The Rules of Manhood

[shmokes]

Tivo does not track my content.  None of my Tivos have called home in nearly two years.

BTW, who wants to watch commercials and halftime crap during a football game.  There are other games to watch!

How does it get scheduling information?  Do you subscribe or just use basic TIVO?  I remember TIVO talking about the fact that they tracked TIVO usage after the Janet's wardrobe malfunction.  According to TIVO that was the most repeatedly watched moment in TIVO history.

[ChadTower]

How does it get scheduling information?

[Santoro]

If you are interested in hacking your TiVo, and there are a lot of hacks for the technically inclined, check out http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum .

[shmokes]

I've never had a TIVO; I have a ReplayTV.  But a friend of mine has a DirecTV TIVO and he says he can't use it if it's not connected to a phoneline, which he doesn't have because he's made the switch to straight-cellular.  I'd be interested to know how to make it work without calling in if there is anything special that has to be done.

[Santoro]

How does he get the TV listings then?  Tivo is mostly useless without them.  It can also use your broadband, does he do that?

[shmokes]

I don't think TIVO can use your broadband connection.  It definitely can't without adding the home networking option.  ReplayTVs come with that feature out of the box.  Anyway, he isn't using his TIVO because he can't figure a way to get TV listings without getting a phone line.

[Santoro]

I'll put it this way, both of my series two TiVos have been getting listings over my broadband connection for 2 years now.

[shmokes]

Thanks for the link.  I'll check out his TIVO box to see if it is series 2.  I know it's one built into a DirecTV receiver.

[ChadTower]

I have DirecTivo.  It pulls its guide data off the same satellite feed it uses to get the programming itself.  It only calls home for PPV purchases and monthly data collection.  Mine, however, have not called home in like two years.

I do pay for the service, but my Tivos have a lot of added value that did not come with the basic service offered by DirecTV.

He's right about the Tivo forums, BTW.  You're going to have to read read read and then ask a specific question in order to get any help there.

Tivos CAN use broadband, one of mine has a 100baseT nic in it that I put there myself.  It used to be controllable via the web using a webserver it serves itself that hooks into the Tivo app, but I took that down because it was using up too much of the Tivo's limited RAM.