Time to Update

[Soapm]

I've had my series 2 DT since they first came out (2007???). It's the only Tivo I've ever owned and I've lived with it even though my cable company has slowly crippled its abilities.

Just received a letter today that we are going all digital in October which means I will be down to a single tuner Tivo that doesn't reliably go to the right channel (they turned off the serial control about a year ago and I had to switch to IR which doesn't always hit the right channel).

I've had this hacked Tivo so long and it's really been customized to my me. It does my caller id and easily views movies I have stored on my computer. I have tons of season passes, recordings and I want them all to somehow make it to my new Tivo. I can't think of everything it does but I would like to have the new one do it also...

Am I wrong in thinking the new Premiers have yet to be hacked? Does this mean I would have to load all my season passes one by one instead of backing up my existing ones and restoring them on the new Tivo?

What else should I consider looking for a new Tivo?

Are the 4 tuners and increased storage capacity the only difference with the Premier Elite? I think I can live without 4 tuners (at that price) but I do like the storage capacity. Can I get a premier XL and upgrade the hard drives? Looks a lot cheaper and 2 tuners should work fine for me.

What about the other premier (45 hours), does it have only one tuner? It says single cable card so I am thinking one tuner but want to be sure. I've never dealt with a cable card so not positive how they work? Just one slot so it must take just one card.

[jfh3]

Look in the Underground forums for more, but you can move your Season Passes from your old box to a Premiere from the TiVo web site.

Both current Premieres can have their internal drives upgraded to 2TB space. Both support 2 tuners in use concurrently, whether OTA or cable input or 1 of each.

For most cable systems, you will need a CableCARD to map the digital stations.

[innocentfreak]

CableCARDS can tune up to 6 channels so one card per TiVo as long as 6 or less tuners.

The Premiere and Premiere XL only differ by the 320gb vs 1TB drive, the XL comes with the Glo remote, and the XL is THX certified.

Yes you can upgrade the Premieres to 2TB, and there is a dedicated thread in the Upgrade forum. It isn't as easy as the series 2 and series 3, but easier than before mfslive.

You would most likely have to load the season passes one by one. With the Premiere it is possible to backup and load season passes from other Premieres using KMTTG.

Other than caller id, with PyTiVo you can do most of what you do now with regards to transferring shows to your TiVo from your PC.

[innocentfreak]

Look in the Underground forums for more, but you can move your Season Passes from your old box to a Premiere from the TiVo web site.

I didn't think the website worked for the series 2.

[jfh3]

I didn't think the website worked for the series 2.

You may be right - been so long since I had an active s2. But worst case you can use the website to repopulate the SPs for the Premiere fairly quickly.

[Dr_Diablo]

If the cost is not an issue, I'd wait for the Elite to launch...

You can still keep your older model Tivo connected to your network even if you've deactivated the service...

I bought a Premiere this past January, an store programs on my Series 3 unit...

My only concern with this newest model is how it will perform, hopefully it won't be as disappointing as the Premiere has been

[Soapm]

So the main difference is THX certified since I can get the $99 model and upgrade the drives. That is a relief.

THX certified... What exactly does that mean to me. I tried reading Wiki but I guess I'm not technical enough to grasp what it means.

I currently use an old tube set and don't see getting HD in the foreseeable future but who knows. My sound system is an old 5.1 KLX sound system but we don't use it except for the XBOX (not 360), VHS and DVD player (no blue ray). Oh, and I can hook our old cam corder to it to watch what we record but I don't think we've recorded anything in years.

What does THX certified mean to me?

[Soapm]

If the cost is not an issue, I'd wait for the Elite to launch...

You can still keep your older model Tivo connected to your network even if you've deactivated the service...

I bought a Premiere this past January, an store programs on my Series 3 unit...

My only concern with this newest model is how it will perform, hopefully it won't be as disappointing as the Premiere has been

You saying I don't have to move my movies over? I can just connect the series 2 somewhere in an obscure place and as long as it has a network connection I can watch the shows it has? Now that makes a huge difference since it has a TB drive already. Now you got the gears turning...

[Soapm]

Also, I see they have 3TB drives now at new egg. Can one of them be put in the 45 hour premier?

[Soapm]

One other question also, when I move my series of MASH to the Premier will I be able to put them all in a folder?

