What is TiVo (or rather OzTiVo) ?
TiVo is a hard disk video recorder that uses an electronic program guide (EPG) and records free to air, cable and satellite TV.
Tivo does it a lot smarter than many DVRs on the market; it can record all episodes of a series, all programs with a particular actor etc.
TiVo never made it to Australia but Seven are currently making noises and we will have to wait and see.
If you want TiVo in Australia (or New Zealand or South Africa) then you need a series 1 TiVo as they are the only models that can currently be hacked. You can buy a Philips or Sony series 1 TiVo from the US or a Thomson TiVo from the UK. If you have pulled a PC apart then you will probably be okay but this is NOT a plug it in and go project.
- OzTiVo info;
- www.OzTiVo.net
- Darren Kings OzTiVo site
- OzTiVo Forums
- Which TiVo should I buy ?
- Where can I buy an OzTiVo ?
- OzTiVo EPG;
- Guide Data Central
- TVGuide
- Supplier info;
- Eklectic Systems
- Eklectic on ebay
- 9th Tee
My TiVo;
3 Sep 07 - Bought a Sony SVR-2000 from AuctionItGroup on ebay
"This auction is for used Sony SVR 2000 TIVO DVR Series 1 without hard drive
Unit has minor cosmetic scratches and knicks that do not affect working order.
This auction is for the unit and power cord only. No remote or other accessories included."
Actually included 30 GB disk
Paid US$25 plus US$75 postage (AU$122.96)
Sent by USPS Global Priority Mail on 6 Sep
Arrived 11 Sep
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4 Sep - Bought new TurboNZet network card from John McKirdy
Paid AU$75
Sent by NZPO International Air Parcel on 4 Sep
Arrived 10 Sep
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5 Sep - Bought 2 x new Thomson remotes and a serial null modem cable from Eklectic Systems on ebay
Paid US$24.97 plus US$12.10 postage (AU$46.16)
Sent by USPS First Class Mail International on 6 Sep
Arrived 11 Sep
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5 Sep - Bought 2 x IR Blasters (emitters) from C&N Consumer Electronic Liquidators on ebay
Paid US$9.50 and US$3.70 postage (AU$16.44)
Sent by USPS First Class Mail International on 10 Sep
Arrived 27 Sep
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6 Sep - Bought new Seagate 320GB IDE disk drive from MSY Technology at Auburn, Sydney
Paid AU$96
Self pickup
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8 Sep - Bought new power cord (use figure 8 TiVo end),
UTP coupler
and 0.5M UTP lead from Jaycar at Hornsby
Paid AU$4.95, AU$19.95 and AU$3.25, total AU$28.15
Self pickup
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9 Sep - Bought new Energizer CR2032 replacement backup battery from Harvey Norman at McGraths Hill
Paid AU$2.95
Self pickup
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10 Sep - Tried to buy Linksys WGA54G Wireless Game Adapter (wireless bridge) from 'thefuzzymuff' on ebay
Paid AU$56 plus AU$20 postage
Now trying to sort it out which is hard with no communication - don't you love ebay/paypal
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13 Sep - Sent to Darren King for
PAL tuner, stereo sound and 2nd A/V input mods
also fit TurboNZet card, disk, UTP coupler to rear panel, replace backup battery and holder, add heatsink to MPEG chips and test
Sent by TNT Overnight First Class AU$22.14
Paid AU$175 plus AU$25 postage
Returned by AusPost registered mail on 22 Sep
Arrived 26 Sep
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29 Sep - Bought new Netgear WG602 Wireless Access Point from Harris Technology at North Ryde
Paid AU$99
Self pickup
This is not a recommendation of any of the suppliers above, it simply details my experiences with them on a single transaction
YMMV
Note that the US to AU dollar exchange rate can and does vary
