Customer Reviews

Hacking TiVo: The Expansion, Enhancement and Development Starter Kit with CD-ROM

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I have been looking into this TiVo hacking thing for some time - browsing the Internet, reading the newsgroups, but everything I saw seemed to be a bit intimidating, and I certainly didnt want to open a $300.00 PVR and screw it up.

I have been waiting for this book for 2 weeks, and finally got it last week. Having read, and not liked, 2 other books on the subject, I can tell you that this one was worth the wait.

This book is not simply a collection of tips and tricks, nor is it an essay on the various things you can do if you want to go and download this or that software. It is a very easy to understand, hand-on guide that actually walks you through this stuff step by step.

The CD that comes with it is a beautiful thing - something that was lacking in some of the other books. It has the hacks on it, and all you do it put it in your PC and restart, and it boots into Linux. Then you just follow along with the book.

This weekend, I was able to install a second hard drive, and added 140 hours of recording time. But most importantly - I didnt ruin my TiVo.

Now, I am not a complete techno-newbie, I have upgraded a video card and installed a CD burner here and there, but I am completely new to this hacking thing. This book made it less imtimidating to try, and it went a lot smoother than I thought. Even though I am just getting started, I am hooked already.

If you have any interest in this hacking TiVo thing at all, get this book.

From Jason Scott,...

TiVo: You love it or you haven't met it. For those who have it (or are thinking of getting one), this book is out about all the different ways to modify, increase capacity, or even program TiVos. Whether you want to just add a little capacity to your TiVo's drives or turn it into a full-blown home entertainment center hooked into your home LAN, Jeff Keegan has written a massive and all-encompassing book on this rewarding art.

As a relatively early convert to the TiVo way of life, I always found it hard to describe to people who didn't have one why their lives could be changed by it. If I was lucky, I could get friends to visit and with a few short minutes of demonstration, I'd sold another one. If they were farther away, I just hoped they would stop by some day and I'd have another convert. Why was I so intent on this? Because if you watch TV, or even if you don't watch as much as you used to, TiVo can change your life completely. It frees you from the tyranny of watching shows when you're told to watch them, and then goes on to turn your entire television experience from one bombarded with ads and missing all the "good stuff" on scattered random channels, to a true symbiotic relationship where you sit down in front of the tube and every single moment is one filled with shows you want to watch about stuff you're interested in.

A lot of readers know what I'm talking about, because they have a TiVo or other PVR in their home right now. So when I tell you that this book will take your TiVo to the next level, I hope you get as excited as I was after reading the dozens of tricks, programs, and hacks this book lists.

The opening chapter describes, in succinct but energetic fashion, why every person with a TV should have a TiVo. Keegan's description may fall towards the evangelical side of things, but he goes out of his way to explain why his feelings are so strong. In fact, this book has an interesting side-effect: converting those who don't own a TiVo. Just a quick browse through the first few chapters will have someone who's heard of TiVo but never used one chomping at the bit to get down to the store. To the TiVo army, this is a powerful munition indeed.

From there, it's a powerful spiral into chapter after chapter of modifications, starting with back doors in the code and moving into opening the TiVo's case (explained with lots of clear pictures), adding storage, and even working with the TiVo's OS (a variation of Linux) to turn it into a web-accessible site or to improve performance.

One inspiring chapter describes the author's experience at a baseball game, having his father go to get refreshments and missing some great plays, and the author pulling out his Palm Pilot with cellular modem to tell his TiVo over the web to record the game's highlights on the news. With that tantalizing trick presented, Keegan goes into the whole involved deal, everything from modifying the TiVo to creating the external server to feed the TiVo information.

As I said, the tricks come fast and furious: TiVo as a way to browse photo galleries. TiVo pulling down the current weather and presenting the radar maps. TiVo printing Caller ID information on the screen when someone calls. By the time you're done with the book, you'll be wondering what there is that you can't do with it. And that, to me, is the sign of a truly great instructional book.

