# What was your reason for hacking your Tivo?



## Tracy RainH2o (Nov 18, 2005)

Ok gang. I do not fully understand every benefit gained from hacking a Tivo. Please tell me the main reasons for hacking a Tivo and maybe I'll get it.

I get the caller ID feature.
Logos added to channels.
Adding a larger HD.

What's with the networking it to a computer? My computers are networked for internet connection sharing. Is there a FAQ or Tivo Hacking for Dummies?  

Thanks !!!


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## sabotage (Nov 18, 2005)

I just wrote a post with all the things I do with my hacked tivo - but then realized that they might not be allowed on this forum, so I delete it - sorry.


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## austin61 (Jun 3, 2005)

For me the main benefit is MRV (multi room viewing). I have 3 DTivos networked, so MRV allows me to watch something recorded on one unit in a different room where another unit is. 

Other things like caller-id, merging programs, etc are a bonus. For me the killer app is MRV.


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

For me, the killer app is tivowebplus, followed closely by being able to extract the shows I want to save to DVD. With tivowebplus, I can access any of my three DTiVos from anywhere with an internet connection to set up a recording or just check to see if everything on a TiVo is working as it should.


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

MRV and TWP do it for me. Streaming shows to my mac is nice as well.


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## ttodd1 (Nov 6, 2003)

Gunnyman said:


> MRV and TWP do it for me. Streaming shows to my mac is nice as well.


Same here - except I use a pc and not a Mac.


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## dnemec123 (Jan 25, 2004)

MRV, HMO (Music and Photos from my PC) and a larger hard drive were my main goals.

Caller ID, FTP, telnet and TWP were just "frosting on the cake" as far as features go.

D


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## rbautch (Feb 6, 2004)

TWPing in from work to record a show or enter a season pass. Backing up all my season passes and favorite channels so when I hose my tivo (or buy a new one), I never have to enter them from scratch.


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## Tracy RainH2o (Nov 18, 2005)

Multi-room viewing is one of my goals. 

I want to be able to let my daughter watch her Tivoed Little Einsteins and Dora the Explorer in her room. In order to make this work would I need a networked computer in each room, and each connected to the television? Or is it to be viewed only on the computer monitor?


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

multi room viewing is done between tivos.
In the now playing list of the MRV enabled tivos will be an icon representing the other tivos on your network.


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## Tracy RainH2o (Nov 18, 2005)

NOW I UNDERSTAND !!!!!!!!!  

I was thinking it was between Tivos but not totally sure. If they are DirecTV Tivos, do the additional Tivos have to be activated with DirecTV?


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## tase2 (Sep 27, 2004)

David Platt said:


> For me, the killer app is tivowebplus, followed closely by being able to extract the shows I want to save to DVD. With tivowebplus, I can access any of my three DTiVos from anywhere with an internet connection to set up a recording or just check to see if everything on a TiVo is working as it should.


Am I correct that these features are not available for the HR10-250?


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## rbautch (Feb 6, 2004)

Everything except MRV and HMO is available for the HR10-250.


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## tase2 (Sep 27, 2004)

rbautch said:


> Everything except MRV and HMO is available for the HR10-250.


Is the extracting part of HMO?


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

no


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

Tracy RainH2o said:


> NOW I UNDERSTAND !!!!!!!!!
> 
> I was thinking it was between Tivos but not totally sure. If they are DirecTV Tivos, do the additional Tivos have to be activated with DirecTV?


Nope 
just have to have valid access cards


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## Tracy RainH2o (Nov 18, 2005)

Referring to The Zipper, what is the purpose of keeping the Tivo from calling in?


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

it's best not to alert Tivo that you have a hacked up unit. I have no idea if they can tell with the call in since nobody knows exactly what happens when a unit calls in better safe than sorry.


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## rbautch (Feb 6, 2004)

I think it used to be more of an issue when everyone was using 4.01b, because then your Tivo would download new software when it called in. Theory was that if thousands of superpatched tivos called in everyday consuming tivos download bandwidth, they'd eventually get pissed and cut you off. There's really no reason to call in, since tivo gets guide data from the satellite.


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## Tracy RainH2o (Nov 18, 2005)

Gunnyman said:


> Nope
> just have to have valid access cards


OK......now I am searching for used Series 2 Tivos to network. If I find a steal of a deal on a Tivo that does not have the access card, am I wasting my time?

I have cards that I can rob from old unused DTV recievers but I assume I will have to contact DTV to match the card with the reciever right? If that is correct, from what I hear they require a contract for all sdditional recievers.

