TiVo Bug Shuts Out Many Series 1 TiVo Owners?

Didion Sprague writes "A bug in recently released DirecTv/TiVo software is allegedly causing major chaos with many TiVo users -- forcing many users over the past few days to upgrade their Series 1 Tivo boxes to newer, Series 2 models (which retail for $79). Apparently lots of folks on the TiVo Community forum and DBS forums are frustrated and angry. The bug has apparently been reproduced and causes the video stream to freeze when a combination of factors are met. DirecTv has been offering users who complain a $79 credit -- but hasn't admitted the problem, let alone offered up a timetable for a fix. The problem only occurs with the DirecTv TiVo boxes -- not the standalone models."

Comments

More Sales!

[mfh]

> A bug in recently released DirecTv/Tivo software is allegedly causing major chaos with many Tivo users -- forcing many users over the past few days to upgrade their Series 1 Tivo boxes to newer, Series 2 models

Now there's a bug they'll rush to fix! /bender

Re:More Sales!

[Lord_Dweomer]

"DirecTv has been offering users who complain a $79 credit"

You must've missed the part where they stated they'd offer a $79 refund to those who complain. This is the price of the Series 2.

Now granted, I'm sure there will be plenty of people who don't call and complain and just upgrade, but that serves them right for not calling to complain over a faulty product.

So the consumer is really getting a free upgrade with some minor hastles.

Huh

[iamdrscience]

A bug that causes old users to pay to upgrade? Doesn't sound like a bug at all, sounds more like a business strategy.

Re:Huh

[NanoGator]

"A bug that causes old users to pay to upgrade? Doesn't sound like a bug at all, sounds more like a business strategy."

Well that took all the fun out of my stale Microsoft joke.

Re:Huh

[Anonymous Coward]

That strategy sure worked well for Microsoft.

Re:Huh

[hesiod]

> A bug that causes old users to pay to upgrade?

Geez, it was in the summary, and in the first visible post... The upgrade will basically be free, so no, it is not a business strategy (I do realize that was probably a joke...)

Re:Huh

[SillySlashdotName]

Yeah, but the lifetime subscription is not transfereable to another TiVo - it stays with the hardware. Buy different hardware, you need a new subscription, so they are getting another subscription out of the deal.

You paid $79 for the TiVo hardware and $199 for the subscription. DirecTV programming broke your TiVo, so you buy another for $79. Now you need another subscription - another $199. Total price paid = $556 - less the $79 from Customer Support gives $477 total out-of-pocket. Price paid BEFORE DirecTV broke your system = $278. Difference of $199 in their pocket.

"You already paid me $79 for a TiVo and $199 for a lifetime subscription? I will GLADLY give you $79 if you give me another $278 ($79 TiVo + $199 subscription)..." Sounds like a business strategy to me.

And I agree the original poster was probably joking.

I would like to know what programming was done that would require new hardware - it is possible to break things that badly, but it take EFFORT. Are they (DirecTV et al) giving out the $79 hoping no one is smart enough to notice the additional $199 needed, or are they also paying the $199, or what.

If programming broke the system, why can't the system be fixed with programming - either in the field through schedualed updates, or in the shop - or is it cheaper for them to just send a voucher for a new TiVo so they don't even try to find a solution?

I own two hacked TiVos and love them, I don't own or subscribe to DirecTV - never have. I am assumming the DirecTiVo is the same lifetime subscription price as my TiVos. I well could be wrong.

Re:Huh

[SillySlashdotName]

According to this post, I am wrong in the transferability of the lifetime subscription.

(Still would like to know how they managed to mangle hardware through programming...)

Re:Huh

[timbck2]

You don't pay TiVo a subscription fee with a DirecTV-integrated TiVo; you pay DirecTV $4.99/month in addition to your regular programming charge. They don't offer a "lifetime service" option.

Re:Huh

[hesiod]

> According to this post,

Whew, glad you found that quickly... After reading your initial reply, I was about to get pretty upset about it -- I forgot about the required subscription (I don't watch enough TV to warrant paying for a TiVo, but still think it's a great invention). As for mangling the EQ, do they send out firmware updates over their net? That's the only thing I could think of.

Not as big a deal as story suggests

[mabu]

This appears to be an isolated issue that has only affected a small number of owners of much older Tivos (and in reality, ones that probably have a bunch of weird hacks). I'm sure Tivo is going to fix it, and the bug seems to be so obscure, it's probably wise of them to wait before even acknowledging it, especially when there's a chance the bug isn't related to a standard Tivo setup.

If anything, this underlines the value of not plugging your Tivo in and having it automatically update itself. I've left my Tivo unplugged for more than six months and it continues to work fine. There's not often a need for software upgrades.

It's also worth noting that a lot of the posters in the Tivo Community, when confronted with this "bug" used it as reasoning to run out and pick up the new Series 2 units for $79 -- you know you've got a great product with loyal users when, upon confronted with a bug, they purchase more of your products!

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[cornjones]

if you haven't plugged it in for 6 mths, how are you getting tv schedule updates? If I leave mine unplugged for more than 2 weeks I run out of data and it stops recording. I guess I could do it by time but then it is just a basic vcr.

I have been travelling and my tivo is being borrowed. if I get hit w/ this bug though, i am going to ditch it and go mythtv.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[ePhil_One]

This appears to be an isolated issue that has only affected a small number of owners of much older Tivos (and in reality, ones that probably have a bunch of weird hacks).

For the record, the only hack my Sony T-60 has is a 120Gb drive in lieu of the original 40GB (I storage in case of disaster). I've been getting this weird bahavior occasionally too, just hadn't thought to check the forums because it hasn't hit me too much, beyond nearly sending me into tears when a got a big

Your TiVo has experienced serious errors. Please leave your Tivo connected to the phone line for the next three hours while we attempt a repair. If the problem persists, please call (xxx) xxx-xxxx"

So I went to bed

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[mabu]

f you haven't plugged it in for 6 mths, how are you getting tv schedule updates? If I leave mine unplugged for more than 2 weeks I run out of data and it stops recording. I guess I could do it by time but then it is just a basic vcr.

The DirecTV Tivo gets program schedules via satellite. The only thing you need the phone line for is software updates and PPV stuff. If you don't use PPV, you probably never have to plug it in.

