I've had my Tivo for just under a week now (I'm still deciding whether
or not to get a lifetime sub) and I'm interested to know what putting
it in standby mode actually does. It sounds like the disk is still
active, so presumably it's still recording - does it actually do
anything significant other than turning the LED off? (In particular,
does it still record stuff that's scheduled?)

I presume it's okay to just leave the Tivo on all the time, even though
it's hitting the disk the whole time? I'm slightly worried about the
longevity of the disk, but as everyone else is so happy with them, I
guess it can't be a major problem.

--
Jon Skeet -
http://www.pobox.com/~skeet
If replying to the group, please do not mail me too

Jon Skeet wrote:
I've had my Tivo for just under a week now (I'm still deciding whether
or not to get a lifetime sub) and I'm interested to know what putting
it in standby mode actually does. It sounds like the disk is still
active, so presumably it's still recording - does it actually do
anything significant other than turning the LED off? (In particular,
does it still record stuff that's scheduled?)

I presume it's okay to just leave the Tivo on all the time, even though
it's hitting the disk the whole time? I'm slightly worried about the
longevity of the disk, but as everyone else is so happy with them, I
guess it can't be a major problem.


Having Tivo in standby mode means that is will start to record
suggestions straight away (if any exist) otherwise if it is in 'on mode'
it will wait 30 mins before recording suggestions. regardless the Tivo
is always on and recording the 30 min buffer of live TV so that if you
switch on and see something you like you can rewind the last half hour.

Get the life sub, it pays for itself in a year and a half.

Phil

Jon Skeet wrote:
I've had my Tivo for just under a week now (I'm still deciding whether
or not to get a lifetime sub) and I'm interested to know what putting
it in standby mode actually does. It sounds like the disk is still
active, so presumably it's still recording - does it actually do
anything significant other than turning the LED off? (In particular,
does it still record stuff that's scheduled?)

Standby does around 3 things;

1) Turns off the video output circuit
2) Allows TiVo to record suggestions immediately (normally there's a
"you might still be watching live TV" pause where the TiVo waits until
it hasn't seen you use the remote control for a while)
3) Turns off the LED

And that's it. Scheduled recordings will still take place as per normal,
and the 30 minute live TV buffer will still be recorded - hence the
constant disk access.

I presume it's okay to just leave the Tivo on all the time, even though
it's hitting the disk the whole time? I'm slightly worried about the
longevity of the disk, but as everyone else is so happy with them, I
guess it can't be a major problem.

It's not a major problem. Disks are the most common thing to go on a
TiVo (similarly for Sky+ and just about any other PVR) but they're also
fairly easily replacable; indeed, that's one of the first modifications
that many people do. You might want to have a look at the TiVo UK
section on http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/ for more info on what
you can do to your TiVo.

--
Angus G Rae Computing Services
Science & Engineering Support Team University of Edinburgh
The above opinions are mine, and Edinburgh Uni can't have them.

It's not a major problem. Disks are the most common thing to go on a
TiVo (similarly for Sky+ and just about any other PVR) but they're also
fairly easily replacable; indeed, that's one of the first modifications
that many people do. You might want to have a look at the TiVo UK
section on http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/ for more info on what
you can do to your TiVo.

Oddly enough I`m on my third (and last) Tivo, I doubt I`ll be able to get
another. On both previous ones the sound stopped working.

Dave Walker wrote:
It's not a major problem. Disks are the most common thing to go on a
TiVo (similarly for Sky+ and just about any other PVR) but they're also
fairly easily replacable; indeed, that's one of the first modifications
that many people do. You might want to have a look at the TiVo UK
section on http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/ for more info on what
you can do to your TiVo.


Oddly enough I`m on my third (and last) Tivo, I doubt I`ll be able to get
another. On both previous ones the sound stopped working.



third Tivo, as mentioned in the thread it's primarily the disk that goes
and it's pretty easy to replace if you have a pc and a little linux know
how. Failing that there are a number of places that provide pre-built
tivo drives so there is no need to throw the tivo out when the drive fails.

