# Becoming a TiVo maverick...



## grantbradley (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey guys, this is my first ever post, so be gentle.
I've used Tivo since 2002 when I was given my box... since then it's had major upgrades and drive changes, but now, with the modem gone and 8 set top boxes and games consoles under my TV, it's time to make a jump.

Today, I ordered an Australian TiVo online from eBay. It's time one of us tested it out and check if it actually works. Rest assured. No matter the outcome I will continue to use my subbed S1 box, but for now, I HAVE to experiment with this. 

G


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## vpwsys (May 25, 2002)

grantbradley said:


> Today, I ordered an Australian TiVo online from eBay. It's time one of us tested it out and check if it actually works. Rest assured. No matter the outcome I will continue to use my subbed S1 box, but for now, I HAVE to experiment with this.


Given there is no UK Listing downloadable for the Australian one, how exactly will that work?


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## davidshack (Aug 17, 2002)

good for you, Grant. Plse let us know how you get on.

David


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## BrianHughes (Jan 21, 2001)

Excellent! I've been hoping that someone would take the plunge. I'm too chicken 

Be sure to give us a blow by blow account of how you get on.


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## terryeden (Nov 2, 2002)

Good luck!


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## staffie2001uk (Apr 1, 2004)

vpwsys said:


> Given there is no UK Listing downloadable for the Australian one, how exactly will that work?


There were guys in Oz preparing their own guide data as TiVo didn't operate in their country, so it is possible to generate it yourself.

There is also no reason why TiVo couldn't allow an Aus TiVo to be registered for UK guide data - assuming it required no re-formatting. TiVo could probably sort out a simple software upgrade to do that on TiVo anyway.

As someone who would cheerfully pay £10 a month for a twin tuner Freeview/Freesat TiVo, I would have no moral issue with purchasing an unsubbed S1, subbing it, not recording anything, and using it to port the guide data to an Aus TiVo. Sub paid, data used.

Strictly, that that does break the wording of the TiVo license, but not the spirit. One sub paid, one set of data used.

So Grant, best of luck and keep us updated.

Colin.


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## tonywalk (Sep 10, 2002)

Another interested party here :up:


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## terryeden (Nov 2, 2002)

I think the limiting factor will be whether the AUS DTT tuner can pick up some or all of our DTT transmissions.

Getting guide data on to it may or may not be problematic - but it's moot if it can't receive a picture.


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## staffie2001uk (Apr 1, 2004)

terryeden said:


> I think the limiting factor will be whether the AUS DTT tuner can pick up some or all of our DTT transmissions.
> 
> Getting guide data on to it may or may not be problematic - but it's moot if it can't receive a picture.


There has already been some discussion;

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=380715&highlight=Aus+TiVo

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=361794&highlight=Aus+TiVo

that suggests that the Aus TiVo may well receive UK FreeView, although it will not receive UK HD FreeView when it eventually comes due to different standards.


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## grantbradley (Jun 5, 2009)

Should be here by Thursday, I'm fully aware that this may not work as intended or at all, but if it gets us closer to an S2 TiVo in the UK, (unofficially) I'll be chuffed.


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## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

this is getting exciting


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## Davyburns (Jan 7, 2004)

Best of luck, we'll all be rootin for ya


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## comfysofa (Sep 24, 2002)

that'll be interesting. if it works im in for one....although i did read an article a few months ago with the bloke that runs tivo saying that something new was going to come out in the uk....but if this works - it'll be nothing short of amazing. My tired old tivo is maxed out on the upgrades....


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## healeydave (Jun 4, 2003)

grantbradley said:


> Today, I ordered an Australian TiVo online from eBay. It's time one of us tested it out and check if it actually works. Rest assured. No matter the outcome I will continue to use my subbed S1 box, but for now, I HAVE to experiment with this.


It sounds like its already too late, but as the quote goes "If you do this, I cannot help you" ;-)


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

vpwsys said:


> Given there is no UK Listing downloadable for the Australian one, how exactly will that work?


It could in theory be done if you can make the Australian Tivo think that it has a UK Service Number (such UK Service Number being one that has a valid UK subscription - preferably Lifetime). The question though is whether that can be done since, as I understand it, later Tivo pieces of hardware were much more robustly designed to prevent the hacking of their Service Number than the original S1 Tivos.

The reason this greater security has been implemented is obviously to prevent Tivo service being obtained by someone who has not paid for it but it also has the likely by-product of stopping anyone who wants to substitute a UK S1 Tivo on which they have a Lifetime Sub for an Australian S3 Tivo from being able to do so..............

By the way has the S3 Tivo from Oz arrived yet? I note that it is now Friday.


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## healeydave (Jun 4, 2003)

He will not be ale to get the guide data slices into this Tivo, as per the USA Tivo's, nothing has changed when it comes to this!!


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## grantbradley (Jun 5, 2009)

I was looking at the OZTivo way of forwarding Data to the Box and it seems simple enough if I HAVE to go down that route...
Unfortunately, I had to take the Bus home yesterday as the MINI decided it didn't like me anymore so I missed the delivery and had to reschedule for Monday.

It just gives me more time to read up on things, I just can't believe I'm the only one actually doing this.

G


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## afrokiwi (Oct 6, 2001)

grantbradley said:


> I just can't believe I'm the only one actually doing this.
> 
> G


Well someone has to lead the way


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

grantbradley said:


> It just gives me more time to read up on things, I just can't believe I'm the only one actually doing this.


