New TIVO Box and member.

[captaincool01]

Hello all!

I can't believe there is a little tivo community! how great!

All I wanted was something to record 'Late night with conan obrien' (which I can't watch now because I'm no longer at uni, and unfortunately part of the labor force... ie getting up early)

I just won a series 1 philips tivo unit off ebay and it's being sent over(from US)

My question is-- because the unit is brand new in the box and never used, or activated, can it still be used to simply operate off my AV cables from Austar without activation?

Oh, and secondly, outputting AV cables from the tivo should not then be a problem should it?

I guess these are things i should have asked before I paid for it!

Anyway thank you in advance-- and I look forward to learning more with you guys

Captain

[Darren King]

I can't believe there is a little tivo community! how great!

Welcome :)


I just won a series 1 philips tivo unit off ebay and it's being sent over(from US). My question is-- because the unit is brand new in the box and never used, or activated, can it still be used to simply operate off my AV cables from Austar without activation?

TiVo outside the USA does not get "activated" like it does in the USA. Once you get it you will need to replace the current software on the hard disk with the one suitable for use over here. This is configured for our video standards and our own server that "talks" to the TiVo for setting it up for use and downloading guide data.

On that note, if your TiVo did not come with a networking card you will want to invest in one. This is because we generally do not use the inbuilt modem as there is not many dialup ISP's that can support the login/password authentication. The common way to use a TiVo here is via the network card and your broadband internet service provider. These network cards are NOT like the type for a PC and are also more expensive ($70-$100AUD).

You can also do the setup and operation via a serial cable to your PC and as already mentioned via the modem which is harder but doable. More information on the OzTiVo website in the "networking" area (not this site - this is the forums) and I'll give the address below.


Oh, and secondly, outputting AV cables from the tivo should not then be a problem should it?

No it won't be a problem. You won't be able to use the RF input or output from the internal tuner as this is not compatible over here. But A/V input and output will be fine.


I guess these are things i should have asked before I paid for it!

Some research will help immensely. Visit www.oztivo.com and look at the "Beginners FAQ" area. This website also has the relevant software and setup instructions required for getting the TiVo up and running.

[captaincool01]

Thanks for the reply Darren.

We only ever watch pay tv at my house-- so I was thinking of just runing the AV out from the austar box directly to the TIVO box and the AV out from the TIVO to the television...

So, I won't need the tv guide, etc as far as I can tell.

Does this make sense? So, maybe I won't have to update the software because all i want to is use the AV cables and the TIVO as a dummy VCR.

Sorry if I sound like an idiot-- I guess we all have to start somewhere!

Thanks again, Captain

[Darren King]

You can use a TiVo as a "dumb VCR" if you manually specify start and stop time. But if this is all you wanted then a simple hard disk recorder purchased locally would have been a better way to go as you are not even scratching the surface at what the TiVo can do. However that is your choice.

Having said all that you are still going to have to reload the software with the localised version because the original software is designed for the USA video standard (NTSC) and won't function here as we are PAL video standard. Furthermore you are still going to have to set the software up (this is known as "Guided Setup") to tell it what inputs to use, etc which will mean having to connect the TiVo to the internet as mentioned in the previous reply. This is required so it can connect to the Australian emulator and retrieve setup information as this is not initially programmed into the software. Even if you achieve all this and don't have a permanent connection another pitfall of having the TiVo crippled with no guide data is that with no permanent connection to the outside world the clock will drift. This is fixable with a couple of linux commands via a PC connected to the TiVo serial port about once a week.

But really to operate a TiVo in the way you want can be tricky and not what they are designed for.

Good luck.

[petestrash]

I just won a series 1 philips tivo unit off ebay and it's being sent over(from US)

My question is-- because the unit is brand new in the box and never used, or activated, can it still be used to simply operate off my AV cables from Austar without activation?

I'm a little concerned about your quote.

It would be very rare to find a series 1 TiVo brand new still in the box never used. As production stopped more than 5 years ago.

I hope you haven't bought a more recent model which may not work at all here.

Could you post the eBay Id number so we can check which unit you bought.

Also check the BeginnersFAQ (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/FAQ/BeginnersFAQ) for information about TiVo in Australia and WhichTiVoToBuy (http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/FAQ/WhichTiVoToBuy) for a list of acceptable units.

Peter.

[captaincool01]

Hey pete,

here's the URL of the sale http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300068982271&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=020

I thought, considering that my tv is NTSC/PAL compatible that it would be fine for the AV cables from Austar to run into the TIVO unit and then straight out of the TIVO and into the TV.

What sort of mods would I be looking at to accomplish this? Doesn't seem like a huge issue?! can i just change the output of the austar box to NTSC?

