# Bit of fun.. Tivo Lottery Poll.



## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Late last night I made a Best Offer to a guy selling a tivo on ebay.

He has hundreds of house clearance types of auctions. And he has no other tivo's listed, and they no nothing about the silver box and could give me no info, no remote, cables etc.... 

For info. My best offer was £34, and the postage was £12. So bargain.

Now, I noticed from the pics, the warranty sticker is missing..... So what's in the box?????

I have a poll running, and I will post the result tomorrow.


Come on, as the forum is slow now a days, have a poll.

Should not have done the multiple choice thingy maybe, results may look a silly, but hey, its only a game.. 

I would not think it is networked as I can not see a network cable hanging out, but the HDD, well maybe as the sticker is off.

I went for Lifetimed, Upgraded HDD. Fingers crossed.


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## verses (Nov 6, 2002)

Hmm, "house clearance" and "TiVo", the seller isn't a Mr P. Seventyseven is he? 

Ian


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## RichardJH (Oct 7, 2002)

Wow this thread will be off topic before it has even started


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## PaulWilkinsUK (Mar 20, 2006)

RichardJH said:


> Wow this thread will be off topic before it has even started


Party on Dudes !


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## RWILTS (Apr 21, 2006)

I saw this one a couple of days ago, and yes I thought back to a lengthy thread about a knackered Tivo one of us bought and then took an age to resolve.

Wasnt worth the risk to me, the description sounded to close that P77 one and the fact that the warranty sticker was missing made me feel that someone has attempted a repair and failed.

Good luck i hope you get a result 

Voted for kNACKERED


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

He accepted my best offer of around £34 I think.

Worth a punt for that.. Always looking for a gamble.

I see quite a lot of knackered votes.. lol. We will see.

Even if it is knackered, with a dodgy HDD, it still maybe lifetime which would be a bargain,


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

Interesting. With 20 knackered in 48 votes, there appears to be quite a few TiVos waiting to be resuscitated.


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## Nebulous (Nov 28, 2005)

I voted for "Upgraded HDD Non-Subbed". (Hope I'm wrong and you get lucky :up: )

So, out of curiosity, if it turns out to be okay but non-subbed, are you going to:

A. Buy a lifetime sub  
B. Buy a monthly sub   
C. Shove it in the loft until your existing Tivo detonates


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

I have a funny feeling that it will have NO HDD, just a feeling.

I have 2 tivo's on the go now, one only using a aerial. 

I am due to move house soon also, and I can see only using media centres, as we don't have cable, and I don't want a sky dish. (My freeview card in the media center works a treat, quality is spot on, and so is the aspect ratio). So don't know. If it is lifetime, I will probably re-ebay it??. Just thought at £34 it was worth a punt...

So to answer your question, probably C.

It has been dispatched today, via Royal mail Standard Parcels, so maybe tomorrow.
Will post some pictures to add to the excitment!!!


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## ...coolstream (Dec 10, 2005)

D'oh! I did the poll before reading the thread and thought you were asking what's in my box.

FWIW no info offered for me would lead me to expect the worst, and judging by your relatively low offer, you feel the same. 

I'm now going for knackered and tampered with. Maybe a fried modem and no HD but fixable.


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## PaulWilkinsUK (Mar 20, 2006)

...coolstream said:


> D'oh! I did the poll before reading the thread and thought you were asking what's in my box.
> 
> FWIW no info offered for me would lead me to expect the worst, and judging by your relatively low offer, you feel the same.
> 
> I'm now going for knackered and tampered with. Maybe a fried modem and no HD but fixable.


err... me too LOL


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Fools.. lol.

At time of speaking 23 said knackered, so not all of you guys reported your own machines.

62 voters.. Wow, who said tivo was dead.

Waiting for the post van........


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## ericd121 (Dec 12, 2002)

...coolstream said:


> D'oh! I did the poll before reading the thread and thought you were asking what's in my box.
> 
> FWIW no info offered for me would lead me to expect the worst, and judging by your relatively low offer, you feel the same.
> 
> I'm now going for knackered and tampered with. Maybe a fried modem and no HD but fixable.


And me.

What a bunch of ego-maniacs we are.


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

iankb said:


> Interesting. With 20 knackered in 48 votes, there appears to be quite a few TiVos waiting to be resuscitated.


I was assuming that people were reporting their own machines.


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## merlin (Jul 22, 2002)

iankb said:


> I was assuming that people were reporting their own machines.


