DTiVo (SAT-T60) Repair?

[Andy Evans]

My TiVo got damaged by a lightning strike in the neighborhood a while ago, despite a surge suppressor on the power line and both satellite lines. It's a Series 1 Sony SAT-T60. The problem is that now tuner 1 only gets half the satellites (either all odd or all even transponders, I forget which), and the dolby digital out isn’t working. (Tuner 2 is fine, and the analog out is fine, and everything else is good too. It could have been worse…)

Does anyone know of a reliable repair place, or know anyone who does repairs? It has lifetime service, and I’ve modded it with an extra 120GB drive and a CacheCard hard disk cache/Ethernet card and installed a bunch of software, so I don’t want to just buy a replacement old SAT-T60, or have it swapped with a new or refurbished unit. Ccscorporation seems to be one place - has anyone used them?

[scottt]

"It" doesn't have lifetime service, your account does. I'd give it a Viking funeral and get another DiTiVo

[Dkerr24]

Yep, don't bother with fixing that unit... pickup one on eBay. You could even upgrade to a faster series2 unit for less than $100.

[poppagene]

My TiVo got damaged by a lightning strike in the neighborhood a while ago, despite a surge suppressor on the power line and both satellite lines. It's a Series 1 Sony SAT-T60. The problem is that now tuner 1 only gets half the satellites (either all odd or all even transponders, I forget which), and the dolby digital out isn’t working. (Tuner 2 is fine, and the analog out is fine, and everything else is good too. It could have been worse…)

Does anyone know of a reliable repair place, or know anyone who does repairs? It has lifetime service, and I’ve modded it with an extra 120GB drive and a CacheCard hard disk cache/Ethernet card and installed a bunch of software, so I don’t want to just buy a replacement old SAT-T60, or have it swapped with a new or refurbished unit. Ccscorporation seems to be one place - has anyone used them?

You may want to make sure that the problem is with the dtivo and not with the cabling or with the multiswitch or the dish. try swapping out the cables for tuner one and tuner 2 and see if tuner 2 is still fine and tuner 1 not -- this at least will let you know whether th eproblem is with the sony unit or outside of the box.

[poppagene]

You may want to make sure that the problem is with the dtivo and not with the cabling or with the multiswitch or the dish. try swapping out the cables for tuner one and tuner 2 and see if tuner 2 is still fine and tuner 1 not -- this at least will let you know whether th eproblem is with the sony unit or outside of the box.

Also as you had surge suppressors everywhere, it may be that one or more of them were fried and that the problem is with one of the surge suppressors,

[dishrich]

Yep, don't bother with fixing that unit... pickup one on eBay. You could even upgrade to a faster series2 unit for less than $100.

Also, try the Wal-Marts around you - some STILL have R10's new in boxes on their shelves.

[Andy Evans]

"It" doesn't have lifetime service, your account does. I'd give it a Viking funeral and get another DiTiVo
According to the TiVo support pages,

You can transfer your existing service agreement (with the exception of Product Lifetime Service) to another DVR at any time."

You can transfer Product Lifetime Service to another DVR only if:

# You activated the DVR less than 30 days ago.
# The DVR was exchanged under warranty, either through the retailer or the manufacturer.
# The DVR was activated under an incorrect service number.

If any of these conditions apply, you can transfer Product Lifetime Service
Does this apply only to standalone TiVos? I assumed it applied to all of them. Is there a difference, since DirecTV is involved?

[Andy Evans]

You may want to make sure that the problem is with the dtivo and not with the cabling or with the multiswitch or the dish. try swapping out the cables for tuner one and tuner 2 and see if tuner 2 is still fine and tuner 1 not -- this at least will let you know whether th eproblem is with the sony unit or outside of the box.I swapped the satellite cables, and the problem stayed with tuner 1. I also tried both feeds on another DirecTV box, and they both worked OK. So I'm pretty sure it's not the cables or the surge suppressors, especially since what I've read online indicates that losing all the odd or even transponders is a symptom of tuner damage.

[litzdog911]

Right. Those Terms & Conditions have nothing to do with DirecTV/Tivo DVRs. DirecTV has their own T&C's. Originally you could get Lifetime DVR service tied to your account. That ended a few years ago when Tivo started charging a monthly "DVR Service Fee" of $5/mo for as many DVRs as you wanted on one account. Yours is probably old enough to still have the Lifetime Service tied to your account, so a replacement DirecTivo would still have that service.

[Vroomfondel]

According to the TiVo support pages,


Does this apply only to standalone TiVos? I assumed it applied to all of them. Is there a difference, since DirecTV is involved?

Nothing about lifetime service from TiVo applies to a DirecTV Receiver with TiVo service. It's a completely different animal. You DO NOT have a TiVo, however much easier it is to say.

Early in the DTiVo scene, it was possible to purchase lifetime service, which meant you were exempt from the (then) $4.99 monthly TiVo service fee. Some people have this and it is forwarded on to any DVR service fee that is charged, but it has not been possible to add this to your account for several years.

A TiVo DVR is a comletely different box. It is maintained by TiVo, who get the whole fee (anything from $6.99 for a multi-box home to $19.99 for a "free" box with one year of service). It was possible to buy a lifetime subscription for an individual box (I have one from an original 14 hour Philips).


Bottom line. Anything you read about service on the TiVo site applies to TiVos and not D* DVRs, with TiVo service or without.

[Andy Evans]

Right. Those Terms & Conditions have nothing to do with DirecTV/Tivo DVRs. DirecTV has their own T&C's. Originally you could get Lifetime DVR service tied to your account. That ended a few years ago when Tivo started charging a monthly "DVR Service Fee" of $5/mo for as many DVRs as you wanted on one account. Yours is probably old enough to still have the Lifetime Service tied to your account, so a replacement DirecTivo would still have that service.If it's tied to the account, what about the people on eBay selling SAT-T60s and other Series 1s with "lifetime service"? Are they incorrect? Or have they done something to the OS on the box?

[Edmund]

If it's tied to the account, what about the people on eBay selling SAT-T60s and other Series 1s with "lifetime service"? Are they incorrect? Or have they done something to the OS on the box?

Yes.

[poppagene]

If it's tied to the account, what about the people on eBay selling SAT-T60s and other Series 1s with "lifetime service"? Are they incorrect? Or have they done something to the OS on the box?

Those have likely been hacked and do not have a true lifetime subscription.

[Jonathan_S]

Early in the DTiVo scene, it was possible to purchase lifetime service, which meant you were exempt from the (then) $4.99 monthly TiVo service fee. Some people have this and it is forwarded on to any DVR service fee that is charged, but it has not been possible to add this to your account for several years.Almost right. Lifetime was offered back when the DirecTV service fee was $9.99/month.
(I don't recall the exact timing of DirecTV no longer selling lifetime and DirecTV lowing the DVR fee to $4.99/month. The later might have happened slightly before the former, but for the majority of the time DirecTV offered lifetime their DVR fee was $9.99/month).

[MiamiTV]

I think it could be the LNB that got damaged