Is that correct?


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

I would look for units with access cards.
They don't have to be activated to use mrv, but they do have to be valid.


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## Tracy RainH2o (Nov 18, 2005)

Thanks Gunnyman.

I assume that by "valid" you mean matched with the reciever.


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

yep


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## mlnc248 (Aug 30, 2005)

Gunnyman, 

Did you Hack your TiVos with your Macs? Or does Zipper only work with a PC?

I've tried using Loki's port of Tiger's mfstools on my MacG4, but ran into problems. 

I'd like to try it again with Zipper, but I didn't see mac support.


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

The rules for this forum state:



> NOTE...No talk of any type of service theft or video extraction is allowed.


so at least one of the reasons some people network their tivo with a PC can't be discussed in these forums. I'm certainly not suggesting anyone is stealing service.



Tracy RainH2o said:


> Ok gang. I do not fully understand every benefit gained from hacking a Tivo. Please tell me the main reasons for hacking a Tivo and maybe I'll get it.
> 
> I get the caller ID feature.
> Logos added to channels.
> ...


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

mlnc248 said:


> Gunnyman,
> 
> Did you Hack your TiVos with your Macs? Or does Zipper only work with a PC?
> 
> ...


Zipper is PC only.
look at tivotool.com for a tried and true method to hack a tivo with a Mac.


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## Mokequin (Mar 21, 2006)

Hi all. New to this forum. Just wondering if the D* HR10-250 is capable of being networked?
If it is, does that require opening of the machine?


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## SteelersFan (Sep 7, 2004)

Start reading here. :up:


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## Mokequin (Mar 21, 2006)

Thanks SteelersFan, appreaciate the quick reply.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

Tracy RainH2o said:


> Thanks Gunnyman.
> 
> I assume that by "valid" you mean matched with the reciever.





Gunnyman said:


> yep


Actually, they don't need to matched at all.

I have a Philips DSR-7000 that is connected to my Slingbox (no other TV attached) that has an old HU access card that was originally in one of my Series 1 DirecTiVos. In fact, I have inserted a DISH NETWORK access card into this TiVo and not received a single error message or complaint. All it needs it for the microswitch in the card slot to be closed and continuity through the interface contacts.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

What I get from my hacked Tivos:

One "virtual DVR" with 8 tuners, 5 outputs, and over 1 TB of storage (thanks to MRV)
Ability to view home movies and photos stored on my PC on any TV, on demand (thanks to JavaHMO)
Ability to play MP3s through any TV, on demand (Thanks to JavaHMO)
Ability to stream TiVo recordings to any PC on my network (using TWP and tools that can not be discussed here)
Ability to backup and restore season pass information (thanks to TWP)
Ability to check local weather and the 5 day forecast (JavaHMO)
Ability to browse movie theater schedules (JavaHMO)
Ability to check traffic cams and the local traffic report (JavaHMO)
Caller ID on all my TVs and computers (NCID)
Display of disk usage stats (TWP)

Plus a few other TWP features I use less often, like Season Pass editing, ToDo list review, etc.

Hacking my DirecTiVos has opened up vast new areas of functionality that have, honestly, spoiled me for any other DVR technology.


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

Dan Collins said:


> Hacking my DirecTiVos has opened up vast new areas of functionality that have, honestly, spoiled me for any other DVR technology.


Amen to that brother.


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## stevecon (Apr 29, 2005)

Dan Collins said:


> What I get from my hacked Tivos:
> 
> One "virtual DVR" with 8 tuners, 5 outputs, and over 1 TB of storage (thanks to MRV)
> Ability to view home movies and photos stored on my PC on any TV, on demand (thanks to JavaHMO)


Dan - what can you tell me about JavaHMO? I see there is also Galleon - but it's for 7.x Tivo software. Is the 2.4 ver of JavaHMO the version you run on Directivos? Any caveats I need to know about if I decide to try it out? Does it work on H10-250 HD Tivos?

Thanks in advance!


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

AFAIK, JHMO is a M&P server for the HMO features of a pre 7.x software TiVo. The HD-DVR excluded, as it doesn't have HMO.

I never used JHMO, and never played with M&P until I got 7.2.1 and Galleon, and at that MP3s only.

