Engadget has discovered that the TiVo Series 3 has had the PROM chip hacked. If you're like me your probably thinking "what the hell is a PROM chip?"
Well PROM stands for Programmable Read Only Memory and the PROM chip is placed on the motherboard inside your TiVo and contains some pre-loaded basic intelligence. It is this intelligence that contains security to prevent your TiVo from being modified with third party software and hacks.
This PROM hack can be done in the following not-so-simple steps:
De-solder the PROM chip from the TiVo motherboard
If you haven't fried the chip continue...
Extract the code from the Chip
Edit the Hex
Burn a new PROM
Re-solder the new chip back to the motherboard
Hope you haven't fried the chip
As you can see this is not exactly the easiest hack to do and it is only the first step. The next stage is developing individual hacks to alter the functionality of the TiVo, such as enabling TiVo2Go.
If you're technically minded enough and want to learn more then head over to the DealDatabase forums for more info.
Ever wonder how your 13 inch TV and Series3 HD TiVo home setup measures up against other TiVo users'? The folks at the TiVo Community Forum have posted a number of photos of their TiVo units in action and at rest.
Popular TiVo playmates seem to be large screen TVs and Xbox 360s. While some users seem to find beauty in a simple setup that hides the wires and most of the AV components, others seem to revel in showing off as many AV boxes as possible. My personal favorite is a shot on page four of the 16,000 wires used to plug in what appears to be a Series3 TiVo, several DirecTiVos, some serious audio hardware, and what might very well be a possibly a warp drive.
Normally I refuse to say when a product is priced at $29.99. I feel it's disingenuous on the part of those setting the prices, and I just round up and tell you that you can pick it up for $30. I wish gas station owners and others would follow suit.
That said, it's technically true that OneCall's selling the TiVo Series3 for under $600. Just barely under $600, but still that's $200 off the list price. Of course, if resellers can keep affording to knock $100 or $200 off the price, I wonder why TiVo couldn't have just introduced the Series3 at $700, but I guess they need to recoup the development costs.
It looks like OneCall's sale ends on the 23rd. Keep in mind, if you pick up a new Series3 unit by the end of the month, and if you happen to have a lifetime service plan for an older TiVo, you can transfer that lifetime service tot he new box for $199.
The Engadget crew gets all the fun. Today, they've published detailed photo galleries and descriptions of their up-close experiences with some of the hottest new PVR and multimedia technology on display at CES.
Vista Media Center Extender
The Xbox 360 will likely be the only device capable of acting as a media extender for Vista at launch. But hey, plenty of people have Xbox 360s, right? Engadget's got a whole photo gallery showing off the media extender interface, and it looks like pretty much anything you can do on your media center PC you can do with the extender.
Ever wonder what would happen if you called up Comcast, told them that the Motorola PVR they sent you is useless and asked if you could just plug in your own box?
Well, now you can stop wondering. A digg user had it out with a Comcast support person in a chat session and posted the results.
The long and short of it is that he wanted to know if he could go out and buy a Scientific Atlanta unit to replace his buggy Motorola PVR. Not surprisingly, he was told that it wouldn't work.
Now, if the tech support guy had been on the ball, he might have mentioned that you can replace a Motorola PVR, if you're willing to go out and spend the big bucks on a TiVo Series3 unit and order CableCards from Comcast. You'll probably get the CableCards for less than you're paying to rent the Motorola box. But you'll also have to pay a TiVo subscription.
A few days ago the Wall Street Journal had an article which raised a dilemma which many of us are facing. Should we settle for an inferior, often buggy, often hard to use HD PVR from our cable company or do we get down with a TiVo Series 3 PVR?
The TiVo Series HD PVR is undoubtedly the best HD PVR on the market:
despite the fact you have to pay $12.95 a month
despite the fact the Series3 lacks the capability of the Series 2 to transfer recorded shows onto your PC and PMPs
despite the fact you need a 2 hour visit from a cable-company technician to install a CableCard into your TiVo and;
despite the fact the TiVo Series 3 does not support some of your Cable Companies services such as Comcast's on-demand feature.
Even with these features I would definitely choose a TiVo Series 3 PVR over a HD PVR from a cable company such as the Motorola DCT3412 from Comcast and the DirecTV Hr20-700. But there is one thing that would stop me buying a Series 3 and that is the $800 price tag.
Hopefully we will see a post Christmas price reduction very soon.
Remember the good old days when you'd buy a product for an advertised price, and be able to find the advertised price directly on the shelf or at the product's website? These days it seems like you need a Ph.D. to figure out how to get the best price/deal out of a product like TiVo.
So here's the latest.
If you buy a Series3 TiVo by the end of January and activate it by March 2nd, you can transfer lifetime service from your existing TiVo for $199. This is an extension of a previous offer.
Of course, TiVo's still charging $799 for a Series3 unit, so this is only a bargain if you'd willing to spend $1000 for a hi-def unit rather than waiting a while for the prices to fall. We've seen resellers discount the Series3 by as much as $200+ but that's still a lot of cash.
Or if you're in the market for a new box and hi-def isn't that important to you, check out the latest rebates on Series2 boxes, which basically let you pick up an 80-hour Series2 TiVo for free (plus a year's service).
For the second year in a row, TiVo's made Wired News's top 10 list of vaporware, or products that have been promised but have yet to arrive.
Last year, TiVo made the list for its Series3 HD-capable unit. To be fair, TiVo had made it clear by the end of 2005 that the Series3 would be out in 2006, and while it's been widely panned for its high price, a number of retailers have offered decent sales bringing the price at times below $600. And it it one heck of a PVR.
