TiVo sucks
September 1st, 2004So… my TiVo is a TiVo branded, Stand Alone (SA), Series 2 DVR with a service code that starts with 240. That last bit…. about the service code… yeah… REAL important.
TiVos with a service code that starts with 240 shipped with version 3 of the TiVo software. Now, here's the fun part. Guess which version number you need to use USB Wireless Ethernet? Version 4. Do you know how you get version 4 when you have version 3? By connecting to TiVo. If you don't have a phone-line you can't connect to TiVo, unless you have version 4. And you can't have version 4 until you connect to TiVo. The 'ole ",#401″ in the dial-prefix trick… yeah… that only works with version 4. And even then, it's a trick. It's not actually "supported" or mentioned in the installation literature. So much for the "ready for broadband" labelling on the package, huh?
I bought my TiVo at Circuit City. They sell TiVos with a 5?? service code. There are three differences between it and my TiVo. First of all, it's silver. Secondly, it ships with version 4.0 of the software. Finally, it's $50 more despite being, component-wise, identical to my TiVo. Stupid. Just plain stupid.
Being the real moron that I am, I actually thought TiVo support might have something interesting and useful to say. After an hour and fifteen minutes of holding… and five minutes actually talking to someone, I realized my mistake: don't ever call tech support. Ever. EVER.
I'm seriously considering bringing it back, building a machine, and running MythTV or something like it. I really am.
I hate this.
