# Tivo Mini in child's room?



## mikebaratta (Feb 26, 2010)

Hi,

I'm thinking about putting a Tivo Mini in my kids' room, but I have a few questions to those who have one (didn't see these in the user guide):


Can you configure the main tivo to not ever give a specific mini a tuner for live tv?
Can you set parental controls on the mini itself, separate from the main tivo?
Can you enable/disable video providers on the mini itself, separate from the main tivo?
Can you use pytivo with the mini? (presumably, you would only be able to transfer items to/from the main tivo to watch via the mini)

I think I have one or two more, but they are slipping my mind.

Thanks in advance,
Mike


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

mikebaratta said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm thinking about putting a Tivo Mini in my kids' room, but I have a few questions to those who have one (didn't see these in the user guide):
> 
> ...


The answer to all of your questions is no. If TiVo ever implements profiles then a logical step would be to have a profile for each Mini to control what it can do. If you put a Mini in a child's room not only can they get all channels that are in the guide from the main TiVo, they can also delete and watch ANY content recorded on the main TiVo.


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## mikebaratta (Feb 26, 2010)

jmpage2 said:


> The answer to all of your questions is no. If TiVo ever implements profiles then a logical step would be to have a profile for each Mini to control what it can do. If you put a Mini in a child's room not only can they get all channels that are in the guide from the main TiVo, they can also delete and watch ANY content recorded on the main TiVo.


OK thanks. I am still open to this because my children are young enough that they will not try to watch something not age appropriate, because it is either boring, scary or yucky.

Was just hoping to avoid accidental viewings.

Thanks again


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## CrispyCritter (Feb 28, 2001)

jmpage2 said:


> The answer to all of your questions is no. If TiVo ever implements profiles then a logical step would be to have a profile for each Mini to control what it can do. If you put a Mini in a child's room not only can they get all channels that are in the guide from the main TiVo, they can also delete and watch ANY content recorded on the main TiVo.


This is INCORRECT!

Parental Controls work fine on the Mini and are completely separate from the host Parental Control. They protect viewing of controlled content, whether live-tv or recorded. This should be enough for a young child's TV viewing.

I agree parental controls do not protect against deletion of shows. There is no current way to guard the host DVR against malicious (or accidental) deletion or additions of shows, SPs, etc. There is also no current way to ban video providers on the Mini - I hope TiVo changes this.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Interesting. I admit to being mistaken. In all my travels through the Mini menus I had not seen the parental controls but you are right, they are there.


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## mikebaratta (Feb 26, 2010)

Thanks guys. This may get awfully expensive for me now. May be inclined to get two extra minis


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## 2trill4925 (Aug 1, 2009)

I purchased a Mini for that exact reason. It serves it's purpose well minus the auto timeout. I used to just change the channel to Nickelodeon and confiscate the remote. After going through growing pains, my toddlers figured out how to switch back to live TV. Nowadays, I'll pop back in periodically to make sure things are kosher and if there is a timeout I generally tell them to take a break from the TV.

I've been successful with using a dedicated wireless bridge on the Mini (stable on 2.4/5GHz). I would advise a stock router on the host. I'll check the menus, but I remember seeing the option to reserve a tuner with no live TV before the latest update.

I forgot to add that this only applies as a proven concept with SD.


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## Hot4Bo (Apr 3, 2003)

mikebaratta said:


> OK thanks. I am still open to this because my children are young enough that they will not try to watch something not age appropriate, because it is either boring, scary or yucky.
> 
> Was just hoping to avoid accidental viewings.
> 
> Thanks again


As an aside, this made me laugh because my 8-year-old nephew is always asking if something is appropriate for him to watch.


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## mikebaratta (Feb 26, 2010)

Hot4Bo said:


> As an aside, this made me laugh because my 8-year-old nephew is always asking if something is appropriate for him to watch.


LOL



2trill4925 said:


> I purchased a Mini for that exact reason. It serves it's purpose well minus the auto timeout. I used to just change the channel to Nickelodeon and confiscate the remote. After going through growing pains, my toddlers figured out how to switch back to live TV. Nowadays, I'll pop back in periodically to make sure things are kosher and if there is a timeout I generally tell them to take a break from the TV.
> 
> I've been successful with using a dedicated wireless bridge on the Mini (stable on 2.4/5GHz). I would advise a stock router on the host. I'll check the menus, but I remember seeing the option to reserve a tuner with no live TV before the latest update.
> 
> I forgot to add that this only applies as a proven concept with SD.


Thanks, I may go ahead with this.


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