Although, it's not a bad idea to do the updates. I finally let mine phone home and the next day I saw some new features, but I like the idea of waiting until the mainstream has evaluated a patch before applying it, at least in a case like this where it's less likely to be a security issue.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Cramer]

It's a DIRECTV Tivo. They, technically, never need to make any calls. The guide data comes from the dish as does a number of other things. Software updates and stats use the phone line, but really never have to happen :-)

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[hawkbug]

Ok, in this case Sony SAT-T60 (and other DTV gen 1 tivos) needed this new upgrade to resolve guide issues about acuiring data, and some other closed captioning issues. I have the Sony SAT-T60, and I know a lot of other people who also have it, and are having this problem. You said:

"This appears to be an isolated issue that has only affected a small number of owners of much older Tivos (and in reality, ones that probably have a bunch of weird hacks). I'm sure Tivo is going to fix it, and the bug seems to be so obscure, it's probably wise of them to wait before even acknowledging it, especially when there's a chance the bug isn't related to a standard Tivo setup."

I guess if you call rain an isolated issue, you don't live in Seattle or any other place where it rains a lot. For the majority of people who own these boxes, this is an annoying issue that I hope they resolve quickly. And for the record, it has NOTHING to do with "weird hacks" as you put it. The problem 100% does exist with a standard Tivo set up, so don't minimize the effects of the problem for all of us who actually have to deal with it until Tivo fixes the issue.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[ePhil_One]

The DirecTV Tivo gets program schedules via satellite. The only thing you need the phone line for is software updates and PPV stuff. If you don't use PPV, you probably never have to plug it in.

You get bitch notices once a day at 14,21,then day 28-119 (I'm not sure what happens after that, I finally plugged it back in for a day). Used to be Tivo would cut you off after 32 days of no phone activity, but policy changed after DirecTV took over. In my case the phone cable stretches accross the floor, so I only plug it in every 30 days or so; but last time somebody broke the connector tripping over the cable. It was my only 50 foot cable, so it had to wait till I was annoyed enough to go to radio shack for a new plug...

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[ePhil_One]

The bug only happens on DirecTiVo units, and since there are no DirecTV tuner cards that would give you access to the raw digital video streaam, you can't make a MythTV equivalent.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it's a big deal.

30+ pages on the TiVo foums. People replacing their TiVo boxes. DTV sending out refurbs.

I recall one post suggesting it to /. as a story a while ago and it was rejected. Now they picked it up.

I've had it happen to both my TiVo boxes a few times and they have never been modified or hacked. Not even 30 second skip software functions. The warranty sticker is still on them.

One is a 3 year old Sony and the other is a 2 year old Philips. I'm not totally sure on the age. I was an early adopter with the Sony ($400) and picked up the Philips when Circuit City first put them on sale for $99. SAT-T60 and DSR7000R are the model numbers I think.

The video will freeze while the audio continues. Anything that is recording at the time will be weirded out as well. Restarting the machine fixes it for a while. Seems to happen when storms roll through and the DTV signal fades.

They've been fine since their last reboot 4 days ago. No storms since. Forecast has a few coming up though. I live in north central Indiana.

I hope DTV fixes it soon. From some of the posts in the forum, the refurbs would be unacceptable to me.

It's a big deal to me because for the first time since I've owned them, my TiVos are unreliable at recording shows. Bad QA on DTVs part I think.

Nice to see /. finally picking up the story though.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Anonymous Coward]

Not a great product, but an incredibly stupid customer base. Of course, that's far more valuable to a company than a decent product; just as microsoft.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Anonymous Coward]

Right away you assume it must be all hacked series one tivos. You must work for TIVO and have mental defects (not that the two are unrelated).

The new ones after series 1, are designed to break badly if you don't let it update itself regularly. Yet anotherr eason TIVO wants to break all the series one units.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[jgerry]

It's not a small problem. There are lots of us with very workable, older Series 1 DirecTV Tivos. The Series 2 (which are almost identical) don't seem to be having the issue.

It's a big deal. I have hardware that's been working effectively and reliably for me for close to 3 years. Now it's broken and just saying "it's not a big deal" because you THINK that there aren't a lot of people affected; well, that's just wrong. I have valid supported hardware, it's supposed to work, I pay $5 per month for the service. It's still supported and it's not working. That's a big deal to me.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Anonymous Coward]

To suggest that the Series 1 and 2 are "almost identical" is completely misguided.

While the user interface is mostly similar whats "under the hood" is completely different. The CPUs of the Series 1 and Series 2 are even completely different architectures.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[StormRider01]

I'm on day 411 without a call and still counting, and it does bitch every day...

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Anonymous Coward]

Not a great product, but an incredibly stupid customer base.

Same thing. If you can get stupid customers to cough up money, you have a great product. It might be a shitty product too (although I can tell you, Tivo isn't shitty) but it's also great too.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[allism]

The only 'hack' we have enabled is the 30-second skip (which is more of an undocumented feature). We save our hacks for our X-Boxes, thank you...

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[blackbear]

This appears to be an isolated issue that has only affected a small number of owners of much older Tivos (and in reality, ones that probably have a bunch of weird hacks).

No quite. My stock sony SAT-60 started acting up last week. I've had to power it off three times now, and I missed an episode of good eats because of it (oh, the horror) and It screwed up both Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis. I thought my Tivo was going bad, and since I can't afford an upgrade I was a little dismayed. In fact I was considering going back to cable to avoid the expense of the upgrade.

Now I find out that it was a bug in the software. I'm quite pissed off. Six year old hardware flaking out is one thing, but incompetent QA is another.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[zurkog]

(and in reality, ones that probably have a bunch of weird hacks)

As two data points, my parents' DirecTiVo (which only had an extra hard drive installed) had this problem, although a hard reset fixed it. My DirecTiVo, which had just about every hack possible, didn't have the problem, although I did have to reinstall all my hacks. I think I'll specify '$upgradesoftware" = false' in my rc.sysinit this time around (didn't think DirecTV would release any more updates after so long!)

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[op00to]

Stop whining and get cable.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Rich0]

I have a mostly-standard Tivo, and the bug occurs.

Well, it is probably completely standard, but it is hard to be sure.

