Pioneer TiVo Owners Club [Text View] - Page 2

New Pioneer

02-02-2008, 09:24 PM

Robert,

Rather than copying an image from a working HDD I would like to get an image to copy to a new hard drive. What is the best place to get one? I tried the hard drive that was giving me the grey powering up screen in my working 810 and got the same results so it looks like the hard drive is the problem but I would prefer not to have to take the working drive out of the unit since we are using it to record every day. I have a new 320 MB PATA Maxtor drive I would like to set up for the other 810.

thanks,

rcobourn

02-04-2008, 09:02 AM

weaknees

02-05-2008, 07:21 PM

Well...
After sending my Tivo off to Weaknees for an upgrade and burner repair, it took a week (not unreasonable) and my unit came back severely scratched and banged up.
I have not yet connected everything, (because they also neglected to send the adapter I ordered), but I'm wondering... Is this how this place operates? I take care of my stuff. I don't bang the snot out of it. I paid A LOT for this repair. Has anyone else had issues with them in this way?

I just thought I'd comment on this situation:

We treat our customer's units VERY carefully when they are in our custody. We know how important TiVos are to people, and not only do we get repairs done quickly (the upgrade in this case was done within 1-2 days, if I recall, and took a few days in transit to get back to the customer), but we treat units well when they are here.

That is why we were shocked to hear about the damage to this customer's unit. When we got the unit back for inspection, it was clear that something had pierced the box and slammed into the lid, causing a dent that no human could have made (there was a hole in the box exactly where you'd expect it to be).

We offered to source a replacement lid from Pioneer and we offered to help pursue a claim with UPS, but the customer was not interested in waiting for either, so we shipped it back.

In fairness, there were other issues with this customer's order that WERE our fault, and we rectified those as soon as humanly possible.

However, the damage to the box was absolutely not our doing, and we think it is appropriate that the story is updated with the facts.

evilipoo

02-10-2008, 01:09 AM

At the risk of getting into a pissing contest—which is truly not my intention—here are the rest of the facts:

The adapter was sent as soon as I made Weaknees aware that it had not been included in my original shipment. Thank you. No apology was offered. Oh well.

I did accept Weaknees offer to ship my unit back to them so that they could make the extra space on this new drive available to me. They did do this. They did not offer to compensate me in any way for my inconvenience. (I paid for the premium upgrade which includes transferring all of my programming and it would have been nice if even a small discount would have been offered. I did have to wait for the adapter and send my unit back to them for service, after all). But I did finally get an apology, after asking for one.

I also accepted Weaknees theory of how the case got banged up. Though I will say that it does not matter how I turn the DVR in the box or what configuration the padding is in, the hole in the box does not line up with the gouge on the case. But I accepted that it will stay as it is because I wanted the unit back and it does not affect the functionality, so fine.

Last night—two weeks after the upgrade--Tivo froze up and had to be restarted. This is new—the device had always been stable prior to this upgrade. That reboot must have awakened Alvin and the Chipmunks because as of today, Tivo is squeaking like crazy. Does not matter if it is recording something or not, the unit makes a chirping/squeaking sound every minute or so. This is really, really annoying not to mention completely new to me. And lest you think this has nothing to do with the upgrade, think again. I never heard more than a "hummmm" previously—post upgrade I get constant whirring and clicking (and now, squeaking) like a pc that is short on resources. To be fair, I have not yet notified Weaknees of this issue. In fact, I was about to post in the Coffee House to see what other folks’ experiences have been and to get input on what my next course of action might be.

So while I certainly appreciate all the work that has been done, and I am happy with the burner replacement, I know that more than one thing went wrong with my service and upgrade order. I am feeling very, very overcharged, to say the least (the entire service order with burner replacement, upgrade and adapter came to over $600). And I feel like I am out of options. The device has already been sent back once… what are the odds that it will come back even marginally functional if I send it back again?

And for anyone thinking about sending their Tivo in to Weaknees… Caveat Emptor.

TiVoEvan74

02-10-2008, 06:20 PM

Follow up with them again. Everything I've seen and read about suggests that they are responsive and will work with you to make things right. Isn't the replacement drive under warranty?

PM the rep that responded here.

evilipoo

02-10-2008, 09:16 PM

Thanks, TivoEvan. I did not even think to do that. Will do.

scandia101

02-11-2008, 07:51 AM

How do you have a problem with a business' service and never think of contacting them about it???

evilipoo

02-11-2008, 09:30 AM

How do you have a problem with a business' service and never think of contacting them about it???

I have contacted them. I've called, emailed, posted on their board (which is what they ask you to do for support). PM I had not thought of. Which is why I thanked the person who made the suggestion. My issue is not that Weaknees as not been responsive--they have been. My issue is that 3 weeks into this process, there still seem to be issues with the upgrade part of the service order. And while my hope is that this new (chirping) issue is under warranty, I received no docs explaining what was covered or for how long. And frankly at this point, I would like to avoid shipping the unit again, though I just don't know how that is possible.

POWERMIKE

02-19-2008, 08:07 PM

Are there any 802.11G adapters that will work, at G speeds??

rcobourn

02-20-2008, 01:42 PM

Are there any 802.11G adapters that will work, at G speeds??

The Tivo Wireless G adapter is the best bet.

toddc

02-21-2008, 01:10 PM

The Tivo Wireless G adapter is the best bet.

The TiVo wireless G adapter is the *only* one that will work at G speed.

donniedarko

03-20-2008, 05:17 PM

RE: "Weaknees = banged up DVR" posted by evilipoo
I had the same issue! Last January, during the Superbowl, the drive on my Pioneer 810-H started to go. I contacted Weaknees and ordered a new drive (420 hours, I record a lot of films). When my unit was returned there was what could only be described as a triangular shaped "bend" on the left side of the unit, almost as if someone tried to pry the side off. I contacted Weaknees, even sent pictures of the damage, and the only response I could get was basically "Well, we inspect every unit for damage when it comes in, and yours didn't show any, but trust me, it couldn't have been us - you should contact UPS". When I sent in my unit it was EXTRA carefully packed, oversized box to accomodate the bubble wrapping AND styrofoam wedges on the top, bottom and sides. No way it was damaged by UPS. Since the mechanics of the drive worked fine, I was forced to just accept the cosmetic damage to the side. However, I will never use Weaknees again. Sorry you had the same experience, I can surely relate.

evilipoo

03-20-2008, 09:36 PM

Thanks, donniedarko. I have been holding off on posting, because I wanted to make sure that everything worked ok (and was relatively stable) first...

After 2 returns (plus the initial shipment for a total of 3 round trips for Tivo) it appears that Weaknees has, in fact, resolved the issues that I mentioned above. While I can't say that I am thrilled with the service, I will say that they did eventually fix everything except the cosmetic damage and that is not critical to me.

I am still dissapointed in the service in that in all the times that I contacted them, never once would anyone give me their name, even when I asked directly. I always got responses like "Thanks for your note!" or "You have gotten emails from everyone here." And in the middle of all the frustration with the hardware issues, that was just inappropriate. Also, there was a LOT of blaming UPS, even though if the drive had been installed and formatted correctly to begin with, it would only have been shipped once. It seems that people have much better luck with the drives that they buy to swap out themselves. It's when the unit gets sent in that things go haywire.

My burner works now, and the hard drive shows the correct capacity so I guess that is all I can ask for.

TiVoEvan74

03-21-2008, 09:10 AM

Appreciate the follow up. While it may only be an N of 2, it is troublesome as the Weaknees response was similar.

