TiVo Community Forums Archives - Upgrade Questions (non-technical)

TiVoCommunity.com
(c)opyright 1995-2005 All rights reserved
indexcheckTC
This area is a static history of posts in the TiVo Community Forum Archive.
This archive history was made for the simple indexing of search sites like Google.

Pages:1

Upgrade Questions (non-technical)
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: CliffHanger

Well, I reached a big milestone. The wife has given the OK for getting a new drive for our 30-hr Tivo to increase the space. When I started thinking about what it would do for us, I knew that it would hold more programs but I didn't really know if it would solve our other irritations or not.

We typically record a few first-run shows, and a few more syndicated shows that we don't care as much about. The Tivo logic is such that it usually saves a show for 2 or 3 days before marking it for deletion. Because of our current space limitations we are forced to frequently look at the "Now Playing" and see if it's marked any of our preferred shows for deletion. We then mark the preferred show to be kept a couple more days and allow it to delete some other shows earlier. If we upgrade the unit and it never really needs to delete stuff to make room for new stuff, how will that work? I'm thinking it will still mark the stuff for deletion, but never really delete it, since it won't really need the space? It would probably just delete suggestions instead?

Since we don't have much space, we seldom have suggestions, but occasionally it records one or two, and even rarer, one we really like. We are forced to remember to change the "Save Until" of the suggestion almost immediately or it gets deleted before we know it. With an upgraded unit does it still delete suggestions frequently or just when the unit is full? Does it always delete the oldest suggestions first, or is there a different logic?

Another thing that is irritating is not being able to keep a large amount of programming at one time. My wife records a bunch of kid shows for our 2-year-old to watch, but we've been dumping them to VHS tapes, since there isn't space to leave them on the Tivo. If we keep a bunch of stuff as SUID such that the "Now Playing" menu is always several pages, does it slow down the menus a lot? Does it affect performance in other ways?

We record everything in Medium and are fairly happy with it; we live with the occasional pixellation. It would be nice to move up to High quality and eliminate the pixellation, though. Will we simply be trading pixellation for stuttering?

The stuttering thing is something that worries me about upgrading. I've read some posts where people have said their upgraded units stuttered to unacceptable levels, while others said they had rare stutters, and still others have never seen stuttering. From what I found in searching the archives some time ago, there seems to be no single factor that causes it. What can I do to minimize the chances? I'm planning to use the TivoMad utility and just replace my single drive with a new 100G drive. Is this better than just adding a second drive?

I would appreciate any comments or experiences from others who have upgraded.

Thanks,

Cliff

Posted by: loubob57

The suggestions are always the first to go (aside from the few that reported an "early deletion" bug). If a show gets a yellow circle/exclamation point icon but there are suggestions in the list, they go first. The show marked for deletion can still be there months later as long as you never ran out of suggestions.

I'll have to let others answer the rest of your questions as my unit isn't hacked.

------------------
Philips 30 Hour TiVo Running 2.0.1

Posted by: jmoak

"If we upgrade the unit and it never really needs to delete stuff to make room for new stuff, how will that work? I'm thinking it will still mark the stuff for deletion, but never really delete it, since it won't really need the space?"

It will only delete it when it runs out of space.

"It would probably just delete suggestions instead?"

Tivo's suggestions always get deleted first. It will delete every suggestion it records befor it delete's anything you have recorded.

"With an upgraded unit does it still delete suggestions frequently or just when the unit is full?"

Only when the unit is full.(runs out of space for recording)

"Does it always delete the oldest suggestions first?"

Yes

"If we keep a bunch of stuff as SUID such that the "Now Playing" menu is always several pages, does it slow down the menus a lot? Does it affect performance in other ways?"

I have not noticed any slowdown. Some claim to see a one or two second delay entering the now showing screen, but I have not seen this.

"Will we simply be trading pixellation for stuttering?"

I have not seen any stuttering. ...altho I would not try to use the "cheapest" drive I could find. Stick with a manufacturer that has a good track record. I use WesternDigital drives. Some folks have good luck with Maxtor. Tivo uses Quantum. Steer clear of "Bob's Just-as-Good-as-the-Other-guy's" hard drives.http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

"I'm planning to use the TivoMad utility and just replace my single drive with a new 100G drive. Is this better than just adding a second drive?"

Depends on who you talk to. I would do just as you plan and keep the origional disk as a backup. Some folks think it's better to use one of the new backup utilities and just use the old drive in your computer or something. I tend to be paranoid, so I've made a backup AND have kept my origional, just in case. As much as I depend on my tivo's, better safe than sorry.

Come to the underground for more answers. It's eaiser than you think!

Posted by: Odium

Your wife gave you the "OK"? ... that sounds wrong

A mans house is full of *his* toys! Make sure you clear that issue up before upgrading =)

lol

Regards

------------------
- Odium Devonix

HDR212 (170 Hours - 140GB - Networked)