# How many of you here use Mode Zero successfully?



## Jo.Cassady (Jul 21, 2002)

Hard drives are falling in price all the time.



> The various modes are:
> Mode	Resolution	Used by TiVo Modes
> 1 352 x 576 Basic and Medium
> 2 480 x 576 High
> ...


source: http://www.ljay.org.uk/tivoweb/tivo_fpga.html

I'd like to go Mode 0, but i am not confident (or intelligent) enough to follow the instructions without bricking my TiVo

Have any of you damaged their TiVo by trying this? Can I get someone to do it for me? (as a paid service) (I can't afford a lot, unfortunately)


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## martink0646 (Feb 8, 2005)

Hi,

I've done mode 0 & I'm not particularly clever at things like this. I found it very easy to do following this tutorial (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=286938) and the results have been fantastic. I get the full 720x576 and the result is excellent on my 42" plasma. Obviously some channels are better than others though and it all depends on the broadcast quality - rubbish in rubbish out!

If you don't have network access then you can try this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=376446&highlight=mode+0) but I can't vouch for it personally.

As far as someone setting it up for you, I think forum members mikerr & blindlemon do it. It seems that if you buy a new drive from them it is a simple job for them to add it on then and I don't think they charge much extra for it (if anything).

However, taking your drive out, sending it to them, them working on it and then sending it back....it might be cost effective to just buy a new drive.

Martin


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Mode 0 is available on preconfigured drives and on some you can also turn it off if you don't like it 

As far as using it goes, I've been using it for a couple of years now on all my TiVos and can't imagine living without it. The increase in resolution is great and the colours are cleaner and more natural too. Also, if you enable VBR too then you may actually use less disk space than with standard "best" depending on what you're recording.

I could enable Mode 0 on your drive for you if you want, but it would probably be more economical (waits for Pete to chime in with a dig about my prices) for you to buy a preconfigured drive with it already installed.


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

blindlemon said:


> Mode 0 is available on preconfigured drives and on some you can also turn it off if you don't like it


Some of us don't charge extra for it either 

The only issue with it is the occasional "white flash",
how frequent that is varies tivo to tivo.
On some tivos it's never seen (or once per day), others it's
every few seconds, and its more prevalent on BBC channels.

That's why all suppliers of preconfigured drives have an option to turn it off / change settings, 
either in a menu, or by pressing a button on startup.


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## Pugwash (May 23, 2003)

I use mode0 and have had none of the side-effects.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Jo.Cassady said:


> I'd like to go Mode 0, but i am not confident (or intelligent) enough to follow the instructions without bricking my TiVo


This is precisely why I haven't done it myself yet.

At this point, I'm going to hijack the thread 

Anyone on here using Mode0 with Virgin Media's TV service? Can you tell much difference?

It's just that I've heard it mentioned that VM don't use very high bitrates for their channels so am wondering if it would many much difference anyway.


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## geekspeak (Oct 1, 2002)

cwaring said:


> Anyone on here using Mode0 with Virgin Media's TV service? Can you tell much difference?


Yes there is a difference but the flashing is pretty bad. No different to my 2nd tivo which is on freeview.


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## laurence (Jun 17, 2007)

Upgraded to mode 0 around a year ago i think. I lose track of time, maybe not that long, maybe much longer! Best hack I've done on tivo. It was the most awkward one too - took me 1/2 a day or so (and some much appreciated help from blindlemon when i got stuck) to get it working properly. 
Strangely, I only notice the white flashes on one of the 4 screens I use - the improvement in pic quality far outweighs the occasional flash and i wouldn't go back. 
Loz


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

Improvements in picture quality depends on the TV as much as the tivo input source.

Press aux on your remote (that switches from tivo processed image to original image)
and if you can't tell the difference from your normal viewing position there's no point changing 

When doing that test I can't tell you which is tivo and which is passthrough when using mode0.