Me Too


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## Verne (Nov 21, 2000)

iankb said:


> I was assuming that people were reporting their own machines.


And me.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

They wouldn't go by the name of ferndale-bargains would they? See 270101187101 

Based on part experience I expect it to be a knackered 40Gb unit with no sub. The fact that it does not come with leads or remote etc does not bode well.

I suspect they deliberately remove the remote and leads etc in the listing to make it sound long lost and left in an attic so that buyers will get false hope it is Lifetime Subbed and to cover up the fact that they know it is actually knackered (which would make it worthless if that was a known fact).

Well sounds like its turning up tomorrow. Mind you if it is ferndale-bargains it didn't arrive until a week after I was expecting. Still PayPal refunded me and when I ddn't rush to waste £15 on a courier to send it back to them they never bothered chasing it. I think they could tell me from my emails that I was aggrieved but genuine and probably knew half the electrical items they get like this in house clearances are knackered.


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Hello Mr Tivo (No 3) 6023 version.










We have MEGA DUST!!!!!! And no Network cards or upgraded disks.
And the dust has caused the fan to fail.









We have a problem... Blank screen.... Noooooooo









Got my old 1.5 factory image and we have lift off..

























Now, is it a lifetime??.... Well, we will have to wait... I have to get it linked up with the net card and the HDD from my spare tivo. Do a guide download and see if the status changes..

As it stands, it is about the right price at £34, if a lifetime, a bargain...

All them people who said knackered are correct. We are still waiting for the lifetime verdict..


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## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

this is quite exciting 

I've never seen pictures of Demo Mode before

I await the next installment ...


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

6022tivo said:


> As it stands, it is about the right price at £34, if a lifetime, a bargain...


Surely you can get a working unsubbed Tivo for about £20?



> All them people who said knackered are correct. We are still waiting for the lifetime verdict..


I say it has no Lifetime sub or they would have got it repaired.

Mega dust = Mega Ash = heavy smoker does it not?

It wasn't ferndale-bargains was it?

Can't you check the subscription status just by dialling up?


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Ok......

Connected my spare tivo HDD, and Net card to new Tivo 3.









Started a daily call.....









Waited, and restarted the tivo, just in case.... and we have....
BARGAIN.. Lifetime.









Pete, it was not the same seller as yours, and arrived next day after payment via DHL, so I am happy bunny.

Also the fan restarted after I gave it a clean.

So, who was a winner???

Answer to poll was (Knackered, selected with Standard 40GB LIFETIME)


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Ok, the ebay seller was byett and he has just listed another one.

He does accept very low best offers, mine was £34 (listed at £49).

Maybe you could try a sub £30.

Obviously mine was knackered, but repaired it is a lifetime. And obviously the next one maybe non subbed..


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

6022tivo said:


> Pete, it was not the same seller as yours, and arrived next day after payment via DHL, so I am happy bunny.


My seller also used DHL. DHL were efficient but he was not in getting DHL to pick it up when he stated.



> Also the fan restarted after I gave it a clean.
> 
> So, who was a winner???
> 
> Answer to poll was (Knackered, selected with Standard 40GB LIFETIME)


Well the wheel of fortune spun and you got lucky but in my case the wheel spun and I was not. Fortunately I got my money back from PayPal as the seller had lied by saying there was no reason to think the Tivo was not working whereas the broken hard drive meant there was every reason to think it was not working as connecting a Scart lead would have revealed it stuck at Powering Up with a clank, clank, clank from the hard drive before it gave up.

I then installed my old 30Gb + 15Gb drive and it started but the video output stage was afflicted with some form of terminal flickering due to either an MHEG encoder or decoder fault. A dial up revealed -Never Set Up. So looks rather like a customer return that was DOA in my case.

I hope you won't mind me asking what possible use you have for a third Lifetimed Tivo though. I suppose you must have kids and they want their own Tivo? What size hard drive you will now be installing in it and will you be getting another network card for it?


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> I hope you won't mind me asking what possible use you have for a third Lifetimed Tivo though. I suppose you must have kids and they want their own Tivo? What size hard drive you will now be installing in it and will you be getting another network card for it?


I will probably stick the 1.5.1 drive that is still factory (40G), and sell it on as a lifetime, or sell one of the others.

I will check out the HDD and try and repair, or switch partitions. I am always interested in seeing what the last person had recorded, and the last time it dialed in...