Is the cosmetic damage somewhere that would be involved in their opening the case? I wonder if one of their technicians was too rough on the unit-- or ran into trouble opening it up! If so, they should have come clean and even replaced the unit entirely and sold the damaged one as a used unit.

It's giving me pause now about sending in a unit for an upgrade.

donniedarko

03-21-2008, 03:09 PM

Hi TiVOEvan....
I went back through the emails I had saved from Weaknees and thought I would share a couple of quotes - I, too, though the damage could have been caused from trying to open the case, and was told (by Weaknees) that I was wrong. I wish I could upload pics here, I could show everyone exactly what the outer damage looks like (I don't have them uploaded to a URL, just saved in a folder).

(Email replies from Weaknees)
"We're sorry to hear about situation.

We don't remove the front on that unit to replace the hard drive. Is it possible that it was damaged in shipping? If we received units here damaged, we note it, and we didn't. So it should have been fine when it arrived here. If there were any problem here, we'd note that also. Further, you can imagine how many of these we work on. If we damaged them (even just cosmetically) we'd be long out of business."

"Thanks for the pictures. I can certainly confirm that upgrading your unit cannot possibly cause that damage. We do not touch or remove the faceplate to do the upgrade.......I suppose it is possible that our tech missed shipping damage to the unit when he opened your box, but honestly, to see damage that severe would be accompanied by damage to the outer carton--generally hard to miss. Did you closely inspect the carton that the unit was packaged in from us to you?"

*************

We continued to exchange a few more emails and I finally gave up, realizing that they were not going to admit that it could even potentially be their responsibility, just kept telling me to take it up with UPS. They return your unit in the same box you use to send it in (unless damaged, of course) and when I received it back there was no outer damage (it was a sturdy box - I sell on eBay and know the importance of shipping well, especially with something this valuable to me).

I'm not telling everyone to stay away from Weaknees, just sharing my one particular experience. I'm sure there are dozens of good ones out there to counter mine.

Maybe contact them first with your concerns, see what they have to say? If they hear of enough people concerned with using their services, maybe it will make them step up and pay greater attention to their handling of the units.

Good luck!

TiVoEvan74

03-21-2008, 05:32 PM

Again most helpful! Their e-mail is polite enough, but, as you note, it was obvious that they were trying to pin the blame on you! Maybe their busy tech dropped the unit and didn't tell anyone... It fell off his work table.

That's the only explanation left that I can think of. They themselves admit that the shipping carton would have had to have be really damaged to hurt the TiVo that much.

Wow! That's distressing.

Of course, I just remembered that I was really kicking around the idea of buying of their refurbished Human DVD TiVos... which means that they wouldn't have any excuses... wait, they would. They'd say it was the shipper!

Skuits

04-08-2008, 08:44 PM

Hello all, I have both a Pioneer 810 and a Toshiba Tivo w/ basic subscription. I use an antenna to recieve tv stations (no cable whatsoever) and I wondered if the Tivo will act as a converter so I don't have to get one of those converter boxes the gov. is giving coupons for?

If I do have to use a converter box, how will it work with my Tivo? IR blaster???

Thanks,
Mark

bicker

04-09-2008, 06:43 AM

I'm awaiting an official answer from TiVo about which converter boxes my Pioneer 810 will work with. So far, nothing I consider a suitable option. I do expect that should an option become available, it will rely on the IR blaster.

Skuits

04-09-2008, 02:15 PM

I am so frustrated with this whole thing. I've purposely avoided getting cable and it looks like now I am being punished. That is if I can't use my Tivo with my antenna! I tried using the converter box and lost a lot of valuable channels. PBS was one of those. I assume it's because the switch isn't official yet.? I also read that it may be that some stations won't necessarily stop broadcasting on analog.?

I am blown away that Tivo hasn't embraced this situation as of yet. I hope there is a cure in the works!!!

Thanks,
Mark

robomeister

04-09-2008, 02:15 PM

Check out this thread for controlling a Voom receiver as a HD OTA receiver. It should work for the Pioneer and Toshiba TiVos, as they are Series 2 TiVos.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=350283

generaltso

04-09-2008, 02:17 PM

I am blown away that Tivo hasn't embraced this situation as of yet. I hope there is a cure in the works!!!

Thanks,
Mark

They have. The TiVoHD and Series3 have built-in digital OTA tuners.

Skuits

04-09-2008, 02:41 PM

Thanks Robo for the info!

I am still a bit confused! I am not familiar with "STB" and I don't have cable at all. Does that affect things? Having purchased my Tivo units used, I don't have the IR blaster so I am not familiar with its connection.

generaltso: I pay no subscription fees with my Tivo basic and antenna hookup. In regards to your comment; I would say that the TiVoHD and Series3 aren't an embrace of my particular situation or for any of us who have perfectly functioning series 2 Tivos and an antenna only hookup!

Thanks,
Mark

generaltso

04-09-2008, 02:44 PM

generaltso: I pay no subscription fees with my Tivo basic and antenna hookup. In regards to your comment; I would say that the TiVoHD and Series3 aren't an embrace of my particular situation or for any of us who have perfectly functioning series 2 Tivos and an antenna only hookup!

Well TiVo certainly won't be embracing anything having to do with TiVo Basic since it doesn't give them any revenue. I think they consider it to be a failed experiment. Your only option will be to use an external digital Set Top Box and get yourself an IR blaster to control it.

Skuits

04-09-2008, 02:50 PM

generaltso

04-09-2008, 02:56 PM

Hello, I think you're missing the point here. It's not about my subscription fees, as that doesn't effect the operation of the unit.

The point of my questions are regarding the fact that the Series 2 units aren't designed to run this type of digital set top box. So I am trying to find a solution for that. I am sure more questions like mine will be cropping up as the switch over to digital draws nearer.

Thanks for your input.
Mark

I haven't actually used a digital OTA set top box, but don't they work just like a digital cable box? Is the problem just that the Series 2 doesn't have the IR codes for these boxes yet?

Skuits

04-09-2008, 03:01 PM

Hi, I believe that is the problem. Some of it is that I don't have any experience with using an additional box with my Tivo. So I am fumbling around trying to figure it out.

I think Robo's link is a close solution. I am still trying to decipher it as I am not Joe Tivo :)

I know the solution exists, I just need to find it.

Any idea what channel timers are???

Thanks,
Mark

generaltso

04-09-2008, 04:57 PM

Any idea what channel timers are???

Not sure. I know when you're using a Set Top Box with an IR Blaster, you can change the speed at which it blasts the signals for changing the channels. Maybe that's what it's referring to?

lucapioneer

04-30-2008, 12:44 PM

Thanks for starting the Pioneer DVD forum. I am new to the TiVo Forum but joined after reading some Pioneer messages. I have had a Pioneer 810-H for almost five years and have had a good run. For the last year I have been making more coasters than good DVDs and always unplug the power after every burn, do not burn while recording yada yada. I gave up on trying to find a "workable" blank DVD and pretty much stick with TDK or Tayo Yuden.

I just upgraded to a new 320GB HD through WeaKnees, as my reboot got stuck on the failed DVD and went in to "perpetual TiVo Reboot Land." The upgrade did not solve the Burn problem as my first burn failed as usual. Is there a solution for this Copy failure? I have a lifetime service contract and appreciate the convenince and shorter time to copy my favorites with the 810 vs the computer transfer TiVo to Go Method ~3 hrs vs 35min.

