchical or flat directories?" And my TiVo HD doesn't even see pyTiVo but my computer sees my TiVo HD through pyTiVo.....I dunno, this is weird.

Videos I see. Music I do not. And what is "hirearchical or flat directories?" And my TiVo HD doesn't even see pyTiVo but my computer sees my TiVo HD through pyTiVo.....I dunno, this is weird.

Looks like I'm gonna have to hold you hand through this, eh ? :) :) :) :)

"Hierarchical" directories are your typical multi-level directories that you'd see on any modern operating system. Directories within directories. "Flat" directories have no sub-directories. Everything is at one level.

So, with pyTivo, using hierarchical directory structure (by using the "hack83=true" option), you'd see one folder at the bottom of your Now Playing List. You can cursor to it, select it, and then "enter" that directory, just as you would using Windows Explorer. Essentially, you're browsing the video share directory.

Using the "flat" directory structure (by using the "autosubshares=true" option) is a little different. pyTivo will find all of the subdirectories in your video share, and make a folder for it at the bottom of your Now Playing List. There are no subdirectories. IMHO, this makes things a bit simpler, but clutters up the NPL a bit.

Your Tivo should see your pyTivo video "shares" at the bottom of your NPL. From my example below, I see a folder called "Videos" at the bottom of my NPL.

I'm not 100% sure where audio shares pop up, since I don't use them myself. They would probably show up in your NPL or your "Music, Photos..." menu.


Here is my c:\Program Files\pyTivo\pytivo.conf configuration file. It is basically as simple as you can get. I'd start by getting one thing (videos) working at a time, and then working on adding things one-by-one :


[Server]
port = 9032
hack83 = True
ffmpeg = C:\Program Files\pyTivo\plugins\video\ffmpeg_mp2.exe

[Videos]
type = video
path = F:\Videos

Looks like I'm gonna have to hold you hand through this, eh ? :) :) :) :)


Well believe it or not I actually got it up and running on my own. I only had to stay up until 2:00 in the morning but I was determined.

I'm not very good at following directions in the first place so the fact that I had to download python and then download PyTiVo completely got by mean. I staired at pything for about an hour or so before my wife, who is an IT person came in and actually added some real assistance by saying "Did you download pyTiVo?

I don't want to give her a great deal of credit because she did read your message several times and couldn't figure it out either before the last time.

But that didn't solve the music issue. Then somewhere along the line of about 1:30 and 2 beers it hit me. Let's just uninstall, clean my computer up with my utility cleaner and then after reboot install python and then pyTiVo.

Now at this point I'm a little fuzzy about what I did next because I have not had a beer or any other alcohol for 4 months. But I think the idea of adding music as the category or something and then the path is what did it

I went upstairs and there it was! The computer was on the bottom, and my music folder was where it was suppose to be!

However I have not been successful with a transfer. I keep getting failed messages. I allowed intranet settings this morning. Hopefully that will fix that. So thank you, we will see how it goes today.

I received the update the other day for 9.3. Great news for my downstairs HDTV, not so good news for the upstairs.

Upstairs I have HDMI-DVI and it won't receive 480i so I have kept it in 720p Hybrid. All 480i is converted to 480p. Now the problem is that when I go from a HD channel to a SD channel I get a white static screen. Turning the television off and on seems to resolve this. This also happens if I'm watching a SD channel and go to HD.

I can't see the difference between component and DVI on this television but when I first got my HDTV TiVo I was using component. I noticed that it looked kind of funny. The picture had a strange tint or color. TiVo Central was kind of "gold".:confused:

I found that changing channels or turning the TV off and on fixed this. But I didn't have that problem with my cable company STB so I decided to use the HDMI to DVI connection. Problem solved. Until 9.3.

So I went back to component and found it wasn't as easy to fix the little problem I was having. I found that I actually now have to go to a SD channel to get to color correct then go to HD.

I can use the 720 Fixed setting with the HDMI-DVI but then I get the bars on SD. I believe the HDMI-DVI issue is a handshaking issue that happened with this update and this is the first time I've ever been affected in a negative way by any update that TiVo caused.

Quit laughing Spiff72.;)

My downstairs 30" Sony works great, no problems at all. I have that on native and it HDMI to HDMI so it's obviously the DVI that's causing this issue. Well, the update and the DVI connection together.

The strange color via component on the HDTiVo doesn't make any sense, but solving that issue is more complicated.

For the first time I can actually say I'm disappointed about this update. Well, half way disappointed since one set works great.

Maybe it's because my downstairs TiVo S3 has that THX certified tuner that everyone says doesn't mean anything?:)

Well in any case I will have to deal with it. Anybody else seen anything like this?

Here is a problem I have not seen mentioned before: Extremely loud audio on TiVo-produced downloads for my TV. A perfect example is 'BREAK.COM'. I have to remember to turn the volume down to almost zero before starting the program. Anyone else have this problem?:confused:

Well believe it or not I actually got it up and running on my own. I only had to stay up until 2:00 in the morning but I was determined.

But that didn't solve the music issue. Then somewhere along the line of about 1:30 and 2 beers it hit me. Let's just uninstall, clean my computer up with my utility cleaner and then after reboot install python and then pyTiVo.

Beer always helps. :)

I went upstairs and there it was! The computer was on the bottom, and my music folder was where it was suppose to be!

However I have not been successful with a transfer. I keep getting failed messages. I allowed intranet settings this morning. Hopefully that will fix that. So thank you, we will see how it goes today.

Sounds like you've made good progress. Definitely make sure that your firewall (if you're using wall) has the port defined in your pytivo.conf file opened up (in my example, 9032).

Take a close look at my config from above. Those items listed are the bare essentials. Notice that I also have to specify the path where ffmpeg (the transcode application) resides, or else you won't get any transfers.

...which kinda sounds like where you're stuck right now... You can browse the directories, but can't transfer anything. Compare your pytivo.conf with mine, and make sure to make any corrections you may have. If you make any changes to pytivo.conf, you need to restart pytivo, since the changes only get picked up at start-up (not dynamically).

Here is a problem I have not seen mentioned before: Extremely loud audio on TiVo-produced downloads for my TV. [...] Anyone else have this problem?:confused:

Yes, I noticed that too. I lowered the audio boost in the TiVo Desktop options.

Beer always helps. :)



Sounds like you've made good progress. Definitely make sure that your firewall (if you're using wall) has the port defined in your pytivo.conf file opened up (in my example, 9032).

Take a close look at my config from above. Those items listed are the bare essentials. Notice that I also have to specify the path where ffmpeg (the transcode application) resides, or else you won't get any transfers.




Ok, I took your advice and made sure my config looks like yours. However I just read the part about restarting so I'll wait because it's transfering now. If transfer fails again I'll definitely restart. If I'm successfull, I'll restart after the transfer.

One big question. If I wanted to play these files on my computer what do I use, or can it even be done?

Ok, I took your advice and made sure my config looks like yours. However I just read the part about restarting so I'll wait because it's transfering now. If transfer fails again I'll definitely restart. If I'm successfull, I'll restart after the transfer.

One big question. If I wanted to play these files on my computer what do I use, or can it even be done?

If a transfer fails, you've got other problems. Restarting pyTivo probably won't fix it. The restarts are just so that pyTivo can pick up the config changes.

Typically, I'd use the Videolan player, otherwise known as VLC. It's a free app that plays just about anything you throw at it. Get it : HERE (http://www.videolan.org/mirror-geo.php?file=vlc/0.8.6f/win32/vlc-0.8.6f-win32.exe)

I bought a Series 3 box before Christmas and have nothing but problems with my Comcast service. Completely random cable card issues on several different cable cards. Will I have to get rid of the Series 3 box if I get DirecTV and want to be able record? DirecTV doesn't seem to support the Series 3 Tivo box via a cable card. In fact the woman on tech support either didn't know or wouldn't tell me if I ordered a DirecTV receiver if I would still be able to use the Tivo at all.

Thanks,
Steve

I bought a Series 3 box before Christmas and have nothing but problems with my Comcast service. Completely random cable card issues on several different cable cards. Will I have to get rid of the Series 3 box if I get DirecTV and want to be able record? DirecTV doesn't seem to support the Series 3 Tivo box via a cable card. In fact the woman on tech support either didn't know or wouldn't tell me if I ordered a DirecTV receiver if I would still be able to use the Tivo at all.

Thanks,
Steve

You won't have to get rid of it but it won't work with Direct TV. It's OTA and Cable only.

Direct TV has a decent DVR, but it's no TiVo S3. Your problem is you are getting poor customer support. You have two choices. You can ask TiVo to get involved since Comcast is not giving you proper support. Ask for a level 3 tech.

I have TW and I found the email to the President of TW North East Ohio. I have sent him emails and you would not believe how great the service I get is. See if you can find out who's running the show and don't be afraid to go to the top. Matter of fact I wa just reading about this in Readers Digest today as a recommendation to obtain good customer service.

Or you can get D* and put your S3 on ebay.

Yes, I noticed that too. I lowered the audio boost in the TiVo Desktop options.My audio boost is already at the bottom. Guess I will call TiVo on Monday & see what they have to say.

hookbill,

What number do I call at Tivo? As usual their tech support number listed on their website gives a fast busy signal (no longer in service?). I love never being able to talk to a real person for tech support!

hookbill,

What number do I call at Tivo? As usual their tech support number listed on their website gives a fast busy signal (no longer in service?). I love never being able to talk to a real person for tech support!

I don't know what to tell you. I've never had a problem with that number. I see they have a new number for Comcast DVR 800-COMCAST (800-266-2278)
I usually call 877-367-8486.

I still think finding who the top guy is in your area is the way to go.

I couldn't get that thing to transfer and I've spent far too much time working with it.

I'm back to TiVo Desktop Plus. I'll just keep my eye on the memory thing. Thanks for trying to help Paul.

[QUOTE=steve68;13682149]I bought a Series 3 box before Christmas and have nothing but problems with my Comcast service. Completely random cable card issues on several different cable cards. Will I have to get rid of the Series 3 box if I get DirecTV and want to be able record? DirecTV doesn't seem to support the Series 3 Tivo box via a cable card. In fact the woman on tech support either didn't know or wouldn't tell me if I ordered a DirecTV receiver if I would still be able to use the Tivo at all. [/Q!UOTE]

There isn't any way that you can use the Series3 with satellite. You can only use with it cable or rabbit ears.

That said, you're 95% likely to be the victim of a poor installation on the part of Comcast. They're not the sharpest knives in the drawer when it comes to configuring CableCARDs. You've either received bad cards, or they're improperly configured in Comcast's computer. My guess is that the cards are not properly provisioned, which would explain why you've gone through multiple cards and not had any luck.

You need to get up to tier 2 or 3 within the Comcast support chain. All you need to do is get someone on the phone who knows what they're doing (which can sometimes be quite a hassle), and they can set you straight.

When I set up my S3 with Comcast, it took 3-4 trips, 5-6 phone calls over the course of a month before things were completely working. Since then, not a single issue.

So, I'd suggest you call Comcast, and patiently work your way up the phone food chain.

I apparently got 9.3 on my Series3 last night. Definitely faster--it responds to the TiVo, LIST, GUIDE and INFO buttons noticeably quicker. I tried doing an Unbox download and it started in less than a minute after I requested it (which it might have anyway; it'll take multiple attempts to prove that that's improved). I don't notice any font change--I think people had been saying that the font size in Now Playing had gotten smaller?

Any improvement is appreciated.

I finally got 9.3 on Friday night but haven’t had a chance to do much with it yet. I was not particularly disturbed by the occasional lags in 9.2 but they were definitely noticeable.

I apparently got 9.3 on my Series3 last night. Definitely faster--it responds to the TiVo, LIST, GUIDE and INFO buttons noticeably quicker. I tried doing an Unbox download and it started in less than a minute after I requested it (which it might have anyway; it'll take multiple attempts to prove that that's improved). I don't notice any font change--I think people had been saying that the font size in Now Playing had gotten smaller?

Any improvement is appreciated.

yes the font size is noticeably smaller from my seven S3/TiVoHD units since they upgraded to 9.3.
But 9.3 also has faster transfer rates from a TiVoHD to an S3 or from a TiVoHD to a PC. The Now playing list for MRV pops up almost instantly now and the overall speed is much faster. 9.3 has provided a welcome improvement to the interface.

I apparently got 9.3 on my Series3 last night. Definitely faster--it responds to the TiVo, LIST, GUIDE and INFO buttons noticeably quicker. I tried doing an Unbox download and it started in less than a minute after I requested it (which it might have anyway; it'll take multiple attempts to prove that that's improved). I don't notice any font change--I think people had been saying that the font size in Now Playing had gotten smaller?

Any improvement is appreciated.The 'To Do' list font changed.

Dammit!

My 9.3 update came through over the weekend.

Now my coffee maker doesn't work.

Dammit!

My 9.3 update came through over the weekend.

Now my coffee maker doesn't work.

Get rid of the (you pick which one).....

Dammit!

My 9.3 update came through over the weekend.

Now my coffee maker doesn't work.

lol. Post that in the TiVo forum and you'll find 25 others with the same problem.:)

i may just be confused... but is 9.3 a new update. I noticed my unit was 9.3a++++ this morning but don't remember if/when this may have happened?

Just curious.

BG

i may just be confused... but is 9.3 a new update. I noticed my unit was 9.3a++++ this morning but don't remember if/when this may have happened?

Just curious.

BG

Yes. TiVo's been gradually rolling out 9.3a to Series3's and TiVoHD's over the past couple of weeks. Typically, you'd receive a message indicating a new update was applied to your box, but not in this case -- the update is being applied silently.

any official word on what this upgrade brings?