To be honest, I was bored, flicking around ebay, and had a hunch, and not a bad one. Quite an enjoyable hour. And it is always exciting to get a courier parcel isn't it?.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

6022tivo said:


> Waited, and restarted the tivo, just in case.... and we have....
> BARGAIN.. Lifetime.


Bloody hell!  You jammy git


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## RWILTS (Apr 21, 2006)

Well done,

But how is he selling another one so quickly, are Tivo's cluttering up deceased peoples houses all over the UK?  

Sorry if anyone is offended


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

RWILTS said:


> But how is he selling another one so quickly, are Tivo's cluttering up deceased peoples houses all over the UK?
> 
> Sorry if anyone is offended


I think house clearance is a bit of a euphemism and covers people such as pornbrokers, debt collectors etc who may well acquire the contents of someone's house or some of their posessions without them actually dieing.

Also it sounds vaguely as though these Tivos might have fallen off the back of a lorry at somewhere like Comet or Currys where a customer returned a faulty one under warranty or as DOA and then a new was supplied to them in its place. These faulty Tivos may have been kicking around in a store room ever since.................


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

he is selling all sorts of random stuff.


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## RWILTS (Apr 21, 2006)

Ok...

I am willing to take the gamble for fun... i have made an offer, lowish... see what happens .. or someone else here offers more...

If i get it I will start another pole, and the wife will kill me!!

So... who here is going to scupper my offer?


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

I might if I had the money


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

RWILTS said:


> Ok...
> 
> I am willing to take the gamble for fun... i have made an offer, lowish... see what happens .. or someone else here offers more...
> 
> ...


I think Pete has put a offer in, you know he will get his cash back from paypal even if it has a bit of fluff on the fan as it was not advertised as so.

Well good luck..

I put a offer in on mine at around midnight, he accepted at about 0730, I paypal'd at about 10, and had it the next day. I did notice he does accept low best offers from looking at his feedback.

Good luck, I was tempted, and if I knew he had two I would of asked him for both to save postage...

Looking forward to your thread already, and the pictures.??


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## ColinYounger (Aug 9, 2006)

Gotta love that thumb action obscuring the service number.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Its still listed at the moment.

It seems a bit dodgy that there is no remote and I see he is saying that "there is no reason to think it will not work". This is identical to the language used by my seller as is the removal of the remote to excuse not testing.

I'm sure all these Tivos must come from some kind of Tivo repair facility where they were not repaired and instead another Tivo unit was substituted. Perhaps these boxes were suppose to go back to Thomson for refurb had they ever restarted the production line. That may explain the lack of a remote and leads etc.

I very much doubt that the source is a real "house-sale" (where you would expect the remote and IR leads and mains lead to be present.

So you can guarantee this Tivo will be broken in some respect and you will probably not get lucky with the Lifetime Sub. You had better hope it is not a motherboard fault as it was on the unit I purchased, as well as a broken hard drive.


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

I hope your grapes don't turn out to be sour 

That one isn't properly dirty check my folks eBay special which I upgraded at Chirstmas
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=334540&highlight=dirty+pictures


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Pete77 said:


> I think house clearance is a bit of a euphemism and covers people such as pornbrokers.


Now that would be a shop worth visiting!


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

I see he has refused 1 offer... How low was it RWILTS??. Assuming it was yours.

His wording was the same on the auction I won except, on mine he stated the warrenty sticker was removed, on this one he says it is present.

If I was local to Derby I would have another punt..


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## RWILTS (Apr 21, 2006)

£20.00

Cheeky but I dont actually need it so....

I cannot make another offer so over to someone else,


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

Pete77 said:


> I then installed my old 30Gb + 15Gb drive and it started but the video output stage was afflicted with some form of terminal flickering due to either an MHEG encoder or decoder fault.


Sorry to be pedantic but this isn't the first time I've seen someone describe TiVo having an MHEG fault.

TiVo has NO IDEA how to decode the MHEG data, which is buried in the MPEG transport stream of digital terrestrial transmissions. It's the protocol/language used to deliver the interactive content for the platform.

I'm sure you meant MPEG, which is completely different to MHEG. I know it's just one letter's difference but the number of times I've seen MHEG substituted for MPEG...


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

aerialplug said:


> I'm sure you meant MPEG, which is completely different to MHEG. I know it's just one letter's difference but the number of times I've seen MHEG substituted for MPEG...


I did indeed mean MPEG and not MHEG.

Thanks for spotting my error.