Any help would be appreciated!!!

gramsay

05-05-2008, 08:03 AM

Is there still a source for the original manuals that came with the:

Pioneer DVR-810H DVR/DVD Recorder ??

What is a fair price for a used one, nowadays ?

Thanks,
GR;)

gramsay

05-05-2008, 08:21 AM

Is there still a source for the original manuals that came with the:

Pioneer DVR-810H DVR/DVD Recorder ??

What is a fair price for a used one, nowadays ?

Thanks,
GR;)

I found the manual here:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment/Blu-rayDisc+DVD/PioneerDVDPlayers+Recorders/DVR-810H-S?tab=D

Peace,
GR ;)

danschn

05-06-2008, 03:17 PM

I TiVo'ed the seven part John Adams series recently broadcast on HBO. I wanted to save them to DVD, and since most of them were over an hour, set about making 7 DVDs. Episodes 1,2 and 3 copied fine. Episode 4 failed to copy. I tried another disk. It became a coaster too.:(

I moved forward and episodes 5, 6 and 7 all successfully copied. I went back to episode 4, but that only produced 2 more coasters at what I assume was the same point in the process - and this time I was watching the "minutes to go" countdown. Coaster number 3 I saw reach 13 minutes, then failed. Number 4 counted down from 13 to 12, getting me excited, then bumped back to 13 and promptly failed, and the fan started blowing hard, and stayed that way until I ejected the disk.:(

I surmise that there's some content glitch in the Episode 4 program. I viewed the program, mostly fast-forwarding through the content, but saw nothing unusual.

I've copied the program to my computer hard drive and I'll try the methods described elsewhere to make a disk.

But bottom line, it wasn't the drive, and almost certainly wasn't the disks. Is anyone else in the same boat?

bicker

05-06-2008, 03:18 PM

Have you tried re-recording the episode and trying to burn the new recording?

danschn

05-06-2008, 04:13 PM

Yeah, I thought of that. No broadcasts of John Adams are currently on the HBO schedule. I assume they'll show it again, and hopefully on the HD station to match my others. I get very good results with the down-rez'ed HD copied onto disks.

robomeister

05-07-2008, 03:20 PM

danschn,

I have seen your problem as well. I tried to burn a specific program (not "John Adams" but another program) and it would not burn. It was one of a group. I think it was "Battlestar Galactica" or "Whose Line Is It Anyway." I did some experiments with DVD-RWs and determined that one show had some problem in it and would not burn to a disc. The show would play with no problems, just like yours, but would not burn. The other shows around it would also burn to a disc. I ended up not burning that show and having the TiVo re-record the show the next time it came on the air.

Hope that helps,
robomeister

magnus

05-10-2008, 11:19 AM

My Pioneer 810H seems to be having issues with the DVD burner. When I put a DVD in the tray it reads the disc and then opens back up. However, when I take the disc back out again and then try to close the tray... it does the same thing. Anyone seen this behavior before and know how it can be fixed? Thanks.

Never mind... I figured it out.

danschn

05-13-2008, 01:08 PM

Update: I copied the episode of John Adams to my PC using TiVo Desktop - which seems to be working much better since the most recent version was installed - and used Video ReDo to copy to a DVD. It all worked great. It wasn't convenient, like just letting my Pioneer burn the disk, but it offers editing capabilities, which I didn't use. Maybe next time. Whatever effect stopped that file from burning on Pioneer probably will remain a bug forever.

dirtballer8972

05-21-2008, 12:43 AM

I'm new to this and need some help.

I recently got a dvr-810-h-s w/ basic Tivo. I had also purchase a Tivo's wireless g adaptor thinking I could connect through my wireless modem. I was unaware that it needed a landline for the initial setup. So, I added phone line via my cable company (and its new wireless phone modem). I able to connect via the phone line, but it does not gave the option for wireless.

Can anyone help?

robomeister

05-21-2008, 02:36 AM

You need to let the software upgrade to the newest version, which is 9.3. After you get Guided Setup finished, you will have to force the TiVo to call home several times before it will download the 9.3.

Also, you can only use WEP and WPA encryption schemes with the TiVo Wireless adapter. Make sure you aren't using an encryption scheme that the adapter can't use.

Good luck,
robomeister

dirtballer8972

05-21-2008, 11:24 AM

Thanks, I will you know if works.

gregep

05-22-2008, 12:11 AM

Pioneer 810 HS Service Manual:
----------------------------

If anyone is interested, while researching how to switch out a faulty DVD burner on my now 4 year old Pioneer 810HS and hoping to find a replacement one from Pioneer (they don't seem to offer them), I came across a service manual that can be ordered from Pioneer for the unit:

http://parts.pioneerelectronics.com/part.asp?productNum=RRV2814

----
Pioneer 810 HS, 250 GB hard drive, Lifetime Service
TiVo HD, 320 GB hard drive, Lifetime Service
TiVo Series 3 HD, 1 TB, Lifetime Service
HomePlug Powerline network

gregep

05-22-2008, 12:26 AM

New, curious DVD burning problem--some players can play, others cannot
----------------------

About a week ago, the DVDs being produced by my Pioneer 810HS acquired a new characteristic: They are readable by some DVD players (the 810HS native player and a Philips DVD player) and not others (especially Toshiba).

For example, I recorded two episodes of "Law and Order" and burned them to DVD. The Toshibas read the top menu, then the episode description, and when I attempt to play the first of the two episodes, nothing happens. On some discs, the second is playable. Both episodes are readable by the Philips and Pioneer units.

I'm using the same DVDs that I've used for the past two years (Memorex DVD-R) with no problems and the problem arose while using DVDs from the same lot (those recorded before 5/13 worked while the ones recorded on 5/14 and later didn't). Sump'n happened, but after recording probably a couple of thousand DVDs (I'd estimate), maybe it's just tired.

----
Pioneer 810 HS, 250 GB hard drive, Lifetime Service
TiVo HD, 320 GB hard drive, Lifetime Service
TiVo Series 3 HD, 1 TB, Lifetime Service
HomePlug Powerline network

dirtballer8972

06-05-2008, 10:16 PM

I want to thank Robomeister. After several fail attempts to connect to Tivo via phone line, my DVR-810h finally updated itself so I can now use my home network. Thanks again.

Ricketts

06-26-2008, 11:57 AM

I have a Pioneer 810 s for some time and am hoping to finally network it with my router with a wireless adopter. I've bought a Trendnet TU2-ET100, which is a USB 2.0 to 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet adopter. Now I've noticed that it isn't on the TIVO approved list and I wonder if I should replace it and if so with what? I'd like to eliminate "snail mail" with netflixs.

bicker

06-26-2008, 07:30 PM

I find that I've had the best performance with the TiVo enhanced wireless adapter.

lilblackhorse

06-27-2008, 01:54 PM

Hi,

I have an old 810H series Tivo which we love. It's had some issues--we have to reboot every week before I set up the cable to download new information, but I'm ok with that. We don't pay for any subscription, we like our system just fine.

I have been dreading this day--the day my Cable Company made me convert to digital. The guy just left, and of course, left us in shambles.

He has put in a Motorola DCT1700 digital cable box in and now the tivo won't recognize anything. We have rebooted, we have unplugged the box and plugged it back in, but the system information still says "cable without box."

Right now my son got the TV to work on video2, channel 4 (which is usually our local "ad" station.) We're watching MTV, and we can get it to record, but the tivo is saying

"searching for signal on Basic Cable IN..see messages and settings/troubleshooting."

Does anyone know how to get the Pioneer to recognize the box so that our information gets to the tv and we can see what we're really watching?