It brings progressive Unbox downloads (play while you download) to Series2's (S3/THD already had this in 9.2). Other than that, the word on the street is that 9.3a brings loads of bug fixes, and speed increases for menus and network operations (MRV, TTG, etc).

It brings progressive Unbox downloads (play while you download) to Series2's (S3/THD already had this in 9.2). Other than that, the word on the street is that 9.3a brings loads of bug fixes, and speed increases for menus and network operations (MRV, TTG, etc).

It also brings a major problem if you have a HDMI to DVI connector. You have to keep it on whatever your television native is to make it work.

I went back to component. That's on my 19" upstairs set. My 30" Wega which is HDMI to HDMI is fine.

It also brings a major problem if you have a HDMI to DVI connector. You have to keep it on whatever your television native is to make it work.

I went back to component. That's on my 19" upstairs set. My 30" Wega which is HDMI to HDMI is fine.



I just noticed a different version of this last night...

I watched a video that I had transferred to my S3 with pyTivo. Played through fine, no problems at all. At the end of the video, I went to delete the video from my NPL. As soon as I hit the "select" button to confirm the deletion, I was presented with a complete screen of "colored snow". No video at all, but sound was still working. Hitting various remote buttons brought forth the various "beeps", "boings", "bloops" that you'd expect to hear, but the video remained out. Only when I went to LiveTV and then back to TiVoCentral (forcing a resolution change in the process) did the video signal restore.

My setup :

(Series3) ---HDMI-to-DVI---> (Lumagen DVI scaler) ---DVI-to-HDMI---> (Optoma HD70 projector)

It seems as though quite a few folks on TCF have encountered this problem. The thought is that the resolution changes are interrupting the HDMI handshake between the S3/THD and the display. Forcing another resolution change corrects the problem.

First I've heard of the HDMI->DVI causing the problem. Most of the folks on the TCF thread are HDMI only (no DVI).

edit : Oooops. Actually, it's about 50/50 on the TCF thread, half with HDMI-only, and half with HDMI-DVI.

It seems my Series 3 is filling up and I'm considering an external SATA drive. I’m trying to find info on how much of the HD is used in Settings, but can’t find it. I’m figuring that since fewer items are in my “Recently Deleted” folder that is the case, but it seems the info must be somewhere.
I’m thinking of dropping a 750GB into an OWC Mercury Elite external case instead of the WD Expander. Any opinion on hooking up this way? It’s formatted for Mac, but I understand the S3 does its own formatting. Thanks.

It seems my Series 3 is filling up and I'm considering an external SATA drive. I’m trying to find info on how much of the HD is used in Settings, but can’t find it. I’m figuring that since fewer items are in my “Recently Deleted” folder that is the case, but it seems the info must be somewhere.

If you select a program from your Now Playing List and then press the Info button it will tell you the amount of space used in GB and % for that program.
You can go through the list and add them up for all of the shows. Unfortunately there is no way to account for Season Pass reservations that are set to Keep Until I Delete that I am aware of.

It seems my Series 3 is filling up and I'm considering an external SATA drive. I’m trying to find info on how much of the HD is used in Settings, but can’t find it. I’m figuring that since fewer items are in my “Recently Deleted” folder that is the case, but it seems the info must be somewhere.

This has been a source of complaints against TiVo since Day 1 : the lack of a Free Space Indicator. There is no way to directly determine how much disk space is free for use, and TiVo has staunchly refused to put one in.

edit : See here for details : HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13742047#post13742047)

This has been a source of complaints against TiVo since Day 1 : the lack of a Free Space Indicator. There is no way to directly determine how much disk space is free for use, and TiVo has staunchly refused to put one in."Staunchly refused" is a bit strong. I think that it's on their list. It's just got "once-we've-fixed-every-possible-bug-and-implemented-all-the-more-urgent-user-requests-and-run-out-of-ideas-for-new-features-maybe-we'll-take-time-to-put-that-in" status :D. They've never outright stated, "We ain't never gonna do that, so forget it."

"Staunchly refused" is a bit strong. I think that it's on their list. It's just got "once-we've-fixed-every-possible-bug-and-implemented-all-the-more-urgent-user-requests-and-run-out-of-ideas-for-new-features-maybe-we'll-take-time-to-put-that-in" status :D. They've never outright stated, "We ain't never gonna do that, so forget it."

I guess you're right. :)

Although, despite the continuous hue and cry for this VERY simple-to-implement feature, TiVo's reluctance to comply is curious and confusing. Yeah, I know it's hard to quantify exactly how much recording time is left given the variables of resolution, frame rate, variable bitrate encoding and such....

Actually, I'd bet if you went way back in TCF history, you'd find an "ain't gonna happen" reply from Tivolutionary.

If you select a program from your Now Playing List and then press the Info button it will tell you the amount of space used in GB and % for that program.
You can go through the list and add them up for all of the shows. Unfortunately there is no way to account for Season Pass reservations that are set to Keep Until I Delete that I am aware of.

Uh, sure. Even my god-awful SA 8300 showed me an approximation of space used as a percentage of HD space. I do appreciate the tip, but I didn’t spend all of this extra money to have to do this. It’s ridiculous that I can get minutiae in settings, but not the amount of hard drive space taken with shows already recorded and not deleted.

I guess you're right. :)

Although, despite the continuous hue and cry for this VERY simple-to-implement feature, TiVo's reluctance to comply is curious and confusing. Yeah, I know it's hard to quantify exactly how much recording time is left given the variables of resolution, frame rate, variable bitrate encoding and such....

Actually, I'd bet if you went way back in TCF history, you'd find an "ain't gonna happen" reply from Tivolutionary.I recall reading some recent reply from TiVoPony stating that the freespace meter (and a couple of other long time ignored asks that someone had cited) were on their lists, just at a very, very low priority.

They could render the meter as a three-or-four-line histogram, giving percent free space on one line remaining time at some nomimal bit rates (17 Mbps for HD, 3 Mbps for SD digital, 8 Mbps SD analog at best quality). You can't really do much better than that.

Uh, sure. Even my god-awful SA 8300 showed me an approximation of space used as a percentage of HD space. I do appreciate the tip, but I didn’t spend all of this extra money to have to do this. It’s ridiculous that I can get minutiae in settings, but not the amount of hard drive space taken with shows already recorded and not deleted.

Please take a moment and re-read my post. You can easily determine your disk usage by downloading a small script, making a couple of changes to it, and firing up your browser. It's simple...

I recall reading some recent reply from TiVoPony stating that the freespace meter (and a couple of other long time ignored asks that someone had cited) were on their lists, just at a very, very low priority.

Truthfully, I think they've got their development priorities right. I'd rather have them getting the tuning resolver working (Moto and Cisco have recently interopped with TiVo) and fixing bugs (as they've done in 9.3a, and now 9.3c) than going after some cheap bells 'n whistles.

Is there any way to capture an HDTV pgm from a Tivo or Scientific Atlanta DVR, and then transfer to a DVD ... and for a DVD player to be able to read it the same way it can read a commercial DVD?

Is there any way to capture an HDTV pgm from a Tivo or Scientific Atlanta DVR, and then transfer to a DVD ... and for a DVD player to be able to read it the same way it can read a commercial DVD?

If the program is not copy-protected, you can point your web browser at your Tivo and copy that program from your TiVo to PC. Not sure about the "commercial DVD" aspect of your question.

https://<your-tivo-ip-address>

login : tivo
password : <your TiVo media access key>

Uh, sure. Even my god-awful SA 8300 showed me an approximation of space used as a percentage of HD space. I do appreciate the tip, but I didn’t spend all of this extra money to have to do this. It’s ridiculous that I can get minutiae in settings, but not the amount of hard drive space taken with shows already recorded and not deleted.

You were given a link that can solve your problem. You will just see it on your computer instead of on the television.

Frankly I prefer using the one on the computer because then I can check both of my TiVo's to see what's available. When you first start it up you will need your TiVo's name and also your password to your TiVo account on line. You will also need your MAK.

Also remember that the SA 8300 was able to do that because it had PIP. TiVo doesn't and they probably never will.

You will see somethings that the SA 8300 had that TiVo doesn't but when you take a look at the quality and ease of features, by far TiVo does laps around the SA 8300.

You were given a link that can solve your problem. You will just see it on your computer instead of on the television.
True, but not the easiest implementation. I’m getting parsing errors on my Mac in Firefox, using the script properly saved from Taco.

Also remember that the SA 8300 was able to do that because it had PIP. TiVo doesn't and they probably never will.
I didn’t know why the SA could do so, I just know that it could and TiVo can’t. With all of the other data the TiVo can pull, I can’t understand why it can’t read how much of the HD has been written to.

You will see somethings that the SA 8300 had that TiVo doesn't but when you take a look at the quality and ease of features, by far TiVo does laps around the SA 8300.
The fact that I have had the SA and purchased the TiVo to replace it speaks to the fact that I concur that the the TiVo experience is vastly superior. I just don’t understand why it can’t pull that information.
Can anyone comment on my assumption about the Deleted Items folder? I’m assuming TiVo will overwrite the deleted data on the drive, but fill the drive. Thus, if I have fewer items in that folder, I am getting closer to being full.

Also remember that the SA 8300 was able to do that because it had PIP.I think that you're wrong about that, hookbill. I really don't believe that SARA's used space meter has anything to do with PIP (see the Explorer Digital Video Recorder User's Guide (http://www.scientificatlanta.com/products/consumers/userguidepdfs/4003870.pdf), top of PDF page 26).

I think that you're wrong about that, hookbill. I really don't believe that SARA's used space meter has anything to do with PIP (see the Explorer Digital Video Recorder User's Guide (http://www.scientificatlanta.com/products/consumers/userguidepdfs/4003870.pdf), top of PDF page 26).

That was like taking a trip through a nightmare. Just to look at that stuff again was horrid.

You might be right, I didn't see anything specific as I went through the guide. Perhaps I confused it with being able to view the guide while you are watching a program. That does use the PIP.

The fact that I have had the SA and purchased the TiVo to replace it speaks to the fact that I concur that the the TiVo experience is vastly superior. I just don’t understand why it can’t pull that information.
Can anyone comment on my assumption about the Deleted Items folder? I’m assuming TiVo will overwrite the deleted data on the drive, but fill the drive. Thus, if I have fewer items in that folder, I am getting closer to being full.

OK, as michaelscott pointed out I was probably wrong about the pip. But you are absolutely correct about the deleted items. That is another way to track disk space.

Also if you have TiVo suggestions turned on to record you will see those disappear as well.

But the disk meter ain't going to happen. Why? I don't know. But it's been brought up for years and nothing has been done about it other then the innovative program for the computer.

I love Macs but as you are aware frequently they are left out of the thinking process when it comes to these little apps.

True, but not the easiest implementation. I’m getting parsing errors on my Mac in Firefox, using the script properly saved from Taco.

Crap! My bad! I posted too quickly.

The link I posted was the original version of the script, which does indeed have parsing errors. A user from TCF (Morac) has corrected the script's errors, in addition to making it compatible with more recent versions of the TiVo code.

Morac's site appears to be down right now, but I'll attach a copy of his script. You need to make the same edits : TiVo IP address (lines 10-14) and your Media Access Key (line 15).

For Windows users, there's another alternative as well : TiVoPlayList. TCF discussion is HERE (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=293241). It's a small app that uses the same XML interface as the above AJAX script, but does quite a bit more with it.

This has been a source of complaints against TiVo since Day 1 : the lack of a Free Space Indicator. There is no way to directly determine how much disk space is free for use, and TiVo has staunchly refused to put one in.

edit : See here for details : HERE (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13742047#post13742047)

No need for a free space indicator since it is impossible to tell how much space will be used by a program. An hour long program could be 1GB, 9GB or anywhere in between. Having a free space indicator does no good unless you can tell how much space a recording will take. And that is impossible to know beforehand.

A free space indicator is useless, so it's good TiVo isn't wasting time with one.

No need for a free space indicator since it is impossible to tell how much space will be used by a program. An hour long program could be 1GB, 9GB or anywhere in between. Having a free space indicator does no good unless you can tell how much space a recording will take. And that is impossible to know beforehand.

A free space indicator is useless, so it's good TiVo isn't wasting time with one.

You are confusing free space with free time.

Why does Tivo ignore their customers so badly?

Actually, TiVo knows their customers: Many more of them would likely be bewildered by a free space indicator and would complain about the "techno-babble". Since they cannot provide a free time indicator, it is very likely to be best to not provide any indicator of how much is "free".

You are confusing free space with free time.

Why does Tivo ignore their customers so badly?

I don't see why you think TiVo ignores their customers. If anything they seem to deliver just about everything we ask for. Just look over the last year with the S3, and they came through with everything and then some.

But no meter for you.

The fact is if you want the meter it's available even though TiVo didn't design it. You can see it on your computer. This is the type of b**ching you see at the TCF.

Go ahead and follow this up with a list of all the things you want TiVo to give you. Get it out of your system.

I'll start. I want breakfast in bed and TiVo hasn't given me that yet!

You are confusing free space with free time.

Why does Tivo ignore their customers so badly?

Wow, over-react much ?

Above all, TiVo's mottos are "simplicity" and "ease of use". While trying to provide a Free Space Indicator sound extremely simple at first, you begin to realize that it's difficult to keep things simple. Sure, you can tell the user that they have 100GB free. However, the average user has no idea how that translates into recording time available. Additionally, when you consider many various constant and variable bitrate sources (both analog and digital), there's no practical way to present that seemingly simple value.

Wow, over-react much ?

Above all, TiVo's mottos are "simplicity" and "ease of use". While trying to provide a Free Space Indicator sound extremely simple at first, you begin to realize that it's difficult to keep things simple. Sure, you can tell the user that they have 100GB free. However, the average user has no idea how that translates into recording time available. Additionally, when you consider many various constant and variable bitrate sources (both analog and digital), there's no practical way to present that seemingly simple value.

