# Upgrade 2008 - Opinions Please



## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

Having just had this year's bonus I'm embarking on a TV stuff upgrade 

I've already purchased a Sony KDL40D3500 - looks very good and a snip at £580! - I haven't installed this in the main room as yet but have only looked at the Freeview channels on it. 

Now obviously I want to keep TiVo  but at the moment I record everything in Basic so my questions are

1. Is Basic going to look awful on this size screen (I'm guessing yes even though I never record sports it's usually just drama, comedy and films)? If it is going to look awful then I guess I'm going to have to replace the HDDs. If I want to keep the current recording space (about 160 hours) how much HDD will I need to do the same at top quality (would this be the fabled MODE-0?)

2. Is there any way I can check what Hard Drives I have installed in TiVo at the moment without opening the lid (anywhere In TiVoWeb for example)? I'm pretty sure I've got 160GB in total but I honestly can't remember if it's on one or two disks. 

3. My old One4All remote is falling apart so I thought I'd get a new One For All URC-7556 5 Way Remote Control (Stealth model) as these look nice - but from their website I can't find out if they support TiVo or not. For the old one they very kindly downloaded a TiVo code through the phone line. But I'm not sure if this is possible. 

4. I also want to invest in a Humax Freesat HD box but I'm not sure if this will simultaneously output on HDMI and SCART (so for example I could watch BBC-HD and also record a down-rezed version onto TiVo through the SCART)

I expect my new setup to be something like

SAT -> HUMAX-HD -> HDMI -> SONY KD40D3500 (HDMI-1)
-> SCART -> TiVO -> SONY KD40D3500 (SCART)
SONY PS3 -> HDMI -> SONY KD40D3500 (HDMI-2)

I'd very much welcome any opinions


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

CarlWalters said:


> 4. I also want to invest in a Humax Freesat HD box but I'm not sure if this will simultaneously output on HDMI and SCART (so for example I could watch BBC-HD and also record a down-rezed version onto TiVo through the SCART)


The HumaxHD will out either:
HDMI and composite SCART, or
HD component and RGB SCART


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## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

ozsat said:


> The HumaxHD will out either:
> HDMI and composite SCART, or
> HD component and RGB SCART


Thanks Ozsat - I didn't know this, I can't think of a good technical reason why this should be though - if the down sizing has already been done anyway?


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## speedyrite (May 18, 2002)

CarlWalters said:


> 1. Is Basic going to look awful on this size screen (I'm guessing yes even though I never record sports it's usually just drama, comedy and films)? If it is going to look awful then I guess I'm going to have to replace the HDDs. If I want to keep the current recording space (about 160 hours) how much HDD will I need to do the same at top quality (would this be the fabled MODE-0?)


My current TV is a Sony Bravia KDL40S2530.

First of all, I adjusted it to get "my perfect picture" following the instructions found here:
http://www.lyris-lite.net/quick_and_dirty_tv_setup.html

After I upgraded the TiVo (to have a bigger HDD and networking), I found that recordings at Medium quality looked grainy, so I switched to recording at Best quality with Mode 0. The improvement was immense, pretty much as good as watching a DVD in my opinion.


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## bigwold (Jun 4, 2003)

CarlWalters said:


> 2. Is there any way I can check what Hard Drives I have installed in TiVo at the moment without opening the lid (anywhere In TiVoWeb for example)? I'm pretty sure I've got 160GB in total but I honestly can't remember if it's on one or two disks.


If you have telnet access 'smartctl' will tell you if you have a second drive and also give you model numbers.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Or check the kernel log after a reboot. That will normally also list the drive(s).


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## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

bigwold said:


> If you have telnet access 'smartctl' will tell you if you have a second drive and also give you model numbers.


thanks for that 

I telnetted in and smartctl shows that I have

/dev/hda 
Device: Maxtor 6Y120L0 Supports ATA Version 7
Drive supports S.M.A.R.T. and is enabled
Check S.M.A.R.T. Passed

/dev/hdb
Device: QUANTUM FIREBALLlct20 40 Supports ATA Version 5
Drive supports S.M.A.R.T. and is enabled
Check S.M.A.R.T. Passed

so a 120GB + 40GB

If I wanted roughly the same amount of storage at Best Mode 0 would I need about 500GB? If so I would this be best as 2x250GB or 1x500GB? I guess 2 drives means twice the failure possibility.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

The displayed recording capacity for a single 400gb drive at normal "best" is 139 hours. That's based on a bitrate of 5960000, CBR. 

So, if you are using Mode 0 with VBR (as most do) and you use moderate bitrates - eg. 3660000/6000000 instead of 7500000/9000000 - then you should get at least 138 hours of Mode 0 recording from a 400gb drive (eg. a Samsung HD400LD) and probably a lot closer to 440 hours as, unless you are recording continuous fast action or moving water etc., most of the recordings will average around the target bitrate of 3660000.

I would therefore recommend a single HD400LD. 

FWIW, I almost never bother using the Mode 0 "best" bitrates of 7500000/9000000 these days as I find the "high" setting of 3660000/6000000 to be perfectly good and almost indistinguishable from the higher rates anyway


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

CarlWalters said:


> 1. Is Basic going to look awful on this size screen (I'm guessing yes even though I never record sports it's usually just drama, comedy and films)? If it is going to look awful then I guess I'm going to have to replace the HDDs. If I want to keep the current recording space (about 160 hours) how much HDD will I need to do the same at top quality (would this be the fabled MODE-0?)


Basic looks awful on any TV; if you don't think it does then you may feel it's acceptable on your shiny new TV. And spend some of your bonus at Specsavers instead. 



> 2. Is there any way I can check what Hard Drives I have installed in TiVo at the moment without opening the lid (anywhere In TiVoWeb for example)? I'm pretty sure I've got 160GB in total but I honestly can't remember if it's on one or two disks.


Reboot the TiVo and look in the logs. I think it's tvlog which records all the messages during boot. Look for mentions of hda and hdb - if you see hdb's you have two disks.



> 4. I also want to invest in a Humax Freesat HD box but I'm not sure if this will simultaneously output on HDMI and SCART (so for example I could watch BBC-HD and also record a down-rezed version onto TiVo through the SCART)


Strongly recommend you wait for the recording HD FreeSat boxes and get to record in HD.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

TCM2007 said:


> Strongly recommend you wait for the recording HD FreeSat boxes and get to record in HD.


You mean the new 'reference' TiVo?  :up:


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## algordon (Apr 1, 2004)

blindlemon said:


> You mean the new 'reference' TiVo?  :up:


?!?


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## afrokiwi (Oct 6, 2001)

We ALL wish!!! 



blindlemon said:


> You mean the new 'reference' TiVo?  :up:


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