[L David Matheny]

Also, I see they have 3TB drives now at new egg. Can one of them be put in the 45 hour premier?

I see nobody answered this, so ... I believe I've read here that no TiVo can use a 3TB drive, not even 2TB of it. Somebody correct this if I'm wrong.

[innocentfreak]

I see nobody answered this, so ... I believe I've read here that no TiVo can use a 3TB drive, not even 2TB of it. Somebody correct this if I'm wrong.

Currently there is essentially a 2tb limit. The elite supposedly will still work with the dvr expander so it would raise the limit. The trick will be making it backwards compatible.

[Soapm]

Currently there is essentially a 2tb limit. The elite supposedly will still work with the dvr expander so it would raise the limit. The trick will be making it backwards compatible.

Thanks guys... DVR expander??? I googled and don't think I see what you mean.

Anyway, I found a 2TB premier at Amazon for $200 and thinking about pulling the trigger. I don't think I can beat that price modifying my own so what the heck...

[innocentfreak]

The dvr expander is the western digital external drive.

[Soapm]

The dvr expander is the western digital external drive.


I see, so it allows the Tivo to see 2+1GB. I think 2 Gigs should be fine for me since I'm still recording everything basic. My old eyes don't know any better.

Does anyone know that folder question? I know I can folder shows on my series 2 but I wonder how I would do it on a premier. I'm kind of excited about not having a Tivo and a cable box even though I will be losing one of the few clocks in the house I can actually see...

[rainwater]

I see, so it allows the Tivo to see 2+1GB. I think 2 Gigs should be fine for me since I'm still recording everything basic. My old eyes don't know any better.

You can't set a quality for digital recordings so once you go all digital, you will be recording in whatever quality the channel is using. 2TB is around 300 hours of HD although that is just an estimate since each channel uses different qualities.

[Soapm]

You can't set a quality for digital recordings so once you go all digital, you will be recording in whatever quality the channel is using. 2TB is around 300 hours of HD although that is just an estimate since each channel uses different qualities.

Wow, another bummer... The good news is I don't subscribe to any HD channels but there has to be a reason Comcast is going all digital so I may not have a choice. The shows I now have, will they move to the new Tivo in a basic format? I mean, upping the quality would gain me nothing since they'll never be better than they are right now.

[rainwater]

Wow, another bummer... The good news is I don't subscribe to any HD channels but there has to be a reason Comcast is going all digital so I may not have a choice. The shows I now have, will they move to the new Tivo in a basic format? I mean, upping the quality would gain me nothing since they'll never be better than they are right now.

If they go to all digital, even channels 2-99 will be digital. It doesn't matter if it is HD or not, you will be recording everything in the original broadcast quality (you can't choose recording quality on any digital channel). You can still have the same season passes. In fact, for the locals (which you should get in HD no matter what digital packages you get), you might as well record them from the HD channel but you don't have to.

[unitron]

I've had my series 2 DT since they first came out (2007???). It's the only Tivo I've ever owned and I've lived with it even though my cable company has slowly crippled its abilities.

Just received a letter today that we are going all digital in October which means I will be down to a single tuner Tivo that doesn't reliably go to the right channel (they turned off the serial control about a year ago and I had to switch to IR which doesn't always hit the right channel).

I've had this hacked Tivo so long and it's really been customized to my me. It does my caller id and easily views movies I have stored on my computer. I have tons of season passes, recordings and I want them all to somehow make it to my new Tivo. I can't think of everything it does but I would like to have the new one do it also...

Am I wrong in thinking the new Premiers have yet to be hacked? Does this mean I would have to load all my season passes one by one instead of backing up my existing ones and restoring them on the new Tivo?

What else should I consider looking for a new Tivo?

Are the 4 tuners and increased storage capacity the only difference with the Premier Elite? I think I can live without 4 tuners (at that price) but I do like the storage capacity. Can I get a premier XL and upgrade the hard drives? Looks a lot cheaper and 2 tuners should work fine for me.

What about the other premier (45 hours), does it have only one tuner? It says single cable card so I am thinking one tuner but want to be sure. I've never dealt with a cable card so not positive how they work? Just one slot so it must take just one card.

If you don't have a lifetime sub on that S2, and will be discontinuing the monthly once you get a new TiVo, you need to set up a big NTFS partition and use the free version of TiVo Desktop to start copying your recordings off of the S2 DT now.

