Tivo dead :-( Options?

Wow, long time since I've posted on here - glad to see there is still some life in UK TiVo land...

Got up this morning to find a sick TiVo - no live video feed (scarts etc ok, works fine if I hit the aux button). It's sitting unplugged at the moment in the hope that maybe it'll cool down and start working but I'm not holding out all that much hope :-/

So, assuming it's terminal, what are the options these days? I'm assuming Thompson are not offering swap outs now? A second hand TiVo is an option I guess but do I really want that? I've not got a HD TV (yet) but when my 9 year old 29" 4:3 sony dies it'll be a HD that replaces it.

Seems that I can get a Sky+ for 99 quid with 30 quid install. Or, for an extra 100 quid I could get the Sky HD box (and I assume, not turn on the HD sub for now).

Alternatively, the V+ is an option (although I'm not sure how my wife would survive without Sky1 ).

One thing that concerns me with the V+ box is how good the controls are - on my Vbox upstairs the vid on demand stuff has only one FF speed and the response is a bit laggy. I assume one a V+ box local recordings are fine?

With the Sky option, is their any difference between the Sky+ and the Sky HD box (appart from the obvious HD!) - ie, will a HD box without the HD sub just operate as a normal Sky+ setup?

Finally, anyone got a TiVo they want to get rid off? I'm still on a tenner a month (yes, I know) so lifetime subs not an issue.

Just weighing up the options.... I don't really want to leave TiVo but...

(This is where you point out that sony have just announced the 8 tuner HD sky compatible TiVo in the UK with free upgrades to long term TiVo users...)

Cheers,

Darren

 

I don't think so - playback of prerecorded stuff worked fine. As did everything else on the box. The only thing that wouldn't work was viewing live TV (so recording was a no no).

It's as if the encoding chip has let out it's magic smoke or something :-(

Yeah, it's been rebooted and powercycled. I'll have another play at lunchtime.

ebuyer.com and the internet I assume you mean?

I dunno. The TiVo is really showing it's age now :-( Twin tuners would be really handy and when I switch to a new TV HD will be the decider. I don't want to leave the TiVo world but....

 

Yep, that worked fine. It's cooled down now and appears to have started working again :-/

Everything was as normal apart from it not being able to encode anything. I'll pull it to bits and give it a clean out and keep my fingers crossed.

If it's going to be intermittent then it's days are numbered :-(