# Oddball AT&T Series 2 TiVo 540 Series



## Arcady

I have been clearing out old TiVo stuff, and I came across a TiVo Series 2, model TCD540080. This one works just like a normal 540 series, but it has an AT&T Broadband case on it. The remote is a standard Series 2 remote, which matches the color of the TiVo box.

I put an 80GB drive in it and it updated to the latest TiVo software just fine.

I'm asking $25. I'll include a USB to ethernet adapter. No, it does not have lifetime service.

Any offers considered.


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## replaytv

I was able to sell one of these once to a guy that had a lifetimed Tivo of the same model that had a bad hard drive. The guy didn't know how to put the TiVo software on a new hard drive, so with the one I sold him he was able to just change out the hard drive and rerun setup. 
He also got a backup power supply. 
If you can't sell it, you might put in a saved search on eBay for a broken lifetimed AT&T box of the same model. Then use your box for a parts box.


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## Arcady

Thanks for the ideas. I'm in no rush to sell it, and I have no use for a Series 2. If nobody wants it, it will probably end up on a shelf in the closet again. Or I will break it into parts and sell that way. Although I hate to tear up a perfectly working TiVo.


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## Dan203

That's the original Series 2, it has basically the same guts as the 140 model S2...









One downside to this model is it only has USB1.0 ports so networking is really slow. They didn't upgrade to USB2.0 until the 240 models, which looked identical to the 140 pictured above.

Not that this is a bad unit. Just don't expect it to be lightning fast when doing network stuff. (probably slower then realtime in most cases)

Dan


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## Arcady

Yeah, but this AT&T box is a 540 series guts with USB 2 ports. It is not the correct guts for the case as far as I can tell.

Here's the back of it:


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## Dan203

That's weird, where did you get it? Do the buttons on the front of the unit function?

I thought AT&T only ever made the one box, during their brief stint in the cable industry, then abandoned it almost immediately. The 540 models didn't come out until several years later.

Also, hate to say this, but the 540 TiVos were the worst TiVos ever made. They are actually slower then the 140 TiVos. I have one of the Toshiba DVD units and it's a dog. Transfers take 2x real time and the UI is horribly slow.

Dan


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## Arcady

The buttons on the front work, just like an old DirecTiVo box. In the menus there is an option to turn the 540 nitelite on and off, but it doesn't do anything.

I'm not sure where this exact unit came from. I used to buy dozens of broken units and repair them. This is a remnant from that time.


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## unitron

FRANKENTiVo!


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## replaytv

unitron said:


> FRANKENTiVo!


Dip a wooden stake in holy water and then pound it into the heart of that hideous conflagration of insidious parts.


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