VM cable, mode 0, 37" Panasonic LCD


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## RichardJH (Oct 7, 2002)

VM cable Tivo 1
Freeview Tivo 2
32" Sony CRT TV

With mode 0 and RGB tweak now unable to tell the difference between Tivo playback and Aux (direct input)
Get a few white flashes (more so BBC1 on Freeview)
IMHO well worth the hacking and of course if you find you don't like it just set it back to normal.


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## Jo.Cassady (Jul 21, 2002)

blindlemon said:


> Mode 0 is available on preconfigured drives and on some you can also turn it off if you don't like it
> 
> As far as using it goes, I've been using it for a couple of years now on all my TiVos and can't imagine living without it. The increase in resolution is great and the colours are cleaner and more natural too. Also, if you enable VBR too then you may actually use less disk space than with standard "best" depending on what you're recording.
> 
> I could enable Mode 0 on your drive for you if you want, but it would probably be more economical (waits for Pete to chime in with a dig about my prices) for you to buy a preconfigured drive with it already installed.


I have a TiVo cachecard. would that need special configuration on the new drive as well?


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## RogerL (Jan 7, 2002)

I get the white flashes but they are worth putting up with for the improvement in picture quality.


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## DeadKenny (Nov 9, 2002)

Never bothered. Put off by the possibility of white flashes and I don't have a network card. The other options I've just not really got round to. One I think used the service/serial cable but I didn't have one, however I have knocked one up now for my Samsung telly to update its firmware (same spec as the TiVo cable). The other option of taking the disc(s) out I'd probably only do if I upgrade the hard discs.

To be honest, if I want better quality now I'll get Sky HD. Yes it sucks as a PVR but it's HD and SD upscaled, direct recording off the digital source. Having a 40" LCD now the picture quality is far more important than it was when I first got the TiVo on my then 28" and later 32" Sony CRT.


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## martink0646 (Feb 8, 2005)

Addendum to my earlier post;

Freeview TiVo
42" Phillips plasma

Never had white flashes, period.

Very little difference between TiVo & Aux. Can only tell by sitting very close.

Easy conversion following the guide. I had no problems at all that I recall and very glad that I did it.

I heartily recommend anyone with a plasma or an lcd to do it. I probably wouldn't bother with a CRT

Martin


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## verses (Nov 6, 2002)

My TiVo suffers with very frequent white flashes when using Mode 0. In fact they're so frequent (4-5 a minute) that I disabled mode 0 as they were too irritating.

Cheers,

Ian


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## johala_reewi (Oct 30, 2002)

Lots of flashes with my Tivo in Mode0 but it is very usefull for archiving to DVD so I record stuff to watch later in Mode1, and stuff to archive in Mode0. The flashes only occur on the TV output so archived Mode0 stuff is fine.


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## Milhouse (Sep 15, 2001)

I get white flashes, but the frequency depends on the quality of source - if the source has lots of noise or is very "contrasty" then I get more flashes, while a cleaner source results in few if any flashes. I suspect the increased noise causes the encoder to go beyond it's limitations.


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## ag5002 (Sep 8, 2008)

I found the upgrade to mode 0 very worth while. Much better picture on my new Sharp LCD.

I get flashes, but these are not so noticable or frequent that I cannot live with them. Interestingly, they mainly occur on BBC channels.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Milhouse said:


> I get white flashes, but the frequency depends on the quality of source - if the source has lots of noise or is very "contrasty" then I get more flashes, while a cleaner source results in few if any flashes. I suspect the increased noise causes the encoder to go beyond it's limitations.


The problem, whatever it is, is with the decoder not the encoder. The video files recorded by TiVo have no white flashes in them.


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## Milhouse (Sep 15, 2001)

TCM2007 said:


> The problem, whatever it is, is with the decoder not the encoder. The video files recorded by TiVo have no white flashes in them.


I knew I had a 50/50 chance of picking the right one...


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## humap14 (Sep 17, 2008)

I bought a pre-configured 500Gb hard disk off ebay a couple of weeks ago. I use Freeview on a good quality 42" plasma

My experience has been mixed....

On the plus side, there is an improvement in quality - although my widescreen/stb did a pretty good of upscaling Best quality before, so it's not a vast change.

