We’ve got a new TiVo Upgrade kit out there: 40 GB. The 40 GB kits are “replace” type kits (more info on that here) for the oldest standalone models out there. These are the Philips HDR series and the Sony SVR-2000. A 40 GB drive in either of those units gives you about 40 hours at Basic Quality and about 12 hours at Best Quality.
The new kits are $99 and we’re using good old Maxtor QuickView drives in them!
We get this a lot by email and by phone: My TiVo is responding to my remote very slowly. I think my remote or my IR board is bad. I’ve changed the batteries and rebooted the unit.
We’ve got a strange answer for this, but it’s the right one almost every time: IR interference.
For some reason, TiVos are unusually susceptible to other IR waves. So other remotes, IR blasters, and other products can cause this behavior. Half the time, there’s a remote jammed under a couch cushion with a button stuck down.
So we tell people to just take all of the other remotes out of the room, and see what happens. That almost always does the trick.
The key way to know if this applies to you? “My TV still works fine with my TiVo remote . . .”
Starting yesterday, the brilliant minds at Pacific Bell – sorry, I mean SBC – sorry, that’s AT&T – have created an “overlay” or a new area code, which means all 310 users must now dial “1-310” even to call a regular, local number.
That means, among other things, your TiVo won’t be able to dial out as-is.
So if you are using dial-up for your TiVo, or even if you use the network but still fall back on your phone line occasionally, you need to update your preferences to deal with this nonsense. Otherwise, guide data stops and nag screens start.
So go here:
Messages and Setup -> Phone -> Dialing Options -> Set Dialing Prefix
and put in the old “1310” and test it out. If it works, accept it. If it doesn’t dig in those options.
With the crazy heat all over the country, we’re seeing a huge increase in the number of failed hard drives. Most of our customers are assuming that this is due to the heat directly – the unit heats up and kills the drive. The heat undoubtedly affects TiVos to some extent, and that could be part of the issue, but we’re pretty sure the bigger issue is power fluctuations.
We’re in California, and our power problems are once again making national news. But in many other parts of the country the power problems are affecting TiVo users as well.
The problem is that with the blackouts, and maybe even more so with the brownouts, the power fluctuates enough to speed up and slow down the hard drive, potentially while the head is reading and writing.
So, we’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Get a UPS for your TiVo! This may not make you completely immune to all power problems (your UPS can still run out) but it does help with many.
Here’s our UPS info:
DirecTV has finally committed publicly to the new version of the OS for the High Def TiVo. Here’s a link to their page about this:
DirecTV Announces 6.3 for HD TiVos
You do need a phone line connected to your HR10-250 to get the update. As in the past, we’re pretty sure that the update itself will be transmitted via satellite signal, but that a dial-in will be needed to tell your TiVo to go ahead and update to the new software. So if you don’t have a phone line connected to the unit, your unit won’t get the go-ahead.
For those of you who have been just dealing with the nag screens instead of getting actual dial-ins, you really should connect up to a phone line, at least until you get the update downloaded and installed.
If you can’t connect to a phone line for some reasons, we have some help:
VoIP: If you have VoIP and can’t get the TiVo to connect, check out our TiVo External Modem Kit which works with Vonage and most other VoIP providers. For the HR10-250, you’ll also need the stereo to serial cable since that cable originally only shipped with non-DirecTV units.
No nearby phone line: Two options here. Wait until everyone seems to be getting the download, and move your unit temporarily to another room for a dial in, or string a long phone cord over. Or, check out our wireless modem jack that uses your power lines to get you an easy phone line extension near the TiVo.
In any event – finally!