Once that S2 isn't subbed anymore, you can't use the network to transfer anything to or from it.

Still, don't let it connect to the internet and find out it's no longer subbed once you end the sub.

[steve614]

What does THX certified mean to me?

Probably nothing.
THX certification is just a benchmark test that basically guarantees that the Tivo faithfully reproduces the audio/video signal that is fed into it. Other parameters are also tested, but they won't factor in unless you are a die hard Home Theater enthusiast.

[Shagger]

Get the regular Premier, no need for the XL and its bogus THX certification, have Comcast come out and get the cable card installed, then drop in a 2TB drive. Case closed. :cool:

[dwit]

Thanks guys... DVR expander??? I googled and don't think I see what you mean.

Anyway, I found a 2TB premier at Amazon for $200 and thinking about pulling the trigger. I don't think I can beat that price modifying my own so what the heck...

I'd like to see this 2 TB Premiere at Amazon, for $200, no less.

Don't think so !

You sure that's not a 1 TB Premiere, for closer to $250?

[Soapm]

I'd like to see this 2 TB Premiere at Amazon, for $200, no less.

Don't think so !

You sure that's not a 1 TB Premiere, for closer to $250?

http://www.amazon.com/Tivo-Premiere-TCD746320-Upgraded-Capacity/dp/B004DMKK9C/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I14J9344D1Q3OR&colid=343SAC52DPF7O

I was going by what the guy said. I didn't want to post the link because it said one left but I just pulled the trigger so I got mine.

[innocentfreak]

There are also some on ebay for under $200 with free shipping.

[Soapm]

Once that S2 isn't subbed anymore, you can't use the network to transfer anything to or from it..

This is what I thought, I must have misunderstood what was said above. Now I need a place to store all the stuff on box 1 so I can put them all on box 2. I may have to buy a TB just to make the change then return it (just kidding).

Anyone know if I can folder all my MASH, Barney Miller, Andy Griffith, Dragnet, Adam 12 etc.. episodes in the new Premier?

[innocentfreak]

Anyone know if I can folder all my MASH, Barney Miller, Andy Griffith, Dragnet, Adam 12 etc.. episodes in the new Premier?

Yes. the trick is with PyTiVo to use one of the metadata tools. You can also do it manually, but you need a text file that has the same series ID per show. Then when you push the shows PyTivo picks up the metadata and will group shows with the same series ID into a single folder.

[akc]

http://www.amazon.com/Tivo-Premiere-TCD746320-Upgraded-Capacity/dp/B004DMKK9C/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I14J9344D1Q3OR&colid=343SAC52DPF7O

I was going by what the guy said. I didn't want to post the link because it said one left but I just pulled the trigger so I got mine.

@Soapm: Do you trust that seller? He's also selling on eBay and I was nervous bc it looks too good to be true. Also, he claims they can qualify for the multiple-service discount - do you think so?

Thx!

[Soapm]

@Soapm: Do you trust that seller? He's also selling on eBay and I was nervous bc it looks too good to be true. Also, he claims they can qualify for the multiple-service discount - do you think so?

Thx!

I'll say it this way, I've dealt with Amazon resolution process and prefer it over eBay. They put the weight of the company to keep their sight known as low risk.

I agree it looks to good to be true but I figure $200 won't end my financial future so it seemed like a risk worth taking. My biggest concern was the quality of the drive they used for the update but I will check it when it arrives.

I don't know anything about the multi service discount but I don't plan on using it. I am current paying $12.99 for Tivo service and the discount wants $14.99. Even if I just activate a new Tivo they want $14.99.

I plan to try the device switch feature in my profile hoping I can continue to receive $12.99 for the new Tivo. It was probably a mistake for me to post that here before I tried it since someone from Tivo might close the door before I try the knob. This is why I didn't want to purchase directly from Tivo.

I will post back when it arrives and let you know how it worked out. The wife read your post and put me on notice so I hope it works out...

[Soapm]

Wished I had of seen this one first.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-TiVo-Premiere-Upgraded-2TB-317-HD-Hours-/390343073929?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae242a089

He even warrants the hard drive for 3 years. Not saying he'll be in business that long but it's a good offer and he has a lot of feedback.

[Soapm]

Yes. the trick is with PyTiVo to use one of the metadata tools. You can also do it manually, but you need a text file that has the same series ID per show. Then when you push the shows PyTivo picks up the metadata and will group shows with the same series ID into a single folder.