On the minus, the theory of simply replacing one hard disk with another and carrying on as before hasn't really worked out. I guess this was why I haven't done this to date - the niggling doubt that things wouldn't turn out as simple as advertised. 

Hopefully I'll get to the bottom of the problem - after the initial program load, no further loads work, so I have to clear all program data and do a complete reload every week. 

I guess your opinion on upgrading will depend on your attitude to digging around with your Tivo and chasing answers. For me, before the upgrade, my Tivo has just sat in the corner being very reliable - I knew little about how it worked. Since the upgrade, life has just got that bit more complicated.....


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

humap14 said:


> after the initial program load, no further loads work, so I have to clear all program data and do a complete reload every week.


It sounds like you purchased a drive with software version 2.5.5a but your TiVo is supposed to have 2.5.5. Whether that was your fault or the vendor's only you will know 

FYI, when this happens, the TiVo tries to download an "upgrade" to 2.5.5 every night because the versions are different, but when it goes to apply the upgrade it realises that 2.5.5 is _not _a newer version than 2.5.5a and aborts both the upgrade and the daily call while reporting that that daily call succeeded! A Guided Setup data call works because it does not also check the software version.

There are two solutions - a) call TiVo CS and ask for an upgrade to 2.5.5a (say you bought a Sony TV that's going crazy when attached to your TiVo) or b) return the drive to the vendor and ask for a replacement with software 2.5.5.

I get this a couple of times a year from customers who (despite the tediously prominent warnings on my website) insist on ordering 2.5.5a because they assume it will be "better" than 2.5.5.


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## AENG (Dec 20, 2000)

Blindlemon installed Mode 0 when he replaced my HD and I'm very happy with the results. There is the occasional flash but I've either got used to it and don't notice or it has become less frequent. Changing from a Sony CRT to Samsung LCD display might also have helped.


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## geekspeak (Oct 1, 2002)

ag5002 said:


> Interestingly, they mainly occur on BBC channels.


Happens on all channels for me.


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## humap14 (Sep 17, 2008)

blindlemon said:


> It sounds like you purchased a drive with software version 2.5.5a but your TiVo is supposed to have 2.5.5. Whether that was your fault or the vendor's only you will know
> 
> There are two solutions - a) call TiVo CS and ask for an upgrade to 2.5.5a (say you bought a Sony TV that's going crazy when attached to your TiVo) or b) return the drive to the vendor and ask for a replacement with software 2.5.5.
> 
> I get this a couple of times a year from customers who (despite the tediously prominent warnings on my website) insist on ordering 2.5.5a because they assume it will be "better" than 2.5.5.


thanks for all the info. I did order 2.5.5a, but that was because my old tivo had 2.5.5a on it (and it worked fine for years ), and the supplier (not you!)emailed that I had to replace with the same version.

Will try your Sony TV trick and see if that works - if i can get through to someone on the Sky/CS helpline who knows anything about it. Fingers crossed, and thanks for the info.

The whole things still feels like a lot of hassle , and I'm left thinking why did I tinker with it in the first place


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## Davyburns (Jan 7, 2004)

I must be lucky, I've been using Mode0 for 4 years now, and havn't seen a single flash. Just as a matter of interest, is the flash when playing back, or watching live tv?


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## Trinitron (Jan 20, 2003)

I've been using mode 0 for ages - much crossing of fingers when going through the setup.

Used to get occasional white flashes on BBC with my old Philips TV but the overscan on my Panasonic Viera LCD means they are now off screen! The VXD model handles mode 0 brilliantly. I used to always have to switch to passthrough to watch football broadcasts but now it's hard to tell which is which.


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## digital_S (May 15, 2002)

I have mode 0 courtesy of blindlemon. :up:
I record in medium or high, there isn't an option to switch to mode 0 - it's always running.
Never seen any white flashes either!


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## Trinitron (Jan 20, 2003)

Errm, if you record in Medium or High you probably arent gettting the full benefits of Mode 0! 

