# I think my Tivo is dying - is it time to give up?



## RedHeadPeter (Nov 3, 2004)

I've had my Tivo since November or December 2000 (that's when I started paying Sky £10 a month for the subscription anyway). 

But a couple of things are really pi**ing me off now. It's hooked up to Homechoice but the double button press is so bad it's almost impossible to switch channels properly. And every now and then the Tivo box just reboots itself - while I'm deeply involved in watching a programme. And twice now I have lost all sound which was restored by a Tivo reboot.

I find the Replay facility on Homechoice to be pretty good, it doesn't save everything I want - but most of it (well on BBC 1 and 2). And the C1 channel which offers up VOD on loads of stuff like Prime Suspect is good too. So I don't use the Tivo record function as much as I used to.

Now that there are Video Recorders like the Panasonic DMR-ES20 with an integrated Freeview Tuner and which integrate with the EPG in the same way as Tivo (highlight the programme you want to record and Press 'Record') and uses DVD-Ram so you can watch and record at the same time, I'm thinking this might be the way to go while I wait for a decent PVR with integrated twin Freeview tuners and a DVD recorder in the box too (at a price that doesn't need a mortgage).

So - does anyone have a solution for the software problems the Tivo has (loss of sound, unprompted reboots) and the double press problem? Or should I give up and go the DVD recorder route? Then the £10 a month I save would pay for the DVD-Ram discs!

All opinions and abuse welcome!


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## mike0151 (Dec 13, 2001)

When you say double button press, is this with the remote? Replacements are readily available on ebay and a couple of members of this forum regularly sell there as well as on their own websites.

Regarding the spontaneous reboots, this could be a drive failing and/or a failing PSU. Both of which can also be bought on ebay. Looking in the logs could help narrow this down, easy if you have TiVoWeb, just a bit harder if you don't (you would have to enable 'Backdoors', details are in the stickies in the upgrade/underground forums).

Disks, PSUs and occasionally modems are the main cause of problems and these can all be fairly easily sorted.

Why, oh why didn't you get lifetime? Bet you are kicking yourself now.


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## RedHeadPeter (Nov 3, 2004)

You're right about kicking myself for not getting a lifetime subscription. Just worked out I've shelled out getting on for £700 to Mr Murdoch!

Please enlighten me - what is TiVoWeb, where do I find out about it?

Peter


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## mike0151 (Dec 13, 2001)

You haven't been paying Sky. They are just the customer services front end for TiVo in the UK.

TiVoWeb is an interface to TiVo that gives you control over a network or the internet from a PC or even a mobile phone.

It is available from http://tivo.lightn.org and the last version is 1.9.4. I wouldn't bother about TiVoWebPlus.

You will need to add a TurboNet card or a CacheCard or set up networking via serial to use it. The first two will allow you to get your daily updates over broadband if you wish. I don't know if you can do this over serial.

Lots of threads on these forums about all of this.

HTH
Mike


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## cyril (Sep 5, 2001)

I have Homechoice, but sadly its only Doctor Who and the now finished Apprentice that I want to watch on its VOD system, so 99% of stuff is TiVoed.

Highlight and record is so 1997!

I would forget the current UK DVRs unless you want twin tuners and dynamic subtitles. If the Topfield 250GB comes down to £150 I would say go for one as it can replicate some of TiVo's features with 3rd party add-on software.

TiVo or Windows MCE are your best choices for proper season pass facilties.

A new psu, hard disk and remote won't cost as much as an average UK DVR.


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## alextegg (May 21, 2002)

and regarding the double press issue, that's well documented on here as being fixable by forcing the remote apart and cleaning all the contacts, I did it and it saved me the cost of a new remote


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## nickskelton (Jul 29, 2005)

> and regarding the double press issue, that's well documented on here as being fixable by forcing the remote apart and cleaning all the contacts, I did it and it saved me the cost of a new remote


Could you please elaborate on this? I've been suffering from this double press issue for years, with it seeming to get gradually worse. Can't find much in the forums (difficult to find old posts as they're all archived).


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## Ian_m (Jan 9, 2001)

I found it easier to fix the double press issue by just buying a new remote. Got two brand new remotes + free TiVo PSU on Ebay for £9.95.


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## alextegg (May 21, 2002)

Dunno about easier, but cleaning it is definitely cheaper and took me about ten minutes, so quicker than waiting for an ebay purchase to arrive.

*Serious* brute force is required to open the remote, even more than that required to open a TiVo case  but once you are in, you just need to use a cotton bud or similar to remove all dust, dirt and grime from the PCB contacts, and both sides of the rubber template thingy. Most of my grime was on the rubber template, rather than the PCB and it's this that causes the double press. Then put it back together, don't forget the TiVo button that's separate from the template button proforma like I did, or you'll have to force it apart again just to put that back in 

Once you've done this double presses should be a thing of the past.

HTH

Alex


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## cyril (Sep 5, 2001)

You don't need so much brute force if you've unscrewed the screw in the remote first 

It also helps if you have a thin flat head screwdriver to prise it open.


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