Thank you---my two teens are disgusted at the thought of watching real tv, and I don't want to lose my ability to record preprogrammed shows. ACK!

thanks, aimee

robomeister

06-28-2008, 12:12 AM

Re-run Guided Setup and choose "cable with box"???

Ricketts

06-30-2008, 09:29 PM

I find that I've had the best performance with the TiVo enhanced wireless adapter.

Tks for the tip Bicker. I'd heard that wireless is slower and I'd hoped to avoid any more complications ie purchases so I'm trying the wired route first....gladly switch to wireless if I thought it would do the trick. I've printed the TIVO sanctioned adapter list but am not sure how to figure out if I need version 1 or Version 2. My 810H is a TIVO series 2 platform but any ideas how to find out the version? Glad I didn't open the Trendnet box! My settings read "9.3-01-2-275"

bicker

07-01-2008, 07:26 AM

Wireless is slower than wired. I thought the question was about which was the best wireless adapter.

DennisTheMenace7

08-09-2008, 02:03 PM

Can Pioneer 810H PLAY (NOT RECORD) DVD-R DL?

dirtballer8972

09-12-2008, 10:48 PM

Have anyone experienced a time where one channel loses sound, but the other channels work? I use my DVR-810H-S w/ basic cable on one tv and just basic cable on my other tvs. I check my other tvs and they have sound on that channel. Any help?:confused:

robomeister

09-19-2008, 10:39 AM

The Pioneer TiVo should be able to play DVD-DL discs. I haven't tried, but the spec for the DVD drive shows that they should be able to play them without problems.

carlypi

09-25-2008, 10:56 PM

I've had this unit almost 5 years. Just recently it started having the following problems:
1) When I try to burn DVD's, it is calculating what will fit on the DVD incorrectly. It says 100%, but then the burn fails, and it says the reason is there is insufficient space. I am putting on what I normally put on it.

2) A few months ago it started restarting itself at least twice a day. The problem with that is that it has not been able to finish downloading/loading program information. The last time it successfully connected according to the tivo is 6/8/08. But just last week was when it was missing the tv guide and says "To Be Announced" on every channel.

Is anyone else having these issues with their pioneer?

Robmir

09-26-2008, 08:04 AM

I will rephrase the problem for which I asked for help a couple of days before:

Because I live outside the US have to source my programming from a c-band Dish.

My Pioneer 810 download the guide through my high speed internet access and worked flawlessly for several years.

Once in a while I like to download programs of special interest like the C-net etc.

Since a couple of weeks ago I am unable to download anything besides the programming guide because once I go to any of the swivel, music, blogs etc. download menu y goes right away to a menu which says I should be connected to a internet access which of course I am, my account be active, which I am because I have the TIVO Plus suscription and when loggin in my account I should not have the opt-out chosen which of course I don't.

It's possible that the TIVO server has changed their download policy's and now when it detects my IP address it knows right away I am located outside the US territories and blocks any download besides the guide itself ?

Any sugestions since I am not doing any harm if I like to watch Dvorak's comments on the computer world or what's new in the C-Net electronic world, etc. ?

Help appreciated

zubee

10-05-2008, 07:42 AM

Yes! I assume that you can pause, rewind, etc. live TV with the basic service. 3 days vs 2 weeks programming may not be a big deal. What else would I need the tivo plus service for?

Robmir

10-05-2008, 10:50 PM

Yes! I assume that you can pause, rewind, etc. live TV with the basic service. 3 days vs 2 weeks programming may not be a big deal. What else would I need the tivo plus service for?

May be for you, but I like the other goodies :)

rworcester

12-11-2008, 09:08 PM

I'm getting poor quality DVDs when I transfer the program from my Pioneer 810 to the TiVo Deskstop, then burn using Roxio. DVDs are great coming from the new S3-HD Tivo and they look good if I use the DVD burner on the Pioneer810. The image has squiggely lines on any line that is verticle. What could cause this? Any suggestions?

danylati

12-13-2008, 05:45 PM

GBean

01-20-2009, 01:53 AM

I just got a DVR-810h and want to upgrade the drive to 500GB.
Do I still need the 57h image, or does the unlock feature in the new mfstools cd get around that?

Can someone PLEASE PM with the location of a 57h image? I havent gotten a response from my PM's to the known sources!

(Just one post? really? i thought I was here before!)

robomeister

01-20-2009, 08:22 PM

You shouldn't need a 57H image. Use WinMFS to copy your image from your 80GB to the 500GB, then use the SuperSize option. That is supposed to remove the 80GB limit from your expanded drive.

Give it a try. I have one I need to update myself, so I'll report back if it doesn't work.

Good luck,
robomeister

sjordan93436

01-30-2009, 05:35 PM

I tried to burn a 100% disk. I tried 4 x dvd-r. 4 x dvd-rw

I burn a more than a few coasters.

Weaknees says 199 to repair or 329 to replace burner. supposedly, repairs do more of it. I like it but is there another repair option?

Iis in the bedroom and does not get much work. It was really cool when my daughter was in the Peace Corps. 50 cents now less DVD and 4 or 8 hours of home tv. The other volunteers were jealous. Just mail and forget. It was cool, but now ....

robomeister

02-03-2009, 06:48 PM

The Pioneer TiVos should be able to burn 4x DVD-Rs, but it will not burn 4x DVD-RWs. You need to use either 1x or 2x DVD-RWs. I've done alot of searching for these discs and was able to find them at Walmart in 15 disc spindles and Frye's in 25 disc spindles.

If you try to use 4x DVD-RWs, you should get the error you described.

I've successfully used 16x DVD-Rs.

Have you tried rebooting the TiVo after you get the error and trying again? Have you tried different branded media? Sometimes a change resets something in the TiVo and it start working again.

Another technique I use to get a successful burn is to burn a DVD-RW disc. That also resets the TiVo to burn DVD-Rs successfully.

Sometimes it turns out to be a badly recorded program. I've make several coasters, even with DVD-RWs, and it turned out that one program was just bad and didn't want to be burned to a disc. Go figure.

If you are technical and like to work with computers, you could replace the DVD writer in the Pioneer TiVo. However, you'll need to win an ebay auction of a Pioneer TiVo, and scavenge the DVD writer from it. I have tried to replace the burner with generic Pioneer burners, but with NO success at all. The only way to replace the burner is to cannibalize another Pioneer or order the drive from weaknees.

Good luck,
robomeister

sjordan93436

02-08-2009, 11:16 PM

I could not find 1 or 2 x dvd-rw's. I tried 4 x dvd rw.

I found one source of 4 x dvd-r. No luck. I think I tried 4 brands of faster media.

I did the reboot after a long wait. Other programs would record IF the disk was not full. I made coasters when I tried to burn a full disk.

It is such a nice program.

Next step. Go to Wal Mart in search of the 1 to 2 x dvd-r media. Try the compressed air.

The last alternative is the $200 + repair.

treacherous

02-25-2009, 08:25 PM

What 500GB drive are you guys using with the your 810's? Is that the largest drive that can be placed in this model?

Thanks!

robomeister

02-26-2009, 03:46 PM

wtherrell

03-05-2009, 11:28 AM

I have one of my Pioneers with a 750GB drive in it. That is the largest IDE/PATA drive available. Pretty much any IDE/PATA drive will work in any Series 2 TiVo. Another one of my Pioneers has a 500GB drive, a Western Digital. Not sure of the model.

