I'm attempting to "network" my Digital Video Recorders in the house. Currently I have Hughes Tivos but according to Tivo themselves, the Hughes units are not capable of handling the new "Home Media" option. This means I have to buy new units to network my house's TV's. Replay already makes networkable units and their system seems pretty slick, but I've never had any experience with the Replay stuff before. Sony or Toshiba Tivo's and Pioneer DVR's are compatable with Tivo's new Home Media Networking option. The features of the Replay network seem similar the Tivo Home Media thing as well as the functionallity of the Replay to the current Hughes Tivo's I have. Two things stand out here, (1)The Replay can stream real-time video from one unit to the other but the Tivo Home Media option doesn't mention this capability, and (2) the Home Media option says you can stream MP3 music from your PC and Replay doesn't mention this. One thing I noticed about the Pioneer is the ability to record DVR content to a DVD-r directly on the unit. Problem is the Pioneer is pricey and I'm not sure they offer a unit that is has less features and a lower price tag. Or maybe, the Pioneer is compatable with the other Tivo units so I could run one Pioneer and the rest could be Sony or Toshiba Tivos? Any of your thoughts on this would be great.

Have you looked into third-party ethernet hacks for the Hughes Tivo boxes?

I don't know if they'll solve any of your problems or not, I haven't investigated them myself. I just know that there's a lot of third-party stuff for the Tivo units.

Any of the third party hacks by what I understand allow show extraction to a PC, and the ability for the Tivo to use ethernet instead of a phone line for guide updates. Since they don't modify the core Tivo software, they can't allow one Tivo to stream to another.

The ReplayTV units indeed only stream shows to each other, but not music off a computer. You can put photos on the ReplayTV units to see them on the TV, I personally haven't used it yet, so I can't comment.

Oh, one nice thing about ReplayTV units still. The 5500 does lack the automatic commercial skip, but the technology is still in the software running. So, to skip an entire commercial break, you hit the right arrow once. This works on any ReplayTV unit, not just the one the show is sitting on.

If he wants the home media option he would have to have a series 2 tivo and it would have usb ports to connect an ethernet dongle to.

Currently the DirecTivos (Tivo w. built in DirecTV), even if the are Series 2, can not do the Home Media Option. Maybe that's what his problem is? Rumor is that the HMO is coming to the DirecTV units this summer. Tivo even sent me a survey about it to gauge interest.

I figured since he was considering replay and the pioneer unit he didn't care if it had direct tv built in.

Ah, good point.

Actually, I would prefer that the Receiver's be built-in, but would go the other route if that was my only choice. I kinda saw the need for new DTV receivers as an oportunity to get some HiDef boxes. However, I also heard that Tivo HD boxes were due to come soon. As it goes now, I would like to just keep the Tivos I have and network them. If the HMO is coming for the Hughes DTV/Tivo combos units like the ones I have, I'll just keep an ear out. I've already gone to the trouble and expense of hacking them to add hours, so no use replacing them if my solution is around the corner.

9thteedotcom has tivonet cards for the older tivo units. It gives you ethernet on the older tivos. Look for Turbonet.

The Home Media option allows you to share programming between boxes in your house, right? Well, I'm not sure this is possible with Turbonet Tivos (anyone?). What is possible is to capture shows to your hard drive for viewing, or burn them to DVDs.

If you go that route, the place for info is the Dealdatabase forums. There's lots of info. Basically follow the instructions you find, then I use the program called TyTool to do the actual extracting and such. I've been getting good results.

General sharing of shows between series1 TiVos is possible; Implementing the actual HMO protocol to share with unmodded series2s is not, as s1's don't have the horsepower to do all the encryption (although a computer could be stuck between the two to handle that...hmm).

Series2 DirecTivos do not have HMO as a purchase option at this time, however, that feature can easily be hacked into, for example, a Hughes HDVR2 or other Series2 box. You can also add JavaHMO which goes well beyond what Tivo's own HMO offers.

The place to read about all of this is dealdatabase.com. Series2 hacks have come a long way. The basic HMO "hack" involves installing a portion of the non-DirecTivo software on the DirecTivo unit (it's funny because no one had tried it for so long, probably discounting it as a silly attempt).

Bruno

Hey Bruno, long time no see. Did you see this thead I posted? Any idea if that will make it to the DirecTivos? I'd love to have a GUI for grabbing shows instead of an ftp.

Don't know. It's likely it will need a Tivo SW update. If that update is made specifically to not be compatible with DirecTivo units then it will likely be a while. But I'm sure someone will figure something out, or just make their own open version. You might be able to do two-way transfers with JavaHMO. I can't remember. Best bet would be to look at the forum topics about it on dealdatabase.

I just got back Monday morning from Mexico (after also having spent a week in San Francisco at Macworld). My Tivo (Philips DVR6000 aka Hughes GXCEBOT) will go under the knife soon for a hard drive upgrade and cache card installation (with built-in turbonet).

Bruno

Hijacking my own thread : Speaking of GXCEBOT's, I have one that refuses to power up. Occasionally, if left unplugged for a while, it will power up and function but only for a few hours and then back to the dead zone. Tried testing the power supply and it seems to be ok, any clues? I've changed the HD and had no luck there either. Right now, I'd just be happy taking the "Now Playing" list and transfering it to one of my working HDVR2's and junking the GXCEBOT. Tried dealdatabase.com, but I think it's down right now so I couldn't get access.

...and junking the GXCEBOT.

I want it.

Bruno,
Does the Series2 hack your mentioning require hardware, or just a software hack? Still can't get on dealdatabase.com

Rob,
What is so great about the GXCEBOT? I understand the serial out is something people want, but there has to be more to it? Please fill me in on why the GXCEBOT is desireable.

I like it because it's a series1. Until video extraction on series2s becomes mind-blowingly easy, I will use my series1 units. Of course, if I keep opening them up and playing with their settings, the chances of something going wrong increase. I currently have an SAT-T60 and DSR6000R in service and another DSR6000 standing by as backup.

Since this question was fresh in my mind, I pulled the old GXCEBOT out and dusted it off and wouldn't you know it... it powered up! I think I'll let 'er run for a while and then test the power supply again. Now I just need to find my Turbonet card and software and see if I can get that working too.