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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."
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.
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??
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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:
... 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.
... 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.
... 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)
... 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).
... 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.
* 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
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
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
* You get a system with more CPU (but less ways to use it due to a dearth of hacks for the Series 2
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
It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
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.
Je ne parle pas francais.
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
First against the wall when the revolution comes