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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004OT, TiVo, and TiVo without a subscription
A friend bought a Tivo, like a vcr with a hard drive instead of a cassette tape. It turns out that, although they used to work on their own or with their info service (basically a digital TV Guide and some frills) for the last 2 1/2 years one has had to subscribe to the info service, for about 12 or 13 dollars a month, or it most of the functions don't work. A) Does anyone know how to make it work without the phone subscription? B) Tivo's webpage says that it only works in the US and UK. The televison system is different in the UK, right? But I guess since it only records the signal, format doesn't matter, right? But if so, that means that a TiVo would work anywhere in the world if they wouldn't make people subscribe to their service.. s/ meirman If you are emailing me please say if you are posting the same response. Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years Indianapolis, 7 years Chicago, 6 years Brooklyn NY 12 years Baltimore 20 years meirman spake thus: > A friend bought a Tivo, like a vcr with a hard drive instead of a > cassette tape. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > about 12 or 13 dollars a month, or it most of the functions don't > work. Evan and I (at least) are Tivo fanatics. Tivo is much, much more than a Guide and some frills - it has completely changed the way we watch TV. In essence, it records all the programmes I want to watch and keeps them until I watch them, taking care not to record any episodes twice. It does this largely without programming - you tell it you like "Enterprise", for example, and it will then record all the episodes it finds, on whatever channel, with an option to only record new episodes. You don't have to notice when the new series starts, nor that Sky One is kicking off the season by showing an extra episode on a Sunday before the regular programming starts on Monday. Your friend should have paid the "lifetime" subscription, for about 20 times the monthly fee. He would now be in the black and continue to get the EPG for nothing for as long as the Tivo worked. > A) Does anyone know how to make it work without the phone > subscription? Not easy, and it's frowned upon by the Tivo hacking community to discuss. The box is actually a linux computer so it's very easy to update and modify; Tivo do not complain about this, but in return we do not discuss the theft of EPG. I believe there is some work done in Canada to get it to work off Digiguide, but I don't know the details. However, a reasonable amount of IT knowledge is required. I have connected mine to the house LAN and added a Web Server (I can programme the thing from my desk), an FTP server, and a variety of useful software; e.g. it sends me an email every day to let me know what it can't record because of clashes. I can also suck mp2 files out of the box into my PC and process into video or (more commonly) audio to listen to/watch at another time. I am very fond of radio comedy and drama, so I put them onto CD and listen as I travel the UK motorways. > B) Tivo's webpage says that it only works in the US and UK. The > televison system is different in the UK, right? But I guess since it > only records the signal, format doesn't matter, right? The hardware is different, to deal with the different TV systems. But the main issue is availability of the EPG, without which it is not worth having. > But if so, that means that a TiVo would work anywhere in the world if > they wouldn't make people subscribe to their service. They don't make people subscribe, and it will work anywhere, provided you've got the right hardware for your broadcast system, but you can only use the basic facilities (manual recording) without the EPG. There is a vast amount of knowledge and discussion at these two forum sites, where you will find me by another name: http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/ http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/  SignatureDavid ===== In alt.english.usage on Tue, 27 Jan 2004 09:17:43 -0000 david56 <bass.c.voice@ntlworld.com> posted: >meirman spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >the episodes it finds, on whatever channel, with an option to only >record new episodes. Does it distinguish between episodes in the prime time and those out of prime time that are reruns? Some shows are shown as both in the same years. Reruns are good if I"m available, but I wouldn't want to record them. If not, I would rather record by time and know exactly what I'm getting. Shows that I like usually come in a row, so I set the vcr for 8 to 10 tuesday one station, 9 to 11 wednesday on another. > You don't have to notice when the new series >starts, nor that Sky One is kicking off the season by showing an >extra episode on a Sunday before the regular programming starts on >Monday. The latter is something, but not enough. There are maybe two episodes a year of shows that I watch that fall into that category. >Your friend should have paid the "lifetime" subscription, for about WADR, you don't know how much money my friend has or how hard she works for it, and you shouldn't be telling her what she "should" buy. Maybe you didn't mean it the way it sounds. >20 times the monthly fee. He would now be in the black In the black? You mean 20 months from now. Not now. > and continue >to get the EPG for nothing Nothing? Are you counting the lost interest/dividends on the large amount paid up front? That's another one or two months before she would "break even", but she would still have spent hundreds of dollars. >for as long as the Tivo worked. Only as long as the company stayed in business. >> A) Does anyone know how to make it work without the phone >> subscription? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >update and modify; Tivo do not complain about this, but in return we >do not discuss the theft of EPG. She's not, and I wouldn't be either, interested in stealing the program guide. We just want to be able to use it as it used to be used without the EPG, as a typically or well functioned vcr that holds more than 8 hours of tv. (OT My issue is that right now the only vcr's sold are low end. I had hoped that while the price of low-end vcrs went from 200 dollars to 60 dollars, the price of high-end vcrs would go from 500 to 150. But no luck for me.) (We don't even want that number thingy that vcrs have, put in one 6 digit number and it figures out start/end times and channel. I have no problem putting the actual info in.) > I believe there is some work done >in Canada to get it to work off Digiguide, but I don't know the >details. However, a reasonable amount of IT knowledge is required. She has me and other friends who know a reasonable bit about IT. She almost certainly wouldn't have bought it under these circumstances, and she can still return it (what a pain) but if the only way to make it work now is to steal the digiguide, she might be willing to do that. I doubt she would use any functions but the non-subscription ones, anyhow. Do you know if it is necessary to open the case or anything to make it work. She wouldn't return it if she had removed the cover, even if they didn't notice? >I have connected mine to the house LAN and added a Web Server (I can >programme the thing from my desk), an FTP server, and a variety of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >comedy and drama, so I put them onto CD and listen as I travel the UK >motorways. She doesn't care about clashes or mp2 or recording on to a CD. If a program is cancelled and the replacement gets recorded, no big deal. If it is moved and it doesn't get recorded, nothing is so important that it matters. >> B) Tivo's webpage says that it only works in the US and UK. The >> televison system is different in the UK, right? But I guess since it [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >But the main issue is availability of the EPG, without which it is >not worth having. Exactly. >> But if so, that means that a TiVo would work anywhere in the world if >> they wouldn't make people subscribe to their service. > >They don't make people subscribe, and it will work anywhere, provided >you've got the right hardware for your broadcast system, but you can >only use the basic facilities (manual recording) without the EPG. By manual you mean, I think, when you are home.** There used to be a lot of times when there were two good things on at the same time, one to watch and one that would need to be recorded, but if you only have broadcast tv, those days are over in the USA. Now it happens maybe once every couple months. >There is a vast amount of knowledge and discussion at these two forum >sites, where you will find me by another name: > >http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/ >http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/ Thank you very much. I start to answer before finishing reading. I might have left a lot of this out if I had first read to the end. <;-) s/ meirman If you are emailing me please say if you are posting the same response. Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years Indianapolis, 7 years Chicago, 6 years Brooklyn NY 12 years Baltimore 20 years meirman spake thus: > In alt.english.usage on Tue, 27 Jan 2004 09:17:43 -0000 david56 > <bass.c.voice@ntlworld.com> posted: [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > the vcr for 8 to 10 tuesday one station, 9 to 11 wednesday on > another. Time of broadcast is not relevant. It knows the date of the first showing of this episode on this channel (subject to the Tribune agency getting it right); you can choose to record only first-run broadcasts, or all broadcasts of this series no matter whether it's been shown before. If the date if first showing is less than 7 days ago, the programme is assumed to be a first-run (it's probably a repeat during the first week), but it will not record a duplicate of something you have waiting to be seen, or have recorded and deleted within the last 28 days, unless you specifically override it. > >You don't have to notice when the new series > >starts, nor that Sky One is kicking off the season by showing an [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > The latter is something, but not enough. There are maybe two episodes > a year of shows that I watch that fall into that category. UK schedules seem to be much less fixed than those in the US - it's perfectly common (mostly on the BBC) for the actual time of evening broadcasts to change from week to week by up to an hour, often because of concerts, sport, plays or films shown earlier in the evening. The main terrestrial channels do not start their programmes on the half hour - if a programme lasts 25 or 45 minutes then the next one starts 25 or 45 minutes later (as is often the case with US programmes with the commercials taken out). > >Your friend should have paid the "lifetime" subscription, for about > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > In the black? You mean 20 months from now. Not now. Did I misunderstand? I thought your friend had been paying the monthly subscription for the last couple of years. > > and continue to get the EPG for nothing > > Nothing? Are you counting the lost interest/dividends on the large > amount paid up front? That's another one or two months before she > would "break even", but she would