I've been experimenting with using SATA to PATA converters and SATA drives in my Pioneers. I'm looking for an upgrade path to a 1TB drive. I'll let you know what I find out.

robomeisterRobomeister--I am about to upgrade my 57h to 500GB. I'm wondering about using WinMFS and saw your post about disconnecting the C: drive but I think that was using the MFSlive command line based program booting from CD. I have an old Dell that has WinXP and two separate PATA chains. Couldn't I just put in the drives connected to the extra ribbon cable (C: drive is on the other chain) and then run WinMFS almost just like I did my THD with the SATA connections? I have seen it emphasized so much to disconnect the windows drive that I am reluctant to proceed with this but can't think of any reason it would not work. Any thoughts?

robomeister

03-05-2009, 01:10 PM

wtherrell,

If you use WinMFS on a Windows XP machine with Service Pack 2 or 3 (SP2, SP3), you will be ok. The problem was with Windows XP recognizing new hard drives connected to the computer and automatically writing a signature onto the drive. When the signature was written to the drive, it destroyed the TiVo boot partition, rendering the drive non-functional. The drives could be fixed, but you needed the right tools. This happened with Windows XP before SP2. If your old Dell doesn't have SP2 or SP3, let it update to SP3 and you should be ok.

:down::down::down:Whatever you do, do NOT go into Control Panel -> Administrator Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management with the TiVo drives attached. This will do the bad signature write to any new drive Windows detects. This would be bad.

Before I invested in some USB to PATA/SATA connectors, I used to open up my machine and plug the drive directly into the PATA cable. I've used the Weaknees Boot CD, the MFSLive Boot CD and WinMFS, all with great success. I like WinMFS because it is much easier to use than the command line boot CDs, for straight upgrades from the original working drive to a new larger drive. If I have to do anything fancy, like dd_rescue, then I use the MFSLive Boot CD. The USB to PATA/SATA connectors are slower than directly connecting to the PATA chain, but it's less hassle, at least for me. :up:

So to answer your question, no, you do not need to remove the C: drive in order to use the MFSLive Boot CD. If you are going to use WinMFS, then you actually need to have the C: drive in the machine. :D Just make sure it has SP2 or higher before you attach any drives to the PATA cable.

Hope that helps,
robomeister

wtherrell

03-05-2009, 02:06 PM

Quote from Robomeister: <<So to answer your question, no, you do not need to remove the C: drive in order to use the MFSLive Boot CD. If you are going to use WinMFS, then you actually need to have the C: drive in the machine. Just make sure it has SP2 or higher before you attach any drives to the PATA cable.>>

Thanks, Robomeister. You da man!!
I'll get started on it today. Probably finish up Saturday morning.
(No, it doesn't take that long but I'm recording the golf round this afternoon and am tied up tomorrow, too. )

treacherous

03-06-2009, 09:04 AM

I did a 500GB upgrade a few days ago. I used my XP SP3 box and utilized WinMFS-MFSCopy to copy over a few programs as well. I was trying to do this via a USB SATA/PATA adapter but for some reason it wouldn't see my original 80GB source drive. Not a big deal I cracked the case and utilized PATA channel that had CD-ROM drive on it. It's a lot fast to transfer programs this way anyway.

DennisTheMenace7

03-09-2009, 10:38 AM

Just to let everyone know that "810HD Does Not Support The Playing of DVD-DL."

wtherrell

03-09-2009, 12:59 PM

Well, everything went just fine. The old Dell xps 450 system came through just fine. I disconnected the DVD player and the CD burner to get the IDE Pata chain. Loaded WinMFS via USB thumbdrive. So thanks to the help from you guys and from spike over at MFSlive.org my 57h that used to show "Variable, up to 137 hours" now shows "Variable, up to 670 hours." Looks like all the recordings were copied perfectly. The drive was a WD WD5000JBRTL Caviar Blue SE that I got from J&R Music through Amazon for $80.00. It's a 7,200 rpm drive and is whisper quiet. It's quieter than the 120GB Maxtor that was original in the 57h---and it was pretty quiet already.

Beachbum55

03-12-2009, 08:37 PM

I bought my Pioneer 810HS not too long after they were introduced (2002?).

It's an original box and has worked flawlessly. Recently, it seems to be freezing up twice a week and requires a restart (pull the power plug and power up). It'll work fine for a few more days, then it needs to be restarted again.

It's hooked up to a Comcast Motorola cable box (same one we've used for years).

The software version is 9.3.2a-0102-275.

Any ideas regarding what the problem might be?

bicker

03-13-2009, 05:27 AM

Sounds like the hard drive is going...

treacherous

03-13-2009, 07:56 AM

+1

I recently had to swap out the DVR Expander drive on my S3 due to a failing hard drive. I did not have to pull plug on DVR but it would lock up and reboot shortly afterward several times a day.

I also recently upgraded the drive in my 810. It was actually pretty easy too. My drive wasn't failing but wanted additional capacity.

Sounds like the hard drive is going...

Beachbum55

03-13-2009, 05:50 PM

Sounds like the hard drive is going...

That's kind of what I thought. I'll keep an eye on it. Luckily, there really isn't anything on it that I can't afford to loose.

Thanks.

mk678

04-07-2009, 05:10 AM

I have Pioneer DVR810H that is stuck on "Please wait...Powering Up", also the LCD in the front of the unit has gone dark.

Any advice on what could be causing this to happen. I rebooted the unit a couple of times, still the same message, opened the DVD tray and confirmed there is no DVD stuck.:)

bicker

04-07-2009, 05:49 AM

Sounds like the hard drive is dead or dying.

If so: These guys are sponsors of the forum:
http://www.dvrupgrade.com/dvr/stores/1/category.cfm?Category_ID=2&Product_ID=0&ModelID=68&type=Model&page=cat

robomeister

04-07-2009, 10:34 AM

When any TiVo is stuck on "Please wait, powering up" screen, that is an indication that the motherboard cannot communicate with the hard drive. This can be a disconnected cable (power or data) or simply that the programming on the hard drive can no longer be read. AKA, dead drive.

You'll have to get a replacement drive and then load the TiVo software onto it. This can be done with Instant Cake from dvrupgrade.com or, if you are lucky, a backup copy of your hard drive and WinMFS or MFSLive from mfslive.org. I can provide you with a clean DVR-810H-S image, if needed.

Good luck,
robomeister

cftrunt

08-26-2009, 03:16 PM

Has anyone tried to use a crossover cable through the 810H USB/Ethernet adapter to dump recorded programs directly onto a PC/Laptop rather than going through a home network?

robomeister

08-26-2009, 07:13 PM

I haven't done it personally, but it should be possible. You would have to setup a small ad hoc LAN and manually assign IP addresses to both the PC and the TiVo. There will be no DHCP server, so you have to do everything manually.

