# Alternative uses for un-subbed tivo hardware?



## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

Now that an unsubscribed tivo box has a value of less than 0 for use as a tivo, 

What can be done with an unsubscribed tivo box, other than using it as a tivo?

Any linux distros that can be installed on the hardware without too much difficulty?

3rd party dvr software?

Anything more creative?


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## mr.unnatural (Feb 2, 2006)

That all depends. If it's a series 2 or 2.5 standalone box or series 1 DTivo it will make a nice doorstop. If it's a series 1 standalone model then you can install an older OS version and use it as a manual DVR with no guide data. If you have a series 2 DTivo then you can hack it to add MRV functionality and use it as a dummy terminal to view shows recorded on another S2 DTivo that has also been hacked with MRV. If you have an HDTivo then you can use the OTA tuners to view your locals in HD, but you won't be able to record anything.


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

I know that it can't be used as a tivo without a subscription. What I'm wondering is has anyone converted it to work as a linux based file server, or some other functionality? 

Tivo proprietary software aside, can the hardware be used for other functions?


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## thepackfan (May 21, 2003)

You can use it with your pc and tivoserver as a depository for video's


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

take out the harddrive and format it and have a 80 gig hard drive


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

thepackfan said:


> You can use it with your pc and tivoserver as a depository for video's


Would that be for video's only in the tivo format?

Ideally, I'd like to store my mp3 collection on it, and have them available through a shared drive. Also various TV shows and such that have been converted to ipod format.


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## BTUx9 (Nov 13, 2003)

people have successfully run debian installs on the tivo... just keep in mind that it is VERY short on processing muscle and ram, compared to most modern PCs


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

thepackfan said:


> You can use it with your pc and tivoserver as a depository for video's


I'm going to look into this some more. At a glance, the tivo server app looks pretty cool.

When you say depository, you mean I can store video files on the tivo itself, right? As opposed to the tivo being a dumb receiver of content.


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

Gai-jin said:


> When you say depository, you mean I can store video files on the tivo itself, right? As opposed to the tivo being a dumb receiver of content.


Not sure what you mean by this but, what you end uo with is a tivo that can't record stuff on its own, but it does show up as a tivo you can MRV stuff from. Tivoserver lets you transfer the stuff that is on your PC to the tivo. So as long as you have video saved as a supported format your home videos can be put on the tivo. The only downside is that the video has to be on your PC and not another tivo. There are tools to do that but that is real close to extraction and not talked about here. You could try DDB look for mfs_ftp.


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

JWThiers said:


> Not sure what you mean by this but, what you end uo with is a tivo that can't record stuff on its own, but it does show up as a tivo you can MRV stuff from. Tivoserver lets you transfer the stuff that is on your PC to the tivo. So as long as you have video saved as a supported format your home videos can be put on the tivo. The only downside is that the video has to be on your PC and not another tivo. There are tools to do that but that is real close to extraction and not talked about here. You could try DDB look for mfs_ftp.


Yes, this sounds like what I'm looking for. Does the video have to be converted to tivo format to be able to store it on this un-subbed tivo?

If I use tivo desktop to get video off of one tivo, can I use tivo server to push it to the unsubbed tivo?


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

Gai-jin said:


> Yes, this sounds like what I'm looking for. Does the video have to be converted to tivo format to be able to store it on this un-subbed tivo?
> 
> If I use tivo desktop to get video off of one tivo, can I use tivo server to push it to the unsubbed tivo?


Look in the TivoServer thread here to see supported formats and usage instructions.


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

thepackfan said:


> You can use it with your pc and tivoserver as a depository for video's


Keep in mind that MRV will not work on a Standalone running current software versions without a subscription. There may be ways to hack around that, but that would be service theft. If you want MRV, you should pay for the tivo service.


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

JamieP said:


> Keep in mind that MRV will not work on a Standalone running current software versions without a subscription. There may be ways to hack around that, but that would be service theft. If you want MRV, you should pay for the tivo service.


It is my (very limited) understanding that MRV still works outbound even from an unsubbed tivo, just not inbound. Is that not correct?


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

Gai-jin said:


> It is my (very limited) understanding that MRV still works outbound even from an unsubbed tivo, just not inbound. Is that not correct?


It is not correct, using the tivo software. Now if you are talking about running tivoserver *on the tivo* and using the tivo as a media server, that's a different story, since the tivo software isn't involved. My guess would be that the tivo is underpowered for this use. I would also expect you'd have a tough time getting tivoserver cross compiled to run on the tivo. And tivoserver is really only useful if you have some subscribed tivos to serve media to.


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

Nope, wasn't looking for anything that complicated. I had just read elsewhere that you could still MRV shows from an unsubbed tivo to a subbed tivo, just not the other way around.


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

Could one simply reformat the MFS partition and set it up as a samba share? Without installing a different OS on the tivo? Mainly I'd like this to work as an NAS device, if nothing else.


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## JamieP (Aug 3, 2004)

Gai-jin said:


> Could one simply reformat the MFS partition and set it up as a samba share? Without installing a different OS on the tivo? Mainly I'd like this to work as an NAS device, if nothing else.


Yes, at least in theory. Probably much slower than a PC based samba server, given the processor, disk and network performance of a tivo. You'll need to be comfortable with cross compilation. And you'll need to hack your tivo to allow you to install any software modifications at all on it. With some tivo's, this may be some soldering to replace the PROM.


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## bobbyt (Nov 4, 2006)

It would probably make a pretty good clay pigeon....


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## JWThiers (Apr 13, 2005)

bobbyt said:


> It would probably make a pretty good clay pigeon....


To big to get a really good throw on especially by yourself.


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## Tappy (Oct 31, 2006)

I have a svr2000 series1 box with version 3.0 without sub. I need software version 1.3 so that i can atleast record programs manually. Can anyone help?


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