Angus Rae wrote:
Jon Skeet wrote:
I've had my Tivo for just under a week now (I'm still deciding whether
or not to get a lifetime sub) and I'm interested to know what putting
it in standby mode actually does. It sounds like the disk is still
active, so presumably it's still recording - does it actually do
anything significant other than turning the LED off? (In particular,
does it still record stuff that's scheduled?)

Standby does around 3 things;

1) Turns off the video output circuit
2) Allows TiVo to record suggestions immediately (normally there's a
"you might still be watching live TV" pause where the TiVo waits until
it hasn't seen you use the remote control for a while)
3) Turns off the LED

And that's it. Scheduled recordings will still take place as per normal,
and the 30 minute live TV buffer will still be recorded - hence the
constant disk access.

Cheers.

I presume it's okay to just leave the Tivo on all the time, even though
it's hitting the disk the whole time? I'm slightly worried about the
longevity of the disk, but as everyone else is so happy with them, I
guess it can't be a major problem.

It's not a major problem. Disks are the most common thing to go on a
TiVo (similarly for Sky+ and just about any other PVR) but they're also
fairly easily replacable; indeed, that's one of the first modifications
that many people do. You might want to have a look at the TiVo UK
section on http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/ for more info on what
you can do to your TiVo.

Mmm... I've now got a *reasonably* good idea of what I can do, and I'll
probably invest a bit more money in it at some stage in the future, but
I'll leave it "vanilla" for the moment. A bigger disk is the most
obvious improvement - but I don't really know whether or not I need it,
yet. I haven't found anywhere which tells me the amount of free disk
space (with/without overwriting things which are "okay to overwrite") -
am I missing something, or does it not exist?

Also, if my disk goes, is it fairly easy to install a new one
(obviously minus settings etc) without having a working disk to start
with? Everything I've seen has backup instructions etc - is there any
way of getting a new disk and putting on some vanilla
settings/database/etc?

--
Jon Skeet -
http://www.pobox.com/~skeet
If replying to the group, please do not mail me too

Phil wrote:
Get the life sub, it pays for itself in a year and a half.

True - but who knows what else might be available in a year and a half?
That's the thing - I don't know to what extent the Tivo will be a
permanent solution. I can imagine the PVR landscape changing
considerably in the next year or so, and something else may well come
up at a reasonable price.

Of course, the good thing about buying a lifetime sub is that it
actually adds to the value of the box, so if I sell it on eBay I can
expect significantly more for it - but again, only at the moment!

I'll probably go down the lifetime sub route, but I'll wait at least
until the end of the month when my month's sub runs out - it gives me a
bit more time to think about the pros and cons.

--
Jon Skeet -
http://www.pobox.com/~skeet
If replying to the group, please do not mail me too

Jon Skeet wrote:
Angus Rae wrote:

Jon Skeet wrote:

I've had my Tivo for just under a week now (I'm still deciding whether
or not to get a lifetime sub) and I'm interested to know what putting
it in standby mode actually does. It sounds like the disk is still
active, so presumably it's still recording - does it actually do
anything significant other than turning the LED off? (In particular,
does it still record stuff that's scheduled?)

Standby does around 3 things;

1) Turns off the video output circuit
2) Allows TiVo to record suggestions immediately (normally there's a
"you might still be watching live TV" pause where the TiVo waits until
it hasn't seen you use the remote control for a while)
3) Turns off the LED

And that's it. Scheduled recordings will still take place as per normal,
and the 30 minute live TV buffer will still be recorded - hence the
constant disk access.


Cheers.


I presume it's okay to just leave the Tivo on all the time, even though
it's hitting the disk the whole time? I'm slightly worried about the
longevity of the disk, but as everyone else is so happy with them, I
guess it can't be a major problem.

It's not a major problem. Disks are the most common thing to go on a
TiVo (similarly for Sky+ and just about any other PVR) but they're also
fairly easily replacable; indeed, that's one of the first modifications
that many people do. You might want to have a look at the TiVo UK
section on http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/ for more info on what
you can do to your TiVo.


