Time for a new disk for Tivo??

[philg]

Not sure where to post this, so I started in "general"

Anyway, my Tivo is currently running with a 200GB drive and I think it's time for an upgrade. How big have people managed to go and still get reasonable response time?

When I last changed drive (AGES ago) I found someone who would not only sell a new configured Tivo drive, but also copy my existing recordings etc from the old one to the new one. I suspect no-one is doing this any more (but VERY happy to be corrected)

Otherwise, does anyone sell pre-configured Tivo drives any more - of a decent size? I'm thinking I ought to at least increase 10 fold to at least a couple of TB?

Currently I trade quantity over quality and everything is recorded at lowest quality. But a new TV is looming and I think it's time to investigate higher qualities (hence the need for a larger drive)

And I REALLY want to stick with Tivo (as opposed to anything else) - it does everything I need

Looking for answers to the above questions, so a BIG thanks to anyone who can provide them

Phil G

[DX30]

A cachecard makes a big difference to the answer here. To a lesser extent it depends on what you record - a few big films or lots of 10 minute cartoons for instance - as it is the number of recordings rather than their size that impact response times.

Also what I think is a reasonable response time may not be the same as you do. For myself I would say 320GB without cachecard and 1TB with cachecard is the largest size I'd consider.

AFAIK no-one is still selling pre-configured drives in the UK.

[philg]

A cachecard makes a big difference to the answer here. To a lesser extent it depends on what you record - a few big films or lots of 10 minute cartoons for instance - as it is the number of recordings rather than their size that impact response times.

Also what I think is a reasonable response time may not be the same as you do. For myself I would say 320GB without cachecard and 1TB with cachecard is the largest size I'd consider.

AFAIK no-one is still selling pre-configured drives in the UK.

Yeah, I have a cachecard - and I did see other posts seeming to suggest that 1TB is the maximum Tivo can support

Really don't fancy the diy option. If I can't buy a preconfigured drive (or send a drive TO someone to be configured) I guess I'm stuck

[Mike Sugar]

Hi Phil G,

I can configure a new drive for you, i.e. write on it the AltEPG image, so long as you are willing
upon its receipt to go through the entire guided setup procedure yourself.

All I would ask is that you send the drive to me in re-usable packing in order that I can use
same to return you.

If you are interested, please PM me.

Mike

[philg]

Hi Phil G,

I can configure a new drive for you, i.e. write on it the AltEPG image, so long as you are willing
upon its receipt to go through the entire guided setup procedure yourself.

All I would ask is that you send the drive to me in re-usable packing in order that I can use
same to return you.

If you are interested, please PM me.

Mike

I may take you up on this kind offer (and pay for the return postage ) - need to remind myself how onerous the setup is. Would the image come with TivoWeb etc? I have regular backups of all the infrastructure, so I could easily restore it PROVIDED I can ftp and telnet into Tivo (and I'd have to remember how to change the IP address of the cachecard )

[Mike Sugar]

Hi,

If you care to log into AltEPG TiVo Account Management, you will see there is a list of packages you would be able to download onto the completed drive - this list includes versions of TivoWeb, etc.

[Pegasus]

I'm thinking I ought to at least increase 10 fold to at least a couple of TB?

I believe the largest single disc you can fit is 1TB. There's an absolute system max of 2TB so in theory you could fit 2x1TB discs, but I wouldn't do that as a two disk setup doubles the risks of total failure (Tivo is not like a PC, if either disc craps out then you lose the lot as the discs are "married" together as far as the operating system is concerned and treated as thouh they were one disc)

You don't say if your 200GB is IDE or SATA. Don't forget for a SATA disc you'll need the "approved" IDE-to-SATA converter if you don't already have one (it's the only one that works!)

And avoid WD discs as they don't always work in Tivo for some reason.

[philg]

I'm thinking I ought to at least increase 10 fold to at least a couple of TB?

I believe the largest single disc you can fit is 1TB. There's an absolute system max of 2TB so in theory you could fit 2x1TB discs, but I wouldn't do that as a two disk setup doubles the risks of total failure (Tivo is not like a PC, if either disc craps out then you lose the lot as the discs are "married" together as far as the operating system is concerned and treated as thouh they were one disc)

You don't say if your 200GB is IDE or SATA. Don't forget for a SATA disc you'll need the "approved" IDE-to-SATA converter if you don't already have one (it's the only one that works!)

And avoid WD discs as they don't always work in Tivo for some reason.

Currently I'm IDE but figured SATA with appropriate converter would be the way to go

Even considering SSDs......

[Pegasus]

I don't know anyone who's tried an SSD in a Series 1. They may too fast (for the Tivo's driver).

Plus if capacity is what you want then it will be expensive. (vs £40 for 1TB HDD)

[mikemusic]

I'd love to hear how a Tivo performs with an SSD

[Hynek]

I'd love to hear how a Tivo performs with an SSD

Same here. I never even thought of that. It would be pricey though.

[Pegasus]

It may not last very long. Remember that Tivo is writing to disc the whole time it is switched on (i.e. the 'live TV' buffer).

Depending on the tech used, some SSD memory will only last for 3,000 write cycles before failing. The disc's own wear-levelling will help but if your disc is nearly full then wear-levelling becomes less effective.

It will probably still last 3 years though - which is longer than the warranty on a new disc