- How much is Postage?
- Can you Post to Europe?
- What happens to my
current drive?
- Will Replacing my Drive affect my TiVo Subscription?
- Do you offer a Guarantee?
- What if a Replacement Drive Doesn't Fix my
Problem?
- Why do you use only Samsung and Seagate drives?
- Will Upgrading my TiVo void my TiVo Warranty?
- What if I have a 2-Drive TiVo?
- What if I want to add Another Drive at a Later Stage?
- Can you Setup my Drive to Enable Mode 0 Recording and Higher Bitrates?
- Can you Supply Drives Pre-Installed with TurboNET, AirNET or CacheCard drivers and TiVoWeb?
- Can you Supply Drives Preconfigured with the LBA48 Kernel?
- What if I have TiVo software Version 2.5.5a?
- How does the CacheCard speed up my TiVo?
- Do you supply the CacheCard drivers and TiVoWeb?
- Can I use the CacheCard to Download Video Files to my PC?
- Can you supply a CacheCard AND a Drive preinstalled with Drivers and TiVoWeb?
- Can you supply Memory for the CacheCard?
- Can I use the CacheCard without fitting the
Memory?
- Can
I use the Cachecard/Turbonet with a Wireless Network?
- Is my payment safe?
- Do you post on the UK TiVo Forum?
- I have another question!
It's FREE! All prices include Next Day
Special Delivery postage within the UK.
All orders placed and paid for via PayPal by 3pm which comprise entirely
of items shown as in stock will normally be shipped
within 2 working days, usually much faster! We do not ship part-orders, so
orders containing items with an
expected stock date will normally be shipped within 2 working days of the date
shown. However, sometimes, delays with our suppliers or
unexpectedly high demand may mean we are unable to ship within this timeframe.
If this happens we will inform you by email and will offer you the option of
cancelling your order for a full refund if we cannot ship within a timescale
that meets your requirements.
Yes, any of our upgrades can be posted to Europe by Airsure for a £10
supplement. See here for details.
NB. This does not include the Hardware Installation option for
which we have to post a complete TiVo to you. If you live in Europe and
require a Hardware Installation please email
us for a shipping quote.
You can keep the current drive as an emergency spare, or use it in your PC
No. Your TiVo subscription (lifetime or monthly) is tied to the TiVo Service Number of your TiVo unit - and this is hardwired into a chip on the TiVo motherboard. So swapping the hard drive will not affect your subscription in any way.
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We test all drives with Powermax (full surface scan) and then in a UK TiVo before sending them out, so
We're happy to guarantee your new drive(s) for 1 year. If a drive arrives DOA or fails within a year, then send it back and if it is defective
we will replace it and configure the replacement drive for no extra
charge. See here for further warranty
information.
If your new drive doesn't cure your TiVo problem, or you decide you don't
want it for any reason, then we are happy to refund the purchase price less a £20
handling fee if you return it, undamaged and unmarked, properly packed in the
original packaging within 14 days. Please see here for
our full returns policy.
Samsung or Seagate drives are currently regarded as the drives of choice for TiVo use by enthusiasts, as they are both very quiet, run relatively cool, and have proven reliability in TiVos - which are notoriously harsh on drives, as they keep them in constant use 24 hours a day! Samsung drives are marginally quieter than Seagate and come with a 3 Year Warranty; Seagate drives on the other hand are also extremely quiet - and Seagate have recently announced a 5 Year Warranty on all their drives. So even if your upgrade drive fails after after
our 1 year warranty has run out, you can still ship it back to Samsung or Seagate for a replacement up to 3 or 5 years after purchase.
We will normally supply whichever make we have most stock of, but if you have a preference please
email us and we will supply the make of your choice - although you may have to wait a few days if
we're out of stock. Due to the constant use and noise considerations
we do not supply or recommend using other makes than Samsung or Seagate, even though some are cheaper!
Technically, yes. Once you take the lid off your TiVo you have voided the 1 year TiVo warranty. However, as the last UK TiVo was manufactured over a year ago, most TiVos are now out of warranty anyway.
A few TiVo's (usually the older ones) have 2 drives instead of 1. These normally have a 15gb drive and a 30gb drive. The procedure for taking out the drives and swapping to the upgrade drive(s) is slightly more complex (2 drives to disconnect instead of 1) - but that's the only difference!
See here for how to tell
if you have a 2 drive TiVo.
No problem! If you buy a single drive upgrade it will be configured with extra swapfile space so that another drive up to the same size can be added by
yourself, without losing any of your exisiting recordings, at any time. If you buy a smaller 2-drive upgrade (eg. 2x120gb) and then find you need more space, you will need to use
our "full upgrade" service to transfer your data and recordings to 2 bigger drives.
Yes! We can configure the upgrade drive(s) to use Mode 0 Recording with increased bitrates and Variable Bitrate Recording (VBR). This gives increased resolution (720x576 pixels, native DVD resolution) and a superb improvement in picture quality over the standard Best, High and Medium settings and is not available on an unmodified TiVo unless you install a network card and TiVoWeb.