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## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

RWILTS said:


> £20.00
> 
> Cheeky but I dont actually need it so....
> 
> I cannot make another offer so over to someone else,


my cheeky £25 offer refused too 

I don't really need it either but I've been caught up in the general excitement


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Tempted to leave him a positive, say it was faulty but no problems my risk and offer £26 for another go..., He may feel sorry for me and let me have it for that??.


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## ericd121 (Dec 12, 2002)

RWILTS said:


> I am willing to take the gamble for fun... i have made an offer, lowish... see what happens .. or someone else here offers more...


How did you know which one he was on about?
<translation>I can't find this on Ebay - where should I be looking?</translation>


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

ericd121 said:


> How did you know which one he was on about?
> <translation>I can't find this on Ebay - where should I be looking?</translation>


Already gone Eric. He must have accepted somebody's offer.


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## martink0646 (Feb 8, 2005)

It's gone now...

Item number: 120161149858

£37.00 + P&P

Someone's going to be really chuffed with a lifetime for that money or.........

If it was someone here, please post!

Martin


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

martink0646 said:


> It's gone now...
> 
> Item number: 120161149858
> 
> ...


Yes, we want photo's and a full breakdown.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

A more cautious buyer may well wait to see if the Tivo has a Lifetime Sub or only a broken hard drive in case they have to invoke the PayPal guarantee.

History shows there are quite a few wolves patrolling the forum who then take delight over the misfortune of other people if they make an unsuccesful Ebay purchase and admit to it on here.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> History shows there are quite a few wolves patrolling the forum who then take delight over the misfortune of other people if they make an unsuccesful Ebay purchase and admit to it on here.


I don't think it's _quite_ like that, Pete


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

cwaring said:


> I don't think it's _quite_ like that, Pete


I suspect it all rather depends on who made the unfortunate Ebay purchase.


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## smatson (Mar 14, 2001)

Originally Posted by martink0646
It's gone now...

Item number: 120161149858

£37.00 + P&P

Someone's going to be really chuffed with a lifetime for that money or.........

If it was someone here, please post!


just got it to day all working and  lifetime very happy

but no network card 
6022tivo just using your photo very good


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Well played, nice one. That is two lifetimes from him..

Good stuff. I love a good gamble.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

smatson said:


> but no network card


You expect to get a network card too at that price. 

Don't forget quite a few of our forum members are paying £120 per annum just for the ongoing Tivo EPG


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## smatson (Mar 14, 2001)

Yes a gamble but a good one in the end 
so the same ebay seller as you 6022tivo very good


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## RWILTS (Apr 21, 2006)

I await his next listing with interest. Buying Tivos can get addictive


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

smatson said:


> Yes a gamble but a good one in the end
> so the same ebay seller as you 6022tivo very good


Yes, well packaged with loads of them wotsits that you can eat.

The packaging is food without flavour. I love eating them infront of the kids, spooks them, but they are apparently perfectly safe, just blown up corn, Yummy, still half the box left.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

6022tivo said:


> The packaging is food without flavour. I love eating them infront of the kids, spooks them, but they are apparently perfectly safe, just blown up corn, Yummy, still half the box left.


Are you sure they aren't oil based and made out of polystyrene? All the packaging wotsits I have ever come across have never shown any edible properties.


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## katman (Jun 4, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> Are you sure they aren't oil based and made out of polystyrene? All the packaging wotsits I have ever come across have never shown any edible properties.


Easy way to tell is to dip one in water. If it just floats and is also pure white then it is polystrene.

If it has a slightly brown tinge to it and shrivels up like prawn cracker do then they ar the corn based ones.


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

It is a corn based one, lovley... Sprinkle a little curry power and give them a shake.. Yummy.

Make the tivo even more of a bargain.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

6022tivo said:


> It is a corn based one, lovley... Sprinkle a little curry power and give them a shake.. Yummy.


I still wouldn't trust them not to have sprayed them with some kind of poisonous long life preservative since they clearly don't expect anyone to eat them.


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## katman (Jun 4, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> I still wouldn't trust them not to have sprayed them with some kind of poisonous long life preservative since they clearly don't expect anyone to eat them.


Why would they want to give them a long life ???

...the whole idea of them is that they degrade quickly ie almost instantly as soon as they get wet.

Anyway.... getting back on topic, I am pleased with my second Tivo that I got off eBay for £24 (£36 including P&P). Primarily bought to experiment with so that I can practice hacks without breaking my Lifetime Subbed machine


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

katman said:


> Why would they want to give them a long life ???


In case the item is stored in a damp warehouse and does not sell for 18 months.


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