I've been looking at the work you guys have done and I'm well impressed. It got me thinking about the possibilities of a Freeview/digital tuner mod. Looking at these Freeview boxes:-

http://www.inest.co.uk/products/Tevi...rt_Adapter.asp
http://www.willentrading.co.uk/visio...hmit48pa9327pf
http://www.securitydirect.co.uk/acat...x_Compact.html

made me realise that the decoding electronics can be quite compact with modest power requirements. So what I'm visualising is removing the existing analogue tuner and being able to replace it with a tuner and compact decoder (with simplified firmware as the EPG, etc would be redundant) that can then be connected into the Tivo motherboard (with wires so we don't have to worry too much about dimensions). If its done right the Tivo would be able to switch channels directly (not via infra-red) and the decoded output would be fed directly onto the motherboard. And with a bit of luck it would pick-up its power off the motherboard too.

I've seen references to the Alps tuner specs but I can't find them. Can anyone help me out? Some of the pin-out abbreviations I can decode (power, channel switching, etc) but others I'm less clear on so an explanation of those would be useful.

Also can a Tivo still work OK with the tuner removed?

Thanks

Paul