Quick story - had a normal Tivo and all was well until one day it died and wouldn't boot. Everything seemed fine, but it would only make it 3/4ths through the boot cycle and then restart (infinte loop).

So, I obtained a disk image for my model (a Sony SAT-T60), and reimaged the disk using various tools available online. Then after a complete reset and a couple of upgrades everything was fine.

So, in theory my Tivo should be normal. But, who knows for sure. In any case, DirecTV/Tivo wasn't doing anything to fix my problem, so I had no choice but to hack it a little...

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[almaden]

My 3-year old Sony SAT-T60/DirectTivo box starting acting up a couple of weeks ago - whether I was watching live TV or recording a show, the video would freeze or go black while the audio stream would continue just fine.

It's kind of weird watching the Tivo record hours and hours of programs with audio only - I had a really elaborate tape recorder.

Anyway, a DirecTv tech came out to move my dish to a better location. While he was there, my wife showed him the "audio only" Tivo - he unplugged it for about a minute and let it come back up.

It's worked great ever since.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[SpookyFish]

Nice hook!

(screw the Karma)

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[tgibbs]

So far, it sounds like TiVo/DirecTV were trying to do the right thing, upgrading the Series I software even though it is an obsolete model. Unfortunately, they got hit with one of those sporadic, difficult-to-reproduce/diagnose bugs. So while they are trying to figure out the problem, they are offering those people affected a hardware upgrade at what sounds very close to (or perhaps even below) cost.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Anonymous Coward]

The only thing amazing about that is that you didn't try unplugging it yourself.

Re:Not as big a deal as story suggests

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh sure, unplug it and plug it back in. That works for a while but then the problem crops up again. I have had my T-60 for 3+ years and this is the first time I have had this problem and it just keeps recurring. Unfortunately I don't know about it until AFTER it happens so my wife only gets to listen to her favorite shows and that leaves her free to give me the evil eye.

Re:I want my...I want my...

[lofi-rev]

Was the modding of this post supposed to be funny?
Or do they just hate the Dire Straits?

Re:Good

[Fizzl]

Where's the "-1 - Asshat"-option?

Details on how to reproduce:

[Otto]

First, get the 3.1.0c software.

Then Dan Collins posts this tidbit of info that might help somebody figure this one out:

I spent some time this morning trying to force the problem to occur, and finally was successful. The ONLY scenario that reproduced the problem on one of my Hughes Series 1 was as follows:

-A recording must be executing on at least one tuner
-Signal quality must degrade to the point of causing severe digital artifacts WITHOUT a loss of signal lock
-The poor signal quality must persist for at LEAST 15 seconds
-The signal must then cut out completely on BOTH tuners
-The recording must STILL be going on when signal is restored

I was NOT able to reproduce the problem when any one of these factors were missing. For example, if the recording ended before signal was restored - no problem. Or, if I just pulled the coax out of the receiver jacks and then reconnected - no problem.

The result was that, after meeting all of these conditions, on at least one of the tuners, after channel acquisition, the A/V would play normally for a second or three, then the video would freeze, while audio continues. Invoking the OSG, or pressing info would "unfreeze" the video for a second or two. This leads me to believe that it is NOT a problem with the state of the MPEG decoders, but rather a problem confined to the software itself.

So, this seems to be a rather specific set of conditions that must come together to cause this problem.

BTW: I reproduced the problem by installing variable resistors in the coax feeds and gradually increasing the resistance until signal lock was lost.

Re:Details on how to reproduce:

[vanyel]

This might explain some odd behavior I saw recently: I have a Series 1 DirecTivo, and have recently moved. The dish is on a freestanding tripod mount at the moment, until I can get some pieces I need to permanently mount it. As a result of it having to be where people walk by it, it's gotten misaligned a couple times. The other night I found that one of the tuners was recording audio, but not video. The signal quality was down in the upper 50s (normally it's in the 80's). I went out and tweaked it, and everything started working fine again. I thought it was *really* weird that a digital signal would lose only the video --- it makes sense in the analog world, as the two signals are transmitted in quite different ways, but I would think digital would be all or nothing...

Re:Details on how to reproduce:

[mgscheue]

It may seem like an unlikely set of conditions but it's happened to me six or seven times in the last couple of weeks. It's annoying that, for the first time since I've gotten my beloved TiVo, I can no longer be certain that it'll actually record what I request. That DirecTV won't admit there's a problem is just plain irresponsible, IMO.

Re:Details on how to reproduce:

[Frizzle Fry]

This post wasn't nearly so exciting as the subject line led me to expect.

Re:Details on how to reproduce:

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, the two signals are transmitted slightly differently. They are different MPEG-ish streams, and while the video is encrypted, the audio is unencrypted.

There's other data streams as well (guide, DTV housekeeping - aka hacker check, etc), so it's not one big signal operating on one transponder - it's possible for some channels to come in fine while others are dead (the PPV channels generally operate on the hottest transponders, for some odd reason).

Re:Details on how to reproduce:

[blackbear]

-A recording must be executing on at least one tuner
-Signal quality must degrade to the point of causing severe digital artifacts WITHOUT a loss of signal lock
-The poor signal quality must persist for at LEAST 15 seconds
-The signal must then cut out completely on BOTH tuners
-The recording must STILL be going on when signal is restored

Which is exactly what happened in Richmond, Virginia last Friday night during Stargate SG1. It was very annoying. I'm still pissed to find that it's a software bug.

Re:Details on how to reproduce:

[Rich0]

Interesting - something like this happened to me. Fortunately the biggest thing I lost before I spotted the problem was a re-run episode or two of Good Eats.

I would play back a show, and get about two seconds of video, and then audio for the rest of the show. New recordings had the same problem.

I rebooted the Tivo and all is well again - fortuantely. Hopefully they'll send out a patch before the odd occurance happens again...

Re:Details on how to reproduce:

[printman]

Hmm, I had this happen last week - my DirecTIVO kept locking up (I wasn't recording anything) after a bad thunderstorm until I cycled the power (actually unplugged the unit...)

This has never happened before - let's hope not again...

Since

[OverlordQ]

hitting a php/*sql forum isn't a nice thing to do, I got a static copy of the linked to page.

Re:Since

[Anonymous Coward]

Why? Can't any reasonably designed dynamic content system handle several thousand users?

