Nz Tivo!!

[David Stott]

Not fully there yet but an update.

Have now proven conculsively that the problem was . . . . my phone line. Crackle in background led me to call my telco's line company to fix the line. Amazingly they came that same afternoon and found a "massive" fault which produced a very clear line when fixed. Both my TiVos have now been through GS without a hitch; the new one had a change to the parameters based on private info from a reader of this thread, but my old one had no changes from before. Both connected instantly when they got to the point where they previously failed.

What's interesting about this is that even before the line was fixed, I was having NO problem connecting via browser to the file sites and I could download slices using HTTP (or was it FTP) with no problems and at my normal speeds (about 1.3mbps). This suggests that the TiVo is far more dependent on clear telephone lines than a PC, something others may need to be aware of.

So now I get live TV via the TiVos and can make manual recordings.

I am still having a problem choosing the right parameters to get actual usable guide data and also can't get TiVo to change channels on my Topfield decoder. I've had advice from someone who also has Freeview satellite, but their parameters didn't result in success on the new TiVo, and I'm in the "4-8 hour reorganisation" part of the process on my old TiVo where I chose different (and I think more likely) parameters. Will report again once I've done further testing. I note that "Topfield" on it's own doesn't seem to be an option in settop box choice (it does have "OzTiVo Topfield" in the list of options but that didn't work at the channel changing point on my old machine and "Pace" didn't work on the new one). I'm sure lots of Aussies have Topfield decoders (mine's the TF4000Fi) so any advice on the option I should be choosing here would be helpful.

David

[petestrash]

I haven't got an answer as to why noise on your line effected the TiVo's, but not the PC (though you said were also having issues with the forum). Your modem should handle these issues (assuming that they were only cabling related and not ISP), and the TiVo should have similar results to your pc as they are both using the same ethernet connection.

But glad that you have at least resolved that part.

Now with your IR problems, are you using IR wands or relying on the inbuilt blaster?

Peter.

[David Stott]

I'm using the cable that plugs into the back of the TiVo and hangs over the front of my Topfield. I had to select something to move through GS so chose OzTiVo Topfield. Unfortunately a change/set channel request (which is sent when it starts recording a program) now sends a code which brings up the list of available channels from the TopField instead of changing or even keeping a channel. Since this takes up most of the screen and happens every time a new recording starts, the result is that I can't see what has been recorded, so I've removed the cable entirely for now.

Another effect is when I try to use my Harmony 885 remote (after TiVo my other can't-live-without - again way superior to the alternative universal remotes I've seen) to change channels. The TiVo goes momentarily blank and then comes back to the same channel (naturally since the Topfield isn't getting any message). The TiVo now thinks it's on the new channel (again naturally), but what is really strange is that it clears its recording buffer at the same time so the last half hour of live TV is lost. Now those with only TiVos may not realise, but one of the many advantages of TiVos over all other PVRs (well the ones I've seen such as the new Topfield PVR6000ES and MySky) is that it does not lose its buffer when you temporarily swap to watch a prerecorded program. That's right. If you start watching a program on either of the others, the recording buffer is cleared up to the time you return from watching the recording and you can't rewind over the bit of live TV you may have missed when you go back to live TV. It continually amazes me that the 12 (?) year old TiVo design is still way superior to the apparent best of what else is out there.

My second Freeview box is a SatMax whch I think has a CoStar interior so would be interested in anyone's advice on what that one should be set to.

The other big problem I need to resolve (actually even more inportant than the channel changing above) is how to change the IR codes on one of my TiVos. Without this, I can't actually have both powered up at the same time which sort of removes the whole point of having two of them . I remember someone saying TiVo has 9 different code sets, but my searching so far brings up something called irslicecreator which sounds highly technical (although further reading suggests that is just for the set top box codes, not the TiVo's own ones?). My Integra amplifier comes with four different codecs built into the amp and remote, so if you get a second amp that you want in the same place, you simply tell the new amp to use codec 2 and then tell its remote to do the same thing. So I was hoping the TiVo process would be as simple.

David

[David Stott]

Ok, problem of controlling two TiVo's separately is well addressed here (for those who don't already know):

http://www.oztivo.net/twiki/bin/view...iVosInSameRoom

Works very simply and completely. Obviously the zero setting controls ALL TiVos which is why you have to change settings on both, not just one.

However, that also means I now have to update my Harmony to control two separate TiVo's and hoping they already have the codes for that. But not this forum's problem from here.

So now I still need to understand how to get the correct settings to control the set top boxes.

NB the new TiVo is still not getting the guide, so at very least I need to rerun GS with the settings I used on my old TiVo. Would prefer to wait though until I know what set top box to choose for SatMax. If there is no obvious answer to this (it's not a box that's well supported here, even from the guys I got it from), I might consider getting a new STB as it also has a serious problem of wrong aspect ratios which no-one has been able to help me with. For $100 or so, I might be better off getting a new TiVo friendly one. Any recommendations of what others like?

David

[catdog]

Lots of info about IR control can be found here:
http://www.oztivo.net/twiki/bin/view/IR/WebHome

Generally if the codes in the list don't work (i.e. you tried all the different numbers under OzTiVo Topfield), then you'll have to capture them yourself from the STB remote. This can be a real test of patience... sometimes it is straight forward and everything works, but other times it is a complete nightmare. There are a few different ways to capture the codes, I guess the best place to start is here:
http://www.oztivo.net/twiki/bin/view...IrSliceCreator

Alternatively, as you have realised, just buy a STB that someone else is already using! I have the "official" Hills one, but I wouldn't recommend it as there are plenty of others for about half the price. Do a search on these forums as the question of which STB everyone is using has definitely been asked before.

[petestrash]

Another effect is when I try to use my Harmony 885 remote to change channels. The TiVo goes momentarily blank and then comes back to the same channel (naturally since the Topfield isn't getting any message). The TiVo now thinks it's on the new channel (again naturally), but what is really strange is that it clears its recording buffer at the same time so the last half hour of live TV is lost.

This is normal and cannot be changed. It even still behaves like this in the latest TiVo models.

I think your other questions have already been answered.

Peter.

[David Stott]

Thanks Peter and catdog. Still trying to let Harmony software through Windows and Router Firewalls to update Harmony Remote (at least I think that's my problem) and will move on to set top box problems tomorrow.

One other thing that seems to have changed, but maybe it's a setting somewhere I can alter. I used to love the fact that the default recording setting was 5 minutes before and 10 minutes after except for in between contiguous programs. That seems to have vanished and everything now starts and stops on the dot. Is there a way to get this feature back?

David

[petestrash]

Endpad should be automatic, but will crash if there are not at least 2 shows in the todo list.

So make sure you have set at least 2 shows, then just reboot to restart it.

Peter.

[David Stott]

Peter. Nope, still not working. Have looked at the disk and can't find Endpad. Where should it be and what should be in it?

David

[David Stott]

OK, found Endpadplus in /hack/bin and assume that's it. Have read Readme and am stymied by instructions which imply that it either should be copied to or is already in /usr/local/epp but can't find any directory called /usr. Surely I'm not supposed to create it?

David