still have spent hundreds of > dollars. £200 in my case - interest for 2 years on £200 would not be as much as £10 (less tax) in the UK. I didn't mean to be offensive or dictatorial - perhaps it's a UK usage, but I was indicating that hindsight now tells us that a different course of action would have been preferable. > >for as long as the Tivo worked. > > Only as long as the company stayed in business. True, but there's little sign of them going out of business. > >> A) Does anyone know how to make it work without the phone > >> subscription? [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > without the EPG, as a typically or well functioned vcr that holds more > than 8 hours of tv. Fair enough - it would be well worth while searching the forums and post questions if you don't find the answers - the people there are very helpful. > (OT My issue is that right now the only vcr's sold are low end. I had > hoped that while the price of low-end vcrs went from 200 dollars to 60 > dollars, the price of high-end vcrs would go from 500 to 150. But no > luck for me.) Decent VCRs in the UK are now under £75; is it different in the US? > (We don't even want that number thingy that vcrs have, put in one 6 > digit number and it figures out start/end times and channel. I have [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > work. She wouldn't return it if she had removed the cover, even if > they didn't notice? I think it's unavoidable as the first bit of software has to be loaded direct to the hard disk, which means taking it out and putting it into your PC to set up. After that, you can add an ethernet card (a little more cost) and do everything over the LAN. > >I have connected mine to the house LAN and added a Web Server (I can > >programme the thing from my desk), an FTP server, and a variety of [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > broadcast tv, those days are over in the USA. Now it happens maybe > once every couple months. There is a difference between the software version in the US and the UK. I think the UK version still allows for timed recordings, but it may be that the US version no longer does. > >There is a vast amount of knowledge and discussion at these two forum > >sites, where you will find me by another name: [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Thank you very much. I start to answer before finishing reading. I > might have left a lot of this out if I had first read to the end. <;-) No problem. I also answered more about forums before getting to this point. If your friend was sold a Tivo without being made very certain that she would have to pay a subscription or large fixed amount to make it worth having, then the store is at fault. The UK boxes had a huge sticker which explained this. I prefer to think of the device costing £400, rather than £200 + £10 per month. In that way, the proper cost can be understood up front. To sell it without this information is underhand. SignatureDavid ===== david56 spake thus: > > >for as long as the Tivo worked. > > > > Only as long as the company stayed in business. I should add that if the Tivo/Tribune service went away, the hacker community would probably provide a replacement in double quick time. SignatureDavid ===== In alt.english.usage on Wed, 28 Jan 2004 11:35:13 -0000 david56 <bass.c.voice@ntlworld.com> posted: >david56 spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >I should add that if the Tivo/Tribune service went away, the hacker >community would probably provide a replacement in double quick time. That's reassuring. BTW, someone referre me to this: http://www.tivocanada.com/ It starts off: >TiVo Canada Setup Guide > >Please note, this is only for non-american residents. TiVo's >are not sold outside of the US and TiVo does not support them. This confused even me, because here the Canadian web-page host is referring to residents of Canada as non-american residents. Even when I use American as synonymous with a citizen of the US, I and most have never suggested that the other residents of the Americas are "non-american"! But it's the willingness of so many Canadians to let USAns have exclusive use of American that ended what reluctance I had about the word. >We hope they will change their policy. Until this happens we >have to find other ways to load guide data on them. If you >live in the US please get a subscription to keep this >excellent product going. Plus it is a million times easier >to pay for listings than doing these hacks. s/ meirman If you are emailing me please say if you are posting the same response. Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years Indianapolis, 7 years Chicago, 6 years Brooklyn NY 12 years Baltimore 20 years In alt.english.usage on Wed, 28 Jan 2004 11:20:55 -0000 david56 <bass.c.voice@ntlworld.com> posted: >meirman spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 58 lines] >Did I misunderstand? I thought your friend had been paying the >monthly subscription for the last couple of years. No, she just got it a week ago. This accounts for your use of "should", and if I had known you thought this, I would not have been annoyed. Indeed under those circumstances she would have spent all that money by now, and your advice, though late :) would not have cost her money. >> > and continue to get the EPG for nothing > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >True, but there's little sign of them going out of business. Enron, Arthur Anderson, Pan Am Airlines, lots of others. Sometimes it's hidden and even shareholders don't know what trouble a company is in. >> She's not, and I wouldn't be either, interested in stealing the >> program guide. We just want to be able to use it as it used to be used [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Decent VCRs in the UK are now under £75; is it different in the US? No but decent is not what I want. They used to make much better. Mine, that just broke a few months ago, has 4 forward speeds, 2 rewind speeds, a countdown timer that tells how much tape is left on the reel to record on (far more valuable to me than knowing how long I have been recording during the current session.) It has all the controls on the vcr, and doesn't depend on having a working remote. Doesn't require on-screen programming. Non-on-screen is faster or much faster once one knows how to do it. Mine has all 10 numbes on the vcr itself, and on the remote. It has 30-second skip. I was able to find some of these features in some vcrs but most of them in none. ABout the same time, at rummage sales I ended up buying separately two vcrs in very good condition that turned out to almost match and to run with the same remote control, so I decided to go with that for a while. Haven't hooked them up yet. I expect eventually to buy a dvd recorder, but I wonder if they will ever has as many features as my vcr did. >> (We don't even want that number thingy that vcrs have, put in one 6 >> digit number and it figures out start/end times and channel. I have VCR-plus. That's what they call it. I think it might be part-owned by TV-Guide. >> Do you know if it is necessary to open the case or anything to make it >> work. She wouldn't return it if she had removed the cover, even if [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >it into your PC to set up. After that, you can add an ethernet card >(a little more cost) and do everything over the LAN. Then we can't do it, because now it is perfect and can still be returned. And it sounds like too much work, and I'm not going to commit myself and I'm not sure I can finish, and she doesn't know enough. Wait a second. You're still talking about simulating the phone service. >If your friend was sold a Tivo without being made very certain that >she would have to pay a subscription or large fixed amount to make it >worth having, then the store is at fault. The UK boxes had a huge >sticker which explained this. It certainly wasn't huge, it was only one line on the label, but we saw it. I and her ex-boyfriend who she talked to the next day thought that it was optional. Because it used to be. Quite surprised that it changed. >I prefer to think of the device costing £400, rather than £200 + £10 >per month. In that way, the proper cost can be understood up front. Yeah, but in that case it is more than she is willing to spend. She had to put in a new transmission and a new waterpump in her car. >To sell it without this information is underhand. I wouldn't say that here. I don't have great expectattions from the clerks. It's nothing like that sitcom Are you being Served, where working in the mens department is a career. The clerks here at stores like this work for a year or two and then go on to some other job, and although you might read all the owners manuals in your spare time in the first month, at least stuff like this, I don't expect that. But they have absolute return policies, if you don't lose the packing or scratch the case, for usually 30 days. (one place had only 2 weeks.) At the big electronics stores they don't argue at all and it takes 5 minutes to return stuff. OTOH, at one department store you have to get a slip in one department and cash it in another. They portray this as the right department knowing more about the transactiion, but it may must be a way to make returns more difficult, so people will return less. s/ meirman If you are emailing me please say if you are posting the same response. Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years Indianapolis, 7 years Chicago, 6 years Brooklyn NY 12 years Baltimore 20 years > Evan and I (at least) are Tivo fanatics. It *was* you -- the old forgettery isn't quite dead, then. > > A) Does anyone know how to make it work without the phone > > subscription? > > Not easy, and it's frowned upon by the Tivo hacking community to > discuss. Well, presumably one can discuss making the box do the things it can do without the subscription info (and would continue to be able to do if the info ceased to be available) -- it's just "hacking" that's frowned on (understandably). > The box is actually a linux computer so it's very easy to update and > modify; Tivo do not complain about this, but in return we do not > discuss the theft of EPG. I'd be far more interested in paying for the EPG but using it with a non-Tivo box -- especially as new Tivos are not available in the UK at present -- but I expect that's not terribly easy to do? How do they police the "lifetime" EPG subscription, BTW, given that it's for the "lifetime" of a single Tivo box. Is the info keyed to a particular Tivo by serial number (or something like that)? If your Tivo dies can you buy a new one (second hand, for example) without a new subscription and continue to use the old sub with it? If you have two Tivos do you have to download the EPG twice? > ... added a Web Server (I can programme the thing from my desk), an > FTP server, and a variety of useful software; e.g. it sends me an > email every day to let me know what it can't record because of > clashes. Nice! Cheers, Daniel. Daniel James spake thus: > I'd be far more interested in paying for the EPG but using it with a > non-Tivo box -- especially as new Tivos are not available in the UK at > present -- but I expect that's not terribly easy to do? I've never heard of it. > How do they police the "lifetime" EPG subscription, BTW, given that it's > for the "lifetime" of a single Tivo box. Is the info keyed to a > particular Tivo by