Re:That's not a bug...

[zagman]

no - that's M$FT's answer to things!

tinfoil hat

[moojuece]

not one to normally put much weight in crazy conspiracy theories, it does seem a bit odd to me that they have this new bug which forces an upgrade, and they are crediting users the cost of the upgrade....seems to me for some reason they want users to upgrade....what new 'features' does the series 2 have that they can give free upgrades?

Re:tinfoil hat

[Rude Turnip]

I think it's mostly for the purpose of DirecTV not having their customers defect to the competition, period.

Re:tinfoil hat

[stry_cat]

Who is their competition? I didn't think there were any serious threats to TiVo or Direct TV

Re:tinfoil hat

[Rude Turnip]

DirecTV competes against Dish Network and every cable company.

Coincidence

[SteroidMan]

Is it a mere coincidence that this is the platform most favored by Tivo hackers for getting access to the unadulterated data stream from DirecTv. Perhaps, but I doubt it.

Re:Coincidence

[yetdog]

Not anymore, nor is it platform-related. Access to the DirecTV stream is gained via their smartcards, now at the P4/P5/D1 generation, which at the moment, has not been publicly hacked. It never mattered what receiver you had whether it be a normal DTV receiver, or a DirecTivo.

Re:Coincidence

[jroysdon]

Uhm, wrong. With a simple kernel module loaded you disable the encoding/decoding of the signal as it is written/read to disk.

What's the big deal about this? Because you have the raw DirecTV-compressed MPEG2 which you can stream right back off the hard drive.

"Feature"

[Saeed al-Sahaf]

A bug that causes old users to pay to upgrade? Doesn't sound like a bug at all, sounds more like a business strategy.

Indeed, it's a "feature"!

Damn!

[wurp]

Somebody hire that guy!

Re:I want my...I want my...

[mahdi13]

probably just ignorant and doesn't have memories of the early 80s...kids these days!

Remember when MTV played Music Videos?

Consumers Win

[usefool]

At first glance, it did look like a force-upgrade stunt pulled by TIVO.

However, if DirecTv has been offering users who complain a $79 credit , I can't see why consumers do not want to take this opportunity and upgrade to Series 2.

Re:Consumers Win

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't see why consumers do not want to take this opportunity and upgrade to Series 2.

That's because you're blind.

Wow!

[NoMoreNicksLeft]

I'll be able to pick up a cheap directivo!

Not totally surprised

[Stevyn]

A few years ago DirecTV caused the famous "black sunday." It was intended to knock out people using hacked cards but ended up screwing over a lot of paying customers. What it did was screw up the cards so they wouldn't boot. It worked well and people either had to ditch the cards or buy a bootstrap. Still pretty shitty to their customers though to knock their service out.

Re:I want my...I want my...

[Saeed al-Sahaf]

Music Videos?

Music videos? I don't listen to rap...

Tivo Marketing Plan

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Sell lots of TIVO units.
2. "Upgrade" to newer software rev.
3. Feign ignorance at users bitching about it not working..
4. ???
5. Profit!

not $79

[jhittner]

I have the DirectTV tivo box which is much more then %79 and Ive been having this problem. As far as I know there is not a directtv tivo series 2 box out yet

Re:not $79

[dex22]

I have one, by Philips. It replaced my series 1 when the modem died (as they are prone to do on Series 1's)

Re:not $79

[boarder]

Well, you need to look a little harder. All the new DTivos I've seen are series 2. The Hughes HDVR2, the Samsung SIRS4040, the RCA whatever are all series 2. I didn't check if the Phillips one is, but I'd assume so. I have the Hughes HDVR2 (not to be confused with the HR10-250 HD DVR), and it is most assuredly series 2.

Re:not $79

[boarder]

P.S.
The RCA and Phillips DTivos are both $79 at Best Buy.

Re:not $79

[Anonymous Coward]

My Hughes HDVR2 is certainly a Series 2!

Re:That's not a bug...

[Anonymous Coward]

hahaha HA HA HA!! M$ for Microsoft!! HA HA, you're so damn FUNNY!

You 7xx.xxx serie Slashbots keep reheating the same old jokes, while the rest of us who've been hanging out here since before you were even in high school have to read the same old shit that was funny years ago over and over. You guys are tiring...

Who cares?

[Guspaz]

They're paying for the bloody upgrade by giving you back what you paid for the new console. This is a GOOD thing, it means FREE UPGRADE. Why are people complaining about a free upgrade?

Re:Who cares?

[freeze128]

Would you like a free upgrade to Windows Media player version 9? I know I don't. For one simple reason....

DRM.

Re:Who cares?

[will_die]

The problem is not the cost of the box it is the cost of the subscription.
So while you are given an $80 box for free you now need to pay $250 to get your life-term subscription.
Also alot of people have upgraded thier boxes with more hard drive space which would have to be replaced.

Re:Who cares?

[tstoneman]

RTFA.

This is for DirectTV subscribers only. They do not have the option for lifetime subscription.

Re:Who cares?

[silas_moeckel]

They did at one time have that option. For directv it's more tired to your account than the box if you call cust serv they will move the lifetime if you upgrade. Personaly I dont see the point you get free tivo service with the movie stations anyway.

Re:Who cares?

[koreth]

Lots of DirecTiVo users have lifetime subscriptions. Me included. It even shows up as a $0.00 line item each month on my DirecTV bill.

Maybe they don't offer that option any more, but given that this discussion is about older units, that's not relevant.

Re:Who cares?

[Jahf]

Actually there are very good reasons to not want to do this. I happen to have one of the newer units, but folks who have a series 1:

* May have dozens (or over a hundred if they upgraded their drive) of hours of programming on the unit.

* Will have to spend at least a couple of hours adding their old season passes, preferences and such to the system and things like their "thumbs" ratings will be lost forever.

* Could have installed / enabled hacks that are simply not feasible on the series 2 (and in the case of a few things like caller ID on some of the older units, are simply not possible on the newer units)

* Will not see a significant performance boost from the new hardware ... series 2 units have more impressive specifications for RAM and CPU but in reality they don't do much to speed things up ... so there is no significant need to upgrade.

