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Is it possible to replace the stock DVD burner on these TiVos with another one? If so, would there be any difference in performance?
No and no.DaveLessnau said:Is it possible to replace the stock DVD burner on these TiVos with another one? If so, would there be any difference in performance?
OK. I had assumed TiVo had put the cheapest (i.e., limited) hardware available in the boxes and was using some standard Linux drivers. I had hoped that it would be possible to replace the drives and somehow include a new driver file. But, I guess that's not to be. Thanks.megazone said:...the drives in the Toshiba and Humax systems are 16x Pioneer DVR-108 drives that can do DVD-/+R/RW, including dual layer. It is the TiVo software that is limited to 4x and only DVD-R/RW single layer. The HW can already do more than the software can. Even the older Pioneer 801H/57H units have drives that support more than the software.
Actually, you might be interested to know that the Humax DRT-400 I just bought about two weeks ago has a DVR-109.megazone said:the drives in the Toshiba and Humax systems are 16x Pioneer DVR-108 drives
Yes, but I'm not sure of the details. I have a freind with an 810 that the drive went bad on...he replaced the drive and it works again. I would assume he got the same drive that died or somethign close.LlamaLarry said:I don't have one of these units, but have coworkers with them. If their drive "breaks" or someone tries to use it as a cupholdercan they just stick an off the shelf Pioneer DVD burner in there?
The physical drive can do dual-layer, yes. It isn't that it 'denies' it, like it is blocking it or something, it is that the TiVo software doesn't have support for it. Just like burning dual-layer on a PC doesn't work if your DVD burning software doesn't grok it, even if you have a dual-layer burner. TiVo would have to add software support to handle dual-layer media and formatting the data appropriately.HeyGuy said:So, Humax DRT 800's have the power to burn dual layer, but tivo software denies it?
So, does anyone know if Tivo will add support for higher speed and/or dual layer? I suspect that the high speed burning might be limited by the system hardware (cpu, i/o, etc). However, with dual layer you are just talking about a change in capacity. I'm not a dvd expert but it seems to me that dual layer should be doable. The additional capacity would be nice (once dual layer writeable dvds drop in price).Originally Posted by megazone
The physical drive can do dual-layer, yes. It isn't that it 'denies' it, like it is blocking it or something, it is that the TiVo software doesn't have support for it. Just like burning dual-layer on a PC doesn't work if your DVD burning software doesn't grok it, even if you have a dual-layer burner. TiVo would have to add software support to handle dual-layer media and formatting the data appropriately.
I suspect they will do it once the price drops on the media. Right now it's too expensive to even make a DL dvd with a PC (vs a SL dvd).tab97 said:So, does anyone know if Tivo will add support for higher speed and/or dual layer? I suspect that the high speed burning might be limited by the system hardware (cpu, i/o, etc). However, with dual layer you are just talking about a change in capacity. I'm not a dvd expert but it seems to me that dual layer should be doable. The additional capacity would be nice (once dual layer writeable dvds drop in price).