# Back in the box!



## Muttley1900 (Dec 23, 2008)

Well I did it, this morning I packed up my old series 1 Thomson TiVo and put it back in it&#8217;s original box and then up in the loft.

Why, we have over 3 months to sort out epg for it and even if we didn&#8217;t get that sorted why do it early? I don&#8217;t know, is the short answer.

The long answer is the realisation (for me) that it is game over, even if the epg can be sorted (or TiVo even carried on with the service). 

The S1 is a strange bit of Tin, it is still today so advanced with many (all) pvrs out there in the UK and in many ways dated and behind with the times.

When it first came out, here, there had never been anything like it . Such a complex, but easy to use bit of kit. The iPod of the PVRs.

Allowing for most (all?) TV configurations,.

To be not advanced enough to cope directly with things like digital TV, but to be advanced enough to be able to be linked with, say, a freeview box and go and change the channels when needed. 

To offer so many recording qualities but now not offer HD. 

To pause/Rewind and record live TV, but to only have one tuner.

To be simple enough for your gran to use, but satisfy the tinkerers and programmers amongst us with hacks and home upgrades.

Listening to and joining in on a number of threads here about possible alternatives to the S1, I have come to the conclusion (probably wrongly) that there is no updated S1 TiVo equivalent out there &#8211; and, dare I say it, I included the new VM TiVo in that.

Don&#8217;t get me wrong, I&#8217;m sure the new VM TiVo is a great bit of kit and copes with many of the modern needs (on demand, HD etc). But it does fall short when compared to the S1. Some points that have come out are the Parental locks within it, wishlists not being useable, no opening animation  and (for me the biggie) it being tied down to a cable provided service only. 

Look through the posts here, see how many differing suggestions there are for S1 alternatives, and not one is agreed to work for all of us, the only product that does is the S1.

So why cut my nose off to spite my face and stop using my S1? Well I&#8217;ll have to get used to something new, sooner or later, so I&#8217;m going to go without for around a month and hopefully that will help with the transition when I do select another pvr. In the meanwhile, I&#8217;m going cold TiVo.

J.


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## cashew1970 (Oct 21, 2004)

I too have done the same..... my $ky+HD box arrived yesterday, so my old setup of TiVo and Standard Sky has gone to the loft too.

I hate not having TiVo, and the Sky+ interface is poo....

I am now left with the Sky+HD, A Humax Fox T2 and a Humax 9300 under the TV

So much more space..... but a dear friend has left the building.....

Gutted, Gutted, Gutted.... but life has to go on

Martin


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## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

I'll be doing the same today, if my Humax arrives. I need the space in the cabinet anyway.

I'd rather not be reminded of how much better things were....


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## steveroe (Oct 29, 2002)

Please consider loaning/donating your unused Tivos to the replacement EPG project, details over on the Tivoland.com forums.


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## spitfires (Dec 19, 2006)

Muttley1900 said:


> Im going cold TiVo.


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## EdGillett (Dec 19, 2002)

My Tivo has been languishing on the floor in our study for over a year now. We ran it side by side with a SkyHD box for a while, and then as we used it less and less (despite swearing at the Sky box and it's complete loss of several recordings and forgetting about season passes) - I decided to cut the cord and cancel the monthly sub (yup - not a lifetimer, but that £10 was worth every penny ...)

As the Sky Sub lapsed and we reverted back to FreeView, we lumped for a dual tuner Humax, which we still use now.

I was whistfully waiting for the Nero Tivo Software with vague hopes of rolling my own, but sadly not in the UK.

Then Virgin came to the rescue! And mines being installed next week.

And the S1 service was announced to be closing in June. I silently curse my sentimental decision not to flea bay the Tivo earlier. 

But now I'm considering sending my beloved Tivo to the EPG project, that others may love the original bloop blooper in a different format.

Ahead of your time, betrayed by the hand of Murdoch, we'll miss you S1 - you've been a loyal and steadfast example of technology done well. And a shining bastion of usability in the face of mediocrity elsewhere.

*sniff*

I might drive over it in a tank, just to prove that it probably WOULD be absolutely fine and keep recording throughout ...


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## Jo.Cassady (Jul 21, 2002)

steveroe said:


> Please consider loaning/donating your unused Tivos to the replacement EPG project, details over on the Tivoland.com forums.


I find this post intriguing

What's most hysterical about the v1 TiVo is how gigantic the box is.

Other than that, it's still very functional, supreme piece of kit. it's a joy to use, cant' imagine anything else coming _close_. And I'm a gadget nerd, I've tried them all.

to OP: Why do you have _three_ TiVos?


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Jo.Cassady said:


> to OP: Why do you have _three_ TiVos?


Three TVs? How many do you have? And why that number?

(Sorry. Just seems like a silly question to me )


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## verses (Nov 6, 2002)

I'll be doing the same before long.

I've had TiVo since 2001 (Dixons &#163;99 sell off) and bought a lifetime sub there and then. It owes me nothing, but will be sorely missed.

As Freeview reception in my area is pretty patchy (and predicted to continue being so after the switch over - coincidentally also planned for June this year) I'm planning on getting set up with FreeSat and getting a Foxsat HDR box.
By the time I've had a dish installed and bought the box it'll have cost me about the same as the TiVo and if it lasts me half as long I don't think it'll have done too badly. I just hope it's loosely comparable to TiVo's ease of use and array of functionality.

RIP Series 1 TiVo


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

I'd be pretty confident that the Replacement EPG project will work, so you don't NEED to bin your TiVos if you don't want to. Hang on in there!


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## steford (Oct 9, 2002)

I'm thinking it's about time to retire the Tivo too and have a bit of a clearout under the TV. Thinking about ditching the Sky sub and going for the Humax Freesat box. From the look of things it can do almost everything I'm using my Tivo for with some nice extras like iPlayer, HD and twin tuners albeit without the interface we know and love. Sad but time to move on I fear :-(


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## mutant_matt2 (Dec 16, 2008)

One reason I looked long and hard at the Foxsat HDR, and decided against it is, the menus are so slow and clunky, it would drive me mad!! Up until now, the only reason I was considering it as an addition to my TiVo, was to record BBC1,HD/ITV HD. However, I think the alternative EPG will happen, and hopefully/probably, in time too, so I'm not *that* bothered, yet...

If I *have* to replace the TiVo, I'm currently leaning towards building a Myth box with a tuner for recording the Sky channels, and a twin tuner Freesat HD card for everything else. I will probably build one anyway, as a proof of concept, if nothing else but to try it.


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## Sneals2000 (Aug 25, 2002)

mutant_matt2 said:


> If I *have* to replace the TiVo, I'm currently leaning towards building a Myth box with a tuner for recording the Sky channels, and a twin tuner Freesat HD card for everything else. I will probably build one anyway, as a proof of concept, if nothing else but to try it.


I keep trying Myth every year or so in the hope that it is a replacement for WMC - but it never seems to be quite there. Since DVBLogic created TV Source (virtual tuners, proper handling of plugins etc.) and their Network pack - 7MC has become quite a good solution for me.


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