# S3 / HD any hacking activity yet?



## ZPrime (Aug 24, 2007)

Just wondering how much progress/effort, if any, has been made at making the S3 and TivoHD as versatile as the series 2 and older stuff.

I'm a n00b to Tivo and am on the cusp of purchasing a TivoHD, and it would warm the cockles of my heart to know that people are working on making it do nifty stuff.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

It needs a Prom hack first, at least. 

I am not to sure after that, but I believe some hacks have happened to it.


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## Da Goon (Oct 22, 2006)

Not too much public talk lately. NCID works as does TWP I believe (minus a few modules).


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## WTFover (Jun 19, 2007)

Prom mod definitely required as well as null-initrd. TWP works with the exception of the "info" page, hackman, mfs_ftp works fine except shows will be encrypted. Standard hacks such as telnet, ftp, bash serial etc all confirmed. I will be able to experiment more when the cable cards arrive for my prom modded box. Currently running a bone stock THD in the living room, I love it. There is some talk over on DDB check it out if you want to know more.


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## omeganet (Aug 29, 2001)

Just my opinion...

There has been a good bit of development on S3 units, however I would not recommend it unless you just really like figuring things out. You'll end up spending a lot of time learning way more about the Tivo than you ever wanted to, void your warranty and then have to keep fixing things as Tivo provides updates. 

Its best to stick to S1/S2 stuff which is much easier. If you really need more functionality then I would suggest MythTV or AppleTV (which I have, but my Tivo gets more use).


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## WTFover (Jun 19, 2007)

omeganet said:


> Just my opinion...
> 
> There has been a good bit of development on S3 units, however I would not recommend it unless you just really like figuring things out. You'll end up spending a lot of time learning way more about the Tivo than you ever wanted to, void your warranty and then have to keep fixing things as Tivo provides updates.
> 
> Its best to stick to S1/S2 stuff which is much easier. If you really need more functionality then I would suggest MythTV or AppleTV (which I have, but my Tivo gets more use).


I think the extra effort (if you can call it that) is trivial. I personally hack on my Tivo because I enjoy working on it as much as I enjoy using it. It helps keeps my unix skills sharp. For casual users who are only interested in the payout (end user functionality) and not interested in learning anything than maybe a canned solution is a better approach. I haven't checked in on Myth lately and know exactly 0 about AppleTV, but I would think that if they had the ability to decode premium (non-OTA) digital content Television shows in Hi-Def would have heard about it by now. As far as sticking with an S1/S2, I don't think screwing with what is essentially a dead format (analog TV) is particularly good advice but suum cuique.


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## captain_video (Mar 1, 2002)

WTFover said:


> I think the extra effort (if you can call it that) is trivial. I personally hack on my Tivo because I enjoy working on it as much as I enjoy using it. It helps keeps my unix skills sharp. For casual users who are only interested in the payout (end user functionality) and not interested in learning anything than maybe a canned solution is a better approach. I haven't checked in on Myth lately and know exactly 0 about AppleTV, but I would think that if they had the ability to decode premium (non-OTA) digital content Television shows in Hi-Def would have heard about it by now. As far as sticking with an S1/S2, I don't think screwing with what is essentially a dead format (analog TV) is particularly good advice but suum cuique.


I'd hardly call analog TV a dead format, especially when you consider that HDTV has only invaded a relatively small percentage of homes in this country. Many people will never make the switch to HDTV. The standard definition channels on DirecTV aren't going away just because of the new mpeg4 HD channels. FYI - the S1 and S2 DTivos are all digital until they output a signal. The HDTivos can output both digital audio and video via HDMI, and it doesn't have to be in Hi-Def. There are a lot of reasons people would want to "screw" with these units. I agree that HDTV is the way of the future but it's going to take some people a lot longer to make the change.


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## WTFover (Jun 19, 2007)

While I would agree that analog tv isn't going anywhere for a while, the technology is old, and has reached it's technical zenith, if you will. I just don't see anyone who is willing to rip apart there Tivo, go through the trouble of compromising the security and installing utilties and applications, as the same type of person who would not be interested in having the latest and greatest technology at what is now an extremely affordable price point (thanks to the THD and drastically falling prices of an HD TV). It's not like you can't output to a SD TV with it if you choose, or not record non-HD content (albeit digital). The functionality will arrive as the boxes get in to the hands of competent developers. I am not saying it's going to happen overnight, but it will happen a lot faster now , the same as it did when more people began purchasing the S2's and hacking began when the S1's went EOS.


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## captain_video (Mar 1, 2002)

> I just don't see anyone who is willing to rip apart there Tivo, go through the trouble of compromising the security and installing utilties and applications, as the same type of person who would not be interested in having the latest and greatest technology at what is now an extremely affordable price point (thanks to the THD and drastically falling prices of an HD TV).


You obviously haven't read through the Zipper support thread (over 10,000 posts last time I checked). Having the latest technology isn't always possible for some people so you have to go with what you've got. S2 SA Tivos and DTivos will still be around for many more years so why not get the most out of them? Hacking these puppies is a snap these days. In other words, it's no trouble at all for many of us.

I have to confess that I do use the Zipper, even though I generally preach that you should learn what you're doing before using an automated script. Fact is, I've already learned how to do it the long way so I just use the Zipper as a shortcut. I can restore an image to a virgin drive and have it up and running with all of rbautch's enhancements in under 30 minutes. I can easily recover from a botched upgrade whereas others may not be so lucky, which is why I still believe you should learn the full hacking method first.


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## WTFover (Jun 19, 2007)

captain_video said:


> You obviously haven't read through the Zipper support thread (over 10,000 posts last time I checked). Having the latest technology isn't always possible for some people so you have to go with what you've got. S2 SA Tivos and DTivos will still be around for many more years so why not get the most out of them? Hacking these puppies is a snap these days. In other words, it's no trouble at all for many of us.
> 
> I have to confess that I do use the Zipper, even though I generally preach that you should learn what you're doing before using an automated script. Fact is, I've already learned how to do it the long way so I just use the Zipper as a shortcut. I can restore an image to a virgin drive and have it up and running with all of rbautch's enhancements in under 30 minutes. I can easily recover from a botched upgrade whereas others may not be so lucky, which is why I still believe you should learn the full hacking method first.


I am not saying throw away your S2 just because Tivo has come out with the latest and greatest if it's not what you need or want. The OP was asking about S3 hacks and what the story was and what was now capable. The thread derailed somewhere ^^^ when the reply was (paraphrased heavily), just stick with an S2 or go by AppleTV or Myth because a series3 wasn't an easy hack, which is somewhat ironic considering he is posting it @TCF anyway and the shortcomings of those individual solutions. The point in my posts is that, as a "hacker"or more appropriately, one who the enjoys a technical challenge of making something do more than what it was supposed to whether I am using someone else's techniques or my own, I don't pick my projects because the amount of skill or effort not required, but quite the opposite. The S3 is the future, not the past, The hacks are mostly there now, with the glaring discrepancy being extraction and streaming. It makes a lot of sense to start looking at the platform now if hacking is what turns your screws as opposed to sticking with the status quo. If you are already considering a S3 than you are looking at that functionality and hardware requirements anyway, the two boxes don't even really compete with each other.


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