serial number (or something like that)? If your Tivo > dies can you buy a new one (second hand, for example) without a new > subscription and continue to use the old sub with it? If you have two > Tivos do you have to download the EPG twice? The subscription is keyed to the serial number of a chip soldered to the mother board - this is what has enabled hacking as changes to the disk drive (I replaced my 40 Gb disk with a 120 Gb disk) do not change the identity of the device. Each Tivo requires a separate subscription and download (but in the UK the phone call is 0800, and in any case you can fix it to fetch the data over broadband). If your Tivo dies during the warranty period, they will transfer the subscription to a new machine. After that, you have to buy another subscription. If your old Tivo dies, you could theoretically remove the identity chip from it and solder it into a new one, but I suspect this is beyond my soldering competence. But the most likely thing to fail is the hard disk, and I have the original disk (which I removed) safely stored away against this possibility. There are no other moving parts, unless you count fans. SignatureDavid ===== In alt.english.usage on Wed, 28 Jan 2004 11:28:47 -0000 david56 <bass.c.voice@ntlworld.com> posted: >Daniel James spake thus: > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >stored away against this possibility. There are no other moving >parts, unless you count fans. That's nice, reliable, easy to repair, by changing the HD, and that makes it strange that while there were 20+ (I think) brands of vcr in the US alone there are only two brands of TiVo (Relay is the other). Surely competitors will arise that don't requre phone service. Or maybe the comptetition is going to be the dvd recorder which is out now but still expensive. 600 dollars for the one he "recommended". s/ meirman If you are emailing me please say if you are posting the same response. Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years Indianapolis, 7 years Chicago, 6 years Brooklyn NY 12 years Baltimore 20 years meirman spake thus: > In alt.english.usage on Wed, 28 Jan 2004 11:28:47 -0000 david56 > <bass.c.voice@ntlworld.com> posted: [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > the US alone there are only two brands of TiVo (Relay is the other). > Surely competitors will arise that don't requre phone service. Tivo is a brand. Nobody can manufacture a Tivo device without a licence from the Tivo company - presumably they have restricted these for reasons of their own. In the UK they had only one manufacturing contract with Thomsen of France, and when this ran out a couple of years ago they did not renew it or make any other arrangements, so we are "currently" unable to buy new Tivo boxes. They come up on eBay occasionally. SignatureDavid ===== "Daniel James" <wastebasket@nospam.aaisp.org> wrote... > I'd be far more interested in paying for the EPG but using it with a > non-Tivo box -- especially as new Tivos are not available in the UK at > present -- but I expect that's not terribly easy to do? Have you looked at DigiGuide? For an annual sub of £8.99 you can download schedules of all TV & radio channels, and configure your preferences fairly intelligently. You can have a month's trial from http://www.digiguide.com/ Matti > Have you looked at DigiGuide? For an annual sub of £8.99 you can > download schedules of all TV & radio channels, and configure your > preferences fairly intelligently. You can have a month's trial from > http://www.digiguide.com/ I was aware of DigiGuide, but hadn't (haven't) looked into it. I see that the website says: | Download DigiGuide Free Trial | Download takes just 8 mins on a 56k modem (2.7mb) | Fully compatible with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP No linux? The web version is platform-independent, of course, but I was hoping it might be possible to talk to the non-web version from something like MythTV (and while I could make an automated web client to do I'd be running the risk that it would all fail horribly if they updated the website format). I've just ordered the bits for a very small form-factor PC with a TV card that I'm planning to use as a PVR under linux. Part of the object (and justification) of the exercise is to have a well-defined goal to work towards as I get to know the ins and outs of linux better, so I'm committed to linux (for this project, at least). [Hmm. It occurs to me, though I hadn't thought of it in these terms before, that although the new PC will be the smallest (notebooks excepted) PC in the house, and by far the cheapest (even cheaper than my wife's new bottom-of-the-range Tosh) it will also be the most powerful ... that's life I suppose.] Cheers, Daniel. > A friend bought a Tivo, like a vcr with a hard drive instead of a > cassette tape. I had quite a long off-topic exchange about Tivo with someone else in this group a few months ago ... might have been David56? Google is not being my friend, at the moment. AIUI one of the main advantages of Tivo is that it uses a database of programme information that is periodically downloaded into the Tivo box from a subscription service to find programmes that match your viewing prferences. Without the subscription service it can do all the things an ordinary VCR can do, but with the subscription one can program it to do things like "record any film starring James Mason" or "record anything with Star Trek in the title" I believe this has always been the case. I gather that (in the UK) the subscription costs ten pounds a month, but that a "lifetime" subscription can be had for a single payment of two hundred pounds. The "lifetime" offer sounds like good value (but it's the lietime of the Tivo, not