A happy place for all the sarcastic displaced kiwi's of the world.

 

Tivo Tip #1 Did you know the Tivo "Now Playing" listing can easily be viewed on your PC? As long as your Tivo is hooked up to your home network this tip works from any browser. 1. Write down your Tivo IP address. On Tivo this is accessed by clicking "Messages & Settings", "Settings", and finally "Phone & Network". 2. Locate your Media Access Key. On Tivo click "Account and System Information". Fire-up your browser of choice. Enter this URL: https://{your Tivo IP address} -- Replace {your Tivo IP address} with the actual address (probably something like 192.168.1.100) Make sure you type in "https" and not "http". 3. You will probably see a message about a certificate error. Ignore this and select "Continue". When prompted enter this username and password: Username: tivo Password: {Your Media Access key} 4. This should take you to a page that displays your Tivo "Now Playing" listing. Depending on the size of your Tivo it may take a while to create this page. Each show listed will also feature a convenient link to download directly to your computer. 5. You are now free to export these details to other programs or print out. Enjoy!

Labels: tech tips, Tivo

Share on Facebook
posted at 2:45 PM 0 comments

  They Don't make Electronics Like They Used To

Our Tivo hard drive was getting ready to bite the dust recently. It was only 17 months old and the second major hardware problem during this period. As could be expected the 1-year warranty had expired so it was time to face the reality of how important the Tivo had become. Do we buy a new unit or crack open the case and fix the problem? Going without a Tivo was a non-starter, but the expense of a new unit (plus a Tivo subscription) would hurt.

Thankfully the trauma of fixing broken hard drives is much easier now than it was back in the days of having to connect the drive to a PC and perform risky Linux surgery. I selected a Hinsdale Tivo Upgrade kit. Not only was it a painless procedure but we now have a bigger Tivo than before (400 hours.)

The most problematic part was transferring the 150+ hours saved on the old system. This entailed using Galleon and a painfully slow wireless connection to transfer everything to a PC. In the end I deleted about half of what we had carefully saved over the past year, but not the Mash episodes! A little known truth about a Tivo with a large drive is that it becomes much easier to store movies and shows than finding and firing-up DVD's. It's true, Tivo makes you more lazy!

Let's see how long this one lasts.

Labels: Tivo

Share on Facebook
posted at 2:18 PM 2 comments

  Mash - Is This The Best TV Show Ever?


Surprisingly IMDB users give it a lowly 7.9 out of 10. I give it a '10' and I recommend that you hotfoot it over to IMDB and boost the ratings a little.

TIVO has allowed me to rediscover just how great this show was. Friends would not be shocked to learn that I have currently 73 episodes saved out of a possible 256. Probably time to get another TIVO so all the episodes can be saved ...

Labels: Tivo, tv

Share on Facebook
posted at 5:23 PM 0 comments

  We Have Tivo!

And life is great, well it would be if I wasn't still trying to work out a few kinks. Tivo.com has been offering a fantastic rebate offer for the past six or so weeks, $50 off their basic model and $150 off their top-end model. This discount was just what I needed to justify buying. So I took the plunge and the day after the rebates were first announced I placed my order. The unit turned up about a week later on the same day as my niece arrived for a two week visit. Hmmh, introduce young niece to Chicago nightlife and the sights, or setup my new toy?

Tough decision. I compromised and setup the Tivo very quickly so it could start recording all the great BBC America shows I would be missing while undertaking architectural tours and watching the White Sox win (for a change.) This means there are still some setup issues needing action, but now I have dozens of hours of recorded shows to watch - who has the time to mess around?

After a little over a month the Tivo has decidedly changed my viewing habits, and now more than 50% of all TV watching is via Tivo's "what's playing" feature, i.e. stuff that has been recorded at another time. Also, I don't sit down and mindlessly channel-surf anymore, why should I when I always have pre-recorded shows waiting for me.

Problems Still to be Resolved:
1. Sound cuts out intermittantly
2. Record and watch different channels simultaneously (damn cables, and signal splitters and other arcana I'm still working out)
3. Correct cable box (our RCN digital cable box doesn't play well with Tivo, so I had to construct a funky looking cardboard box "tent" to cover the IR port to restrict interference from the remote control signals.)

Top 6 Reasons to Love Tivo
1. Season Pass (every episode of a given show, never have to setup start/end/channel assignments again)
2. Instant Rewind on live TV ("What did he just say?")
3. Media Server (via wireless network: photos/music/movies/Internet from your PC)
4. Instant Record (Watching something and you decide to save it? "Hit record" and you also get everything that you just watched up until that point as well as everything afterwards)
5. Huge Capacity (300 hours of saved TV)
6. Tivo Suggestions (rate shows with a thumbs up/down button and Tivo will recommend and automatically save similar programs in the future. The more you rate the more accurate it gets - this is also known as the "my Tivo thinks I'm gay" syndrome.

Labels: Tivo

Share on Facebook
posted at 4:06 PM 1 comments