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Upgrade Question
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Posted by: Salsa

Hey everyone,

I'm in a bit of a quandary here. I desperately want a 300 hour TiVo. I've checked around on the web and have decided to go with Weaknees.com. Here's my problem. I have a 60 hour Phillips TiVo that I got about 2 years ago. I don't want to upgrade this particular unit for a couple of (bad) reasons.

1: I paid like $600 for it, and the 14 hour units where only $200 or something. If I upgrade it to 300 hours, I'll feel like I wasted that $400. I know, it's a totally irrational reason, but I'm a pretty irrational guy :)

2: It's starting to show some signs of age. Menu's are taking a lot longer to change, it takes a little longer to actually start playing when I hit play, things like that. I'm virtually positive that these are all disk relate, and since I would be replacing both disks, it doesn't really matter. But again with the irrationalness :)

My other main option is to order a new Series 2 and have Weaknees upgrade it. I'm not sure how I feel about that though. On the one hand, I'll end up with 2 TiVo's instead of one :) On the other hand, I'm a little concerned about voiding the warranty before I even get the TiVo. Plus I've heard some quality questions regarding the Series 2. Also, what's the difference between the TiVo branded and the AT&T Series 2's?

What are yall's thoughts on the warranty issue? From what I've read, the vast majority of problems are either disk or modem related. Since I'm having Weaknees.com upgrade the drives, I THINK they warranty against the drives failing for 90 days or so. Plus I would still have the drive manufacturer's warranty. If the modem gets fried at some point, I guess I can just connect via Broadband. Besides how expensive is it to fix the modem?

Oh well, this is already a dangerously long post. Sorry about that.

Josh

Posted by: SuperRob

I've got a 60Hr. Series 2 unit that I upgraded myself with a 120GB hard drive. Took less than an hour, and was very easy. I personally would not pay to have anyone do it.

Let's just say that I've never HAD to delete anything, although my wife seems to be compulsive about clearing space no matter how many times I tell her that it's unnecessary. When half of the NINE PAGE LONG Now Playing list is Suggestions, life is good.

Posted by: Sinnerman

When I updated my DTiVo 1 it took me about 3 hours. BUT, that included reading each instruction twice, being extra careful and hunting for those damn Torx wrench bits.

If I had to do it again it'd take maybe 1 to 1.5 hours.

Personally I'd just upgrade the old TiVo. If the unit breaks (not the drives), just chuck it, but a cheap-o one and use the old drives for upgrading.

Posted by: Mike Farrington

Well, you've admitted that you are irrational. Now it's time to take the next step.

Yes, you paid a lot for your TiVo, but that simply isn't what the TiVo is worth anymore.

Let's say the unthinkable happens and your Series 1 dies someday. You'll still have two large hard drives to place into any replacement TiVo that you buy.

If your Series 1 does fail someday, then it will most likely be, as you pointed out, the modem or a flakey hard drive. Flakey hard drives will be replaced if they are less than 3 years old. As for the modem, there are fixes and wordarounds that are much cheaper than a new TiVo.

I say upgrade your Series 1 and enjoy it, it probably has a long life left.

-Mike

Posted by: hotguy

whatever you decide to do make sure you know what you are doing. i ordered my 120gb HDD and it took about 3 days to be delivered. in that time i read, and re-read (5x's at least) and highlighted a map through the upgrade manual for my make and model. i made sure i had the tools and when the HDD arrived i brought it home from work and opened up the Tivo at 6 pm. by 7:30 my Tivo was upgraded and humming along.

be careful with the inside edges of the Tivo box. i did slice my thumb wide open trying to pick the unit up to move it over a bit on the table.

good luck!