Galleon completely doesn't use M&P functions, but serves music and Photos with HME applets.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

stevecon said:


> Dan - what can you tell me about JavaHMO? I see there is also Galleon - but it's for 7.x Tivo software. Is the 2.4 ver of JavaHMO the version you run on Directivos? Any caveats I need to know about if I decide to try it out? Does it work on H10-250 HD Tivos?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I use JavaHMO 2.4 (http://javahmo.sourceforge.net/)

It runs on a PC running Windows or Linux (or a Mac), not on the TiVos. It creates a set of "Music and Photo" servers, that can supply a variety of information to the TiVo. It takes a while to set everything up (not all web pages can be served, for example). But it works pretty well. I have an old PIII notebook that I use as my JavaHMO server.


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## atlynch (Jan 7, 2005)

The _killer_ app for the unleashed TiVo is endpad plus which implements soft padding for the TiVo. Soft padding (if you don't already know) is where the DVR pads the beginning and/or end of each recording by a small amount, if it can without causing recording conflicts.

I have had Ultimate TV's for years, and the automatic soft padding really helped with the channels that move their shows around a little. When I tried to switch to TiVo a year or so ago, I got a lot of complaints from my family that the end of their favorite show was cut off. If you use hard padding, it can prevent the TiVo from recording consecutive shows on different channels. 

All the other stuff is nice to have too, but this really makes the TiVo work for me.

It's also fun to be able to program your Tivo from your Treo!

-Drew


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## tall1 (Oct 12, 2004)

I love endpadplus too. I didn't really know what it was until I saw it in action after I zippered. What a cool feature. I have mine set to 5 mins before/after; works great.


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## alert5 (Nov 16, 2003)

I did not see mention of "merge". That module is a real time saver if you archive stuff like an entire series from your TiVo to a standalone DVD recorder with HD.

MRV and caller ID have huge wife approval too.

A bit off topic, but I just ordered a Slingbox from Amazon and I'm a bit clueless as to which box to connect it up to. I have two, subbed 250GB zippered DirecTiVos and one 80GB unsubbed (MRV only) DirecTiVo. The subbed boxes are connected to an DLP HDTV and a Dell 23" LCD TV respectively.

Dan Collins said,



> I have a Philips DSR-7000 that is connected to my Slingbox (no other TV attached) that has an old HU access card that was originally in one of my Series 1 DirecTiVos.


Just curious as to why you hooked up your Slingbox this way.


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## willardcpa (Feb 23, 2001)

I'm not Dan, but I'll take a shot at it. I've got a slingbox too, and also an unsubbed MRV box for "storage". If you have it hooked to that box you can watch anything that is already recorded on any of the other boxes (or it). You stand zero chances of either messing someone elses viewing up at home while you are on the road, or vice-versa. Whereas if you hook it up to one of the active boxes (hooked up to a tv) there's a chance that you will try watching the "Sports illustrated swim suit revue" when you're all alone in a Holiday Inn somewhere, while your wife is at home with her book club trying to watch Oprah.


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## alert5 (Nov 16, 2003)

DOH!

Thank you for that. It simplifies the connection with no TV in the mix as well.

I'm eagerly awaiting the new toy.


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## goony (Nov 20, 2003)

Well, Dan & others have covered just about all of my fave reasons for hacking - let me add this one: With TivoWebPlus running, I can (via some addtional software) do secure remote access direct to the box via the internet - thus, scheduling a show that I learned about after I left for work no longer requires a call to the wife and bothering her with it.


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## tai-pan (Feb 9, 2006)

rbautch said:


> TWPing in from work to record a show or enter a season pass. Backing up all my season passes and favorite channels so when I hose my tivo (or buy a new one), I never have to enter them from scratch.


How does one backup their season passes? I have about 25


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## tai-pan (Feb 9, 2006)

rbautch said:


> There's really no reason to call in, since tivo gets guide data from the satellite.


What satellite?


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## bengalfreak (Oct 20, 2002)

tai-pan said:


> How does one backup their season passes? I have about 25


Season pass backup is a TivoWebplus module. You have to hack your Tivos to get it.


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## Mr. Soze (Nov 2, 2002)

My original reason was extra capacity on the LR Tivo. Then I read about the zipper, and decided to expand the BR Tivo too. MRV rules. The other "things that cannot be discussed" are also very nice.


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## musiclover408 (Sep 5, 2004)

Ok,
I have read a few people mention these "secret" things that cannot be disccused here. 1st question is Why not? And 2nd question, where do I have to go to find out about them?

Thanks!


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## Gunnyman (Jul 10, 2003)

1) because david bott (the site owner) says so
2) google for extraction Tivo and all will be answered.


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