[NTLUG:Discuss] [WAS: Video Card with Svideo] Tivo Question

[Paul Ingendorf]

In order to get the guide data etc it is mandatory to have the service for
each unit you own tied to its serial number.  The two options currently are
monthly at $12.95, yearly I forget the cost on, and lifetime at $250 non
transferable.  For people who have never used a Tivo before this may seem a
bit steep.  This goes double for those who are into open sourced software.
I can tell you from my experience thus far it is more than worth it.

Series 1 stand alone units that came with version 1.3 or lower of the tivo
software will always be allowed to act as a stand alone digital VCR.  Beyond
that revision they will only work with a subscription to the tivo service.

Hacking them enables countless areas of modifications with everything from
callerid, increasing capacity, scheduling recordings over the web, and other
items that generally aren't talked about in archived lists.  :-)

-----Original Message-----
From: discuss-bounces at ntlug.org [mailto:discuss-bounces at ntlug.org]On
Behalf Of Dan Carlson
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 10:26 AM
To: NTLUG Discussion List
Subject: Re: [NTLUG:Discuss] Video Card with Svideo


Did you buy two lifetime subscriptions for their service?  If I understand
correctly, their lifetime service agreement is tied to a particular unit by
its serial number or some other identifying information.  Get a different
unit, buy another subscription, right?  Is there a way around that, other
than hacking them?

I understand they can be hacked to operate similar to a normal vcr (i.e. no
service required), but it would be nice not to have to hack them just to
get that basic functionality.

Dan Carlson