# hacks needed for sharing programming?



## vanclute (Aug 4, 2003)

Hi all... I've posted this basic question in a couple of places now and each one ends up recommending I ask in another forum, so applogies for basically reposts. 

In the near future, I am going to have a dual tuner S2 DTivo in my living room, and a Standalone Series 2 single tuner in the bedroom. Can I share programming between the two? I want to be able to watch content that's on the living room box, from the bedroom, and sometimes vice versa. It appears that I need to hack the units in order to activate this capability (which I'm totally fine with doing). Is this correct? If so, it also appears I can't use Zipper on the SA tivo, only the DTivo.

I guess my bottom line question is, what precisely do I need in order to do this? And will I run into any problems with a Nitelight SA Tivo for the bedroom?

Thanks everyone!

Jonathan


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

You don't need to hack a Series 2 Standalone for those features, for they are stock part of the paid service.

Also, hacking new S2s require the PROM hardware hack.


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## cheer (Nov 13, 2005)

classicsat said:


> You don't need to hack a Series 2 Standalone for those features, for they are stock part of the paid service.


In general, yes, that's true but MRV won't work with a superpatched DirecTivo unless you superpatch the S2DT (which isn't possible yet AFAIK).


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## vanclute (Aug 4, 2003)

ummmm.... dumb question alert!

MRV?

Jonathan


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## Draven X. Byrne (Jun 2, 2003)

vanclute said:


> ummmm.... dumb question alert!
> 
> MRV?


Multi Room Viewing - a feature built in with "real" TiVo's . . .

DXB


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## vanclute (Aug 4, 2003)

Aha... so obvious once you know the answer. Thanks!

OK so, MRV is built in to all standard S2 TiVos then? Man I'm getting so confused... one second I need to hack the boxes to get it, the next I can't hack certain boxes, then the next it's already built in to all TiVos. I feel so lost!!

Can anyone actually provide a simplified, definitive answer as to how I can most effectively go about having TiVo in two rooms, when I have dual channel satellite in one room, and single channel in the other? My ultimate goal again, is to watch content from both machines, on whichever I feel like at the moment.

Will the TCD540040 not work for this application, as the single channel device??

Thanks everyone... this is all making me feel so dense!


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## ForrestB (Apr 8, 2004)

The quickest and most inexpensive solution is to sell the S2 Standalone and replace it with a series 2 DirecTivo - there are factory refurbished models available on ebay.com for around $50. Add a pair of NetGear FA120 USB to Ethernet adapters or another supported model ($20 each) and you'll be all set for MRV. This will save you some on your monthly bill, because DirecTV will charge you $5.99 + $5 per month plus programming for two DirecTivo's.


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## vanclute (Aug 4, 2003)

OK, sounds like a plan. Is there any particular model of S2 DTiVo to stay away from? Someone said the TCD540040 couldn't be hacked, and I do ultimately want that flexibility. I will certainly upgrade the storage capacity immediately, but other than that, as long as I have MRV capability and the basic hacks (30 sec skip, etc.) then I probably won't need to do much else for a while at least. But I do want the options...


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## cheer (Nov 13, 2005)

vanclute said:


> OK, sounds like a plan. Is there any particular model of S2 DTiVo to stay away from? Someone said the TCD540040 couldn't be hacked, and I do ultimately want that flexibility. I will certainly upgrade the storage capacity immediately, but other than that, as long as I have MRV capability and the basic hacks (30 sec skip, etc.) then I probably won't need to do much else for a while at least. But I do want the options...


For DirecTivos, the one to avoid is the R10.


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## SteelersFan (Sep 7, 2004)

vanclute said:


> OK, sounds like a plan. Is there any particular model of S2 DTiVo to stay away from?...


Well... to answer a different way, here is a list of very hackable SD S2 DTivos:

```
Hughes HDVR2, SD-DVR40/80/120
Phillips DSR7000, DSR704, DSR708
RCA DVR39, DVR40, DVR80, DVR120
Samsung SIR-S4040R, SIR-S4080R,
SIR-S4120R
```
Look here in the Underground for a very large thread. It's the Zipper thread.
Also, there is an R10 but that is considered an S2.5 and is not hackable unless you change out a surface mount IC - not easy.


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## vanclute (Aug 4, 2003)

yeah I had already seen to stay away from the R10. Looks like I can get a factory refurb unit DVR40 for $100 shipped. Does it matter if it's running 3.x software, meaning can I upgrade beyond that? I assume I can. I read the zipper thread, looks a bit complex but I've managed to upgrade stuff like this before so I'm not too worried.

Any reason NOT to grab a DVR40 for $100? I would immediately drop a second HD in it and zipper it, before I've put any content on it so in case I screw up, I don't lose anything. Caveats anyone? Any hacks that can't be done to a DVR40 that I'm going to regret not having later?


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## rpdre1 (Feb 20, 2005)

that price is kind of high, wait for a better auction....

or buy a DSR704 with no drive (since you are going to replace it anyway) from PTV:

$69
http://downloads.ptvupgrade.com/Mer...creen=PROD&Product_Code=DSR704&Category_Code=

you can get a 6.2 image for your drive from ptv (instantcake, $20) or get the 62small image at ddb.

with either of those images, you can put the actual image file (file called 000001 inside the instantcake cd) on your Zipper Tools CD, and the Zipper will ask if you want it to restore the image onto the drive for you.


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## ForrestB (Apr 8, 2004)

I see the average selling price on the refurbished SD-DVR40 on ebay has crept up to $70. I guess that means a lot of people aren't happy with the new DirecTV brand DVR's  

Be sure and request the Access card if you get the refursbished SD-DVR40 off ebay - that can save you $20!

If you plan on upgrading/zippering your current series 2 DirecTivo, then there's no need to purchase a 6.2 image because you can install the drive in a PC and use MFSTools 2 (on the $5 LBA48 PTV CD linked to on the Zipper home page) to run mfsbackup and create a 6.2 drive image. Then you can use mfsrestore to restore/expand to larger drives for BOTH of your series 2 DirecTivo's.


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## vanclute (Aug 4, 2003)

Hey thanks for the link to the 704... I think I may just pick one (or two) up and slap my own drives in!


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