This year's vaporware product: TiVoToGo for Mac. Sure, there's a third-party workaround for anyone trying to copy TiVo recordings to a Mac. But TiVo has been promising an official solution for ages. In fact, TiVoToGo for Mac was mentioned in last year's vaporware list as well.
Wired also gives an honorable mention to TiVo's partnership with Comcast, which has yet to yield a Comcast PVR unit running TiVo software, although there's reason to believe that this could actually be coming in 2007.
What PVR related vaporware have you been waiting for?
If you have just recently unwrapped a new TiVo this Christmas then you may like to know what you can do with it to customize It for your own needs to get the best TiVo experience.
AllPVR.com has come up with six ways to customize your TiVo:
TiVo has updated its Guru Guides, so that now you can subscribe to guides directly through your TiVo. Up until now if you wanted access to preselected lists of shows you might enjoy you had to sign up through your computer, or ask your significant other.
While it's nice to be able to schedule TV shows to record from work, the more services you can actually access from your TiVo itself the better. Sure, it takes a couple of extra steps to sign up for guides with a remote control, but not having to get up and walk into the other room is worth its weight in gold.
Dave Zatz warns that you may have a hard time getting past the privacy screen if you're signing up for your first Guru Guide. A quick trip to the office where you can sign into your TiVo.com account, try to add a Guru Guide, and accept the privacy agreement should resolve the issue.
The update only works on Series2 TiVo's at the moment, but Series3 support should be coming any day now.
Way back in October, TiVo announced that Series2 users that had purchased lifetime service packages would be able to transfer their lifetime service to a Series3 unit for $199. While that adds $200 to the price of an already expensive device, it's by far the best deal around for keeping your TiVo subscription bills to a minimum.
Problem was, the offer was only good if you had a standalone Series2 TiVo. DirecTV customers who had received their TiVo's through the satellite provider were out of luck.
Now TiVo upgrader and reseller WeaKnees is reporting that DirecTiVo customers are now eligible to transfer their service -- if they do so before 12/31/06. There's no info about this on the TiVo website yet, but presumably you can get this deal either through WeaKnees or TiVo, just make sure to ask about it before you plop down your money.
Also, keep in mind that Series3 TiVo units will not work with DirecTV or any other satellite provider, so this is only a good deal if you were planning on switching to cable anyway.
The TiVo community store has rolled out some nice special offers just in time for Christmas. If you feel the need to boost your living room entertainment experience then you might find yourself some great deals here:
Instant $120 rebate on any TiVo Series 3 – Coupon Code TV120
$250 off the Nevo SL WiFi Remote - Coupon Code NEVO250
15% off all Harmony Remotes – Coupon Code TCR15
Save 10% on upgrade kits – Coupon Code TCUP10
Save 10% on all Slingmedia products including the Slingbox – Coupon Code TVS10
Save 15% on cables – Coupon Code TCC15
10% instant rebate on TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter – Coupon Code TCW10
In honor of TiVo releasing the Top 10 TV moments in 2006, and not actually releasing something that will gain them some favor with current customers, potential new customers, and shareholders such as a non-fan created TiVoToGo for Macs, a robust movie delivery system, TiVoToGo on Series3 boxes, or a TiVo that dispenses Samuel Adams - I've decided to make my own list that highlights the top 11 most worthless or annoying TiVo moments at PVR Wire in 2006.
4. TiVo thinks up innovative ways to advertise to its money paying subscribers. I have to admit, the ads are pretty benign. Doesn't make them any less aggravating.
6. In '05 TiVo announced that software would be available on Comcast set-top-boxes with a similar deal announced in '06 for Cox. Deals are pretty much universally appreciated by fans, but TiVo fails to mention rollout would not occur until after the biblical rapture. Shouldn't this be out by now? Particularly the Comcast arrangement? Can't wait to try this out during my stay in Hell.
7. TiVoCast updated! Still less fun than replacing your friends dandruff shampoo with the contents of a bottle of Nair, although most things are. Is anyone using this?
8. Cablevision brings TiVo to Mexico. Como se dice "who cares"? Okay, this was actually good to hear, but I wanted to break out some busted Spanish.
9. TiVo unveils "It's Not TiVo Unless it's TiVo" marketing campaign. In related news, The Captain Obvious Marketing Company signs its first client ever.
10. TiVo offers free pizza for anyone who signs up for a years service and gets a new TiVo box. Let's see. A PVR, a pizza, a remote, and a couch. You wonder why the country has an obesity problem?
All the new unmodified Series 3 TiVos contains a Western Digital 250GB hard drive, so you would think TiVo could do a bit of math and work out exactly how much HD and SD content a Series 3 could record on average.
Turns out that TiVo is undecided how much video it can fit onto the hard drive. WeaKnees has some pictures of different TiVo stickers quoting different recording capcities.
Matthew Haughey of PVR Blog has recently published its own review of the Series 3 TiVo. After having previously used the buggy Comcast HD PVR the writer found the Series 3 to be very good machine.
The TiVo Series 3 was described to have perfect HD quality and an unrivaled user interface for recordable TV. This seems to be the general consensus among the many reviews out there.
However, this review also matched the general consensus that this high quality, high end PVR was also highly priced.
Despite the Series 3 being one of the best HD PVRs out there I still think it is worth waiting till the expected post-Christmas price reductions before you buy this device.
Engadget has discovered that the TiVo Series 3 has had the PROM chip hacked. If you're like me your probably thinking "what the hell is a PROM chip?"
If you have just recently unwrapped a new TiVo this Christmas then you may like to know what you can do with it to customize It for your own needs to get the best TiVo experience. 
The 