Good luck,
robomeister

cftrunt

08-28-2009, 02:28 PM

I have a Pioneer 810h DVR with Lifetime Tivo Plus. I connected a Linksys WUSB11 v2.6 adapter through he USB port on the 810H. After considerable profanity and several restarts I got the DVR to recognize the adapter. I set up a home wireless system thru my desktop computer. I have had a Linksys WUSB600N connected to my Linksys WAP54G v3.1 Access point which is hardwired to my DSL modem. I use MAC address enabled on my access point and have enabled all of the MAC addresses for the various wireless components. I have MacAphee security which I, during this time, I have had enabled and disabled at various times. The Wireless adapter on the 810H has talked to my wireless adapter on my computer (the 600N). Tivo desktop worked at one point between the DVR and my desktop computer but now is not. When I tied and make the Internet connection in the Tivo Setup screens it went thru the "preparing to connect" sequence. It then entered the "negotiating" phase but fails there giving the message "service not found". I have disabled (temporarily) windows firewall on my LAN and Internet Server connections. I have gone into the connections and set up the Port exceptions - (I think) for all of the connections that might be blocking service access. I have tried to set the Access point to WEP rather than WAP2 Personal. The WUSB600N seemed to keep dropping out so I attached a spare Linksys WUSB11 v2.8 that I had also thinking that the WAP on the 600N may be causing a problem. I am at a loss. Part of my problem is that there are so many permutations of things to change I am not sure if the Gods were ever totally lined up. Does anyone have any suggestions. At this point I would like to zap my home network and start over clean but I am finding that is easier said than done. I have attached a schematic of my sytem. The laptops and second desktop can be ingnored. I have disconnected the two wireless usb adapters from my desktop computer and removed the connections in the Network Connection manger. I am concerned that the wireless access point with suspect wireless usb connections shown in red on the schematic, may be confusing things since the desktop computer is also hardwired into the modem/router with an LAN Ethernet connection. In the end what I want is for my Tivo to use its wireless adapter to connect my desktop's wireless adapter (either the WUSB600N or the WUSB11) to use Tivo Desktop and connect to the internet preferably thru the LAN connection. Sorry for the longwinded post.

robomeister

08-28-2009, 04:37 PM

It looks like you've made it more complicated than it needs to be. Why can't you simply connect the TiVo to the WAP54G? Then you could get to it from any computer, it would simply be another device on your network. You would also not need to create separate LANs, just have one big one.

Do you have a bunch of DHCP servers competing for dominance on your LAN? Sometimes things get confused when you have multiple DHCP servers trying to server out IP addresses. In any case, I'd recommend a fixed IP address for your TiVo. Makes things much more simple. But choose one that is outside the DHCP address range, so you don't have any conflicts.

Are you using any wireless encryption/protection? TiVo is very picky on the encryption schemes allowed. I'd try it with the protection turned off, just to see if you can connect. After you get it to connect, then try turning on the different protection (MAC filtering, encryption, broadcasting ESSID, etc.).

Did you do it this way because of the distances involved? or to prevent running wires all over the place?

Are you broadcasting your ESSID? or did you manually enter it into the TiVo?

I tried using wireless connections with my Pioneers, and it worked, but everything seemed slow and problematic. And I was connecting directly to my router without any protection turned on. However, I was using MAC filtering. The connections would drop completely when the signal strength was low, MRV was abysmally slow, etc. The only good thing was I could connect to the mothership for updates without stringing a wire to the TiVo.

Sorry it doesn't help much, but wired just works.

robomeister

cftrunt

08-28-2009, 07:43 PM

Thanks- Origionally I had the wireless adapter on the Tivo directly communicating with the WAP54G. I was concerned that about confusion between the WAP and WEP encription since it seemed the WUSB11 was limited to WEP. I set up a peer to peer wireless adhoc connection on the Tivo and then used my WUSB600N on my deskop computer. It connects to the wireless Tivo connect but when I use Tivo Desktop it does not find the DVR. I really do not want to string a bunch of wires it may come to that. So you are suggesting that I go back to connecting everything through the WAP and use fixed ip addresses I gather. The WAP is hardwired to the modem but I am not sure how to make it "always on" connection. Currently any computer using it still has to provide a sign on name and password to my ISP.

robomeister

08-29-2009, 12:19 AM

Aha! Now it is becoming clearer on why you have all these parts. :)

To get the "always on" setting on your DSL router/modem, you would need to set up a PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet) or some similar connection to your ISP in the router itself. The type of connection depends on how your ISP connects. You will need to log into your DSL router with your browser, and setup the PPPoE. Usually, if you type in the IP address of your Gateway into your browser, you'll get the webpage of your router (i.e. 192.168.1.1 or something close). To change anything in your router, you will need the admin password for your router. Then you'll need to setup the PPPoE or similar connection, where you put in your userid and password, the same ones used by your computers. Then the router will automatically login to your ISP and automatically logout when the connection is idle for some period of time.

Once you set up your router to do the logging in work, your computers won't need to login anymore.

If you give me the model number of your DSL modem/router, I can help you out with the settings.

Regarding the "encryption" of your wireless ethernet. You are correct, the WUSB11 can only do the WEP (Wired Equivalent Protection). To use WPA, you need the TiVo branded wireless adapter. That is the only adapter that does WPA and works with the TiVo.

Good luck,
robomeister

cftrunt

08-29-2009, 12:00 PM

First of all I want to truley thank you for your passion and willingness to help us smi-literate geek wannabies that know just enought to dive into something with the knowlege someone like you will bail us out of our self created disasters. I am kind of OCD and I am now officailly on a "quest" to make this work or paint a bowling ball purple and try and convince someone it is a grape.

Here is my modem/router information. It is a Westell provided by my DSL ISP which is CenturyTel my local phone comapny. I belive the unit is a product made by Welstell soley for CenturyTel.

Model Number A90-740014-06
Serial Number 06B401532665
MAC Address 00:0f:db:af:de:4f
Software Version VER:03.00.87a
Software Model 4 Port NAT Router
Description WireSpeed NAT Router
Boot Loader VER:03.00.87a
Configuration 096-900062-00A

I have been using the IP addresses of both my router and my access point to do various setup functions. The router setup IP is 192.168.1.1. The access point setup IP is 192.158.1.245. Are these the static addresses that I would use to tell my Tivo to talk to these units?

One other question. I have seriously been considering buying a WAP Tivo wireless adapter. I know the encription is better and sometimes branded hardware is better tested for the applications. Sould I bite the bullet?

Again thanks for all of your help.

cftrunt

08-29-2009, 01:06 PM

Based on your previous post I did go into my modem setup and found the place to setup the connection you suggested. The attached image is a screen shot of the setup. My question now is should this be an "always on" or an "on demand" connection? How should I set the "time out" feature?

Also in the Windows XP connection manager there is an option to "Allow other network users to connet through this computer's Intrnet connection" I assume I have to check that box someplace sometime.

gilgard

09-07-2009, 05:47 PM

Hi, all. I bought a "barely" used Pioneer 810-HS and all seems to work great except: I couldn't get the DVD tray to open at first. I pressed "open" on the unit and on the remote many times. Finally it opened. I pressed "Close" and it did, but then 3 seconds later it opened back up all by itself. This behavior repeats over and over. So now it doesn't want to stay shut, whether a DVD is in it or not. If I click "close tray" twice quickly, it will close and stay closed, but then the front window and DVD screen say that the tray is open, although it is not. The DVD player can't be used in that saying-open-but-really-closed state. I tried unplugging and plugging a few times, as well as completely clearing and resetting, and just clearing DVD settings. No improvement. An earlier poster here sid he had this problem but figured it out, which makes me think that there may be a quick fix. That poster can't remember what he did - anyone else know how to resolve? Many thanks! (If it is relevant: The player was shipped to me with a DVD in it, which played just fine, but I know this is not a good practice.)

timtofly

09-17-2009, 12:30 PM

Since upgrading my 810H from 80 to 320 gig hard drive, the "freeze" has gone away. MHO is that there was a bad spot on the hard drive that when recording there, it would cause a hiccup and freeze the unit. Sometimes I think a TV show would cover this spot up, and the unit would be fine, until I deleted the show and then it would do it continuously (freezing) until the next show would cover over the spot. I cannot confirm, but in recording to the DVD, there were some shows that would just not copy. I think that these shows may have been on the glitchy spot of the hard drive. these drives are what 5+ years old now, and showing signs of wear.

timtofly

09-17-2009, 12:41 PM

robomeister,
Are the DVD burners in the Pioneer 810/57 series interchangeable with the Humax DRT 400/800 series?