It all depends on your settings in Resource Editor, but if you follow the setup guide linked to from this forum then Mode 0 only works to its full capacity for recordings in Best quality (i.e. BestResolution = 0 AND RecordQuality = 100). If you have DefaultLiveRecordQuality = 100 then at least your live buffer will be ok, but if you have RecordQualityHigh = 75 and RecordQualityMedium = 40, neither of these will be utilising Mode 0 properly.

If what I have inferred is true, then that would also explain why you get no white flashes!

I have tweaked my HighResolution settings to use Mode 0 and Quality 75, to reduce disk usage where absolute top quality is not essential. This is (was?) my default for suggestions. My Medium and Basic also both use Mode 1 with Quality set to 40 and 0 respectively for the same reason, though I rarely if ever use these nowadays. 

FWIW, my other resource settings, arrived at through 'trial and error' are
DBSBestVBRBitrate = 4800000
DBSBestMAXBitrate = 9000000
DBSBestResolution = 0
DBSHighVBRBitrate = 3200000
DBSHighMAXBitrate = 7000000
DBSHighResolution = 0
DBSMediumVBRBitrate = 2400000
DBSMediumMAXBitrate = 5000000
DBSMediumResolution = 1
DBSBasicVBRBitrate = 1600000
DBSBasicMAXBitrate = 4000000
DBSBasicResolution = 1

(CATV and Rooftop follow exactly the same pattern)


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## digital_S (May 15, 2002)

Trinitron said:


> Errm, if you record in Medium or High you probably arent gettting the full benefits of Mode 0!
> 
> It all depends on your settings in Resource Editor, but if you follow the setup guide linked to from this forum then Mode 0 only works to its full capacity for recordings in Best quality (i.e. BestResolution = 0 AND RecordQuality = 100). If you have DefaultLiveRecordQuality = 100 then at least your live buffer will be ok, but if you have RecordQualityHigh = 75 and RecordQualityMedium = 40, neither of these will be utilising Mode 0 properly.


I have no idea where resource editor is  This is the first I've heard about it 
I'm guessing it's in TiVoweb? Would explain, as I don't have TiVoweb.
The quality is pretty good anyway in medium and high, plus it uses less disk-space.


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## Trinitron (Jan 20, 2003)

Yes, it's in Tivoweb. 

If you think medium and high are ok, try recording the same programmes in Best quality and you'll see the real benefit of Mode 0. A lot does depend on the TV you are connecting to (and if you're using the SCART?) but I found the default medium setting pretty much unwatchable because of motion blur and pixellation.

I agree disk space is an issue but the quality outweighs the inconvenience of deleting or {cough} archiving programmes.


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

IIRC mode 0 also enables Variable Bit Rate encoding which means that you grab back the space lost in the extra resolution going from Best to Mode 0. The toggle is there in the Tivo interface but doesn't work otherwise.

I still have a couple of season passes on High - as we FFDW most of Mastermind and all of Millionaire I don't care that it looks like VHS.
I couldn't live with medium though.

BTW I have no problems with Mode 0 - there are flashes but the improvement in picture quality is worth it on a Sony 100Hz 32" CRT TV. I also got flashes in Best pre-mode 0.


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## bradleyem (May 23, 2002)

I use mode 0, and while I do get a couple of flashes, the quality gain makes up for it. It does seem to depend on the quality of the input - how grainy it is, how crap the picture from Sky is etc. But all in all, it's well worth it.


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## 10203 (Nov 11, 2001)

blindlemon said:


> Mode 0 is available on preconfigured drives and on some you can also turn it off if you don't like it





mikerr said:


> Some of us don't charge extra for it either


Maybe I should charge £15 a download - I'd've been rich by now!


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

LJ said:


> Maybe I should charge £15 a download - I'd've been rich by now!


Well if you ever need a new drive, just give us a shout and get one for free :up::up:


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## 10203 (Nov 11, 2001)

mikerr said:


> Well if you ever need a new drive, just give us a shout and get one for free :up::up:


Well you can't say fairer than that!   As it happens my current drive has been doing the blocky picture/jumping thing in a few spots for a month or so, so I was just about to start the search for a new one. I'll drop you a PM... Thanks Mike.