Are there instructions on this? I assume they will be on the pytivo instruction site? I never got that web interface for pytivo to work and ended up going old school when I did my last install. Hopefully this goes better for me than that did.

[akc]

I'll say it this way, I've dealt with Amazon resolution process and prefer it over eBay. They put the weight of the company to keep their sight known as low risk.



Good point. There is a lot of risk in eBay - most often when you find a good price.



I don't know anything about the multi service discount but I don't plan on using it. I am current paying $12.99 for Tivo service and the discount wants $14.99. Even if I just activate a new Tivo they want $14.99.




For a Premiere, the fee is usually @$20 a month and with one that qualifies for multi service, that can come down to $12.95. In the good 'ol days (we've had seven tivos, including the original, that was $6.95 for each add'l TiVo regardless of which one). But some Premieres lock you at $20 / month regardless and I don't want to get hooked into a higher fee and it's hard to know on these.



I will post back when it arrives and let you know how it worked out. The wife read your post and put me on notice so I hope it works out...

Didn't mean to get you in trouble! I'm trying to decide between the one you're looking at or getting the Woot $49.99 Premiere and adding to the hard drive (it's a refurb but from TiVo directly, full warranty and qualifies for multi service discount. Have a half an hour to decide!

I'm upgrading the last S2 and would probably prefer the larger hard drive - it's just the risk of the seller. I'm also trying to figure out if I'll actually shell out for the Elite someday (soon) in which case I'll save $ and go Woot and spend the rest on the Elite later.

Ah, the dilemmas of a TiVo owner. :)

(ACK! 7 minutes now!)

[Soapm]

I'm trying to decide between the one you're looking at or getting the Woot $49.99 Premiere and adding to the hard drive (it's a refurb but from TiVo directly, full warranty and qualifies for multi service discount. Have a half an hour to decide!

You're kidding, Woot jumped in at $49... Man what a night for me to rush and pull the trigger. I guess I lost my patience.

PS... Not really in trouble, I put carpet and a cable hook up in the dog house for just this reason...

[akc]

You're kidding, Woot jumped in at $49... Man what a night for me to rush and pull the trigger. I guess I lost my patience.

PS... Not really in trouble, I put carpet and a cable hook up in the dog house for just this reason...

Ha! I'm still having an attack of "should I"? Bought one but want the second - and just add memory?

[unitron]

This is what I thought, I must have misunderstood what was said above. Now I need a place to store all the stuff on box 1 so I can put them all on box 2. I may have to buy a TB just to make the change then return it (just kidding).

Anyone know if I can folder all my MASH, Barney Miller, Andy Griffith, Dragnet, Adam 12 etc.. episodes in the new Premier?

Get a non-"advanced format" 1, 1.5, or 2TB drive and make it all one NTFS partition. Use the free version of Tivo Desktop and make that drive the one where it installs the "My TiVo Recordings" folder.

Once you get shows copied into that folder you can sort them into subfolders that the next TiVo can see when you go to copy them to it.

Using TiVo Desktop instead of just copying TiVo to TiVo preserves more of the metadata attached to each show.

[Soapm]

Get a non-"advanced format" 1, 1.5, or 2TB drive and make it all one NTFS partition. Use the free version of Tivo Desktop and make that drive the one where it installs the "My TiVo Recordings" folder.

Once you get shows copied into that folder you can sort them into subfolders that the next TiVo can see when you go to copy them to it.

Using TiVo Desktop instead of just copying TiVo to TiVo preserves more of the metadata attached to each show.


What about sorting them by original air date? Someone posted a script a while back that sorted my folders by original air date. Any chance that can be duplicated on the premier?

Now that I think about it, if I'm going to buy a 1TB drive I can just leave that drive hooked to my computer and use it to store the shows. There would be no reason for me to move them to the new Tivo if I do that since I can view them from the computer or on the computer if I choose...

[CoxInPHX]

Wished I had of seen this one first.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-TiVo-Premiere-Upgraded-2TB-317-HD-Hours-/390343073929?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae242a089

He even warrants the hard drive for 3 years. Not saying he'll be in business that long but it's a good offer and he has a lot of feedback.