I wish I could respond to people in an intelligent and kind manner like this. I guess I'm just too sarcastic. I'll try working on that.

I wish I could respond to people in an intelligent and kind manner like this. I guess I'm just too sarcastic. I'll try working on that.

Heh... Just wait until the coffee hits the bloodstream, then I'll be back to my usual abrasive and sarcastic posts. :)

Perhaps you are right and the implementation is either confusing or difficult. On the other hand, when I look at Settings, I see a plethora of information that I cannot interpret. While realizing the difference in bitrates and file sizes, I can do the math that tells me if I’ve used, say, 100GB for recordings I can make a reasonable estimate of the amount of space left. As it is, I’m groping in the dark and still wondering if my theory on using Deleted files to make a rough approximation is valid.

Perhaps you are right and the implementation is either confusing or difficult. On the other hand, when I look at Settings, I see a plethora of information that I cannot interpret. While realizing the difference in bitrates and file sizes, I can do the math that tells me if I’ve used, say, 100GB for recordings I can make a reasonable estimate of the amount of space left. As it is, I’m groping in the dark and still wondering if my theory on using Deleted files to make a rough approximation is valid.

No user knows how much space a recording will use before it's recorded. The amounts are all over the place. Thats why I say a free space indicator is useless. I have no idea how much an hour long program will use. I've been recording HD since 2001 from many different sources. The amount of space that is used is always variable. It is all over the place. You have no idea how much space will be used beforehand.

And besides I've been using TiVo now for 7 years and I have never needed a free space indicator. The TiVo software gives you plenty of tools. And with TiVo Desktop space is not an issue. You just transfer your allowed recordings for permanent storage to a PC if you want to free up space on the TiVo. Then just transfer them back when you want to watch. The HD will transfer in faster than real time.

While realizing the difference in bitrates and file sizes, I can do the math that tells me if I’ve used, say, 100GB for recordings I can make a reasonable estimate of the amount of space left.

Can you ? Consider my example of 100GB free space on disk. How would you simply represent the available recording time, given future recordings may vary anywhere between 2Mbps and 19Mbps, and likely comprise a mixture of values anywhere between those two maximums ? You could have as much as 50 hours remaining, or as little as 5 hours remaining.

Now, YOU may be able to calculate how much recording space you've got left, because YOU know which programs you're recording, and YOU know the sources (antenna, analog cable, digital cable, transferred files, etc) from which those recordings will originate. However, there's no realistic way that TiVo can automatically infer those values and approximate a reasonable answer.

Simple answer : use the AJAX scripts that I supplied previously. It's the best answer out there to determine the info you're asking for.

Jeez, I guess Tivo sent out the thought police in full force today.

I knew this place was infiltrated but my God, it's like the Brown Shirts or Taliban around here.

Simple answer : use the AJAX scripts that I supplied previously. It's the best answer out there to determine the info you're asking for.

I gave it a try against a Tivo HD running 9.3. I get a blank page and the firefox error console gives

"totalCountMatch is null" on line 103.

I can snoop the net and do see some https traffic between the browser and the Tivo.

By the way, Galleon does work against the same Tivo.

All I did to the script was uncomment the tivo[0] line and put in the right IP address, and put in the right mak.

Is this known to run against 9.3?

I gave it a try against a Tivo HD running 9.3. I get a blank page and the firefox error console gives

"totalCountMatch is null" on line 103.

I can snoop the net and do see some https traffic between the browser and the Tivo.

By the way, Galleon does work against the same Tivo.

All I did to the script was uncomment the tivo[0] line and put in the right IP address, and put in the right mak.

Is this known to run against 9.3?

Absolutely. It's my personal copy of the script (with my MAK and IP address removed) that I run against my Series3. In fact, I ran a test to ensure that it ran against 9.3a just before I zipped it up and posted it.

All you should have to do is enter an IP address, enter your MAK, and then open up the file with your browser (I use Firefox).

Jeez, I guess Tivo sent out the thought police in full force today.

I knew this place was infiltrated but my God, it's like the Brown Shirts or Taliban around here.


It takes quite a bit to "offend" me, but you've just managed to do that. I take offense and umbrage at the notion that I could be compared to organizations that round up and summarily execute people for having a contradictory viewpoint.

How, in any possible reasonable fashion, could any of the input that's been provided by me (or anyone else for that matter) over the past day be construed as such ?

Sounds like someone doesn't like to be corrected, and starts to flail and make gross exaggerations when such has been done. Get a grip, man.

Jeez, I guess Tivo sent out the thought police in full force today. I knew this place was infiltrated but my God, it's like the Brown Shirts or Taliban around here.That's a pretty self-serving but otherwise vacuous and inflammatory assertion. People disagree with you; that's all. Your over-the-top accusations beyond that are inappropriate.

That's a pretty self-serving but otherwise vacuous and inflammatory assertion. People disagree with you; that's all. Your over-the-top accusations beyond that are inappropriate.

Yeah, what he said. And Paul too.

Go to the TiVo Forum. You'll find all kinds of company over there.

Wow, over-react much ?

Above all, TiVo's mottos are "simplicity" and "ease of use". While trying to provide a Free Space Indicator sound extremely simple at first, you begin to realize that it's difficult to keep things simple. Sure, you can tell the user that they have 100GB free. However, the average user has no idea how that translates into recording time available. Additionally, when you consider many various constant and variable bitrate sources (both analog and digital), there's no practical way to present that seemingly simple value.

That's just total nonsense. If you really believe that then no one has a use for a fuel gauge in their car either. You don't know exactly how far you can go on the amount of gas you have left since you don't know exactly how fast you'll go or what traffic you will hit, so there's obviously no point in having a fuel gauge.

Then again, a car without one would be stupid, wouldn't it?

It is of very limited use, but they should probably have somebody take a couple of hours to add a "xx% of program storage free" notation on the "Now Playing" dialog, just to shut the crybabies up :). Of course, it'll lead to a ton of people calling them saying, "My TiVo deleted stuff to make room for a 2 hour movie when there was 10% space left and the last time I had 10% left I was able to record another 8 hours!" Of course, that 8 hours was from a bunch of 3 Mbps SD digital cable channels while the movie was on HDNet at 18.5 Mbps, but try figuring that out over the phone and explaining it to a technically unsophisticated person.

What I liked was Passport Echo's "hourglass" system. It put icons on the "Now Playing" list to say about how long it would be before it would delete various items, based on the current recording schedule. If you highlighted an entry, it would add text to tell you fairly precisely how long. Passport's "Now Playing" list was displayed in deletion order, with new things placed on top, and you could re-order things by grabbing an entry and dragging it up and down (like adjusting priorities in TiVo's "Season Pass" list dialog.

According to Tivo on another site...


Regarding the specific features you've asked about, the free space indicator is certainly the longest running request.


Apparently there are more than a handful of people that would like this feature.

Can you ? Consider my example of 100GB free space on disk. How would you simply represent the available recording time, given future recordings may vary anywhere between 2Mbps and 19Mbps, and likely comprise a mixture of values anywhere between those two maximums ? You could have as much as 50 hours remaining, or as little as 5 hours remaining.

Now, YOU may be able to calculate how much recording space you've got left, because YOU know which programs you're recording, and YOU know the sources (antenna, analog cable, digital cable, transferred files, etc) from which those recordings will originate. However, there's no realistic way that TiVo can automatically infer those values and approximate a reasonable answer.

Simple answer : use the AJAX scripts that I supplied previously. It's the best answer out there to determine the info you're asking for.

As above, yes I can make a reasonable calculation, as I know the source and program sizes I generally record from the https trick. What I'm asking for may not be possible, but it is misunderstood. Posters keep referring to calculating remaining space. I'm not worried about that. I would just like to know how much disk space has been used. I've never heard of a hard drive in anything that doesn't track how many sectors, etc. have been written to. If it's not a TiVo priority fine. In my OP, I was just asking if it was hidden somewhere. Apparently not.
I just downloaded the .zip file you posted and will try it at home.

That's just total nonsense. If you really believe that then no one has a use for a fuel gauge in their car either. You don't know exactly how far you can go on the amount of gas you have left since you don't know exactly how fast you'll go or what traffic you will hit, so there's obviously no point in having a fuel gauge.

Then again, a car without one would be stupid, wouldn't it?

I say again : "Wow, over-react much?"

My point was that there is such a disparity in the bitrates that are being recorded now that distilling a simplistic view of "how much recording time do I have left" becomes difficult to express. This wasn't the case with the Series1 and Series2 units, since they were constrained to lower bitrates (2-5Mbps) utilized by the on-board MPEG encoders. The job has become much harder since the inception of the HD units, where bitrates can now vary between 2-19Mbps.

If you're ACHING to account for EVERY SINGLE BYTE that's in use on your hard drive(s), because you can't go on living your life without know such details, feel free to use the AJAX script or the Windows-only TivoPlayList app.

I tend to not worry about free space so much since I added a 500GB eSATA drive to my Series3. I rarely approach 50% capacity.

According to Tivo on another site...
Originally Posted by TiVoPony
Regarding the specific features you've asked about, the free space indicator is certainly the longest running request.
Apparently there are more than a handful of people that would like this feature.

I think that more than a single sentence of that Bob Poniatowski post at TCF (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6149876#post6149876) is relevant to this discussion:
Regarding the specific features you've asked about, the free space indicator is certainly the longest running request. Longevity does not equal priority though. If that single feature would have sold more boxes and increased customer satisfaction for a significant portion of our subscribers, it would have been added years ago. It may get in there one day, but when prioritized against other things, it's often pretty low on the list.Sure, a free space meter has been requested for a long time by more than a couple of people, but by their judgement, adding it wouldn't sell any more boxes and there hasn't been a solid enough demand for it that it would increase customer satisfaction significantly, so the priority for implementing it stays low.

By the way, it's customary in these forums that when citing text which you found online to leave a link to that text, so interested people can look and see the context of your quote. (I left a link above and I encourage people to read that post). We're discussing why TiVo doesn't add a free space meter; Bob Poniatowski, one of TiVo's marketing directors and one of their primary public liasons, stated TiVo's answer to that question directly after the portion that you posted. Convenient of you to leave that out.

As above, yes I can make a reasonable calculation, as I know the source and program sizes I generally record from the https trick. What I'm asking for may not be possible, but it is misunderstood.

Oh, it's certainly possible. TiVo just refuses to do it for their own reasons. Some people may agree with their rationale, and others ( I like the "crybabies" label above :) ) will continue to jump up and down and pout.


Posters keep referring to calculating remaining space. I'm not worried about that. I would just like to know how much disk space has been used. I've never heard of a hard drive in anything that doesn't track how many sectors, etc. have been written to. If it's not a TiVo priority fine. In my OP, I was just asking if it was hidden somewhere. Apparently not.

It's guaranteed to be stored internally, since the TiVo code is running on top of Linux. TiVo has chosen to not expose that information to the user.

I just downloaded the .zip file you posted and will try it at home.

Cool. Let us know how it goes. It will definitely tell you what you're asking for.

I think I now understand why Tivo refuses to provide a free space indicator.

With all of the Suggestions and Advertisements and other stuff (garbage) that Tivo sends out to our boxes, it is my opinion that they think THEY own that free space. If they allowed us to see how much of OUR space they are occupying, we might object.

If Microsoft or Apple were to fill our computers with advertisements and unwanted downloads behind our backs what would be the consumer response?

You can control whether Suggestions are recorded or not. Advertisements occupy a dedicated 4% of the storage of the box. The allocation doesn't grow or shrink. You agreed to it when you bought your TiVo. If you don't like it, sell your TiVo.

You can control whether Suggestions are recorded or not. Advertisements occupy a dedicated 4% of the storage of the box. The allocation doesn't grow or shrink. You agreed to it when you bought your TiVo. If you don't like it, sell your TiVo.

Wow. I'm having a Bizarro World moment. This is the second time today that I'm in 100% agreement with bicker1. I've gotta write this down somewhere... :)

Absolutely. It's my personal copy of the script (with my MAK and IP address removed) that I run against my Series3. In fact, I ran a test to ensure that it ran against 9.3a just before I zipped it up and posted it.

All you should have to do is enter an IP address, enter your MAK, and then open up the file with your browser (I use Firefox).
I'm guessing you enter your TiVo's IP address inside the quotes in the below line,

9 //[ "Location" , "Tivo's IP" , total gigabytes used to record shows ]

Does it need to be changed in the below line as well?

10 //tivo[0]=[ "Living Room","192.168.0.101", 0 ]

And the MAK goes in the below line?

15 var mak='0123456789'; //your media access key

I have no experience with scripting so I apologize for what may be obvious questions.

You agreed to it when you bought your TiVo. If you don't like it, sell your TiVo.

Wow. If you people are really associated with the Tivo corporation, as it appears you are by your familiarity with their names and inside information, then I misjudged the company entirely.

Once upon a time I thought they were this cool little company trying to provide a fun product for TV viewers and struggling for survival against an onslaught of captive work-alikes from cable and satellite providers.

Stupid me for spending $700 on Tivos, lifetime subscriptions and accessories over the past month.

Perhaps I should sell my Tivos and permit DirecTV to upgrade me to their HR21. After all, I've never had a complaint about DirecTV's satellite service.

If Microsoft or Apple were to fill our computers with advertisements and unwanted downloads behind our backs what would be the consumer response?

Oh, you mean like when Apple tries to inject Safari 3.1 onto your machine under the premise of "updating" your existing software ? Nah... Wouldn't happen, would it ? Oh wait, IT DID (http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9901006-7.html). There was quite an uproar and backlash against Apple for that little nugget.

