Let me start off by saying I am a complete newb to the tivo area, but far from a newb to any other "grey" areas.

I'm trying to get a general idea of how the tivo actually works. So from here on out, everything i discuss is (of course) theoritical.

Now, if one was looking to use a TiVo, but he didn't ever want to subscribe for service of the tivo, this would seem easy enough, would it not?

I did some research on this, but the only thing i came up with is by generating your own guide data. What exactly is this and what exactly will this do? On top of these questions, how would one go about actually doing this?

thanks for any light you can shine in this area

neo

AVSForum is a good source of information. Just to warn you, Tivos communicate with the mothership over an encrypted channel, so it's not a walk in the park.

I would avoid that "how do I get tivo without subscribing" question altogether.
It seems that the "true hackers" are pretty vocal about not doing that.
It seems that tivo is quite lenient with them hacking the units and
they don't want to make any waves.
I pay for my subscription and it is worth every penny!
I have about 25 episodes of Family Guy on my upgraded
tivo and that makes it all worth it!


Dss

If you live somewhere for which Tivo doesn't provide listings, then you're not alone. Listings scripts are routinely posted on the newsgroups. You can download these, telnet into your version 1 Tivo in the usual way, and run the scripts to manually update the listing data. I hear this is popular in Canada (although if this is what you want to do, I suggest you go for a Replay as they're meant to be a lot easier).

If, on the other hand, you live in the US or the UK, pursuing this line of enquiry will get you shunned by the Tivo community, probably rightfully so. I agree that £10 per month for listings that are inferior to Digiguide (which costs less than that for a YEAR) does seem excessive, but if you only paid £200 for the box, it's obvious that the Tivo business model depends upon these subscription fees.

I would also recommend you evaluate a Tivo thoroughly before purchase. The quality is pretty bad - highest is roughly equivalent to VHS, IMO. If you're so determined to avoid paying subscription for a Tivo, you might consider getting a PC with a TV card, a copy of Snapstream and a Digiguide subscription. This is a much more powerful and expandable solution that doesn't involve ripping someone off.

How much is Tivo monthly?

you can get pvr's that dont have subscription fee.

i have a 5100 (expressvu here in Canada) and it works great with no problems, and no subscription fee.

where'd u buy it? give us some links

QUOTE (CaliSurfer008 @ Jul 9 2003, 01:40 PM)

How much is Tivo monthly?

I pay 12.95 per month for my tivo.


Dss

QUOTE (dssripper @ Jul 9 2003, 11:21 AM)

QUOTE (CaliSurfer008 @ Jul 9 2003, 01:40 PM) How much is Tivo monthly? I pay 12.95 per month for my tivo. Dss

o kool...thats not that bad..i thought it would be more..


now i want more info on this one that doesnt require any subscription fees!