TiVo DVRs

:Main article|TiVo

TiVo corporation designed a number of digital video recorders which have been produced and sold by a number of other companies. All of the units listed here use the TiVo operating system software and require the TiVo service.

TiVo units have been manufactured by various OEMs, including Philips, Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba, and Humax, which license the software from TiVo Inc. To date, there have been three "series" of TiVo units produced, with the third series having been released on September 12, 2006.__NOTOC__

eries1

The Series1 (retronym) was the original TiVo digital video recorder.

Series1 TiVo systems are based on PowerPC processors connected to MPEG-2 encoder/decoder chips and IDE/ATA hard drives. Series1 TiVo units used one or two drives of 13–60 GB. Although not supported by TiVo or equipment manufacturers, larger drives can be added.

eries1 Standalone

All standalone TiVo systems have coax/RF-in and an internal cable-ready tuner, analog video input—composite/RCA, and S-Video—for use with an external cable box or satellite receiver. The TiVo unit can use a serial cable or IR blasters to control the external receiver. They have coax/RF, composite/RCA, and S-Video output, and the DVD systems also have component out. Audio is RCA stereo, and the DVD systems also have digital optical out.
* CPU: IBM PowerPC 403GCX at 54 MHz
* RAM: 16 MB

eries1 DirecTV

Some TiVo systems are integrated with DirecTV receivers. These "DirecTiVo" recorders record the incoming satellite MPEG-2 digital stream directly to hard disk without conversion. Because of this and the fact that they have two tuners, DirecTiVos are able to record two programs at once. In addition, the lack of digital conversion allows recorded video to be of the same quality as live video. DirecTiVos have no MPEG encoder chip, and can only record DirecTV streams.
* CPU: IBM PowerPC 403GCX at 70-80 MHz
* RAM: 32 MB

eries2

The Series2 was a complete redesign of the TiVo hardware. It includes USB ports (for Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters), a new CPU, and more RAM. The availability of network connectivity has spread to the software side, where new features like TiVoToGo and Home Media Engine applications are now supported.

Series2 TiVo systems are based on MIPS processors connected to MPEG-2 encoder/decoder chips and high-capacity IDE/ATA hard drives. Current Series2 units have drives of 40–250GB in size. Although not supported by TiVo or equipment manufacturers, larger drives can be added.

eries2 Standalone

All standalone TiVo systems have coax/RF-in and an internal cable-ready tuner, analog video input—composite/RCA, and S-Video—for use with an external cable box or satellite receiver. The TiVo unit can use a serial cable or IR blasters to control the external receiver. They have coax/RF, composite/RCA, and S-Video output, and the DVD systems also have component out. Audio is RCA stereo, and the DVD systems also have digital optical out. The Series2 systems also have USB ports, currently used only to support network (wired Ethernet and WiFi) adapters. The early Series2 units, models starting with 110/130/140, have USB1.1 hardware, while all other systems have USB2.0.

Some models manufactured by Toshiba, Pioneer, and Humax, under license from TiVo, contain DVD-R/RW drives. The models can transfer recordings from the built-in hard drive to DVD Video compliant disc, playable in most modern DVD systems. The video encoding on these models was modified to match the DVD standard so transferring to DVD does not require transcoding.

The Series2 standalones can only tune analog signals, so to comply with FCC rules on analog TV phaseout, models that record from over-the-air channels are no longer sold. The dual tuner (DT) models and the TCD542 (a revision of the TCD540) will only record from cable and satellite sources.

* CPU:
** 1xx/2xx-series: NEC 5432 (MIPS), 166 MHz
** 5xx-series: Broadcom BCM7317 [http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/7317-PB02-R.pdf] , 242 MHz
** 6xx-series: Broadcom BCM7318 [http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/7318-PB01-R.pdf] , 266 MHz
* RAM:
** 1xx/2xx/5xx-series: 32 MB of 133 MHz 16-bit DDR
** 6xx-series: 64 MB of 133 MHz 16-bit DDR
* MPEG Encoder
** 1xx/2xx/5xx-series: Broadcom BCM7040 [http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/7040-PB07-R.pdf]
** 6xx-series: Two Broadcom BCM7042

eries2 DirecTV

Some TiVo systems are integrated with DirecTV receivers. These "DirecTiVo" recorders record the incoming satellite MPEG-2 digital stream directly to hard disk without conversion. Because of this and the fact that they have two tuners, DirecTiVos are able to record two programs at once. In addition, the lack of digital conversion allows recorded video to be of the same quality as live video. DirecTiVos have no MPEG encoder chip, and can only record DirecTV streams. However, DirecTV has disabled the networking capabilities on their systems, meaning DirecTiVo does not offer such features as multi-room viewing or TiVoToGo. Only the standalone systems can be networked without additional unsupported hacking.