Or, when Microsoft slips an update into their "Patch Tuesday" release that manages to bork your machine ? Nah, that wouldn't happen either. Oh wait, IT DID (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136149-c,webtelephonyconferencing/article.html). AND AGAIN (http://cubicspot.blogspot.com/2007/08/windows-update-updating-without.html). AND AGAIN (http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=779).

Perhaps I should sell my Tivos and permit DirecTV to upgrade me to their HR21. After all, I've never had a complaint about DirecTV's satellite service.

You will after you sell your Tivo. My neighbor just got his HR21 and although he loves the High Def he just shakes his head and says "it ain't no Tivo".

I'm guessing you enter your TiVo's IP address inside the quotes in the below line,

9 //[ "Location" , "Tivo's IP" , total gigabytes used to record shows ]

Does it need to be changed in the below line as well?

10 //tivo[0]=[ "Living Room","192.168.0.101", 0 ]

And the MAK goes in the below line?

15 var mak='0123456789'; //your media access key

I have no experience with scripting so I apologize for what may be obvious questions.

Line 9 serves as an example to illustrate what the fields on the subsequent lines represent. You can ignore this line.

Line 10 is where you want to make your first change. You can assign a name to the output from that unit by replacing "Living Room" with whatever text you'd like. More importantly, you need to supply the IP address of your TiVo by replacing "192.168.0.101" with your unit's address. The last field can optionally be the total storage capacity of your unit.

Line 15 ("var mak...") is where you enter your Media Access Key. This is essential, since your MAK doubles as the password for access into your unit's internal web server.

Perhaps I should sell my Tivos and permit DirecTV to upgrade me to their HR21. After all, I've never had a complaint about DirecTV's satellite service.

Please do.

Line 9 serves as an example to illustrate what the fields on the subsequent lines represent. You can ignore this line.

Line 10 is where you want to make your first change. You can assign a name to the output from that unit by replacing "Living Room" with whatever text you'd like. More importantly, you need to supply the IP address of your TiVo by replacing "192.168.0.101" with your unit's address. The last field can optionally be the total storage capacity of your unit.

Line 15 ("var mak...") is where you enter your Media Access Key. This is essential, since your MAK doubles as the password for access into your unit's internal web server.
I must be doing something wrong, all I get is a blank FF page when I make the changes using Notepad++

I must be doing something wrong, all I get is a blank FF page when I make the changes using Notepad++

The only two changes in Notepad++ that are necessary are changing the IP address and the MAK. You shouldn't have to make any other changes. Save the file. Open the file with Firefox.

It usually takes a few seconds to begin processing your Now Playing List. You should see the Firefox title bar change every so often ("20 of 58 recordings"), as it incrementally advances through your recordings. When it finishes sucking down all the data from your unit, you'll get a nicely laid out page. It may take a minute or two, but it'll get there.

edit : A-HA! You probably didn't un-comment line 10. Remove the two initial slashes from the beginning of the line and try again.

edit : A-HA! You probably didn't un-comment line 10. Remove the two initial slashes from the beginning of the line and try again.

That was it. :D

Works now. Any way to show deleted shows? Since they take up space as well?

That was it. :D

Works now. Any way to show deleted shows? Since they take up space as well?

Not sure if you can, or even if you need to...

You can provide the recording capacity, and it knows how much space your recordings are consuming. That's really all that matters, right? Deleted shows are the first things to get whacked when the unit needs to "reclaim" disk space for new recordings, correct ?

Wow. If you people are really associated with the Tivo corporation, as it appears you are by your familiarity with their names and inside information, then I misjudged the company entirely.Your assumptions are erroneous, and that's what's leading you to grossly inaccurate conclusions. I believe that NO ONE in this thread is associated with TiVo whatsoever. We're giving you the TRUTH without being beholden to ANYONE. If it isn't what you want to hear, that's a shame, but I think it is better that you have the truth regardless.

Once upon a time I thought they were this cool little company trying to provide a fun product for TV viewers and struggling for survival against an onslaught of captive work-alikes from cable and satellite providers.So you believed their fairy tale. You may want to treat advertising with a lot more skepticism than you do.

Not sure if you can, or even if you need to...

You can provide the recording capacity, and it knows how much space your recordings are consuming. That's really all that matters, right? Deleted shows are the first things to get whacked when the unit needs to "reclaim" disk space for new recordings, correct ?

True, it was just a thought. Nice little tool ,thanks. :)

Wow. If you people are really associated with the Tivo corporation, as it appears you are by your familiarity with their names and inside information, then I misjudged the company entirely.By "familiarity with their names and inside information" are you referring to my knowing that TiVoPony is Bob Poniatowski, a TiVo Marketing manager? You can't read TCF for very long without becoming aware of that (he signs his posts with his real name sometimes), and if you google "Bob Poniatowski" (which I have), you'll find a ton of him being quoted in the press, with his role at TiVo identified (as well as pages on him at LinkedIn and a couple of other business networking sites). You don't have to be "associated with TiVo corporation" to know these things, just a reasonably bright and inquisitive person.

I'm a retired software engineer who has interviewed for a job at TiVo; I shared an office for two years at another company with someone who works there now. That person, one of my closest friends, is highly religious and treats his every pledge as sacred, including the one he made when he signed TiVo's NDA, so I don't get any insider info from him :). One thing that I do know from my friend is that TiVo employees are explicitly told not to post in Internet forums about TiVo (like this thread in AVS and all of TCF) unless requested to do so by management. They're all strongly encouraged to spend a little time monitoring online discussions of TiVo without participating. A few of them, like TiVoPony, post in the forums as part of their jobs, but when they do they clearly identify themselves as representatives of TiVo.

Keenan – Would you be kind enough to repost the link to your script for determining remaining disk space for an S3? I would run it in Firefox, as you suggested. My OS is OS X 10.5. I went back upthread to try to find it but I fear the only link I found was the Windows version. In any event, it wouldn’t do anything but open a blank page. Thanks.

I am kind of in the middle on the issue of how culpable TiVo is for having concealed the remaining disk space information in its software. I have had a TiVo, an S1 first and now an S3, for nearly 8 years and have concluded that the software is in a class by itself. Still, TiVo's persistent refusal to include a disk space remaining indicator strikes me as out of line. We all know it’s in there somewhere, so why not let the great unwashed see it? But that’s just a quibble. All I have to do to be reminded of how bloody wonderful the TiVo system is, is to be sentenced to using my other DVR, an execrable SA8300HD, which I rent from Cox OKC. “Primitive,” isn’t the half of it.

Keenan – Would you be kind enough to repost the link to your script for determining remaining disk space for an S3? I would run it in Firefox, as you suggested. My OS is OS X 10.5. I went back upthread to try to find it but I fear the only link I found was the Windows version. In any event, it wouldn’t do anything but open a blank page. Thanks.

I am kind of in the middle on the issue of how culpable TiVo is for having concealed the remaining disk space information in its software. I have had a TiVo, an S1 first and now an S3, for nearly 8 years and have concluded that the software is in a class by itself. Still, TiVo's persistent refusal to include a disk space remaining indicator strikes me as out of line. We all know it’s in there somewhere, so why not let the great unwashed see it? But that’s just a quibble. All I have to do to be reminded of how bloody wonderful the TiVo system is, is to be sentenced to using my other DVR, an execrable SA8300HD, which I rent from Cox OKC. “Primitive,” isn’t the half of it.

It's Paul's script, not mine, it's at the below link,

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13742047#post13742047

It's Paul's script, not mine, it's at the below link,

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13742047#post13742047

Honestly, it's not my script. I didn't write it. It's just the one that I found on TCF that had been fixed up my Morac to work with the later rev's of TiVo software (9.1+). I'm more of a C/C++ type guy. I am completely lost when it comes to AJAX.

FYI, filling in that 3rd field on line 10 does indeed make a difference. I just tried it out. I filled in my total drive capacity (750GB) and got some cool results. When that value was a zero, it only output my total usage ("47hr 8min using 172.28GB). When the value was filled in, it spit out some approximate TimeLeft values. Neat! :)

My new line 10 :

tivo[0]=[ "Living Room","192.168.1.90", 750 ];


Results :

Now Playing -
40
Shows

(47hr 8min using 172.28GB)
TimeLeft: ~ 225hr 37min (@Best) || 362hr 29min (@High) || 476hr 19min (@Medium) || 808hr 11min (@Basic)

Of course, those TimeLeft values only reflect remaining times of TiVo-encoded analog sources. They don't mean squat if you're recording anything in HD.

I've hacked up the script to additionally reflect TimeLeft values for 1080i (19Mbps) and 720p (12Mbps) sources. These are worst case values. OTA viewers may see values approaching these, but cable subscribers can expect to see bitrates lower than the ones that I've chosen.

Directions :
1. Enter your TiVo's IP address (currently reads "1.2.3.4") on line 10.
2. Enter your TiVo's total disk space in GB (currently reads "250") on line 10.
3. Enter your TiVo Media Access Key (currently reads "1234567890") on line 15.
4. Load the page in your favorite browser.
5. Enjoy!

Wow. If you people are really associated with the Tivo corporation, as it appears you are by your familiarity with their names and inside information, then I misjudged the company entirely.

Perhaps I should sell my Tivos and permit DirecTV to upgrade me to their HR21. After all, I've never had a complaint about DirecTV's satellite service.

Or you could just take your whiney ass over to the TiVo Forum like I've suggested several times.:rolleyes:

Or you could just take your whiney ass over to the TiVo Forum like I've suggested several times.:rolleyes:

Sssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We're trying to get him to trade his TiVo for a DirecTV crap-box. C'mon, ya gots ta play along, man! :)

I've hacked up the script to additionally reflect TimeLeft values for 1080i (19Mbps) and 720p (12Mbps) sources. These are worst case values. OTA viewers may see values approaching these, but cable subscribers can expect to see bitrates lower than the ones that I've chosen.

Directions :
1. Enter your TiVo's IP address (currently reads "1.2.3.4") on line 10.
2. Enter your TiVo's total disk space in GB (currently reads "250") on line 10.
3. Enter your TiVo Media Access Key (currently reads "1234567890") on line 15.
4. Load the page in your favorite browser.
5. Enjoy!

Attached Files
NowPlaying.zip (7.4 KB, 0 views)


Paul – I have downloaded and unzipped this file. When I try to open it in Firefox, only a blank page appears with a URL that points to it, "NowPlaying.xhtml," which is in my downloads folder. When I open that file in TextEdit I can see text on the top line, which reads, “Now Transferring,” but I don’t know what to do with it. When I count down 10 lines I see nothing that appears to have anything to do with the size of my disk. The file I am looking at does not contain “1234567890,” or anything similar.

Pardon my ignorance, but I obviously have somehow missed something because I don’t understand what it is I am supposed to do with the file. Additional tips would be much appreciated. I suspect but an not certain that I have still not loaded the appropriate file. Thanks in advance.

Attached Files
NowPlaying.zip (7.4 KB, 0 views)


Paul – I have downloaded and unzipped this file. When I try to open it in Firefox, only a blank page appears with a URL that points to it, "NowPlaying.xhtml," which is in my downloads folder. When I open that file in TextEdit I can see text on the top line, which reads, “Now Transferring,” but I don’t know what to do with it. When I count down 10 lines I see nothing that appears to have anything to do with the size of my disk. The file I am looking at does not contain “1234567890,” or anything similar.

Pardon my ignorance, but I obviously have somehow missed something because I don’t understand what it is I am supposed to do with the file. Additional tips would be much appreciated. I suspect but an not certain that I have still not loaded the appropriate file. Thanks in advance.

I just pulled it down myself to make sure I didn't screw up the attach process. The file's fine. I changed the appropriate values for my set up, and the page popped up without issue.

You need to edit NowPlaying.xhtml in some form of text editor, whether it be Notepad++, WordPad, or something else. The file, as is, will not work, since I've loaded bogus values in for the fields that everyone will need to customize. Only after you've made your changes to the file should you load it up into your browser.

I've hacked up the script to additionally reflect TimeLeft values for 1080i (19Mbps) and 720p (12Mbps) sources. These are worst case values. OTA viewers may see values approaching these, but cable subscribers can expect to see bitrates lower than the ones that I've chosen.

Directions :
1. Enter your TiVo's IP address (currently reads "1.2.3.4") on line 10.
2. Enter your TiVo's total disk space in GB (currently reads "250") on line 10.
3. Enter your TiVo Media Access Key (currently reads "1234567890") on line 15.
4. Load the page in your favorite browser.
5. Enjoy!I've never seen a cable broadcast average more than 18.5 Mbps on either of the San Diego systems that I've been a sub on, and I kept logs of several hundred DVR recording file sizes. It also didn't matter what channel or what the resolution was (you've got 1080i taking up 58% more bandwidth when the pixel rate is only 12.5% greater). Most of the 720p channels on the cable systems that I've observed locally average higher bit rates--ABC used to be the highest bit rate on the air at an average of 17.5 Mbps, but has been recently surpassed by CBS after they upgraded their equipment to handle 5.1 sound (CBS is now averaging 17-18 Mbps OTA, when it formerely averaged 13 Mbps). But even that's not consistent--this week's episode of lost came in at an average of 17.7 Mbps whereas CSI: Crime Scene Investigation averaged 16.98 Mbps. NBC comes in somewhere between 15 and 17 Mbps (this week's ER was 15.8 Mbps).

The cable networks (HDNet, the ESPN HD, TNT HD, etc) typically never hit higher than 18.5 Mbps. I don't think that cable and broadcast engineers like to push the envelop and 19 Mbps is 98% of the maximum theoretical bit rate acheivable in either an HD channel (either all of a 6 MHz 8 VSB modulated ATSC channel or half of a 6 MHz QAM 256 modulated cable carrier). Recent recordings still around on my TiVo made on HDNet Movies are Fargo, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Stand By Me, averaging 17.7, 17.6 and 17.3 Mbps respectively.

