# OK, I broke down and got a TiVo **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 12, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859 "2004-02-12T15:50:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/1 "2004-02-12T15:50:07Z")
I don’t even like TV, so not sure why I got a sudden impusle to get a TiVo… maybe it’s because when I DO watch TV I hate the commercials, and the cartoon network insists on putting Sheep in the Big City on at 3am. Anyway, it’s doin’ its thing at the moment, downloading, processing, indexing, etc etc. Once it’s all done, I’m going to remove the phone cable that’s stretched across my living room at a height of 4’ (nearest phone jack was 20 feet away) and hook the TiVo up to my wireless network. A few questions about that: - I have not purchased the Home Media option (or whatever it’s called, that thing you buy for $99) because I’m not sure I need it (yet). - I _would_ like to be able to transfer stuff off the TiVo to my hard drive at times. Can I do this? Do I need the Home Media option? Or does the TiVo just load on my network like another hard drive? - What else do I need to know about the wonderful world of TiVo? ---
**Author:** ![siberia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/siberia/32/9129_2.png) [@siberia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/siberia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/2 "2004-02-12T15:56:43Z")
Congrats on the TiVo! I love mine and cannot imagine watching television without one. For all things TiVO I highly recommend the following site: [TiVo Community Forum](http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/) ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/3 "2004-02-12T16:05:27Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > - I _would_ like to be able to transfer stuff off the TiVo to my hard drive at times. Can I do this? Do I need the Home Media option? Or does the TiVo just load on my network like another hard drive? No, sorry, you can’t do this. Tivo stuff stays on the Tivo (or Tivos, if you’ve got more than one). Although ISTR someone on one of the Tivo forums reporting that they’ve hacked the Tivo file system, that’s probably not for the casual user. > [@](#): > > - What else do I need to know about the wonderful world of TiVo? You’ll never watch TV the same way again. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/4 "2004-02-12T16:17:16Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > - What else do I need to know about the wonderful world of TiVo? If you’re like me, there’s a ton of shows you loved that you didn’t know were still on at weird times (3 in the morning). Now you can watch em. Here’s a link to the 30 second skip Easter egg: [http://www.bigmarv.net/how/tivo30secondskip.html](http://www.bigmarv.net/how/tivo30secondskip.html) You’ll never have to watch commercials again, unless you watch live TV. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/5 "2004-02-12T16:34:09Z")
OOooooh, thanks for the 30 second skip thing **GMRyujin**. One question: what does that button that you override to do the 30 second thing do normally? I did a little research into TiVo hacks, and it seems that TiVo records in a proprietary format, which is about the stupidest thing I can think of. Lemme guess, Tivo is owned by a joint venture between Apple and the people who brought us Betamax. I didn’t buy the thing primarily to record stuff on my computer, but it would have been a nice option. Why in the world would TiVo make such a simple thing so hard?!? ---
**Author:** ![MarkofT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MarkofT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkofT)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/6 "2004-02-12T19:22:29Z")
While you can get a lot of help over at the Tivo Community Forum, Deal Database covers the hotter issues such as video extraction. Once you get the hacks installed it isn’t that difficult to pull the video files off your TiVo but remember that you are voiding your warrenty if you crack open the case. ---
**Author:** ![MarkofT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MarkofT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkofT)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/7 "2004-02-12T19:26:04Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > OOooooh, thanks for the 30 second skip thing **GMRyujin**. One question: what does that button that you override to do the 30 second thing do normally? The 30 second skip replaces the trickplay feature which jumps 6 seconds back. Handy for a quick review of that last few lines spoken or instant replaying some scene before they replay it on TV. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/8 "2004-02-12T19:36:58Z")
We’re getting TiVo today! Finally caved in after losing yet another video tape. Really looking forward to it. (Does anyone know if FedEx requires a signature? Didn’t buy local because I didn’t want to be charged $40 sales tax.) ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/9 "2004-02-12T19:45:12Z")
> [@MarkofT](#): > > The 30 second skip replaces the trickplay feature which jumps 6 seconds back. Handy for a quick review of that last few lines spoken or instant replaying some scene before they replay it on TV. Actually the 30-second skip replaces the ‘end of recording’ button that takes you to the end of the program that is recorded. It is actually good that thing is gone because it can sometime be hit by mistake and you find out who got booted off the island while you are still watching the show. ---
**Author:** ![MarkofT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MarkofT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkofT)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/10 "2004-02-12T20:43:45Z")
> [@LlamaPoet](#): > > Actually the 30-second skip replaces the ‘end of recording’ button that takes you to the end of the program that is recorded. It is actually good that thing is gone because it can sometime be hit by mistake and you find out who got booted off the island while you are still watching the show. Is it that one? I prefer to use the 2xFF to speed by the commercials because I actually like some of them and don’t really want to miss any new commercials so I have never enabled that feature. Does everyone here know the of TiVo+ key combinations? If you hit TiVo twice you go right to Now Playing. Tivo then 2 will take you to the ToDo list. I don’t recall the others but the FAQ on TiVo Community should have them. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/11 "2004-02-12T21:00:50Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I didn’t buy the thing primarily to record stuff on my computer, but it would have been a nice option. If you have a PC, you could get a [TV Wonder](http://www.ati.com/products/tvwonderve/index.html) or something similar for $30. Haven’t done much with mine yet though. Tried recording a movie off of PBS at 2am but I couldn’t get it to play back. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/12 "2004-02-12T23:32:52Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I didn’t buy the thing primarily to record stuff on my computer, but it would have been a nice option. Why in the world would TiVo make such a simple thing so hard?!? It’s too late for you, but Series 1 tivos store video unencrypted, so it’s easy to convert to mpeg for burning to dvd. This is why when I recently bought a TiVo, I got a used series 1 instead of a new series 2. As to why, my guess is that they are trying to avoid lawsuits from big media companies accusing them of enabling file-sharing. They probably can’t afford to fight such a lawsuit, even if they win. (Case in point: Replay TV was sued for having automatic commercial skipping in their units. TiVo wisely decided not to include this feature, nice as it would have been.) ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/13 "2004-02-12T23:39:49Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > If you have a PC, you could get a [TV Wonder](http://www.ati.com/products/tvwonderve/index.html) or something similar for $30. Haven’t done much with mine yet though. Tried recording a movie off of PBS at 2am but I couldn’t get it to play back. Get yourself Showshifter from [www.showshifter.com](http://www.showshifter.com) . It’s some great software for TV cards on PC. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/14 "2004-02-12T23:45:55Z")
> [@Flymaster](#): > > Get yourself Showshifter from [www.showshifter.com](http://www.showshifter.com) . It’s some great software for TV cards on PC. Thanks for that, I’ll check it out. ---
**Author:** ![ILovCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e99b99/32.png) [@ILovCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ILovCoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/15 "2004-02-13T07:47:09Z")
[QUOTE=Athena] Anyway, it’s doin’ its thing at the moment, downloading, processing, indexing, etc etc. Once it’s all done, I’m going to remove the phone cable that’s stretched across my living room at a height of 4’ (nearest phone jack was 20 feet away) and hook the TiVo up to my wireless network. [/quote=Athena] I don’t think TiVo likes non-landline phone connection. You may find it cannot dial-in and it will cease to do what you bought it for. In Orlando in 2000 and 2001 I had SO MANY problems with this issue and local number access. I was contacting my satelitte provider, TiVo, contraption manufactuor, every other month ranting about something or another. :mad: Then the contraption got “zapped”. (Lightening capitol of the world-orlando) :eek: I had to use the warrenty sent it back for repair. Received a NEW machine. Fewer problems since. 😃 Maybe I had jinx/defective unit? 😕 [/Weebl/] LOVE TIVO!!! TiVo is GOOOOD! MMMMMMM TiVo! TIVO![/Weebl/] ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/16 "2004-02-13T08:55:04Z")
[QUOTE=ILovCoffee] > [@Athena](#): > > I don’t think TiVo likes non-landline phone connection. You may find it cannot dial-in and it will cease to do what you bought it for. TiVo works just fine via internet, either via wired Ethernet or wireless. I even had mine using my home network in the setup stage thanks to an undocumented feature I found out on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![french\_frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@french\_frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/french_frog)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/17 "2004-02-13T11:47:42Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I don’t even like TV, so not sure why I got a sudden impusle to get a TiVo Janet Jackson? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/18 "2004-02-13T14:34:03Z")
> [@french frog](#): > > Janet Jackson? > 😃 _checks pants, still female, still heterosexual_ er, no. OK, after 24 hours of TiVo use: - 2 out of 3 Tivo tech support people are smart and wonderful. The other one will want you to tear your hair out and send the TiVo back for a full refund (he told me that it would take up to TWO WEEKS for the TiVo to download the latest and greatest version of the software that would work with my wireless network, without doing the first bit of diagnostics. When I called back to complain, I got a smart tech support guy, who told me that was crap and walked me through the correct procedure.) - It really sucks that it can’t record a channel you’re not watching at the time. C’mon, guys, it’s a hard drive and a tuner. Throw in another tuner, let me watch what I’m not recording right now. Or at least offer the option of buying a version with this capacity. I know I can splice the cable wire and have the option of watching TV sans TiVo while TiVo records, but that kinda defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? - The UI is really good. Snaps to TiVo’s UI team. - I love love love the on-screen TV Guide. This is what Digital Cable should be like, not the monstrocity that it is with a full 1/3 to 1/2 the Guide screen taken up by advertisements. - I wish I’d thought of TiVo 5 years ago. Not a technically difficult problem at all; the idea was the money maker. - Must find nifty hacks. And yeah, **ILovCoffee** , like **friedo** says, the series 2 TiVos work just fine with a wireless network connection. No phone line needed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/19 "2004-02-13T16:12:17Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > - I love love love the on-screen TV Guide. This is what Digital Cable should be like, not the monstrocity that it is with a full 1/3 to 1/2 the Guide screen taken up by advertisements. That’s the analog guide. The digital guide is just program listings in the bottom half, the top half split between a preview screen in the top right corner and an info screen in the top left. At least that’s what Comcast does. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859/20 "2004-02-13T18:03:07Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > It really sucks that it can’t record a channel you’re not watching at the time. I was concerned about this also, when I first got mine (it’s been about a month), but I recognized quickly that it’s really a non-issue. See, the magic of TiVo is that _you no longer need to watch live TV._ Everything I watch, now, is a recorded show off the now-playing list. Occasionally I’ll watch something live _while TiVo is recording it_ if I’m available and/or it’s something I can’t wait to see, like _Angel_ and such. But those are rare exceptions, and I never, but never, watch live TV for the hell of it any more. So I watch nothing but already-recorded material, and TiVo is free to run in parallel recording what I’ve told it to (or whatever it decides I might enjoy). Once you get adjusted to looking at Now Playing for shows you _know_ you want to see, instead of browsing the channel guide to see if there _might_ be something worth watching, you’ll wonder why you’d ever _want_ to channel-surf. It really is a complete paradigm shift, but it’ll take a little while to get used to it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-broke-down-and-got-a-tivo/228859.md?page=2)