that of the subscriber) if Tivo is something you want. (Though nobody is making Tivos for the UK market, at present, so they can only be bought second-hand.) The same situation may obtain in the US? > B) Tivo's webpage says that it only works in the US and UK. The > televison system is different in the UK, right? But I guess since it > only records the signal, format doesn't matter, right? They mean, I'm sure, that the programme guide database is only available for UK and US TV services. Yes, UK and US TV systems are different though there is a certain amount of compatible equipment around (UK VCRs that can play NTSC tapes recorded in the US, for example). I don't think a US-market Tivo would work in the UK because a Tivo contains a TV tuner, which would not work with the UK's broadcast TV signals. Cheers, Daniel. In alt.english.usage on Tue, 27 Jan 2004 11:03:46 GMT Daniel James <wastebasket@nospam.aaisp.org> posted: >> A friend bought a Tivo, like a vcr with a hard drive instead of a >> cassette tape. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >I believe this has always been the case. Not any more. The ones made now require the subscription service. Or most functions are disabled including the ability to start or end recording when one is not home is not present. Only 4 functions are left, none of which she wants. Unless there is someway to get around this. I saw stuff on the net that some people had made progress, but I didn't find a full answre. I posted here because there are so many UK people here, and my question B. **Two of the four functions still working were live slow motion and I think live replay. By live, it means one has to be watching the tv at the moment it is broadcast. She doesn't watch sports and that is not what she is looking for. Same thing for me. (We don't live together.) >I gather that (in the UK) the subscription costs ten pounds a month, >but that a "lifetime" subscription can be had for a single payment of [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >They mean, I'm sure, that the programme guide database is only >available for UK and US TV services. WADR, you're still thinking that phone service is optional. Since it is no longer optional, it basically doesn't work in any other country. > Yes, UK and US TV systems are >different though there is a certain amount of compatible equipment >around (UK VCRs that can play NTSC tapes recorded in the US, for >example). I don't think a US-market Tivo would work in the UK because a >Tivo contains a TV tuner, which would not work with the UK's broadcast >TV signals. Good point. I hadn't thought of that. Still, I think most of north and South America uses the same tuner as the US, and they aren't able to use Tivo. One poster was from Canada. He was told when he bought it that he wouldn't need a subscription, which don't exist there. In the middle of the night, the Tivo called the phone number anyhow and it installed the newer version of the software and he couldn't use it anymore. (he had it plugged into the phone just to sync the time, assuming no harm would come.) He had had version 1.3 and it was changed to version 2. Tivo told him that version 2.5 would restore the capability but it would not be available for months. He didn't post further, but afaict they never restored it. At the very least they are in version 4 now and it doesn't do it. >Cheers, > Daniel. s/ meirman If you are emailing me please say if you are posting the same response. Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years Indianapolis, 7 years Chicago, 6 years Brooklyn NY 12 years Baltimore 20 years [Stuff about Tivos] > The ones made now require the subscription service. Or > most functions are disabled ... That was always true -- but it does sound from what you're saying that there are now far fewer functions available without the subscription service than I was aware. I think it *used* to be possible to use a Tivo box like an ordinary VCR -- to record a programme at a specific time/channel -- without the subscription service, but that's apparently no longer the case. > >They mean, I'm sure, that the programme guide database is only > >available for UK and US TV services. > > WADR, you're still thinking that phone service is optional. Since it > is no longer optional, it basically doesn't work in any other country. That's correct, sorry. Well, I suppose one could run one's own software in the box and then do whatever one liked (if one knew how to control the hardware from one's own code) ... but that's beyond the scope of what we're talking about here. Cheers, Daniel. In alt.english.usage on Thu, 29 Jan 2004 12:53:39 GMT Daniel James <wastebasket@nospam.aaisp.org> posted: >[Stuff about Tivos] >> The ones made now require the subscription service. Or [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >time/channel -- without the subscription service, but that's apparently >no longer the case. Yes, to both parts. That's exactly what I meant. >> >They mean, I'm sure, that the programme guide database is only >> >available for UK and US TV services. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >own code) ... but that's beyond the scope of what we're talking about >here. This would be a major undertaking for me, not sure at all if I could complete it, or even start, and I doubt it would be worth it if I were doing it for myself. Frankly, much less worth it to do it for someone else. Oh well. >Cheers, > Daniel. s/ meirman If you are emailing me please say if you are posting the same response. Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years Indianapolis, 7 years Chicago, 6 years Brooklyn NY 12 years Baltimore 20 years |
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