Thanks,

robomeister

09-17-2009, 10:25 PM

timtofly,

Negative, no, nope. The DVD writers in the Pioneer TiVos have a unique firmware installed in them. I haven't been able to extract the firmware to try to burn it to a similar DVD writer drive.

The Pioneers use the DVR-105 and/or the DVR-106 writers. I have found some non TiVo versions of these drives and have installed them into the Pioneer TiVos. The drives will read discs, but will not write discs.

The Toshiba/Humax TiVos use the DVR-108 and DVR-109 writers. I have been able to put pretty much any Pioneer writer into these machines and they will both read and write. Seems like the Toshibas and Humaxes are more forgiving on the writer. Must be something in the software.

Sorry for the not so good news,
robomeister

cftrunt

09-30-2009, 06:54 PM

I've been experimenting with using SATA to PATA converters and SATA drives in my Pioneers. I'm looking for an upgrade path to a 1TB drive. I'll let you know what I find out.

robomeister

I have not had the box open to look at the configuration. Have you had any success in upgrading to a 1TB? Can we use a IDE/SATA adapter in the 810HS and if so have you found one that is configured so the connections all work?

Thanks

mbm

countryman777

10-01-2009, 02:33 PM

I have a disk in my player that says invalid disk. I am unable to eject this disk from my machine. Is there anything I can do to remove this disk?

bicker

10-01-2009, 02:49 PM

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5736232&highlight=paper+clip#post5736232

The hard part is finding where the paper clip goes.

This might help: http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4269151#post4269151

eddie95

10-14-2009, 12:20 AM

hey ! i love my pioneer:) have had it since 2003. only problems have been a new power supply and hard drive . i have the lifetime service. but now i am having a burning problem . i posted under the tivo's with dvr, but no one answered, and then i found the PIONEER CLUB:D .... maybey someone here can help. thanks eddie
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hi
i have a pioneer tivo 810 h and am having dvd burning problems.
i have always used sony dvd -rw discs. now i cant get anything to record on them. it says its copying the show, but when its done and i try to play it comes up invalid disc/unsupported.
i can record onto a -r disc , and it plays back fine. this is very weird .... i think .
i did replace the hard drive about 3 years ago, and the power supply. but i dont understand why i can burn a -R disc , but cant burn a - RW disc. i can play back an old recorded - RW disc and it plays back fine .... just cant get it to burn a -RW DISC. could the dvd burner be bad, and if so , why can i still burn a -R disc? i took one of the discs i burned or thought and then it wouldnt play back ... to a friends house and tried it ... no good . he looked at the back of the brand new disc and said you could see a line where it looked like it had tried to burn. i dont get it . but on a -R disc you can see it had been burned all the way.

thanks for any help

eddie

masselle

10-16-2009, 12:52 PM

timtofly,

The Toshiba/Humax TiVos use the DVR-108 and DVR-109 writers. I have been able to put pretty much any Pioneer writer into these machines and they will both read and write. Seems like the Toshibas and Humaxes are more forgiving on the writer. Must be something in the software.

robomeister

robomeister,
My first post so bear with me. I have a Humax TiVo with a dead dvd burner. I'm having trouble finding any of the Pioneer writers (up through DVR-116) quoted as valid replacements. Have you tried the DVR-118? I'm assuming it would work but it would be nice to verify before I make the purchase. Thanks in advance.
The Colonel

robomeister

10-17-2009, 12:42 AM

masselle,

The Humax TiVos will pretty much accept any Pioneer DVD writer. I have had some success finding drives on eBay. I think I've seen reports that the DVR-212 will work.

FYI, the Toshiba TiVos and the Humax TiVos are pretty much identical internally, so any info you find on the Toshibas will also apply to the Humax.

Good luck,
robomeister

cftrunt

10-17-2009, 11:53 AM

Has anyone been able to upgrade a 810H-S to 1TB drive using a SATA/IDE adapter?

masselle

10-23-2009, 08:21 AM

robomeister,
Thanks for your reply to my original post. I did purchase a Pioneer DVR-118 but was unsuccessul getting it installed. It seems very startight forward (power supply, 40 pin IDE cable, jumper set to Master), pretty much identical to the DVR-108 that I pulled. However, while the Humax TiVo will allow me to open the tray from the menu, it doesn't recognize anything else even after closing the tray manually. I need to do some more troubleshooting & will report back but was wondering if you have any ideas in the meantime. Could the IDE cable be bad? The TiVo also restarted (as if the power was lost) a few times during the process. Should I troubleshoot a potential power supply issue? Thanks.

masselle

10-24-2009, 09:49 AM

Some more info....if I power up the TiVo with a DVD already in the burner, the disc is recognized and functions 100% correctly through the TiVo menu (play, pause, rewind, etc). However, as soon as I open the tray (again through the menu), it loses the grip completely. Basically, the TiVo doesn't recognize that the tray has been opened and won't interact with the burner at all after that. I'm starting to wonder if a software upgrade is in order (I have never upgrade the s/w since buying the unit oiver 3 years ago).

wml1950

10-27-2009, 12:05 PM

Alexis997

11-11-2009, 02:06 PM

Hi,

I have a few other TiVos that I bought new (meaning they were fresh & clean :)) and just got a DVR-810H-S from someone not using it. I was going to give it to my parents.. I was told it works fine, but is "stuck" in the downloading information mode. When I plugged it in, it started making this weird alarm-type noise, until I plugged a phone cord in. Then the noise went away, but nothing is happening. The screen says "Welcome. Powering Up..", and I can hear the fan going, but that's it.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks!

Alexis

ETA: Sorry, just made it to p.11 and saw that this might be a dead hard drive..? There's no LCD display, either - could it just be a power issue, or most likely the drive? Is it worth $99 to get the new drive & $19 for the software? I could buy a refurb. S2 from tivo.com for $79... Thanks again!

robomeister

11-14-2009, 07:29 PM

Alexis997,

That definitely sounds like a hard drive issue. It is a good sign if the fan is going and you get a "welcome, powering up..." screen. If you replace the hard drive with a good drive with a good software image, you should be back up and running. In my opinion, the Pioneer Tivos are the best Series 2 TiVos, but I'm a little biased. :) If you can find them, you can get a 750GB IDE drive to work in the Pioneers. I have one myself.

FYI, on cold boots (plugging in the power cord), the LCD display doesn't come on until after the TiVo starts booting from the hard drive. Which isn't happening in your case.

Good luck,
robomeister

P.S. If you need a clean software image for your Pioneer, I can send one to you that will work with WinMFS (from www.mfslive.org). Just PM me.

retired_guy

11-30-2009, 02:26 PM

The drive failed in my 810-H and I have the original 120GB drive from my 57H which I had upgraded a long time ago. An "expert" at Weaknees told me then I could use the 57H drive in my 810H but I'd never gotten around to doing it. With the 57H drive now installed in the 810H, the system no longer hangs in powering up and gets to the main screen. However, it says I have "Error 51" and can't record or see anything recorded on the drive. I suspect I may have run into a security issue in that recordings on one TiVo can't be moved to another by moving the drive and that my only way to use the drive will be go get a copy of "InstantCake" and restore it to the drive. However, I'm now trying a "clear and delete everything" and a Guided Setup to see whether that'll work but doubt it. Anybody have any ideas about anything else I can try short of instantcake? Any info on what Error 51 is would be appreciated since if I really have a hardware problem I don't want to go through the Instantcake routine. The error message states that 810H Error 51 is a "hardware error".

generaltso

11-30-2009, 02:42 PM

However, I'm now trying a "clear and delete everything" and a Guided Setup to see whether that'll work but doubt it.

