Newbie - Emu and Tivo?

[sage88]

I've read a great deal in this message board but have been unable to definitively solve what seems to be a fairly basic question.

I emulate to receive dtv using an old h card. I have a minimal subscription to dtv, so i use a subbed bin. Have been doing so for months without a hitch. Now, my roommate bought a SA Tivo series 2 model TCD140060. Unbeknownst to me, he did the activation (monthly) on-line and installed the box.

When i came home, the tivo was working and the phone line was connected. Needless to say, i freaked out a bit and we immediately dusconnected the phone line.

Firstly, is the information transmitted to Tivo shared with dtv? If so, is it viewing info - and potentially damaging to my testing activities?

Secondly, i read about the backdoor remote method, as well as extreme 2.5. The backdoor method came with great caveats, warning about potential damage caused (didn't elaborate) and extreme seems directly related to adding additional or upgrading existing hard drives.

So, am i jeopardizing my "testing" by using the phone connection (which i understand is required at least once every thirty days) and if so, what is the most effective way to circumvent the need for the phone communication?

My apologies for not having been able to find my own answers, i hope someone can be of assistance.

btw- (without appearing to kiss too much butt, but at least indicating i have read a great deal) groundhog, you seem very knowledgable and helpful in this specific area, perhaps you can come to my rescue.

[groundhog]

I always try to suggest that people subscribe to Tivo. In your case, you should be able to with reasonable safety. What you do is call Tivo, and tell them that you want to "opt out" of any viewing habit monitoring. There is some debate about how safe it is, but people (including myself) have done it for years, with no problems. If you opt out, Tivo isn't supposed to download your viewing habits, or share them with another company. Some even say that if you don't "opt out" that Tivo doesn't isolate individual’s habits anyway, they only monitor entire zip codes, etc. Anyway, I would suggest keeping the sub, and opting out. If you want to be entirely safe, use my backdoor method, but you won't have guide data & Tivo won't get their fair share of money. The backdoor method is 98% safe. The warnings are put there because a few people have had some problems. Just make sure that you don't do anything funky with your remote like new combinations of some of the backdoor codes of E-E-xxxx or C-E-C....If you look into the backdoor codes enough I think you'll know what I mean. As long as you follow directions, and don't try new codes, or let a kid just push buttons at random, there is little chance of any problem. Anyway, Good luck. IMHO, if you opt out you'll be safe. Just watch for if Tivo ever gets bought out by Direct TV. If that happens, you might want to explore other options.

[sage88]

Thanks, groundhog. Clear and insightful.

[groundhog]

Your welcome.

A couple more things..........You should be able to check your systems information screen to confirm the "Opt Out" status. It may only work with backdoors enabled(on a subd box). It's kind of hard to find, but I found it on mine once and it said something like:

Opt Out Status: Opted Out.

Also, If your subd, and still concerned, the main thing TiVo monitors is remote control button presses, and menus. They obviously don't actually download the actual shows that your watching. If you change to a channel on the Tivo(say channel 222), then use the Direct TV receiver remote, to change to a different Channel(say channel 598), Tivo would never know. They would still think that you recorded and watched channel 222. The only thing is that your "Now Playing List" would be inaccurate.

[sage88]

This is great stuff groundhog, thanks again.

Is it alright with you if i post your replies on another message board (dss bbs) that i have found very helpful? I posted my same question there, but haven't received any responses yet. Still, when it comes to emulating, it is a great board.

I'll post as myself (of course) in reply to my question, but give you full credit - it may help others.

Please let me know. Regardless, thanks.

[groundhog]

Is it alright with you if i post your replies on another message board (dss bbs) that i have found very helpful? I posted my same question there, but haven't received any responses yet. Still, when it comes to emulating, it is a great board.

Feel free to post it where ever you want. :)