All of the above combine for some very powerful reasons to not want to upgrade. DirecTV and TiVo could have architected things differently so that season passes and preferences were archived on the dial-up server, which would have alleviate #2 above, but otherwise there is not much that can be done to make this a painless process.

It's not like buying a new TV or a new receiver ... in many ways it is more like having to replace a dead hard drive in your PC (or your PC itself but without a significant speed increase) and never having been -able- to back up your data.

The only real advantages I see in going from a Series 1 to a Series 2 box:

* You get a couple of USB ports that, unlike standalone TiVos, DirecTV purposefully does not enable (on standalones you can use them for USB networking, removing the need for a phone line to the system)

* You will continue to get updates after DirecTV stops sending out system updates to Series 1 units ... but that is no big deal right now since DirecTV is FAR behind standalone TiVo software versions (as in version 4.0 + HMO, which is now standard and free on standalones, is not available for DirecTV users)

* You get a system with more CPU (but less ways to use it due to a dearth of hacks for the Series 2 ... yes, I know, alot of the hacks can be done but overall most people find the Series 2 too much of a pain to hack).

So needless to say, there is no burning need to upgrade to the Series 2. To the HD TiVo, yes, but that is MUCH more expensive.

Is this a conspiracy to force people to upgrade as others have suggested? Hell no ... DirecTV is not getting anything from such a mess but bad press. But it's also not a benefit to the people affected to get the discounted/free new unit either.

Re:Who cares?

[raygundan]

Yep-- lifetime tivo subs for direcTV series 1 tivos used to be available, but aren't anymore. So, if your series 1 gets hosed and you replace it, you will lose your lifetime service. (It no longer exists.)

This would be a little different if they had stated what would happen in these circumstances-- if they will transfer the lifetime to the new unit, there's no issue at all.

Re:Who cares?

[Aaden42]

On the Series 2 boxes, it's significantly more difficult to apply useful more-or-less legal hacks such as adding a network adapter, disk cache, TiVo web, and (the kicker) video extraction.

TiVo/DTV have no doubt been getting flacke about how easy it is to extract pure digital content from their equipment. Creating a 'bug' and forcing users to the more secure Series 2 boxes would be a nice feather in their cap. Not saying that's the case here, but...

Lifetime service

[Otto]

I got my parents a D-Tivo back when they were new. Got it directly from Tivo, in fact, before they actually hit shelves. Anyway, I also got the Lifetime Service for it.

I'd lose that Lifetime Service if I upgraded them to a Series 2 unit. Not a good option, as I dislike extra monthly fees, especially if they have to pay them. It was a gift, I don't like giving gifts that cost money.

Anyway, if my parents start experiencing the problem, I'll downgrade them to 3.1.0b, lock the software, and bypass the protections to disable the nag screen. Upgrading to a Series 2 is simply not an option, unless they can somehow keep the lifetime service on the new box.

Re:Lifetime service

[FaasNat]

I wonder if TiVo will allow a transfer of the lifetime service for people who upgrade.

Re:Lifetime service

[Jonathan_S]

I'd lose that Lifetime Service if I upgraded them to a Series 2 unit.

Actually you wouldn't. When DirecTV took over the DTiVo service from TiVo (the same time the monthly fee dropped to $4.95) they modified how the lifetime service works. You can't buy lifetime anymore, but for everyone who already purchased it that service switched from being tied to a specific receiver to being tied to the DirecTV account.

So as long as you don't cancel your DirecTV account any DTiVos you have will have lifetime service (possible limit of 8 per account), even if you remove your original DTiVo from the account.

Re:Lifetime service

[hawkbug]

Well, that sucks. I paid for lifetime service for my tivo.... I do plan on moving at some point in time, and probably canceling DTV for a few months until I get settled in. So, you're sure that I will lose my lifetime tivo service that I paid for? I think I smell a lawsuit coming on....

Re:Lifetime service

[zurkog]

Well, that sucks. I paid for lifetime service for my tivo.... I do plan on moving at some point in time, and probably canceling DTV for a few months until I get settled in. So, you're sure that I will lose my lifetime tivo service that I paid for?

So downgrade your service to local channels only (~$5/month), and eat the monthly cost for the "few months" until you get settled in.

Re:Lifetime service

[Anonymous Coward]

make your account dormant for a few months. no problem.

Re:Lifetime service

[walt-sjc]

Go on the vacation plan. It doesn't cancel service - just suspend.

seriously

[brandannnnnn]

i want to read this thread but i don't have the time. i'll just tivo it.

Re:seriously

[Anonymous Coward]

How many TIVO threads can that one score funny karma on?

Apple?

[Anonymous Coward]

Taking cues from Apple's business model.

Re:LOLOL

[kmankmankman2001]

Dumbass. All Tivo's run Linux, always have.

Re:I want my...I want my...

[Anonymous Coward]

I have memories of the Dire Straits song and MTV despite my best efforts to repress them. If I had mod points, I'd mod the parent down too.

Oh, and anyone who feels that way about TIVO has serious psycological trauma. TIVO's action is "well there's still people using series 1 TIVOs from before we fucked them up by forcing a paid service on our vic^H^H^H customers. Let's break them all"....and the customers respond by buying new TIVOs with the requriement to pay $13/month for a useless service (the channel guide info).

I think the reason TIVO is only available in the states is that no other country has enough concentration of suckers.

Re:I want my...I want my...

[CrackedButter]

If he meant in the 80's then i have to add that rap wasn't even on the scene in the 80's. It was all rock until Run DMC collaberated with AeroSmith in 1986, after that, rap began its climb into mainstream which took until the 90's.

I, TIVO

[MarkCollette]

Or perhaps the central computer the controls the TIVO network has decided that television is dangerous to humanity's safety, and thus, allowing TIVO users to watch television would violate the first law of robotics.

Re:I, TIVO

[TheGavster]

Preserving the safety of humanity would fall under the zeroth law; allowing a user to watch some programming probably falls under the first, though ... reality tv melts the brain.

Re:I, TIVO

[MarkCollette]

Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics"

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

( http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/robotics.html )

Obligatory MythTV Reply

[Anonymous Coward]

YAMC (Yet Another MythTV Comment): Another good reason to use MythTV.

Re:Obligatory MythTV Reply

[jeaton]

MythTV can't record the digital bitstream directly from the satellite. The best you can do is re-encode the S-Video output of a standalone DTV reciever, and even this assumes that you hack toghether some what to change the channel on the standalone reciever.