At the risk of seeming somewhat impertinent if you can do something this advanced with an Australian Tivo S3 then how come you have only just registered on the Tivo UK forum?

Or have you been out in Australia for several years as on OzTivoer and only just returned to the UK?



grantbradley said:


> I just can't believe I'm the only one actually doing this.


It does seem quite odd that some of the original keen UK hackers have not tried to go down this route and have instead contented themselves with either signing a pact with the devil (Sky HD) or alternatively signing a pact with the other devil's (Microsoft's) Windows MCE product.

But could this perhaps be because they know enough to know that it cannot in fact be done at all viz the Australian Tivo or more likely perhaps because they know it will not support HD broadcasts????


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## alextegg (May 21, 2002)

doh! Having joined this thread late I wanted to be the first to shout troll but has pete beaten me too it?


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## Davyburns (Jan 7, 2004)

alextegg said:


> doh! Having joined this thread late I wanted to be the first to shout troll but has pete beaten me too it?


Doesn't he Always


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## healeydave (Jun 4, 2003)

grantbradley said:


> It just gives me more time to read up on things, I just can't believe I'm the only one actually doing this.


Because a TiVo without proper EPG is not really that useful.

I was involved with some of the guys that made the Series 1 Tivo's work in the begining, mainly supplying parts etc so they could bastardize the US models to to work. They hacked the earlier o/s to point to their own servers and download the data slices. They also had to go collect all the guide data themselves, it was a lot of work that has been or is still in the process of being disbanded now. This was always the agreement if Tivo launched an official service. Exactly the same thing happened in Canada.

Now I don't doubt that some people might try and cheat the system by trying to push data from a genuine subscription to another box but with the new and enhance boxes, I suspect the slices vary quite a bit and would probably be easier if you were going from a subscription based on the newer technology to the old technology rather than the other way around!

However you might want to try and justify that though, Tivo will consider that Service Theft and the original creators of the OZ system will not be condoning that or want to have anything to do with it, they were an Honorable crowd!


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## grantbradley (Jun 5, 2009)

I've never claimed to be able to do anything 'advanced', the fact is, I saw the technology exists and thought 'I want to see what that will do'.
Whether it works or not, I will be continuing to pay my subscription to TiVo UK for my S1 box.


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## djb2002 (May 1, 2006)

Please keep us informed - I'm very interested to hear what happens.

Thanks


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## bryl (Apr 28, 2004)

Good luck. I am not in the slightest bit technical, but if it hastens the arrival of a new tivo model in the UK that would be great.


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## afrokiwi (Oct 6, 2001)

need update


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## djb2002 (May 1, 2006)

Any update on this ? - Did you get it ?

Thanks
Daniel


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## petestrash (Mar 7, 2004)

Grant are you around?

It would probably be a little easier once TiVo is available for sale in NZ later this year as the DVB-T used there is closer to the UK version.

The hardware will be the same as the Oz box, so a software update is all it should need.

If you want to run your own software, you will need to mod the Prom to allow foreign programs to run. This has been done by Australian hackers already.

Peter.


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## ptruman (Jan 8, 2003)

Hmm, at the risk of being told off for something which may border 'service pinching' (except it isn't) has anyone packet sniffed TiVo when it updates itself over the net?

Presumably it sends it's TSN ID, and if the Aus box does something similar, it maybe possible (with some extremely mad router packet fiddling) to use your UK TiVo TSN instead of the Aus box actual one, and see if it gets anything.

This of course assumes the Aus boxes use the same data format as the UK ones, as if they don't, it's instant hosing


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## mutant_matt2 (Dec 16, 2008)

Is packet sniffing even necessary? Isn't it all in the log, coupled with the HServer.rcvd and HServer.send files? (it's "only" http traffic and a few files, after all, right?  )

The real difficulty, as has been said, would surely be in figuring out any incompatibilies in the content/formatting. Once you've done that, the actual modification on the fly, isn't hard, with a custom proxy server*

Matt 

* - I may not have given this as much thought as is required to make any sense/make any suggestions/statements, feasible!


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## afrokiwi (Oct 6, 2001)

grantbradley said:


> Hey guys, this is my first ever post, ..../QUOTE]
> 
> Hope not his last .....


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## beastman (May 26, 2002)

grantbradley = WUM?


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## alextegg (May 21, 2002)

Didn't someone say troll a while ago?


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## warrenrb (Jul 21, 2002)

I can't really understand what would possess anyone to go to the trouble to make something like that up. Quite bizarre. What's in it for him?

'course, lets hope he didn't electrocute himself while opening it up to have a fiddle.


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## magnus (Nov 12, 2004)

Wouldn't the OP need to prom mod the box to even begin to hack it? Seems like that would discourage most folks and probably kept him from getting very far.... evident by the lack of posts since getting the box.


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## djb2002 (May 1, 2006)

Unfortunately it sounds like the OP was all talk - Probably didn't even order one


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## alan.cramer (Feb 22, 2006)

Darren King is probably the only person I know who may be able to PROM Mod a Series 3 Australian TiVo for you guys. He only does TiVo Mods as a hobby here, but if you were to ask him nicely, he may be able to source a box here in Australia, mod it, then send it over to the UK for you. His web site can be found on Google by searching for "OzTiVo Modifications". I would assume the biggest thing is to change where the TiVo talks (ie. the UK Server, rather than the Australian one) and change the TSN to a UK one (ie. use the same TSN as the TiVo you are replacing/retiring).


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