Thanks again for your help guys.

Oh, basically I just want something to record an hour of tv every night and then re-record over it... a VCR would do the job... but i thought a tivo would be 'cool'.

I already have a DVD player that plays divx/xvid movies so streaming from my PC isn't at all important.

I wish everything was as simple as when we were MOSCing the old austar cards!

Cheers, Captain

[Darren King]

here's the URL of the sale http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300068982271&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=020


Yep. That's a Series 1 alright. Although you are a brave person delaing with a zero feedback seller and not actually seeing what is in the box, or if it works.... or if you will ever get it. Still I guess we all had to start with no reputation or rating at sometime so I'm probably just being over cautious with all those stories you hear about ebay.

HDR212, meaning it will have a 20GB hard disk which will give you 8-10 hours of usable recording space. Forget the claim "20 hours" as this is in the "Basic" recording mode that compresses the picture so much it will be very blocky.

Also while on the subject of if you ever receive it: I hope you spent some decent money on Air Mail shipping to get it here in 14-21 days. If you elected for surface shipping then expect to wait anything from 8-12 weeks. Forget what the USPS website quotes for shipping times... double it. And of course the longer in transit the more risk it will get shipping wear and tear. Make sure the seller is specially packing it for a trip half way around the world.


I thought, considering that my tv is NTSC/PAL compatible that it would be fine for the AV cables from Austar to run into the TIVO unit and then straight out of the TIVO and into the TV. Doesn't seem like a huge issue?! can i just change the output of the austar box to NTSC?

Unfortunately you assumed wrong. While you *can* output NTSC from a TiVo to your TV given your TV can accept NTSC you are going to have a problem with the Austar box. Unless you know something I don't then they have not got a setup option to make them output in NTSC. And even if they did you would most likely notice frame skip where 1-in-5 frames are dropped. Makes a fast moving scene look jerky.


What sort of mods would I be looking at to accomplish this?

As already said: load on the oztivo software. At least this way you have full PAL compatibility. You are in a catch 22 anyway as the TiVo you have purchased will be locked to boot into Guided Setup meaning you will have to have it activated. You can't do that from Australia with the original USA software, and even if you could it would want to have a paid subscription and the TiVo will deactivate itself without one. This does not happen with the oztivo software.

Also if you don't want a network card then there are ways of accomplishing setting up a TiVo only with the oztivo software using other means like a serial cable from your PC to act like a network connection which you can then unplug after completing setup.

So do yourself a favour and reload the unit with the oztivo software. Better still, ditch the 20GB hard disk and spend the $100 or so for some decent size hard disk like a 200GB unit which will give you 80-100 hours recording space.


Oh, basically I just want something to record an hour of tv every night and then re-record over it... a VCR would do the job... but i thought a tivo would be 'cool'.

TiVo's are "cool". But not in the way you want to go about setting up one. You're totally re-inventing the wheel of what has already over the last seven years been accomplished in Australia. If you only wanted something to record one program a night and erase it the next then you should have considered a DVD-RW recorder. Same functionality as what you wanted a TiVo for without all the headaches you are going to have with the way you want to run your TiVo.


I already have a DVD player that plays divx/xvid movies so streaming from my PC isn't at all important.

Series 1 TiVo's can't stream Divx/Xvid from a PC anyway. Not enough processor power in them.


I wish everything was as simple as when we were MOSCing the old austar cards!

I'm fairly sure you were not born known how to do that and had to learn by experimenting. TiVo is the same, even simpler.

[captaincool01]

OK. SO Darren, accourding to you:

"USA TiVo's come with a tuner module that is NOT compatible with PAL transmission standards. You can use an external program source to feed into your TiVo via the one set of A/V input connectors from your Foxtel/Austar pay TV service, VCR or a Digital Set Top Box and this works fine. A lot of people indeed use their TiVo like this and are happy doing so."

I shouldn't have any issues?

Thanks again.

[Darren King]

Yes, that is correct. However just for clarity I will point out that this paragraph is on my "What is the "PAL Tuner" Modification?" page and not on a general information page. To that end, the statement is referring to information that if you import a TiVo assuming that people are using the OzTiVo software then there is no need for a PAL tuner if you want to feed it an external device on it's input. Nothing more.

But if you are taking that statement out of context to also mean you can import a TiVo and run it with the original USA software you are wrong. IT WILL NOT WORK.

I hope I have made it clear enough.

Out of curiosity I'm starting to wonder what all the fuss is about with you refusing to load on the OzTiVo software? It's one of the easiest things to do and at least your TiVo stands an excellent chance to actually be useful rather than an expensive doorstop.