I purchased two NEW Premieres for $59.00ea w/ Free shipping from J & R Music (http://www.jr.com/brand/tivo/) (They seem to run this special quite often towards the end of the month, last two months it started on the 3rd Thursday of the month)

Purchased a 2TB WD AV-GP WD20EURS (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042AG9V8) for $89 from Amazon and upgraded the Internal HDD in just a couple of hours using jmfs Live (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=455968), a very simple process.

$59 + $89 = $148
Lifetime $499.00

[akc]

I will post back when it arrives and let you know how it worked out. The wife read your post and put me on notice so I hope it works out...

@Soapm: I know it's only been a few days, but any communications from the guy on Amazon? He's feedback on eBay is a bit mixed but it mostly has to do with communication.

Still trying to get myself squared away b/c I don't want to do multiple installs - and I only want to go ONCE to Comcast here in Baltimore to give them back their crud. ;)

Lemme know when you've got an update. Thx!

[Soapm]

@Soapm: I know it's only been a few days, but any communications from the guy on Amazon? He's feedback on eBay is a bit mixed but it mostly has to do with communication.

Still trying to get myself squared away b/c I don't want to do multiple installs - and I only want to go ONCE to Comcast here in Baltimore to give them back their crud. ;)

Lemme know when you've got an update. Thx!

Yes, I've heard from him and my unit should be here early next week according to the tracking number. He told me it is upgraded with a western digital green caviar drive so that sounds positive. He said he will warrant the drive via WD for 3 years but hopefully I won't have to test that offer.

I suspect he's getting them from Woot or some other $50 source and upgrading them with the $79 drive which gives him good $50 per unit. I'll let you know what I get when it gets here.

[Soapm]

Anyone who is interested, the Tivo arrived a few days ago but I just opened the box today. It came with all the cabling and manuals and was shipped in a standard Tivo premier box. I called Tivo and gave them the TSN and they said it's clear to be activated and would qualify for MSD.

Great buy when you think about it however I bought a TivoHD with the prom already modded so won't be using this premier. Haven't decided how to get rid of it but if I can break even I'm happy...

[tec311]

is there any way to add a second hard drive to a tivo unit ?

[unitron]

is there any way to add a second hard drive to a tivo unit ?

There are various ways, depending upon about which model TiVo we're talking.

The Premiere is what's known as a Series 4 platform, so it's not exactly the first TiVo model ever released.

If you want more storage space for more recordings (on a Premiere), you can put in a larger single drive, or add an approved external drive, or, for shows that don't have the anti-copy bit set, copy them off to a computer (then deleting them from the TiVo to free up hard drive space) and then copy them back later to that or some other TiVo on your same account.

There are differing opinions on which is the preferred method.

If you just want to know if a second drive can physically fit inside, only the Series 1s were actually designed to allow that, although there were aftermarket brackets developed to allow mounting 2 drives in a Series 2.

[tec311]

I wanted to add another hard drive in my Premiere, can that be done?

[unitron]

I wanted to add another hard drive in my Premiere, can that be done?

If you mean place a second drive inside the Premiere, you might be able to find the space, but you'd have to rig up some sort of hardware to hold it in place yourself, the data connection would have to go to the same place as an external drive's data connection would go, and you'd have to come up with a custom made wiring harness to intercept the combination data/power SATA plug for the first drive to provide a power source for the second drive, or else you'd need an external power supply that you could somehow feed into the TiVo to that second drive.

So it's theoretically possible, but not at all practical.

Are you looking for more storage space, or just wanting to take on the challenge of adding a second drive?

If it's just about the storage, I answered that in my previous reply when I said...

If you want more storage space for more recordings (on a Premiere), you can put in a larger single drive, or add an approved external drive, or, for shows that don't have the anti-copy bit set, copy them off to a computer (then deleting them from the TiVo to free up hard drive space) and then copy them back later to that or some other TiVo on your same account.

There are differing opinions on which is the preferred method.

[DonaldBurns65144]

Probably nothing.
THX certification is just a benchmark test that basically guarantees that the Tivo faithfully reproduces the audio/video signal that is fed into it. Other parameters are also tested, but they won't factor in unless you are a die hard Home Theater enthusiast.

I purchased the XL and used it to setup my TV for THX picture quality settings. Other than that I don't think it does anything. It did work and the PQ is great, but ...... I'm sure there's other programs or software that you can use to adjust PQ.