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## DanielB (Sep 7, 2007)

Been running mode zero for about 6 months, on a drive built from hooch, no problems or flashes that I have ever noticed so far.


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## John McE (Dec 23, 2003)

I installed a new drive a couple of months back, which was suppose to come pre-configured as Mode 0. However, to be honest I didn't notice any difference in PQ, and as so many people seem to rave about the higher PQ, I am wondering if my drive was indeed configured for Mode 0 as advertised.

I don't have TIVO web, and without that, is there any way to prove how the drive is configured?


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## Mark Bennett (Sep 17, 2001)

I only noticed how bad the original picture quality was when I went from a 29" CRT to a 50" Plasma. As soon as the plasma was in use it became obvious I would need Mode 0. The improvement in picture quality was massive. I do get occasional flashes, but nothing I can't cope with. 
It has also helped the resolution when archiving to DVD...


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

John McE said:


> I installed a new drive a couple of months back, which was suppose to come pre-configured as Mode 0. However, to be honest I didn't notice any difference in PQ, and as so many people seem to rave about the higher PQ, I am wondering if my drive was indeed configured for Mode 0 as advertised.


If that's one of my drives (Mr-Techshop / TivoCentral) 
then you can check setting, or turn mode0 on/off by pressing 0 on your remote on the main tivo central screen. 
(or on the setup screen on newer drives).

PQ difference isn't so noticeable if you have a CRT,
but makes a huge difference on LCDs (more so than plasmas IME)


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## John McE (Dec 23, 2003)

Thanks for the advice Mikerr.

From my credit card statement, it appears I bought the drive from Tivo.co.uk - but I've just checked and that website no longer exists.

I tried going to the TIVO Central screen and pressing 0, as you suggested, but just get a dull "dong" and no change in PQ.

I have a 50" plasma, so from what you say, I should certainly notice a difference between Mode 0 and Mode 1.

The only thing that makes me uncertain if I really am using Mode 0, is that I also have a Virgin V+ box, which upscales - and compared to the PQ of that the TIVO output looks markedly inferior, so it's possible I'm just being too critical.


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## Pugwash (May 23, 2003)

The only way I could spot any difference in horizontal resolution was to *ahem* extract the image and see the actual dimensions of it. Vertical resolution is easier to spot.


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## 10203 (Nov 11, 2001)

LJ said:


> Well you can't say fairer than that!   As it happens my current drive has been doing the blocky picture/jumping thing in a few spots for a month or so, so I was just about to start the search for a new one. I'll drop you a PM... Thanks Mike.


The postman delivered a shiny new drive this morning... Thanks Mike, much appreciated.  :up:


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## BrianHughes (Jan 21, 2001)

LJ said:


> The postman delivered a shiny new drive this morning... Thanks Mike, much appreciated.  :up:


I think many of us here owe LJ a debt of thanks and to mikerr too for putting his hand in his pocket to acknowledge it. Thanks guys.


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## simon (Oct 7, 2002)

Davyburns said:


> I must be lucky, I've been using Mode0 for 4 years now, and havn't seen a single flash. Just as a matter of interest, is the flash when playing back, or watching live tv?


Can be on both. On my TiVO I get a small flash to the lower left side of the screen (bottom 10% ) on some dark screens.

Not really very annoying, and worth it for the good quality. I'm using the component out too, very good quality


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## dvdfever (Jun 2, 2002)

I bit the bullet and did the mode 0 fix the other day, and while I've spotted some white flashes during Doctors for the first time today, the fact I can quickly archive stuff and that the quality of this is bloody gorgeous makes the brief white flashes an easily put-up-able problem to live with.

Massive thanks to LJ for this.

I also tried the RGB fix at the same time. Is that meant to make the AUX output look the same as TiVo playback? The latter's a bit brighter than the former and both "AUX Source" and "Video output to TV" are set to "RGB and PAL" if that helps. Have I done this right? Thanks.


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