We will setup the drive to use Mode 0 and VBR with appropriately adjusted bitrate pairs for Best, High and Medium recording, and VBR only for Basic. Switching on VBR (via the 'save disk space' option in the TiVo menus) can also increase the capacity of the TiVo (depending on the recorded material) as less disc space may be used - even though the recording quality for Best, High and Medium is improved! (Note that the 'save disc space' option actually does nothing on a standard TiVo as VBR is not enabled.) Obviously this is a bit more work for me, so
we charge an extra £10 to setup your drive for Mode 0 recording. A handy side-effect of this is that you will also get Cachecard Drivers and TiVoWeb installed too - for free! - as
we have to install the drivers and TiVoWeb to change the bitrates.
See here for important information about
Mode 0 recording.
Yes we can. It's a bit more work for us, so we charge an extra £10 to preinstall the drivers and TiVoWeb.
Also included are the 'TiVo binaries' and the 'joe' editor.
The LBA48 kernel is required to use the full capacity of drives over 137gb, so all
our drives > 120gb will be supplied preconfigured with this unless you request
otherwise. Where it is installed we will also supply a bootable CD with the LBA48 kernel in case you ever need to restore it. The LBA48 kernel is not required for 120gb drives, but
we can configure them with it if you like. Just email
us and let us know in advance that you would prefer this
No problem! Just mention the fact in your payment notes and we'll prepare your drive with this version. If you don't know whether you have version 2.5.5a or not, then you probably don't, as it is only supplied on request. Note:
If you are ordering a drive > 120gb then it is important that you tell
us if you have version
2.5.5a. See here for more information
about version 2.5.5a.
(how to check
your software version)
The main advantage of a TiVo is that all the programme data and information about recorded shows is stored in a searchable database. This is used by the TiVo software when displaying information and choosing which programmes to record. As the database is stored on the hard drive, and priority access to this has to go to reading and writing video streams, waits for access to the database can slow down the menu responses of the TiVo - especially if you have an upgraded drive! The CacheCard removes these waits by keeping a copy (cache) of the entire TiVo database in RAM, thus speeding up every operation that uses it. You are likely to see an immediate improvement in menu responses when displaying the Now Playing list, the ToDo list, searching by Wishlists and re-ordering Season Passes.
See here for more
information about cachecards and networking.
Yes. Your card will be supplied with a Bootable CD containing the cachecard drivers (latest
version) plus TiVoWeb, TyTools, previous driver versions and loads of other useful TiVo hacks and goodies - over 500mb in total!
We also provide a second bootable CD to enable you to safely 'unlock' your TiVo drive before installing the drivers. In fact, everything you need to install the CacheCard and TiVoWeb via a PC, or via your TiVo's existing network connection (Airnet/Turbonet) is on these 2 CDs!
Yes. The CacheCard is the fastest network card available for the TiVo, and you can easily install various utilities to make downloading video to your PC a snap! The most popular of these, TyTools, is included on the supplied CD.
If you are buying an upgrade drive as well we can also pre-install the TyTools
server components on it for an extra £10. See here
for details.
We certainly can! Any of the drive upgrade packages can be supplied with a CacheCard - and the drivers and TiVoWeb will be pre-installed
for free!
The memory for these cards is widely available in the UK and from the US and prices are fluctuating all the time so you will probably get the very best deal by shopping around. However, if you are concerned about compatibilty,
we do keep a small stock of memory pre-tested and verified to work with the cachecard. Please
see here for the current price.
Yes. If you don't need the menu speed increase just yet, or are waiting to find memory at the best price, you can use the CacheCard without any memory fitted with no problems. It will display an error banner on startup, but will then go on to function perfectly normally as a network card only. Even without the memory it is still the fastest network interface you can get for a TiVo!
Yes. You just need to buy a Wireless Bridge (sometimes also called a
"game adapter") to connect your Cachecard/Turbonet to your wireless
network. You plug the supplied ethernet lead into the cachecard/turbonet at one
end and the bridge at the other. The bridge then communicates with your wireless
router (or access point) to make your TiVo visible on the network in just the
same way that another PC, a laptop or a gaming device (eg. PS2/Xbox)
would.
We don't sell wireless bridges, but they are widely available online. As far
as manufacturers are concerned, we would strongly recommend that
you buy a wireless bridge from the same manufacturer as your wireless
router/access point, as compatibility between manufacturers is pants in this
area!
If you don't have any wireless kit yet, many people on the TiVo forum seem to
like the Linksys stuff as it is flexible and you can update the firmware with
3rd party enhancements if you want.
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Yes. All our payments are handled by PayPal,
the world's largest online payments system. The shopping cart and all your
credit card details etc. are handled by PayPal's secure servers - all we see is
the payment as it comes from PayPal, so we never see or hold your credit card
details on any of our systems. NB. As PayPal does not pass us your
credit card billing address, to protect you from fraudulent use of your card we
may have to ask for additional proof of residence at the delivery address if
this not a PayPal "confirmed" address before we can ship your
order.
We certainly do. We have over 2000 posts and counting under our UK forum
username of 'blindlemon' - see our recent posts here
No worries. Just email us and we
will do our best to answer it.
Copyright © 2004 - 2005 TiVoHeaven. All rights reserved.
Revised: February 01, 2009
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