In short, I think that you 19 Mbps and 12 Mbps numbers are totally arbitrary. No offense intended :D.

I just pulled it down myself to make sure I didn't screw up the attach process. The file's fine. I changed the appropriate values for my set up, and the page popped up without issue.

You need to edit NowPlaying.xhtml in some form of text editor, whether it be Notepad++, WordPad, or something else. The file, as is, will not work, since I've loaded bogus values in for the fields that everyone will need to customize. Only after you've made your changes to the file should you load it up into your browser.
Here is what the file looks like in TextEdit, the OS X test editor:

--------------------- File Begins -------------------------------

Now Transferring
: ""

Now Recording
Ch. - : "" [details: nowRecshow]
{Suggestion | {Suggestion | {Suggestion | { Planned |
recDesc

Now Playing - Shows (hr 0min using (hr min using GB)
nowPlay Yes No
Source
PC: [details: show]
: "" : "" background-color:#32c864;vertical-align:top;text-align:center background-color:#32c864;vertical-align:top;text-align:center :00 :0
MB MB Unknown Best High Medium Basic

TiVo Suggestions: Shows [ suggShowHideshow]
suggTablesuggest Yes No
Watched so far: <1 min (None)
Original Air Date:
Episode Number: Genre: ,
Year:
Rated:
Actors: ,
Guest Stars: ,
Host: ,
Directed by: ,
Written by: ,
Exec. Produced by: ,

--------------------- File Ends -----------------------------------

Does this look like the right file? If so, where should I enter the information. I assume OS X being my OS won’t foul anything up.

Thanks again for your help.

I've hacked up the script to additionally reflect TimeLeft values for 1080i (19Mbps) and 720p (12Mbps) sources. These are worst case values. OTA viewers may see values approaching these, but cable subscribers can expect to see bitrates lower than the ones that I've chosen.

Directions :
1. Enter your TiVo's IP address (currently reads "1.2.3.4") on line 10.
2. Enter your TiVo's total disk space in GB (currently reads "250") on line 10.
3. Enter your TiVo Media Access Key (currently reads "1234567890") on line 15.
4. Load the page in your favorite browser.
5. Enjoy!


But is your disk space based on 1KB being 1000bytes or 1024bytes? It makes a difference.

In short, I think that your 19 Mbps and 12 Mbps numbers are totally arbitrary. No offense intended :D.

Absolutely, and I said as much in my previous post. Except that it took me 2 fewer paragraphs to do it than you did. :)

But is your disk space based on 1KB being 1000bytes or 1024bytes? It makes a difference.

It does make a difference.

However, as I've said many times now, it's not my script. I didn't write it. My guesstimate as to the intent of the original author would be 1024bytes.

Here is what the file looks like in TextEdit, the OS X test editor:

--------------------- File Begins -------------------------------

Now Transferring
: ""

Now Recording
Ch. - : "" [details: nowRecshow]
{Suggestion | {Suggestion | {Suggestion | { Planned |
recDesc

Now Playing - Shows (hr 0min using (hr min using GB)
nowPlay Yes No
Source
PC: [details: show]
: "" : "" background-color:#32c864;vertical-align:top;text-align:center background-color:#32c864;vertical-align:top;text-align:center :00 :0
MB MB Unknown Best High Medium Basic

TiVo Suggestions: Shows [ suggShowHideshow]
suggTablesuggest Yes No
Watched so far: <1 min (None)
Original Air Date:
Episode Number: Genre: ,
Year:
Rated:
Actors: ,
Guest Stars: ,
Host: ,
Directed by: ,
Written by: ,
Exec. Produced by: ,

--------------------- File Ends -----------------------------------

Does this look like the right file? If so, where should I enter the information. I assume OS X being my OS won’t foul anything up.

Thanks again for your help.


Not at all close to what I'd expect to see. This file should be readable by any OS and any browser. Not sure why you're seeing that gobbledy-goop (technical term) instead of the proper stuff. It kinda looks like you're seeing the OUTPUT of the script, rather than the script itself. As if something were trying to parse the file (and potentially execute it) rather than simply letting you examine the contents of the file.

You should only have to unzip the file, and then open up the NowPlaying.xhtml file in a text editor. I can't see how things could get so screwed up.

Perhaps you could try another text editor ? I'm not sure what's available in OSX. VI ? EMACS ? Something else ?

I say again : "Wow, over-react much?"

My point was that there is such a disparity in the bitrates that are being recorded now that distilling a simplistic view of "how much recording time do I have left" becomes difficult to express. This wasn't the case with the Series1 and Series2 units, since they were constrained to lower bitrates (2-5Mbps) utilized by the on-board MPEG encoders. The job has become much harder since the inception of the HD units, where bitrates can now vary between 2-19Mbps.

If you're ACHING to account for EVERY SINGLE BYTE that's in use on your hard drive(s), because you can't go on living your life without know such details, feel free to use the AJAX script or the Windows-only TivoPlayList app.

I tend to not worry about free space so much since I added a 500GB eSATA drive to my Series3. I rarely approach 50% capacity.

Obviously you don't get it. But, oh, wait, you do know you "rarely approach 50% capacity". But how would you know this if knowing disk usage wasn't needed?

Having a % used indicator is just blatantly useful. It's common sense. Some people apparently just like arguing absurd points just to hear themselves speak.

Not at all close to what I'd expect to see. This file should be readable by any OS and any browser. Not sure why you're seeing that gobbledy-goop (technical term) instead of the proper stuff. It kinda looks like you're seeing the OUTPUT of the script, rather than the script itself. As if something were trying to parse the file (and potentially execute it) rather than simply letting you examine the contents of the file.

You should only have to unzip the file, and then open up the NowPlaying.xhtml file in a text editor. I can't see how things could get so screwed up.

Perhaps you could try another text editor ? I'm not sure what's available in OSX. VI ? EMACS ? Something else ?
Paul -- Thanks for your continuing help, I appreciate it. I managed to open an editable version of the NowPlaying.xhtml file in Windows Notepad. I entered my TiVo's URL, the size of my hard drive, and my media access number, and saved the file. I then tried to open it in Windows, first in Internet Explorer and next in Safari but it didn’t work either time. It looked exactly the same as the unedited version had appeared. The URL read as follows, in both IE and Safari:

Z:\greysatterfield On My Mac\Downloads\NowPlaying.xhtml

“Z:” is my local Windows installation’s designation for my personal files on my MacBook Pro. What is supposed to happen that will point the file to my TiVo's URL? Clearly, the local address of the NowPlaying file didn’t do it. I tired to load the edited file with the OS X versions of both Safari and Firefox but got the same results.

In the OS X browsers the URL information was:

file:///Users/greysatterfield/Downloads/TiVo-NowPlaying.xhtml

Do you have any further suggestions?

Thanks again.

Obviously you don't get it. But, oh, wait, you do know you "rarely approach 50% capacity". But how would you know this if knowing disk usage wasn't needed?

Having a % used indicator is just blatantly useful. It's common sense. Some people apparently just like arguing absurd points just to hear themselves speak.I disagree as well, and I don't have external storage attached to my Series3. (I just watch recordings drift to the bottom of the Now Playing list and watch them--or mark them "Keep Until"--if I really care about them). Your car gas-gauge analogy is pretty inept, since a car without a gas-gauge would inevitably land its owner stranded with a disabled vehicle, a very bad and potentially life threatening situation. TiVo will continue to work if you over-commit its disk-space. You may lose some recordings if you skate at the ragged edge, but TiVo never stops working or being useful after you've filled its HDD.

TiVo has never had a storage meter and yet remains fairly popular among gadget freaks--there are people out there who own four or five of them. TiVo's aware that some small percentage of customers would like a disk meter and has determined that the demand for one isn't great enough that adding it would increase user satisfaction much nor sell any more units. They may get around to adding it someday, but there's no hurry. An automobile without a gas-gauge (if such a thing were even legal) would never sell, no matter how cool it might otherwise be.

Obviously you don't get it. But, oh, wait, you do know you "rarely approach 50% capacity". But how would you know this if knowing disk usage wasn't needed?

Obviously you're just being obtuse. Look at the Deleted Items folder as a rough estimate. As that number decreases, so does available disk space.
When I need a more specific number pertaining to disk use, I fire up the AJAX script we've been discussing over the past few days.

Having a % used indicator is just blatantly useful. It's common sense. Some people apparently just like arguing absurd points just to hear themselves speak.

Yourself included.

I would much rather see a solution for SDV before a space indicator. Just my 2 cents.

Yes, definitely. I don't think there is anything that comes close to the importance of having a resolution to the SDV situation.

I would much rather see a solution for SDV before a space indicator. Just my 2 cents.

Totally agree. SDV is going to be key for the cable operators (and their customers), so we might as well be prepared for all that entails.

I would much rather see a solution for SDV before a space indicator. Just my 2 cents.

Absolutely, but at least we know it's in the works. Hopefully.:)

In my area TW is attempting to get everyone on the same lineup for TW NEO. While they have had some success in their own previous area, the acquired areas of former Comcast and Adelphia seems to have hit a big snag. They sent a letter to us saying this will happen around the start of April.

Why do I mention this? Well, it's just another reason that SDV won't hit my area as quick as some others do. Adelphia never unified it's channel line up when it bought out the mom and pop cable companies and this seems to have put TW in a huge bind.

As far as I'm concerned it's just that much longer I don't have to deal with SDV and hopefully by the time the USB is developed SDV still will not have arrived here.

I would much rather see a solution for SDV before a space indicator. Just my 2 cents.For those who haven't been keeping track of this issue by monitoring the SDV FAQ (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=357703) thread at TCF (which admittedly can be painful to monitor, since it occasionally devolves into bickering over esoteric side-issues by two or three of the more contentious participants :rolleyes:), there've been a few very significant recent press-releases on SDV.

First, there was a press-release by CableLabs (http://www.opencable.com/downloads/oc_interop_0408.pdf) announcing their interoperability testing event back near the beginning of April. Since then, there was this bit about progress on Motorola's Tuning Adapter (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/04/21/motorolas-mtr700-tuning-resolver-edges-closer-to-release). All that was encouraging, but since by far the greatest deployment of SDV has been by TWC, whose systems primarily use Cisco/Scientific Atlanta networks that the Moto device won't work on, the most exciting thing is this recent bit of press (http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=152093), which gives the first ever information about Cisco/S-A's upcoming Tuning Adapter with official quotes from Cisco/S-A management. Prior to that last release there were a ton of people at TCF who fretted that Cisco/S-A must be far from having a TA ready, since they hadn't announced anything about it to the press.

Absolutely, but at least we know it's in the works. Hopefully.:)
Yes, I agree there is a much greater need for SDV than there is for a space available indicator. My problem with TiVo's stubborn refusal to include such an indicator, though, has been the knowledge that the information is already there but TiVo, for its own reasons, insists on concealing the information. I really wish I knew what TiVo's thinking was that led to this, to me at least, inexcusable failure. As you and others have accurately observed, it’s obviously not a deal breaker for most folks. Nevertheless, it’s REALLY dumb.

I don't remember if I mentioned it in this thread or not, but I believe I know the answer to that, gwsat: I believe that any implementation of a space available indicator would cause the incurring of more support costs than it would be worth. Different implementation will require different sets of compromises, with regard to the functionality delivered. Don't underestimate the extent to which customers will be dissatisfied with any selection TiVo would make, each one more dissatisfying (read: costly to support) than the status quo.

So technically, it would be very smart to not offer a free space indicator until such time as they can offer an implementation that customers won't bitch about. :)

Yes, I agree there is a much greater need for SDV than there is for a space available indicator. My problem with TiVo's stubborn refusal to include such an indicator, though, has been the knowledge that the information is already there but TiVo, for its own reasons, insists on concealing the information. I really wish I knew what TiVo's thinking was that led to this, to me at least, inexcusable failure. As you and others have accurately observed, it’s obviously not a deal breaker for most folks. Nevertheless, it’s REALLY dumb.I quoted one of TiVo's main public mouthpieces, Bob Poniatowski, stating what TiVo's reasons for not having implemented this are, back in this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13747588#post13747588) post (I'd encourage people to follow the link in that post to read Poniatowski's entire statement). In short, it's on the far end of a long list of new features and bug fixes. They're aware that some people want it, and maybe some day they'll do it, but they know that adding it won't sell any new units and they think that not enough people care strongly about it that adding it will significantly increase overall customer satisfaction with the product, so the priority for adding it is very low.

For those who haven't been keeping track of this issue by monitoring the SDV FAQ (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=357703) thread at TCF (which admittedly can be painful to monitor, since it occasionally devolves into bickering over esoteric side-issues by two or three of the more contentious participants :rolleyes:), there've been a few very significant recent press-releases on SDV.

First, there was a press-release by CableLabs (http://www.opencable.com/downloads/oc_interop_0408.pdf) announcing their interoperability testing event back near the beginning of April. Since then, there was this bit about progress on Motorola's Tuning Adapter (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/04/21/motorolas-mtr700-tuning-resolver-edges-closer-to-release). All that was encouraging, but since by far the greatest deployment of SDV has been by TWC, who primarily uses Cisco/Scientific Atlanta networks that the Moto device won't work on, the most exciting thing is this recent bit of press (http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=152093), which gives the first ever information about Cisco/S-A's upcoming Tuning Adapter with official quotes from Cisco/S-A management. Prior to that last release there were a ton of people at TCF who fretted that Cisco/S-A must be far from having a TA ready, since they hadn't sad anything about it to the press.Thank you for the SDV FAQ link. It answered my questions. Glad I have FiOS.