Why do you doubt that will work? That's exactly what you need to do since the image on the drive is from a TiVo with a different TSN. The Clear and Delete Everything will fix that.

retired_guy

11-30-2009, 02:52 PM

I guess I'm just pessimistic since the message indicated a "hardware error". I am feeling more postive now that the clear and delete finished and guided setup has started. The drive replacement is messy in that the 810H was being used by my daughter in another city, whereas I'm testing it now at my home. And she has a non-Tivo wireless adapter using her security key and my wireless system has its own. So I've ended up using dial-up in the Guided Setup; slow but it works. The TiVo version on the disk is probably four years old--dates back to when the 57H was first shipped, so I'm a bit spooky about wireless support for that very old release.

generaltso

11-30-2009, 02:54 PM

I guess I'm just pessimistic since the message indicated a "hardware error". I am feeling more postive now that the clear and delete finished and guided setup has started.

Well, it is a hardware error since the software isn't seeing the right hardware TSN. But the Clear and Delete will re-associate the TSN, so all will be happy.

retired_guy

11-30-2009, 10:55 PM

It's working fine now and all are happy.

Ardyar

10-24-2010, 07:56 PM

I just purchased a 810h and was planning to use it with my Comcast digital connection.Will I need a converter box to use it.?Thanks.

MichaelK

10-24-2010, 08:02 PM

yep you will.

Ardyar

10-24-2010, 08:05 PM

yep you will.

Thanks

coitdeck

03-07-2011, 01:25 PM

JavaJoe_2

03-13-2011, 12:03 PM

Anybody looking for a Pioneer 57h?
I upgraded to the new Premier, so the Pioneer will have to go.
Any idea on a selling price?

shwru980r

03-13-2011, 01:11 PM

I have two Pioneer 810...love them. A year ago I replaced the hard drive on one. Got a new hard drive off of ebay. It said that it would work for a tivo 810
and it did.

Now, I've just ordered a new hard drive for the other one. This time I ordered it directly from a company that carries the same Maxtor hard drive.

BUT! I'm now wondering if the drive needs to be formatted or something...when I install it.

Help!

Thanks

Bob

You will need to copy the Tivo image for the pioneer 810 unit to the new hard drive. You should be able to copy the image from the drive in your first tivo or the existing drive in the second tivo to the new drive.

shwru980r

03-13-2011, 01:21 PM

Anybody looking for a Pioneer 57h?
I upgraded to the new Premier, so the Pioneer will have to go.
Any idea on a selling price?

This one recently sold on ebay for $150.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-57-H-DVD-CD-Player-Recorder-and-TIVO-/220748342560?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3365a06520#ht_500wt_1156

JavaJoe_2

03-13-2011, 03:14 PM

This one recently sold on ebay for $150.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-57-H-DVD-CD-Player-Recorder-and-TIVO-/220748342560?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3365a06520#ht_500wt_1156

None of those eBay auctions state whether the unit has basic (3 day) TiVo or plus (14 day) like mine.

shwru980r

03-13-2011, 03:27 PM

None of those eBay auctions state whether the unit has basic (3 day) TiVo or plus (14 day) like mine.

I understand the difference, but most people don't know the difference between Tivo basic and Tivo plus. You need to spell out the difference in the item listing. Also indicate that this is a Pioneer Elite product, as that will attract bidders. You might do better listing it on Amazon and waiting several months for the right buyer to come along.

ALSaul_2000

03-15-2011, 08:37 AM

I am having problems upgrading my Hard Drive to a Western Digital 500GB. I have seen similar questions posted here, but did not find a solution [though I may have missed it]. l have tried both IDE and SATA Drives - imaged from the original [and still working] Samsung Hard Drive. I have used the SATA Bridge bought from Weaknees, as well as a SYBA SY-IDE-SATAHD IDE to SATA Device Adapter, which appears to work on other TiVO's. I know Western Digital's Master/Single/Slave jumper settings are different from most other manufactures, and have tried all possible combinations - to no avail.

My frustration is increasing as my patience is decreasing. I would truly appreciate any insight anyone can provide.

Thanks for the help

ALSaul_2000

03-16-2011, 11:28 AM

Has anyone been able to upgrade a 810H-S to 1TB drive using a SATA/IDE adapter?

Did you ever get an answer to your question? Because I have the same one -

brainwave89

05-13-2011, 12:27 AM

I quite enjoy my DVR-810H and the fact that it has lasted this long is a blessing. One day I know my hard drive will go to sleep.
How can I create an image of it while it is still living?

I'm just planning for the worst.

Thanks for looking and I love this community and thread.

robomeister

05-13-2011, 10:06 PM

brainwave89,

It's really easy to make a backup of your Tivo drive, if you aren't afraid of opening up your Tivo and removing the drive.

Check out mfslive.org. They have two products that will let you a backup your drives. My favorite is WinMFS, because it is much easier to use. You don't have to be a Linux expert.

If you're aren't afraid of Linux, then you can use the MFSLive Boot CD. This will make backups as well.

But with either software product, you'll have to remove the hard drive from the Tivo and attach it to a computer.

Good luck,
robomeister

P.S. Or you could just ask me for a backup image. :)

jc6b

05-16-2011, 12:14 PM

blog-engineering com/blog/filmfestivals/2011/05/11/how-to-keep-your-wordpress-blog-focused-on-seo/ ]Source: I just love this blog :) here's a little payback (offtopic maybe but funny!)<br><br>If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t more people happy? :)

JavaJoe_2

05-16-2011, 05:06 PM

I recently upgraded my Pioneer Elite 57H to a 1T hd. I also was having problems using the Weaknee's adapter. I think you may need to remove the jumper on the adapter itself, so it's then a slave?? My old computer wouldn't let WinMFS work, using usb cables, so I had to use the IDE cables internally. I tried several attempts both with win and live, and then was able to get MFSLive to work. I think it has like 1200 plus hours of recording.
Are you getting mfslive to boot. PowerISO worked great for me and it was a free download from cnet. 30 days trial.

I am having problems upgrading my Hard Drive to a Western Digital 500GB. I have seen similar questions posted here, but did not find a solution [though I may have missed it]. l have tried both IDE and SATA Drives - imaged from the original [and still working] Samsung Hard Drive. I have used the SATA Bridge bought from Weaknees, as well as a SYBA SY-IDE-SATAHD IDE to SATA Device Adapter, which appears to work on other TiVO's. I know Western Digital's Master/Single/Slave jumper settings are different from most other manufactures, and have tried all possible combinations - to no avail.

My frustration is increasing as my patience is decreasing. I would truly appreciate any insight anyone can provide.

Thanks for the help

joelames

08-07-2011, 08:32 AM

Considering buying a Pioneer Elite DVR 57-H with a 250 gig hd for $125 from someone, works perfect, great condition. Any words of advice? Is this a reasonable price, would I be better off looking at something newer? A little hesitant buying something this old but for that price I probably can't go too wrong. Any advice is appreciated, I am a novice at this type of stuff, never had tivo myself, or a dvd burner outside of my old Dell which was awhile ago. Thanks!

shwru980r

08-07-2011, 09:10 PM