Mmm... I've now got a *reasonably* good idea of what I can do, and I'll
probably invest a bit more money in it at some stage in the future, but
I'll leave it "vanilla" for the moment. A bigger disk is the most
obvious improvement - but I don't really know whether or not I need it,
yet. I haven't found anywhere which tells me the amount of free disk
space (with/without overwriting things which are "okay to overwrite") -
am I missing something, or does it not exist?

Also, if my disk goes, is it fairly easy to install a new one
(obviously minus settings etc) without having a working disk to start
with? Everything I've seen has backup instructions etc - is there any
way of getting a new disk and putting on some vanilla
settings/database/etc?


Standard 40Gb disk gives about 20hrs record time in high quality (11hr
best). If you record a lot of stuff (and you will) it doesn't take long
to fill it up and if your away from home unable to view stuff for a few
days you will fill up the disk and Tivo will start removing stuff to
make way for new stuff. BTW it deletes it's own suggestions first then
deletes in date order unless you have told it to 'keep until'. With
120Gb drives going for around £75 it's well worth the effort to upgrade.
Most people tend to run on a single 120Gb drive as I do and as of yet I
have never had a recording deleted.

If your disk goes....then you would need to get a tivo image. The best
thing to do to get one is make it yourself by plugging your tivo drive
into your pc and using MFStools taking a backup. I keep a vanilla
backup on CD.

if your reasonably savvy with PC's a little unix then creating a new
drive from a backup takes all of 10 mins, it really isn't difficult you
just have to have the balls to do it. If you haven't then there are a
number of resources on the net happy to sell you a replacement drive at
an inflated price.

Phil

Jon Skeet wrote:
Phil wrote:

Get the life sub, it pays for itself in a year and a half.


True - but who knows what else might be available in a year and a half?
That's the thing - I don't know to what extent the Tivo will be a
permanent solution. I can imagine the PVR landscape changing
considerably in the next year or so, and something else may well come
up at a reasonable price.

Of course, the good thing about buying a lifetime sub is that it
actually adds to the value of the box, so if I sell it on eBay I can
expect significantly more for it - but again, only at the moment!

I'll probably go down the lifetime sub route, but I'll wait at least
until the end of the month when my month's sub runs out - it gives me a
bit more time to think about the pros and cons.


There's a lot of talk about PVR's coming out but none to replace the
Tivo functionality. I've asked myself the same question 'life after
tivo' and the nearest solution I can come up with is building a mythTV
server but the cost is far greater than a tivo.

Humax are bringing out a Tivo and combined DVD-R machine in the USA but
as of yet there are no plans to bring it to the UK. Personally I think
manufacturers are a little scared to bring the product to the UK and
Tivo themselves have not invested in developing the software for the UK
market since their first stab at it. Basically it all went wrong
because they got $ky to market it and to be honest they didn't do a good
job....but then why would they...they had $ky + on the way.

Phil

Jon Skeet wrote:
Mmm... I've now got a *reasonably* good idea of what I can do, and I'll
probably invest a bit more money in it at some stage in the future, but
I'll leave it "vanilla" for the moment. A bigger disk is the most
obvious improvement - but I don't really know whether or not I need it,
yet. I haven't found anywhere which tells me the amount of free disk
space (with/without overwriting things which are "okay to overwrite") -
am I missing something, or does it not exist?

Doesn't exist. Easiest way of seeing how much space you have is to leave
suggestions turned on, even if you don't want to look at them, and every
so often check and see how many there are (as they get deleted in favour
of everything else). If there's only a couple of suggestions in the
list, then you're running out of free space.

A better solution is the "free space indicator in Now Playing" addon
(see
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...hreadid=154095
for details).

Also, if my disk goes, is it fairly easy to install a new one
(obviously minus settings etc) without having a working disk to start
with? Everything I've seen has backup instructions etc - is there any
way of getting a new disk and putting on some vanilla
settings/database/etc?

Well, it's not the settings and database that are important - your TiVo
will pick that up from the first phonecall - but what's important is the
underlying Linux install and TiVo applications. These are actually
relatively small, and so it's not too hard get hold of an image to put
on the disk from other friendly TiVo owners. Again, check
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/

--
Angus G Rae Computing Services
Science & Engineering Support Team University of Edinburgh
The above opinions are mine, and Edinburgh Uni can't have them.