Obviously you don't get it. But, oh, wait, you do know you "rarely approach 50% capacity". But how would you know this if knowing disk usage wasn't needed?

Having a % used indicator is just blatantly useful. It's common sense. Some people apparently just like arguing absurd points just to hear themselves speak.


Common sense says I don't need a space indicator. I've never needed one before, so why would I need one now. The way the TiVo software is setup, you don't need one. And the several people I know that use a TiVo have never needed one either. The people who say that need one are by far the minority. So why would TiVo worry about a feature that only a very small number of users ask for. Common sense says add features that the majority of people might want.

Common sense says I don't need a space indicator. Common sense says add features that the majority of people might want.


I deleted the bit about a "small number of people," but from what I've seen it's been asked for alot.

My point is it isn't needed because you can use the web app.

And the reason I quoted your common sense statements are to reiterate to the cry babies that truly is the reason why TiVo doesn't have one.

Hey, My SA 8300 had one. I liked it. But the app on the web does exactly the same thing.

What my SA 8300 didn't do was work properly. You know the common sense things like actually record an entire program when it was scheduled or even record a scheduled program period. That to me was far more important then the space indicator.

My point is it isn't needed because you can use the web app.And TiVo doesn't have to support the web app; it's a win-win.

Tivo Series 3, 9.3 update problems. On the Tivo Community forum, there are many recent posts regarding freeze and stuttering problems, etc, with the 9.3 Tivo update. Has anyone here experienced these? It doesn't appear to be related to HDMI or component connection, just a software incompatiblity issue. Comments?

Thank you for the SDV FAQ link. It answered my questions. Glad I have FiOS.I know this doesn't help current TiVo owners, but the newest "soup de jour" interactive technology is tru2way (http://www.tru2way.com/).

These days I view any interactive non-CATV provided STB solution with a great degree of skepticism. :rolleyes:

Tivo Series 3, 9.3 update problems. On the Tivo Community forum, there are many recent posts regarding freeze and stuttering problems, etc, with the 9.3 Tivo update. Has anyone here experienced these? It doesn't appear to be related to HDMI or component connection, just a software incompatiblity issue. Comments?

No, I haven't had any problems but then again I rarely do. Just for fun take a look at previous thread of some of these people complaining. Do they complain all the time? Also are you experiencing this problem or did you just come around here to keep us in tune with the latest complaint in the TiVo Forum?

My purpose in posting the freeze problem on Series 3 Tivo was to help forum members. Your less than civil post is not in the keeping with the AVS forum tradition.

My purpose in posting the freeze problem on Series 3 Tivo was to help forum members. Your less than civil post is not in the keeping with the AVS forum tradition.

I, for one, appreciate the info....thank you. As far as AVS forum tradition goes, civility checked out some time ago in several areas of the forum, I'm afraid...


Randy

I know this doesn't help current TiVo owners, but the newest "soup de jour" interactive technology is tru2way (http://www.tru2way.com/).

These days I view any interactive non-CATV provided STB solution with a great degree of skepticism. :rolleyes:Unlike SDV, <tru2way> doesn't threaten to reduce the usefulness of TiVo. It's just a package label for bidirectional-CableCARD-Host+M-Card+OCAP, which, in combination, provide a way for the cable companies to download their IPG software (and other stuff) into compliant equipment and have it run there without a leased STB.

For the last couple of years, TWC and Samsung have been demonstrating a prototype television running the OCAP version of TWC's Digital Navigator without any STB involved. You get the whole shebang, with access to anything that you can get with a leased box, including Impulse Pay-Per-View and Video On Demand content. In fact, the new leased boxes operate by running the OCAP version of the provider's IPG; using the IPG running on a <tru2way>-compliant television should be indistinguishable from using the IPG on a leased STB. (My housemate has an SA Explorer 4250 in his room running TWC's horrible OCAP Digital Navigator). <tru2way> compliant equipment is scheduled to hit the market in the Spring or Fall of this year.

Supposedly TiVo has worked out a deal with CableLabs so that they can develop a <tru2way> compliant model which will run in two modes. In the first mode, it will have no access to OCAP apps except SDV tuning, and will run the traditional TiVo GUI. In the second mode, it will be run the cable company's GUI, with no access to DVR functionality like recording or live buffer trick-play. Since it can download and run OCAP code implementing the SDV protocols, it won't need a Tuning Adapter on networks using SDV like current model TiVos. Since it will be able to run the cable provider's IPG, you'll be able to use it to view IPPV and VOD content, though you won't be able to record it.

Again, <tru2way> isn't going to affect the operation of current model TiVos, or exclude us from access to any new linear video services, as the cable providers use of SDV does (until we get the Tuning Adapter :)).

Supposedly TiVo has worked out a deal with CableLabs so that they can develop a <tru2way> compliant model which will run in two modes. In the first mode, it will have no access to OCAP apps except SDV tuning, and will run the traditional TiVo GUI. In the second mode, it will be run the cable company's GUI, with no access to DVR functionality like recording or live buffer trick-play. Since it can download and run OCAP code implementing the SDV protocols, it won't need a Tuning Adapter on networks using SDV like current model TiVos.So does this mean the subscriber is likely to have to pay (more) for DVR/IPG related services from two different providers (a.k.a. TiVo & Cable)?

So does this mean the subscriber is likely to have to pay (more) for DVR/IPG related services from two different providers (a.k.a. TiVo & Cable)?Possibly. There used to be a $2/month "Guide Service Fee" on my TWC San Diego bill, which went away when they came out with all their bundled pricing. If so, you'll have to pay for a single M-Card and "Guide Service". Maybe "Guide Service" will be optional, and you'll only have to pay for it if you want access to IPPV and VOD.

Supposedly TiVo has worked out a deal with CableLabs so that they can develop a <tru2way> compliant model which will run in two modes. In the first mode, it will have no access to OCAP apps except SDV tuning, and will run the traditional TiVo GUI. In the second mode, it will be run the cable company's GUI, with no access to DVR functionality like recording or live buffer trick-play. Since it can download and run OCAP code implementing the SDV protocols, it won't need a Tuning Adapter on networks using SDV like current model TiVos. Since it will be able to run the cable provider's IPG, you'll be able to use it to view IPPV and VOD content, though you won't be able to record it.

What would the incentive be for TiVo to go with Mode #2 ?
It essentially turns their box into a glorified set top box, no ?
Were they only allowed access to Mode #1 by CableLabs if they offered Mode #2 ?

After being subjected to SA's execrable SARA software, and Moto's barely usable iGuide software, there's no way in hell I'd by a TiVo box only to run it in Mode #2 and have the cableco push down their crap-ware into my box. Completely defeats the purpose of buying the TiVo, which is to provide a superior feature set. The only thing that changes is that I would own the box, rather than having to rent it from the cableco.

What would the incentive be for TiVo to go with Mode #2 ?
It essentially turns their box into a glorified set top box, no ?
Were they only allowed access to Mode #1 by CableLabs if they offered Mode #2 ?It's very possible that it's designed to get CableLab's approval. Remember, though CableLabs is supposed to be a independent entity, it jointly belongs to the cable providers and is pro cable industry.

"Mode 2" gives TiVo users access to interactive services offered by the cable companies that many TiVo subs would like to have (in particularly, access to IPPV and VOD content--I personally think that VOD will become more and more prevalent going forward). In the future, the cable companies promise that they'll be adding all sorts of interactive services (though its hard to imagine exactly what); you'll get access to that as well.

Perhaps TiVo will continue to offer non-<tru2way>-compliant products that you'll have to obtain Tuning Adapters for, but the cable companies aren't going to give them built-in access to SDV without <tru2way>, and <tru2way> compliance is likely to always require that a product be capable of running cable provider IPGs. If you don't care about interactive cable services, you probably never have to switch to "Mode 2".

I deleted the bit about a "small number of people," but from what I've seen it's been asked for alot.

My point is it isn't needed because you can use the web app.

And the reason I quoted your common sense statements are to reiterate to the cry babies that truly is the reason why TiVo doesn't have one.

Hey, My SA 8300 had one. I liked it. But the app on the web does exactly the same thing.

What my SA 8300 didn't do was work properly. You know the common sense things like actually record an entire program when it was scheduled or even record a scheduled program period. That to me was far more important then the space indicator.

Very few people will argue that the SA8300 is anything but junk (actually the hardware seems fine, it's the software that's garbage). That doesn't excuse leaving out a simple but useful feature. If all that matters is that "its better than an 8300" then you've set the bar pretty low.

Very few people will argue that the SA8300 is anything but junk (actually the hardware seems fine, it's the software that's garbage). That doesn't excuse leaving out a simple but useful feature. If all that matters is that "its better than an 8300" then you've set the bar pretty low.

No offense Jay but if you don't understand that we don't need the guide data then either you're very argumentive, or you're very thick. The web app covers it. End of story.

Obviously you're just being obtuse. Look at the Deleted Items folder as a rough estimate. As that number decreases, so does available disk space.
When I need a more specific number pertaining to disk use, I fire up the AJAX script we've been discussing over the past few days.


Hmm, so you need to know how much disk space is used. Thanks for proving my point. And to think, they could add this simple feature and eliminate the need for the entire hassle. Feel free to keep trying to justify this nonsense, I'm sure you will. Here's a hint, you'll be ignored.

Tivo Series 3, 9.3 update problems. On the Tivo Community forum, there are many recent posts regarding freeze and stuttering problems, etc, with the 9.3 Tivo update. Has anyone here experienced these? It doesn't appear to be related to HDMI or component connection, just a software incompatiblity issue. Comments?Yes, I have it. Maybe once every other day. Only lasts a second or two.

Tivo Series 3, 9.3 update problems. On the Tivo Community forum, there are many recent posts regarding freeze and stuttering problems, etc, with the 9.3 Tivo update. Has anyone here experienced these? It doesn't appear to be related to HDMI or component connection, just a software incompatiblity issue. Comments?

I haven't seen the freezing/stuttering since the update, but am seeing something else. I can easily get my S3 into a state where the video drops out and becomes "colored snow". Think of an analog TV tuned to an unused channel, and you'd be close to what I'm seeing. There are quite a few similar reports popping up on TCF. I've opened up a trouble ticket with TiVo, so they're somewhat aware of the problem.

It's likely an HDMI handshake issue, possibly tied to the use of HDMI->DVI cables.

I can get into this state by deleting a video that I'd transferred to my S3 via pyTivo. Watching the video is 100% fine. It's when I delete the video that this problem occurs. It's very reproducable.

When I get into this state, navigating the TiVo menus generates the TiVo sounds, but the video remains snowy. Only by going to LiveTV and changing the channels between 720p and 1080i sources can I resolve the problem. After that, things are fine.

Hmm, so you need to know how much disk space is used. Thanks for proving my point. And to think, they could add this simple feature and eliminate the need for the entire hassle. Feel free to keep trying to justify this nonsense, I'm sure you will. Here's a hint, you'll be ignored.

You can keep on tilting at windmills, and keep bitching about your precious Free Space Indicator, but doing so won't make it happen. TiVo hasn't put it in for nine years, and it's likely to never happen. You think they're gonna read your posts and say "Holy Crap! Jay needs an FSI! Get our engineers on that, stat!!!" Not gonna happen.

Oh yeah, welcome to my Ignore List. Enjoy your stay.

I believe you can plug in a My Expander hard drive and get a lot more capacity.

Guys,

I noticed a few posts about some recent "freezing" issues possibly linked to the new update.

Well, I went to watch some recorded shows yesterday and the audio was coming thru but the video was a no show. Interestingly, the timeline bar on the bottom of the screen would show itself but no actual program video.

Before freaking out I did a system restart and it cleared the problem up in a jiff...

I wouldn't call it typical, but I do notice that some software updates tend to do best with a restart in order to fully implement...

Enjoy.

BG

As a point of reference My Series 3 is connected via HDMI thru a Denon received to a 1080i Panny 50" Plasma.

Guys...

This rediculous to battle over the hard drive % is getting a little old. Can't we just agree that this extra piece of data would be useful (at least for some).

If you want something REAL to lobby for, I propose the ability to hand organize shows into folders (via the Web interface for example). This would be a highly useful feature.

I have many personal home videos uploaded into the tivo and they are all scattered across the saved program list. Another example are high def and low def kung fu movies. I would love two seperate folders to save these programs, but again they are scattered across the list.

I have a 1tb drive in this puppy so the list is REALLY LONG.

My 2 cents.

BG

For what it's worth one of our respected members of this thread pm'd me last night saying that this appears to be a real issue. I don't know why he didn't post hiimself, perhaps he wants to stay out of controversy.

I myself wouldn't be able to tell you if there is an issue or not as there have been so many broadcast issues of late in my area, reported by people watching OTA if there are any issues.

Having said that could it be possible that this issue may be originating from the networks themselves?

Of course if you're observing this on channels like "mojo" or "hdnet" I have in the past seen some issues with sound drop offs but not lately. However I don't watch those channels that often. Last thing I watched was a Counting Crows concert on HDnet and it looked and sounded fine.

Guys...

This rediculous to battle over the hard drive % is getting a little old. Can't we just agree that this extra piece of data would be useful (at least for some).

If you want something REAL to lobby for, I propose the ability to hand organize shows into folders (via the Web interface for example). This would be a highly useful feature.

I have many personal home videos uploaded into the tivo and they are all scattered across the saved program list. Another example are high def and low def kung fu movies. I would love two seperate folders to save these programs, but again they are scattered across the list.

I have a 1tb drive in this puppy so the list is REALLY LONG.

My 2 cents.

BG


Point 1. Yes lets stop the meter issue. I think it did stopped but you posted about it again bringing it up, just like I have.:o

Point 2. You want categorized programing on your computer. Good idea, maybe someday they will do that. In the meantime you can click on the top and at least arrange by date or alphabetically.

