Going From Series 1 to Series 2, Have ?'s

[Megatronprime]

I have a series one tivo with a lifetime service agreement. I am now in a position that I only use the phone service at my house for the tivo, and really don't want to pay for phone service anymore.

Here is ? #1: I heard that the tivo series 2 can use internet for updating the program guide after the initial set-up is done with a phone line, is this true? (I can do initial set-up at a friends house with a phone line and then use my internet to keep it updated?)

? #2: Can my lifetime service be transferred to a series 2 tivo? And if so, how much does this cost?

I have been searching on the site for hours and keep finding conflicting information. Any help is appreciated!

[NoCleverUsername]

I have a series one tivo with a lifetime service agreement. I am now in a position that I only use the phone service at my house for the tivo, and really don't want to pay for phone service anymore.

Here is ? #1: I heard that the tivo series 2 can use internet for updating the program guide after the initial set-up is done with a phone line, is this true? (I can do initial set-up at a friends house with a phone line and then use my internet to keep it updated?)A series 1 can be made to use internet instead of phone, but it requires opening the case and installing a 3rd party piece of hardware called a TurboNet card. Sounds like you've had your unit long enough that the warranty has expired, so if you don't have a problem mucking around the guts of your TiVo, this might end up being less expensive than paying TiVo twice for the privilege of transferring your lifetime to a newer unit.

Newer series 2 units do not need the phone line for the initial guided set up. It depends on the software version on the unit (don't remember off the top of my head).

? #2: Can my lifetime service be transferred to a series 2 tivo? And if so, how much does this cost?

I have been searching on the site for hours and keep finding conflicting information. Any help is appreciated!TiVo has had special offers to transfer lifetime to a newer unit in the past but I'm not sure what the current deals are. If they do, it'll cost you another $299 or $399 to do so.

[Megatronprime]

Thank you very much! I do a lot of electronics soldering, so i have no problem modding the unit if I can find solid directions on what to get and how to install it. I would be happy just modding my current one if this can be done!

[scandia101]

Thank you very much! I do a lot of electronics soldering, so i have no problem modding the unit if I can find solid directions on what to get and how to install it. I would be happy just modding my current one if this can be done!

The Turbonet card is just a plug in card. The drivers for it are already included in the 3.0 version of the software.

http://www.9thtee.com/tivoupgrades.htm

[JacksTiVo]

I added the Turbonet card about a year ago when my S1 modem failed. It is not a major job and you can find written and photographic step-by-step instructions on the Web.

I recently added a wireless bridge when I had to relocate the S1 away from a wired ethernet cat.5 outlet.

The cost of doing the modifications will exceed the cost of a new S2 or S2DT which have so much more capability than the S1. If your S1 is one of the grandfathered units (I believe the cutoff date is early 2001 purchase) then you could transfer the lifetime free to a new S2, S2DT or HD unit.

[ciper]

Consider buying a Cachecard. It has the same network interface as the turbonet but also caches the database to help improve the speed of the Tivo gui. I still use my S1 with the cachecard to save entire series then watch them on the computer.

Unless you can get the parts cheap I suggest not buying an S2 since it is already near end of life and move directly to the TivoHD. I got mine with lifetime service for 627$ shipped and that was last year.

[magnus]

I agree.... if you're going to put lifetime on anything... it should be a Tivo HD or a Series 3.


Consider buying a Cachecard. It has the same network interface as the turbonet but also caches the database to help improve the speed of the Tivo gui. I still use my S1 with the cachecard to save entire series then watch them on the computer.

Unless you can get the parts cheap I suggest not buying an S2 since it is already near end of life and move directly to the TivoHD. I got mine with lifetime service for 627$ shipped and that was last year.