DirecTV & TiVo: What Options?

[williamp]

When my DirecTV with TiVo receive blew up, DirecTV sent me an "upgraded replacement," never bothering to tell me this new box was not TiVo and it was a different service from what I had before. Needless to say, the new DVR is junk -- I've responded to another post along these lines elsewhere.

BUT, WHAT OPTIONS ARE THERE FOR TiVo EQUIPMENT AND SERVICE? Is there still anywhere (reputable) to get a combination unit, even refurbished; and, if I can find one, does anyone happen to know if DirecTV can (or will) honor the original terms after pulling this bait-and-switch on me?

ALSO, IF I PURCHASE the TiVo Series 2 Dual-Tuner DVR and hook it into a basic DirecTV receiver, will the functionality and operation be the same as I had with the combination unit? (What are the major differences?)

I'm gonna lose my religion if I'm condemned to this DirecTV box (they really botched this deal). On the other hand, I'm not sure about adding yet another device ... and trying to manage all of the hookups ... and paying much more for TiVo ... and having a second service provider to deal with ... all the while, not knowing if it will even do what it did before.

Please help! (Thanks.)

[shanew1289]

I bought 6 of them from ebay. Usually cost me around $50 to get them to me.

I then spent between $50 and $100 for a new hard drive.

You will have to restore an image to get back to square one though.

And fix your old one while you are at it.

What was your old receiver model?

[JimSpence]

The DT SA TiVo cannot control two DirecTV receivers, so you will lose dual tuner functionality.

When you say your original TiVo "blew up" exactly what do you mean? If it was the hard drive it could be replaced. If you can find a true DirecTV DVR with Tivo, there's no reason that DirecTV won't activate it. Under which terms I don't know.

[williamp]

It was an RCA, can't remember the model number, but I managed to trash the unit, following the brilliant advice of the DirecTV geniuses. (Geez, I'll never listen to a word they say again.) It was probably a cpu, because it froze on a menu and occasionally advanced and stopped for a few minutes and advanced for a second or two and froze and this went on forever. I don't believe it would have been accessing storage at that time, but this isn't my area of expertise.

[JimSpence]

Sorry to hear that, because I think it may have been the hard drive. But, that's all moot now. Hopefully, you can find an R10 or other series 2 unit somewhere.

[shanew1289]

Access to hard drive is happening CONSTANTLY, not that you want to hear it now :)

Dual buffer always running, except when doing certain things in which it warns you it is stopping them.

So I am not sure if you already dropped your Tivo from the account, how seemlessly you will be able to add a refurbed one.

GL