So far I've had zero problems with 9.3 and my four TiVoHD boxes and three Series3(OLED screen) boxes. 9.3 has been flawless for me so far. Everything is more responsive. I couldn't go back to how it used to be. It is such a huge improvement from before.
For the TiVo Desktop I have 3.75TB of storage for my TiVo Desktop Plus software. Any shows I want to keep I just transfer to my dedicated PC running TiVo Dsktop. Then if I want to watch it on one of the TiVos later, I can just transfer it and watch it since it transfers the HD content in faster than realtime to the TiVos.

I had some skips again last night, watching Shark. Maybe a dozen skips over the course of the hour.

I record Shark OTA, so it isn't cable.

If you want something REAL to lobby for, I propose the ability to hand organize shows into folders (via the Web interface for example). This would be a highly useful feature.

I have many personal home videos uploaded into the tivo and they are all scattered across the saved program list. Another example are high def and low def kung fu movies. I would love two seperate folders to save these programs, but again they are scattered across the list.


You can already do this with pyTivo, to some extent. TiVo groups videos based upon a piece of metadata called "seriesId". Essentially, this is a 2 character and 7 digit (i.e. "SH0123456") unique identifier for a particular series or set of shows. pyTivo allows you to provide customized metadata (including many fields such as seriesId, program description, list of actors, etc) that will be used by your Tivo for files transferred to it. Really slick stuff.

For files that reside on your PC, all you have to do is create a metadata file for files you'd like to transfer (and optionally group) to your TiVo. Then, transfer the files from your PC to your TiVo via pyTivo. Done.

For files that reside on your TiVo, you'd have to pull 'em to your PC first via TivoToGo. Then you could follow the above procedure to have them grouped as you wish.

Guys,

I noticed a few posts about some recent "freezing" issues possibly linked to the new update.

Well, I went to watch some recorded shows yesterday and the audio was coming thru but the video was a no show. Interestingly, the timeline bar on the bottom of the screen would show itself but no actual program video.

Before freaking out I did a system restart and it cleared the problem up in a jiff...

I wouldn't call it typical, but I do notice that some software updates tend to do best with a restart in order to fully implement...

Enjoy.

BG

As a point of reference My Series 3 is connected via HDMI thru a Denon received to a 1080i Panny 50" Plasma.

Wonder if it's not the "all video vanishes" bug discussed here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=365824). Menus and such still work, but no menu animation, live or recorded TV. The fix was supposed to be included in 9.3 however.

This could be fun....

Remember that Crestron/Tivo announcement when the S3 was announced ? Well, it's been reverse engineered. You can telnet to your box and control it completely. Just about everything you could do with your remote you can do with a telnet command. Pretty neat stuff.

Zatz Not Funny video demo : HERE (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2008-05/network-remote-control-of-tivo-iphone/)

TCF discussion thread : HERE (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6238862#post6238862)

Tivo Series 3, 9.3 update problems. On the Tivo Community forum, there are many recent posts regarding freeze and stuttering problems, etc, with the 9.3 Tivo update. Has anyone here experienced these? It doesn't appear to be related to HDMI or component connection, just a software incompatiblity issue. Comments?
Last week I had my first video freeze issue with my TiVo HD, All recorded and live content would freeze after a second or two of playback. I waited until the current show finished recording at the top of the hour and rebooted the Tivo, and then it returned to normal working order. The shows that were recording while playback was freezing had recorded properly. Then it happened again today, I have just rebooted TiVo again to restore my playback functionality. I'll be calling customer support tomorrow. Looking at my system info I have Software version 9.3a-01-2-652.

Funny enough I called Customer service earlier today to see if I could upgrade my subscription to lifetime, but they said no, that I could not until I finished out my three year subscription... Even though I had asked for a Lifetime subscription when I purchased my TiVoHD from tivo.com back in July 2007. It kind of made me go sour on TiVo. My old ReplayTV 4508 lifetime subscription is still working fine (yes I know Feb 2009 it will quit recording OTA). I do miss my auto commercial skip on my Tivo...

Last week I had my first video freeze issue with my TiVo HD, All recorded and live content would freeze after a second or two of playback. I waited until the current show finished recording at the top of the hour and rebooted the Tivo, and then it returned to normal working order. The shows that were recording while playback was freezing had recorded properly. Then it happened again today, I have just rebooted TiVo again to restore my playback functionality. I'll be calling customer support tomorrow. Looking at my system info I have Software version 9.3a-01-2-652.

Funny enough I called Customer service earlier today to see if I could upgrade my subscription to lifetime, but they said no, that I could not until I finished out my three year subscription... Even though I had asked for a Lifetime subscription when I purchased my TiVoHD from tivo.com back in July 2007. It kind of made me go sour on TiVo. My old ReplayTV 4508 lifetime subscription is still working fine (yes I know Feb 2009 it will quit recording OTA). I do miss my auto commercial skip on my Tivo...LIFETIME TiVo subscriptions can sometimes be transferred between boxes. I did that with mine (old box to new one). I had to call back at a later date for some legal reason, but it worked and it was cheaper than a new subscription.

I do miss my auto commercial skip on my Tivo...You do realize that auto commercial skip was the main contributing factor in the downfall of SonicBlue, the company that owned ReplayTV when they added that feature. All of the major networks ganged up on them with a suit to force them to remove it and they lost a ton of money trying to fight that suit--that loss was big part of what forced them into receivership (at one point they were openly begging the public to contribute to their defense fund). The company that bought ReplayTV promptly removed the feature, wisely electing not to take up that fight. Now Replay belongs to DirecTV, whom I'm sure has no intention of restoring that feature :).

TiVo's tact has been to try to work with the networks and advertisers, giving them new ways of bringing ads to DVR users, since they know that TiVo users will timeshift a lot of the television that they watch and use fast-forward to ignore the interstitial ads. TiVo carefully avoids doing anything to overtly help people skip ads, though. They've never even added a 30-second-skip to the documented features (though knowledgeable users can enable one with a backdoor hack).

...The company that bought ReplayTV promptly removed the feature, wisely electing not to take up that fight. Now Replay belongs to DirecTV, whom I'm sure has no intention of restoring that feature :).


Hmm... maybe this is why the DirecTV HR20 has that 30 second 'slide'. Even though you want to skip the commercial, you still sort of see it anyway.

Hmm... maybe this is why the DirecTV HR20 has that 30 second 'slide'. Even though you want to skip the commercial, you still sort of see it anyway.That must be a DirecTV innovation. The company who bought Replay after SONICBlue collapsed was the holding company that owns Denon, and though they removed the auto commercial skip feature, they left the true 30-second skip in.

"Auto commercial skip" was a mode in which the DVR would sense the start and end of ads and would play recordings while automatically removing them. It was supposed 90+% accurate, though it would fail to detect the occasional ad. Advertisers aren't crazy about people FF'ing through ads, but when you do that you have to watch the ads whiz by, with a chance that something will catch your eye such that you'll go back and check it out. With auto commercial skip, you wouldn't even know that the ads were there. I assume that the "30-second-slide" that you're talking about is a one-press command to advance 30 seconds at the highest FF speed, which would still be useful while exposing the user to glimpses of images from the ads; a clever compromise.

Hmm... maybe this is why the DirecTV HR20 has that 30 second 'slide'. Even though you want to skip the commercial, you still sort of see it anyway.

A few months ago DirecTV released a FW that enables a TiVo-style "skip" function. You can set the box to use either. I use the skip. It does it without the progress bar being on the screen as well. I hated that slip thing.

I just happened to notice that my S3 was outputting at 480p today as I flipped inputs on my TV (the TV display showed the current input resolution).

I am wondering if this was caused by the 9.3 software update I got a couple weeks back.

Just thought I would share this in case any one didn't notice that they weren't watching HD anymore.

It took me a bit to find this post but I think that I took a shot at spiff72 on this. If I did, I apologize.

I just got a new HDTV 37" LG and when I went to see what was going to work best, native, 720p hybrid, etc I saw that it was on 480p! I had it set on Native previously.

So this must have happened after the 9.3 upgrade. However I'm pretty sure that I was viewing HD programing because my Sony Wega would automatically see the signal and adjust it appropriately. Never the less it did appear to do this on one of my TiVos, the S3.

Also the Sony Wega would not allow an aspect change while it's receiving an HD signal. I don't think there is a "480p hybrid", that wouldn't make sense. Still I'm quite sure I was watching HD.

Now when I turned on my new 37" LG 37LG30 it knocked my socks off so perhaps I was indeed looking at 480p for a couple of weeks. That would explain also the fact that the network logos were cutting off further because it would have been on wide screen, not 16:9.

Any way I wanted to just state that it happend to me as well. So take a look at your view settings.

tivo.com has "factory renewed" (refurbed?) series3 boxes on sale for ~$450 right now: anyone have any feedback regarding the quality of the refurb boxes? looks like a great deal (greater as my verizon moto box is about to get tossed out the window!)

thanks

tivo.com has "factory renewed" (refurbed?) series3 boxes on sale for ~$450 right now: anyone have any feedback regarding the quality of the refurb boxes? looks like a great deal (greater as my verizon moto box is about to get tossed out the window!)

thanks

I think a refurb box is just as good as a new one. Maybe even better because when a box comes back they check it pretty throughly probably more then a new one.

Of course there are others who will disagree. Over at the TiVo Community Cry Baby's Forum I frequently saw members who were "outraged" that their new defective box was being replaced by a refurb.

It took me a bit to find this post but I think that I took a shot at spiff72 on this. If I did, I apologize.


Told you so! :p

No worries, hook.

Our son, though, could actually change the setting now (he is two weeks old).

http://www.spiffspace.com/blog/2008/05/introducing-evan-connor.html

tivo.com has "factory renewed" (refurbed?) series3 boxes on sale for ~$450 right now: anyone have any feedback regarding the quality of the refurb boxes? looks like a great deal (greater as my verizon moto box is about to get tossed out the window!)

thanksI have one and it has worked great. Do it! :)

You know it's gotten real bad over there as far as people insulting each other, complaining about everything in the world, etc. But there is something else that goes on around there too.

Beware of a guy by the name of Sooka. He comes in here from time to time. His business? He wants to see if I'm sneaking into the TCF and if I do he gathers evidence and gives it to the mods.

Now I don't know what I did to this guy but I think he uses several identities because there was someone else just like him who had a total of 3 comments and they were all negative towards me.

This dude is a stalker. And I'll bet I'm not the only one he goes after. He see's himself as the cleanup person over there. He's pretty spineless, rarely post and in fact he may even be a moderator.

Now of course I don't go into the TiVo Forum because I was kicked out after I had been on their radar for a while. This is one of the people who would gather evidence and report it to the mods. So if I said the least little wise crack he would turn that in.

Now why am I telling you guys this? I know he will read this and he won't be happy about what I've said about him and to let you know about this creep. And the second is I am hoping that some of you will actually send him a pm and tell him that hookbill sends his regards.

You can also tell him that no matter what he does if I want to I'll go in the TiVo Forum whenever I please. Of course I don't, you know because of the fact that I got kicked.;) And I have no intentions of going over there. I just can't stand a little snake in the grass that has a grand total of 8 post who's main purpose is to see what I'm writing so he can catch me if I were to go into the TiVo Forum

So Sooka, you are a jerk and there is that old saying about Karma. You will get what you deserve. Truly.

Funny you mention about forum "police". Just the other day I expressed an opinion, much less scathing than yours, and immediately received a "warning" from this AVS forum (first in my life) and the posting was removed.

There are thin-skinned jerks all over -- some even here. Just have to live with it I guess.

Funny you mention about forum "police". Just the other day I expressed an opinion, much less scathing than yours, and immediately received a "warning" from this AVS forum (first in my life) and the posting was removed.

There are thin-skinned jerks all over -- some even here. Just have to live with it I guess.

Yeah, I still don't know what I got the second warning for. But I figured they were out to get me so I told them to kick me.

Is anyone else having trouble with their guide?

My guide freezes at channel 409, as if it were a stop sign.
I can scan grid until it shows up, but if I'm going up, it stops when 409 is on screen, and likewise if I'm scrolling down, it also will not go down past 409.

Additionally, the program grid won't give me any program info for channels 402-409 in grid view. - the left side is empty. If I manually enter a channel, the info shows up, but only for that channel. Channel up or down gets no info present.

Lastly, if I remove channel 409 from my channel list, everything works correctly.

I have Time Warner in So Cal, if it matters.

I'm wondering if this could be due to the new software. My S3 is running software 9.3a


FCD

Is anyone else having trouble with their guide?

My guide freezes at channel 409, as if it were a stop sign.
I can scan grid until it shows up, but if I'm going up, it stops when 409 is on screen, and likewise if I'm scrolling down, it also will not go down past 409.

Additionally, the program grid won't give me any program info for channels 402-409 in grid view. - the left side is empty. If I manually enter a channel, the info shows up, but only for that channel. Channel up or down gets no info present.

Lastly, if I remove channel 409 from my channel list, everything works correctly.

I have Time Warner in So Cal, if it matters.

I'm wondering if this could be due to the new software. My S3 is running software 9.3a


FCD


My guess is you probably getting a little data problem with that channel and it's hanging. I would think that because you're not having any problems when you delete that channel.

I played around a little more,
and after re-booting the system, everything is back to normal.

FCD

On my TiVo HD I have a WD eSATA 500gb hard drive. It seems like if you breath on this thing it causes TiVo to reboot. I get a message saying basically that the eSATA is not connected and it needs to be connected or click here to continue without eSATA. Which means I lose what I recorded.