No thanks. Until a DTV tuner card is available (not likely, due to piracy concerns), I'm sticking with my TiVo.

Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye bye

[t_allardyce]

How much longer 'til you can get a cheap PC & software solution that doesnt screw around and lets you do anything with the recordings? Once some relatively cheap (or free/oss) software comes out that will let you turn any cheap PC into a PVR, Tivo is gonna be screwed - big players will have to stick to the rules (broadcast flag, no sharing, and maybe abit of spying on what you watch) while all the cheapo/free solutions, (including your local store that will bundle some software) will get away with letting you do anything and wont screw you around with dailing home, bugs, and expensive upgrades. Does Tivo even have a DVD burner or ethernet export yet??

..yawn

[Anonymous Coward]

who cares? it's just tv.

Re:..yawn

[Technician]

who cares? it's just tv.


Maybe anybody that is paying for it and expect it to work.

How Convenient!

[Cranx]

It's a good thing upgrading is such a good deal! It was time for an upgrade anyway! How about that Lance Armstrong! We support the troops! Look up there!

(runs away)

Oh. Well then.

[Otto]

I was not aware of that. Kick ass. I may be upgrading in the near future then, and possibly selling off the Series 1 box. :)

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[JohnGalt00]

You mean like the GPL'd MythTV ?

Yeah it runs on linux(QT), so it's a little hard to set up, but it runs well, downloads TV schedules for free, supports multiple tuners and a wide range of cards including pcHDTV

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[dcgaber]

umm, mythtv????

Re:they won't fix this...

[Dionysus]

i'm sure the type 2 has the ability to gather more data and keep users from personalizing their machines.

serie 2 has more capability that than serie 1, because most of the userhacks that people did for serie 1 has been implemented in serie 2. Still, serie 2 still give me the ability to install more hd capacity (even upgrade the kernel, since the kernel they're using, linux 2.4.18 or something, has an upper limit of 137 GB), telnet into the system, install tivoweb etc.

And the bug was just discovered. Give them some time to fix it before you decide to hang them.

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[dcgaber]

meant to say:
mythtv

Re:I want my...I want my...

[Anonymous Coward]

It was a joke, as in: Rap is about all there is on MTV these days.

But..doesn't TiVO run Linux?

[Anonymous Coward]

Surely, Linux wouldn't freeze/crash! Or...

Flame on!

That may not be accurate.

[drinkypoo]

Please see this.

Re:LOLOL

[Anonymous Coward]

OMG!! U mean linux has a bugs. OMG LOL thats even worse I thought linux was sold as being invincible LOL +5 Informative

I called DirecTV yesterday about this issue.....

[Anonymous Coward]

I called into support Yesterday on this exact issue. The Tivo had been misbehaving and I ended up ordering a new unit to replace my stock series 1 DirecTivo. It had not been modded or anything.

After reading this, I called DirecTV and told them about what I had "learned" that It was not just my unit but that their software had hosed my tivo. They are crediting my acount $99 + 14 (installation) so 113.00. So software bug = free new tivo. I guess once they patch the old one (which I keep) I will have to throw it in the bedroom.

That's happened on my series 2

[Anonymous Coward]

I've had my semi-new series 2 TiVo freeze up too on rare occasions
when starting to play a recording. I just rebooted and kept living my
life with no thoughts of conspiracy.

I'm finding another bug

[X]

Oddly, I have just started running in to a bug of my own since last night. Basically, whenever I play an episode of "Meet the Press", I get a large, black box on my screen which takes up the bulk of the lower half of my screen. It blocks not just video, but also all of TiVo's on-screen display. If I reboot, the problem goes away, and on at least one occassion it went away all on it's own.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Re:I'm finding another bug

[goldfndr]

3.0 on SA introduced a bug that has symptoms similar to what you described but not exactly.

If you:

1. were paused on Live TV without a program being recorded
2. had a program record successfully
3. remained paused in Live TV

there's sort of a black half-screen, but pressing the TiVo button would take care of it.

It might've helped if you'd named platform and version...

Re:I'm finding another bug

[general_re]

Basically, whenever I play an episode of "Meet the Press", I get a large, black box on my screen...

Considering the silliness of campaign season, I'm having trouble seeing this as a bad thing. I may have to buy one myself now...

Re:I'm finding another bug

[Anonymous Coward]

check closed captioning

Re:I'm finding another bug

[Anonymous Coward]

Check your closed caption settings.

Re:I'm finding another bug

[X]

Sorry, this is a first-generation Philips DirecTiVo.

Re:I'm finding another bug

[Moonwick]

This sounds like it might be related to closed captioning. Does your TV support closed captions, and would it by chance be set to TEXT1 or TEXT2?

Re:I'm finding another bug

[X]

Thanks for the pointer.

Re:I'm finding another bug

[Mostly Monkey]

I have the same problem with my 1st gen Philips TIVO. Hitting the Tivo button fixes it in my case.

Just got of the phone with DTV customer service

[allism]

Called (800)DIRECTV, asked to speak to a CSR supervisor, was connected to a woman named Jill. She denied any knowledge of the issue and kept insisting that I call Sony. I did talk her into issuing a $79 credit (which is what we paid for a new unit Sunday since we didn't want to risk missing Six Feet Under). She claimed that they are getting NO calls regarding this issue and that there is no way DirecTV is responsible. I offered to point her to some websites where people have carefully documented the problem and what causes it, including what software version caused this, but she wasn't interested in any websites that weren't sponsored by DirecTV.

So, everyone, please call and ask to speak to Jill the customer service supervisor to let them know this is happening to you too, since she is obviously unaware of the issue.

Re:Just got of the phone with DTV customer service

[Eric_Cartman_South_P]

So, everyone, please call and ask to speak to Jill...

That's too funny. 'Hey, everyone on Slashdot, call this one chick about your problems.' The poor bitch.

Re:Just got of the phone with DTV customer service

[Anonymous Coward]

"I did talk her into issuing a $79 credit (which is what we paid for a new unit Sunday since we didn't want to risk missing Six Feet Under)."

Good move. Heaven forbid that anyone should miss Six Feet Under.