The latest DirecTiVo units (HR10-250) can also record HDTV to a 250GB hard drive, both from the DirecTV stream and over-the-air via a standard UHF- or VHF-capable antenna. They have four tuners (two DirecTV and two ATSC over-the-air) and, like the original DirecTiVo, can record two programs at once; further, the program guide is integrated between over-the-air and DirecTV so that all programs can be recorded and viewed in the same manner. Recording capacity is variable, up to 30 HD or 200 SD hours.

On July 8, 2006, DirecTV announced an upgrade to version 6.3 of the TiVo software for the HR10-250, the first major upgrade since this unit was released. [http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P3200006] This upgrade includes features such as program grouping (folders), a much faster on-screen guide, and new sorting features.

* CPU:
** HR10: Broadcom BCM7037

2008 DirecTivo Updates

In October of 2007, DirecTV sent a message to all DirecTv TiVo R10 and HR10 users saying that they will be applying numerous features to the DirecTivo. The features will be listed below.

Episode Recovery

Episode Recovery is a feature that will let you recover a previously deleted episode of a show. There will be a time frame of the time you could recover the episode, but the information has not been released.

Online Scheduling

Online Scheduling is a feature that will allow you to go to the DirecTV guide on the internet, and choose a television program to be recorded. This feature is popular with the Tivo Brand DVR's, but DirecTV's contract with Tivo did not allow them to implement the online features of the DirecTivo.

eries3

The Series3 TiVo was officially unveiled at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show [cite news | url=http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/2006/01/hd_tivo_series_.html | title=HD TiVo Series 3 @ CES | publisher=PVRBlog | date=January 5, 2006 | author=George Hotelling] , and was released to the public on September 12, 2006.

The Series3 DVR features support for high-definition broadcasts and has two tuners, each of which can receive NTSC, ATSC, and analog or digital cable (QAM). Encrypted digital cable can be received using CableCARDs. Because of the dual tuners, it can record from any two sources simultaneously. For example, two over-the-air broadcasts, two cable programs, or any combination can be recorded at the same time. However, recording from two digital cable channels requires the use of multiple CableCARDs, and if only one CableCARD is inserted into the unit, only one tuner is active and only one source can be recorded. As of 8/2007 satellite TV connections are not supported.

Switched Digital Video (SDV), a technology which allows cable providers to send only one channel stream at a time instead of the entire provider's channel lineup in order to better manage and expand bandwidth, is not supported by the Series3 line at this time, making the TiVo unable to receive certain channels on cable providers who use such technology. There is [http://www.tivo.com/abouttivo/pressroom/pressreleases/2007/NCTAANDTIVOANNOUNCESWITCHEDDIGITALSOLUTIONFORHDDVRs.html work progressing] on a USB connected, separate box called a tuning adapter to be provided by a cable provider to allow TiVo and other CableCARD devices to work with SDV.

One HDMI port and two sets of component, S-video, and composite outputs are included. The Series 3 is also the first DVR to feature THX-certified audio and video. The unit is also equipped with two USB 2.0 ports, a Fast Ethernet port, and a modem, which are all used to connect to the TiVo service. A wired or USB 802.11 wireless adapter can download programs from TiVo or Amazon Unbox. Multi-room viewing and transferring programs to and from a PC is allowed but HD content may only be transferred between Series 3 units.

The Series 3 can store up to 300 hours of non-HD video, or 32 hours of HD video, using its 250 GB hard drive. Like the Series 2 TiVos, storage can be increased to 1 TB by replacement of the hard drive -- something that can be done professionally, but is usually done by users familiar with how to perform PC drive replacement. An external SATA port allows up to 1TB in additional storage when using TiVo-certified external hard drives.

Series 3 is available on TiVo's website and at electronics retailers nationwide. A monthly subscription fee must also be paid to utilize its features. The product lifetime service may be activated on new units with a rare product lifetime gift card, and could previously be transferred from a unit that already had lifetime service for a fee.

* CPU: Broadcom BCM7038
* RAM: 128 MB for general CPU use- more for the encoders

References

ee also

* TiVo
* DirecTiVo