So I unplug the TiVo as it suggests and restart. Now I recently decided to go back from component to cable because for some reason my TV and TiVo are having communication problems there as well. If I happen to be on an analog or digital non hd channel it looks OK but when I go to TiVo Central or select a digital channel it looks weird. Colors are strange. Now if I go back to an non HD channel then back to HD it will usually be OK. If I wait a minute or so.

I decided that the HDMI-DVI was less hassel because all I have to do is turn my tv on and off and everything is fine if I switch from HD to analog or vice versa. But rebooting is another issue. I have to unplug the eSATA and replug it back in, wait 15 seconds then plug the TiVo back in. Right when it connects with the eSATA I get the snow screen but I hear the muic in the background so I turn my TV off and on again and everything is fine.

So it's a big hassle. Wife decided to dust up there and as soon as she told me that I went up stairs and sure enough there was the message.

I'm wondering if this is either the Western Digital Box or a bad eSATA connector.

Maybe I should contact TiVo since it is a "supported device" and it's causing problems.

When I had my cable STB only on this HDTV, no problems at all. Strange.

You're using the actual supported 500GB "My DVR Expander" model (WDG1S5000)? WD has other eSATA models, like the 500GB "My Book Home Edition" and "My Book Studio Edition".

On my TiVo HD I have a WD eSATA 500gb hard drive. It seems like if you breath on this thing it causes TiVo to reboot. I get a message saying basically that the eSATA is not connected and it needs to be connected or click here to continue without eSATA. Which means I lose what I recorded.

So I unplug the TiVo as it suggests and restart. Now I recently decided to go back from component to cable because for some reason my TV and TiVo are having communication problems there as well. If I happen to be on an analog or digital non hd channel it looks OK but when I go to TiVo Central or select a digital channel it looks weird. Colors are strange. Now if I go back to an non HD channel then back to HD it will usually be OK. If I wait a minute or so.

I decided that the HDMI-DVI was less hassel because all I have to do is turn my tv on and off and everything is fine if I switch from HD to analog or vice versa. But rebooting is another issue. I have to unplug the eSATA and replug it back in, wait 15 seconds then plug the TiVo back in. Right when it connects with the eSATA I get the snow screen but I hear the muic in the background so I turn my TV off and on again and everything is fine.

So it's a big hassle. Wife decided to dust up there and as soon as she told me that I went up stairs and sure enough there was the message.

I'm wondering if this is either the Western Digital Box or a bad eSATA connector.

Maybe I should contact TiVo since it is a "supported device" and it's causing problems.

When I had my cable STB only on this HDTV, no problems at all. Strange.

My first reaction would be to try a new eSATA cable.

I had the same sort of problem with an Antec/Hitachi combo, did it about 4 times in a week, but hasn't done it since - been 3 weeks now.

Turned the case off/on and uplugged/plugged the eSATA cable each time and it fixed it.

My first reaction would be to try a new eSATA cable.Mine as well. And while I've read some reports of cats causing problems with the eSATA cable, I suppose dusting has the same effect.

You're using the actual supported 500GB "My DVR Expander" model (WDG1S5000)? WD has other eSATA models, like the 500GB "My Book Home Edition" and "My Book Studio Edition".

Yes, that's correct. My DVR Expander.

My first reaction would be to try a new eSATA cable.

Mine as well. And while I've read some reports of cats causing problems with the eSATA cable, I suppose dusting has the same effect.

Yes, I've got one on the way. I called a nice gentleman in a foreign country somewhere in the world and he said he will send me a new cable. I have a case # so hopefully it will actually happen.

As far as the cats go, you know they do go in their where I have that thing. But I've seen it happen just by me moving the TiVo network adapter a little bit. Just barely touched the cable.

I hope it's the cable, we will find out soon.

This is a timely topic for me, too, as I just recently lost my 750GB drive due to a bad cable. I was greeted by "External Storage Missing" three of four days in a row and just assumed that my external sata drive overheated and flat-out died. However, in retrospect, I wish I had thought of replacing the cable before I divorced my drive, as the bugger fired right back up after replacing the $5 cable. So in a fit of frustration, I more or less threw away 750GB worth of top-notch HD programming for no reason. No more Star Wars for me :(

So what have I learned? Always, ALWAYS, *ALWAYS* try another esata cable before giving up on your external storage and starting over.

Timely topic. Just picked up a WD 500GB My Book Home Edition. I understood that I don’t have to use the “official” WD with S3 and that it would be formatted just by plugging it in. I just connected it today and nada (Settings>Info>External Storage not enabled). Have rebooted the TiVo, unplugged and replugged the SATA cable (new), turned the drive on and off, but nothing works. Am I missing something obvious?

Timely topic. Just picked up a WD 500GB My Book Home Edition. I understood that I don’t have to use the “official” WD with S3 and that it would be formatted just by plugging it in. I just connected it today and nada (Settings>Info>External Storage not enabled). Have rebooted the TiVo, unplugged and replugged the SATA cable (new), turned the drive on and off, but nothing works. Am I missing something obvious?

Yes grashopper, indeed you have. You need the actual supported 500GB "My DVR Expander" model (WDG1S5000) or it aint gonna work.

You got the wrong eSATA.

Well, it won't work automatically with the S3 (and won't work at all with the HD).

Yes grashopper, indeed you have. You need the actual supported 500GB "My DVR Expander" model (WDG1S5000) or it aint gonna work.

You got the wrong eSATA.

OK. LOL!

Yes grashopper, indeed you have. You need the actual supported 500GB "My DVR Expander" model (WDG1S5000) or it aint gonna work.

You got the wrong eSATA.

OK. LOL!

Wait-- don't return it yet. That wasn't correct.

Just about any eSATA drive will work with your S3. It's only that newer HD Tivo model that requires the My DVR Expander.

The drives aren't plug-and-play, though. You need to enable it manually in the Settings menu. :) I think it's "Settings->xyz/CableCard/Devices->External Storage" or something like that.

Wait-- don't return it yet. That wasn't correct.

Just about any eSATA drive will work with your S3. It's only that newer HD Tivo model that requires the My DVR Expander.

The drives aren't plug-and-play, though. You need to enable it manually in the Settings menu. :) I think it's "Settings->xyz/CableCard/Devices->External Storage" or something like that.

Awww, crap I hate giving out wrong info. You're right I missed the part about the S3. However how it works now, I don't have a clue. I used that backdoor 62 or whatever the heck it was.:confused: Anyway that was then so Nathan is right. But you do have to have the correct eSATA cable.

When I called about the eSATA cable I gave the CSR the wrong model # and he told me that won't work with TiVo because of the cable. So even though it will work you have to make sure you have the right cable and that is the type that works with eSATA II.

Agreed. The cable is vitally important in my experience. I have a bucket like-new, useless sata and esata cables that I purchased without first doing my homework online. I thought that any SATA cable would do the trick and I paid the price for that mistake. Oops. eSATA II or bust. :)

Wait-- don't return it yet. That wasn't correct.

Just about any eSATA drive will work with your S3. It's only that newer HD Tivo model that requires the My DVR Expander.

The drives aren't plug-and-play, though. You need to enable it manually in the Settings menu. :) I think it's "Settings->xyz/CableCard/Devices->External Storage" or something like that.

I thought I remembered reading that other eSATA drives would work. I am taking this one back, as it's the worst HD I ever purchased (won’t boot my Mac when 3 other externals will) and it’s from CostCo, so the return is simple. I’m going to go for the DVR Expander. I know it will work and 500GB is enough for me.

Well that certainly makes things easier. :)

I wish I had gotten one of the simple black WD drives instead of the oddly shaped Seagate drive I have. I didn't really pay attention at the specs at the time and missed the fact it has a gigantic 5" orange light on at all times. It looks like a road flare illuminated behind the tv.

Has anyone experienced this problem, as of today I am no longer able to direct my tivo desktop plus v 2.6.1 to use a directory taht is mapped from another computer to my primary computer running vista ultimate. I can see the directory and when i drill down to select it the OK button remains grey'd out. This has worked since i have had tivo desktop and just start with this issue today.

Has anyone experienced this problem, as of today I am no longer able to direct my tivo desktop plus v 2.6.1 to use a directory taht is mapped from another computer to my primary computer running vista ultimate. I can see the directory and when i drill down to select it the OK button remains grey'd out. This has worked since i have had tivo desktop and just start with this issue today.

Uninstall and reinstall. That probably will fix it.

Well that certainly makes things easier. :)

I wish I had gotten one of the simple black WD drives instead of the oddly shaped Seagate drive I have. I didn't really pay attention at the specs at the time and missed the fact it has a gigantic 5" orange light on at all times. It looks like a road flare illuminated behind the tv.

Don’t know about the WD DVR Expander, but the Home Edition has a white light that’s like having a dozen night lights. If I kept it, I'd have to hide it behind the TV. That’s why I buy OWC Mercury Elite drives and enclosures-small unobtrusive blue light w/ no fan.

The DVR Expander has a very subtle double circle on the front. My audio system's lights are about 10 times brighter.

Don’t know about the WD DVR Expander, but the Home Edition has a white light that’s like having a dozen night lights. If I kept it, I'd have to hide it behind the TV. That’s why I buy OWC Mercury Elite drives and enclosures-small unobtrusive blue light w/ no fan.

On the day I found out the S3 would work with the eSATA by using quickstart 62 I ran out the door to a local high tech store and told the person what I wanted. Fortunately for me she actually listened and understood what I was after and she set me up with a Seagate and an enclosure.

It works fine but it is noisy.

On the day I found out the S3 would work with the eSATA by using quickstart 62 I ran out the door to a local high tech store and told the person what I wanted. Fortunately for me she actually listened and understood what I was after and she set me up with a Seagate and an enclosure.

It works fine but it is noisy.

What is quickstart 62?

What is quickstart 62?That's actually "Kickstart 62" and it's supposed to be gone in recent versions of TiVo firmware. You can find out more about what it was here (http://www.mfslive.org/kickstart62.htm).

BTW, the WD My DVR Expander was designed with this usage in mind--every other WD eSATA-capable drive is designed to be plugged into PCs, so things like fan noise and bright indicator lights were not an issue. There are other issues addressed in the Expander's design, like drive behaviour on power failure restart. Though TiVo Series3 will use any arbitrary eSATA drive (because people found out about Kickstart 62 and used it before real eSATA support was announced), not every drive is appropriate for the purpose. I briefly tried a Seagate drive that I'd originally used with an Explorer 8300HD and gave up after losing everything stored on it--its enclosure doesn't even automatically spin the drive back up for power-failure recovery. I may buy an enclosure that people have had good luck with and transplant that drive into it.

Well, I followed the instructions at
http://www.mfslive.org/tivos3_esata.htm
I get the “Powering Up” for 20 minutes, then still have no external drive seen. Someone’s telling me to just get the DVR Expander.

Well, I followed the instructions at
http://www.mfslive.org/tivos3_esata.htm
I get the “Powering Up” for 20 minutes, then still have no external drive seen. Someone’s telling me to just get the DVR Expander.If you're using a TiVo HD, there's not a lot of choice. Kickstart 62 was never active on TiVo HD (just the original Series3), so when they added eSATA drive support on TiVo HD they restricted it in software to only recognize the drives on their supported list, which so far consisted of a single product, the 500GB My DVR Expander. When they added official eSATA support, many TiVo Series3 owners had discovered the Kickstart 62 thing and were using a host of different drives, so they didn't restrict the Series3 the same way, though you will get a warning that the drive isn't supported if you use something other than the Expander. (Supposedly there's some kind of hack to get TiVo HDs to accept arbitrary eSATA drives, but I don't know the details. Google "TiVo-HD eSATA hack" or something like that--maybe you'll find something).

Certainly the path of least resistance is to simply buy the Expander :).

He actually has the S3, Mike.

He actually has the S3, Mike.Ah. Then something must be funky with the drive that he's using. Any arbitrary drive should be recongnized on power up by a TiVo Series3 running 9.2 and beyond.

Yes kickstart 62. I forgot what the heck it was. Sure was cool though.:)

Well, in another case of "how dumb I can really be," which sometimes is pretty bad I have been using my computer to transfer over all the daytime court shows that I want. You see I have this "HUGE" hard drive so I know I have all kinds of space and would never use it all.

Well when my wife bought this thing a few years back 250 GB was "huge" I guess but I didn't notice until yesterday when I was attempting to move several more of these shows that I was running out of disk space. I looked at my computers label for the first time in two years and saw the 250GB. The same amount my S3 has without eSATA! And my S3 has all kinds of room on it.

I also took a look at my TiVo HD and found out that somehow I've managed to use over half of my available space on that drive. I've recoded several movies and such in HD for "times when I will run out of things to watch."

I AM NEVER GOING TO RUN OUT OF THINGS TO WATCH!:eek: I work full time now and I'm lucky if I see 3 shows a night! I'm like the guy who stores useless stuff because he may need it sometimes and the next thing you know the garage is full, the car is parked outside and there is no room in the basement.

I was thinking about buying a Blu-Ray DVD player when it occurred to me that I don't have time to wath those either.

I'm a digital pack rat. Gotta go now. Need to throw out some stuff and do a little cleaning.;)

I hope this is the right place to ask, I am sorry if it is not. I am considering getting an HD Tivo, but is it possible to take files off of the Tivo and compress using like h.264 or divx? Can I put those files back on the Tivo and watch them? I know I can take the files off of the Tivo using the Tivo desktop or something, but other than that I am clueless. I am bothered by the lack of space available for HD programing on the Tivo and would love any way of expanding that other than spending another 200 bucks on specific external hard drive.

TiVo does have a feature called TTG, which ostensibly should allow you to pull a program off the TiVo onto a computer hard drive, and then later transfer it back to the TiVo for viewing.

Be forewarned, though, that the transfer back to the TiVo it doesn't work for me, for HD transfers. It fails about 1/3 of the way through, for every attempt.