Re:Just got of the phone with DTV customer service

[AnswerIs42]

So, everyone, please call and ask to speak to Jill the customer service supervisor to let them know this is happening to you too, since she is obviously unaware of the issue.

I would... but my Series 1 has not had any issues at all like this.

Hell, didn't even know I could upgrade for $79!

Re:Just got of the phone with DTV customer service

[Anonymous Coward]

You're obviously a little on the naive side if you truly believe that you believe this "Jill" woman (if that's really her name) when she tells you they are receiving NO calls on this. Sounds to me like a coverup

Weird

[smartin]

This happend to me for a couple of months this winter. I figured my disk was going bad but it has completely corrected itself. I wonder if somehow i got an early release of the software and then got back reved.

Sony T60 DirecTivo Remote kicks all forms of ass.

[slagheap]

I've had this box for 4 years and I can say without question that it has by far the best remote I've ever used. It's very comfortable in the hand, and I was using it by feel within hours of getting it.

I hope my box continues to work, because that's one thing a Series 2 box will not have. I recently got a Toshiba DVDivo (for a different TV) and the remote eats by comparison.

Slagheap

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[Anonymous Coward]

ummmm, a pc is more expensive then a tivo. And secondly you CANT get mythtv to decode DIRECTTV STREAMS.

ROFL!

[apoplectic]

My significant other rocks!

She just posted how to get the $79 dollars...this after I spend 30 minutes chewing on someone at DirecTV with no luck. Jerk told me "Since it has a hard drive in it, it breaks often...you should throw it away" and "You can't believe what you read on the Internet -- there was that town with the styrofoam, you know? That town?" (he had no idea what the story was about...though I did) and repeatedly "There are 13 million people with DirecTivos" (He didn't believe me when I told him that his stat was out of whack).

The guy made me so mad that I refused to hang up at the end of the conversation...keeping the jerk on the phone. Not my style, but I was ticked off!

Sir, if I don't have a response in 30 seconds I'll have to disconnect

Hi.

Sir, if I don't have a response in 30 seconds I'll have to disconnect

Hi.
Wow, I can't remember ever being so uncool! Heck, toward the end of the conversation I believe I was indeed the jerk.

Re:ROFL!

[Anonymous Coward]

there was that town with the styrofoam, you know? That town?

That sounds like a strong bad email, to me.

MythTV - better than TIVO if you're a geek

[poopie]

I'll second that.

MythTV is great and it's extensible - if you want to build your own PVR and you like Linux, then you'll like MythTV. It's not necessarily cheaper than a Tivo up front, but it's more flexible and extensible if you're into that sort of hacking thing ;)

Having just completed a MythTV box that now "owns" my TV, I can say it was more complicated, cost more, and took longer than I expected. I can also say that I'm very happy with what I have and what I can do with it, and the potential to add new features and functionality.

Installing MythTV takes some time. I recommend using one of the distros/guides below. Following these, most clueful people should be able to get MythTV running.

See:

MythTV Homepage
KnoppMyth - bootable MythTV
Jarod's Fedora/MythTV Homepage
Debian MythTV howto
Gentoo MythTV howto

Re:MythTV - better than TIVO if you're a geek

[enrico_suave]

What... no Homebrew's Slackware MythTV guide (with pvr350 tv out goodness?)

e.

Re:MythTV - better than TIVO if you're a geek

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds good but...

1. Does it record the DTV stream directly?
2. Does it manage two tuners?

Re:MythTV - better than TIVO if you're a geek

[poopie]

1. Does it record the DTV stream directly?

See the links from http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/ to http://www.pchdtv.com

2. Does it manage two tuners?

It can manage as many tuners as you have slots to put them in

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[t_allardyce]

It'll be hacked though surely? even if it means going to analog and back. PCs might be more expensive but its not uncommon for people to have an extra one gathering dust thats not too old to be a PVR, Dont forget you dont need a monitor and you have all the advantages of everything Tivo doesnt have - including no-DRM(tm), built-in region-free DVD, games, networking, mp3s, web, and maybe voip/video phone.

Consumer applicances that change without notice

[constantlyamazed]

The real problem here is with the DirecTV product model. This is one of the only consumer devices available where the manufacturer can give and take away features long after you've purchased the product. I had a Mitsubishi DirecTV HDTV receiver box that one day lost the ability to set the sidebars on 4:3 content to black. I was livid! While I was well aware that updates would occur, I was horrified to find that they were perfectly willing to remove features not just add them. And worse, Mitsubishi blamed it on DirecTV and, you guessed it, DirecTV blamed it on Mitsubishi. I'll never knowingly buy a device again that does not put me in control of the upgrade process. -brian

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[t_allardyce]

thats some dope shit right there checkin them screenshots. All you need now is a bootable CD automatic dummy-proof setup that can turn any suitable PC into a crazy station!

Don't forget Freevo

[serutan]

Just a shameless plug for Freevo, the free Linux PC media platform.

Re:Don't forget Freevo

[Agent Green]

Cute...but this helps DirecTV subscribers...how??

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[lophophore]

It will be a damn long time before you can get a cheap PC and software that let's you tune and record DirecTV.

And yes, there are TiVos with DVD recorders, and TiVos with ethernet export.

The plus for DirecTiVo users is that DirecTV uses a $25,000 statistical MPEG II encoder, something you won't find in your garden variety cheap PC.

Re:they won't fix this...

[ovit]

Idiot.

First of all, Series 2 adds no additional ability to harvest you're watching habits... Series 1 TiVo's already know EVERYTHING (trust me) about what you watch...

Having said that, know this:

Their are three levels of privacy. The middle level, which is the default collects all of the information on you're viewing habits, but throws out you're box ID... IE, it gets munged with tons of other anonymous data...

You can opt out of even this level with 1 phone call... (I LIKE the fact that my viewing habits are affecting (via Nielsen partnership) TV)...

Tony

True, but..

[EvilStein]

you get that irritating "Your Tivo has not made its daily call in 321 days. Please make a daily call soon"

and I can't find a menu option for "delete all messages" so i have to delete those 1 by 1. it's annoying.

I finally just got an actual phone line just to shut the damn thing up (can't get it working over vonage)

Re:True, but..

[Anonymous Coward]

my series 1 is set up to use a ppp connection through a linux box since the Great Fry of 2002.

i don't have a pots line.

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[Anonymous Coward]

If you go digital -> analog -> digital with compression at the digital steps, you will have to deal with re-encoding artifacts (lossy compressing already-lossy-compressed video is always a very bad idea). Since DTV's encoder is off-spec and not all that pretty to begin with, recompressing it yields some very ugly video.

Furthermore, I'm sorry, I just don't see this "free" PVR system surviving if broadcast flags, etc. all go on. What makes you kids think that somehow this hardware is not going to implement the flag, etc.? As if the broadcasters are going to ignore you.

For chrissakes, the RIAA is going after grandmothers, the broadcasters are going to kick you kids to the curb as fast as legally possible. And since they're purchasing whatever laws they want to have passed, it's happening quickly.

The Fix

[I_redwolf]

The fix for this problem is simple.. Reboot your tivo. I've been having this problem whenever the weather gets bad (ie: it's about to storm). I turn off my tivo, unplug it. Plug it back in, start it up and it's fixed. I was considering calling DirecTV if it became a serious issue and I found myself doing it often. I've only gone through this process about three times and it only happens when the weather is exceptionally bad. Losing 2 days worth of programming is a problem, but the same thing happened last year around this time in the North East and I got my bill credited. If it's of any help to anyone I have a sony unit.

Hopefully, this problem is fixed. I've got lifetime service and simply don't see the point in upgrading to series 2. Those units do not offer me anything I really want; dual recording I already have, turbonet lets me get updates without using the phone. My shows are recorded and I watch them when I want. Everything else is icing, and I don't like too much icing on my cake.

Re:LOLOL

[Anonymous Coward]

OMFG! R U on BGs payroll? LOL! U must B paid well! ROFL! Too bad your @55 hurts after BG's had his way with you! PWNED!

Whore.

Have you checked Tivo prices lately?

[Gorimek]

Tivo's are really hard to beat on price. As the article mentions, a new Tivo costs $79.

I don't expect a PC to get significantly cheaper than that for quite a while, even if you don't consider the price for a monitor and remote control.

Re:Have you checked Tivo prices lately?

[t_allardyce]

Wow i thought that was just for a rebate or something. Ok, how can we hack it and replace the software and break the need for their service? - or just get a cheap HD and capture card out of it...

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[t_allardyce]

Yeah it can look ugly but people put up with some pretty terrible compression these days, even 'broadcast quality' tv can look appauling especially on dodgy fades and fields of wavy grass because its all about how many channels you can absolutely possibly fit down the medium without x% of people complaining. if its dct'd both times then it wont suffer that much more the second time aslong as the blocks line up and you use a reasonable setting, it'll be better than some of the absolutely sickening things those be-heading groups keep releasing, wma!? they're animals! Broadcast flags are gonna be what kills off the closed-box PVRs because they will be forced to play by the rules. As is shown time and time again, anything connected to a computer is certain to get cracked and hopefully that means video in/out cards with apropriate digital connections, unlike P2P theres no way jonny RIAA is going to know you have an "illigal" video device so they can shove it right up their ass. One day the RIAA will over-step the mark and people will rise up in total anger and mass-storm their headquaters and lynch whichever shit is in charge and i'll be there taping it ready to stick it on the net in wmv format of course ;)

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[enrico_suave]

"thats some dope shit right there checkin them screenshots. All you need now is a bootable CD automatic dummy-proof setup that can turn any suitable PC into a crazy station!"

You mean like uh.. I dunno KnoppMyth (knoppix + Mythtv distro)

=)

e.

Yeah, well, it happends to me almost every night!

[voxel]

Almost every night, I come home from work and my damn DirecTivo is locked up displaying the same image, but the audio continues to play.

Every recorded movie/show for that day is f*cked, there is audio but no video.

It is becomming really anoying, and I will start bitching at DirecTV if they don't fix it soon.

I never realized that DirecTV's new DVR's were now based on the TIVO-2.. So whats the difference between my old Philips DVR-6000 and the new DirecTivo-2?

Whats the most effective way of getting DirecTv to give me a free upgrade to the DirecTivo-2 if they don't fix this freeze bug?

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[t_allardyce]

Fuck! can it do the cleaning too?

Not that unlikely...

[Otto]

I mean, it reads like an almost textbook description of rain fade. First it fades down to crappy quality, stays that way for a bit, then cuts out entirely. The rain pours for a while, and then slacks off, and your signal comes back nice and strong.

Voila, problem reproduced.

$79?!? You poor sods...

[Tryfen]

Over here in the UK they're not producing TiVos any more. The ones they did regularly go for £200 or more on eBay (~US$400).

And you get Series 2 for GBP£45!?!? How I feel your pain.

Hmph.

Re:Sony T60 DirecTivo Remote kicks all forms of as

[The_Mr_Flibble]

Well my tivo is working perfectly (as a paperweight in my office). Anyone know where I can get a new image for the hard drive ?

Re:I want my...I want my...

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, "DVR service" with DirecTV costs only $5/month, and it covers all DirecTivos on the account.

Issue finally acknowledged, will be fixed...

[Deven]

Well, DirecTV and TiVo have finally acknowledged the issue:

DIRECTV and TiVo are aware of the issue. The short term solution is to unplug your unit for a few minutes and re-start. A software fix will be available to fix this issue as quickly as possible.

I'm glad to hear it. I hope this update takes weeks instead of months this time. (I wonder if this statement was prompted by this Slashdot story?)

By the way, it's DirecTV that should get the blame for the poor handling of this issue, not TiVo. DirecTV is calling the shots -- while a TiVo representative made this statement, they had to negotiate with DirecTV for permission to do so. The biggest problem here is that DirecTV doesn't have a representative acting as a liaison to the TiVo community, trolling the forums for issues and proactively keeping the community informed of the progress in resolving them -- as Richard Bullwinkle used to do for TiVo. (Another problem is that DirecTV doesn't seem to believe in real beta testing, which probably would have caught this bug before it was rolled out...)

Re:Respect to the pioneers, but they're going bye

[sulli]

You have to compile it yourself. Screw that. Can't they come up with a simple install-me CD or .iso?! I just want to watch TV dammit, not mess around with obscure Linux configs.