A warning: If you want a neutral voice in the author, this isn't the book for you. Keegan's enthusiasm drips from many pages, written in the tone of the guy down the street with the new toy who simply has take you to the den and show you how cool it is, describing in greater and greater detail all the cool stuff he's discovered tinkering with it. The author's wife, newborn daughter, mother and father make appearances all throughout the book, including a particularly touching description of having his father design an assembly language program to manipulate an LED display. No, really, it's touching. I did a search for Jeff and information on him and I found a photo of him in his TiVo costume. Honestly, I'm speechless. The man has achieved what we call "full commitment."

By about halfway through the book it stops being an instruction manual and begins being a full-on reference book, giving you explicit instructions on programming in Tcl, mucking about in Linux, and generally being a hard-core warranty violator. One appendix is dedicated to being a Tcl reference list while another hits you up for some basic Linux training (to be able to work comfortably in the OS).

Keegan has also been kind enough to include a CD-ROM with pretty much all the programs and utilities needed to accomplish what's in his book. It's a telling personal trait that he apologizes for putting it all on a CD instead of enabling readers to go out and search for the programs themselves.

To say I learned things in this book is an amazing understatement. Just to know that some of these things are even possible with my TiVo guarantee how I'll be spending the next few hundred dollars, buying larger drives, getting a cache card, and wiring the machine for ethernet. And Yes, it tells you how to get the shows off of your TiVo onto your computer's hard drive.

When I ordered this book from Amazon, I found out it was an Amazon exclusive, so this the only place to get it right now. On the other hand, I was able to get my copy in a very short time, so I'm fine with that ... but I hope that you can get it in other places in the future. Regardless, it was worth the money I paid for it,...

TiVo: You love it or you haven't met it. For those who have it (or are thinking of getting one), this book is about all the different ways to modify, increase capacity, or even program TiVos. Whether you want to just add a little capacity to your TiVo's drives or turn it into a full-blown home entertainment center hooked into your home LAN, Jeff Keegan has written a massive and all-encompassing book on this rewarding art.

When I tell you that this book will take your TiVo to the next level, I hope you get as excited as I was after reading the dozens of tricks, programs, and hacks this book lists.

The opening chapter describes, in succinct but energetic fashion, why every person with a TV should have a TiVo. Keegan's description may fall towards the evangelical side of things, but he goes out of his way to explain why his feelings are so strong. In fact, this book has an interesting side-effect: converting those who don't own a TiVo. Just a quick browse through the first few chapters will have someone who's heard of TiVo but never used one chomping at the bit to get down to the store. To the TiVo army, this is a powerful munition indeed.

From there, it's a powerful spiral into chapter after chapter of modifications, starting with back doors in the code and moving into opening the TiVo's case (explained with lots of clear pictures), adding storage, and even working with the TiVo's OS (a variation of Linux) to turn it into a web-accessible site or to improve performance.

One inspiring chapter describes the author's experience at a baseball game, having his father go to get refreshments and missing some great plays, and the author pulling out his Palm Pilot with cellular modem to tell his TiVo over the web to record the game's highlights on the news. With that tantalizing trick presented, Keegan goes into the whole involved deal, everything from modifying the TiVo to creating the external server to feed the TiVo information.

As I said, the tricks come fast and furious: TiVo as a way to browse photo galleries. TiVo pulling down the current weather and presenting the radar maps. TiVo printing Caller ID information on the screen when someone calls. By the time you're done with the book, you'll be wondering what there is that you can't do with it. And that, to me, is the sign of a truly great instructional book.

A warning: If you want a neutral voice in the author, this isn't the book for you. Keegan's enthusiasm drips from many pages, written in the tone of the guy down the street with the new toy who simply has take you to the den and show you how cool it is, describing in greater and greater detail all the cool stuff he's discovered tinkering with it. The author's wife, newborn daughter, mother and father make appearances all throughout the book, including a particularly touching description of having his father design an assembly language program to manipulate an LED display. No, really, it's touching. Honestly, I'm speechless. The man has achieved what we call "full commitment."

By about halfway through the book it stops being an instruction manual and begins being a full-on reference book, giving you explicit instructions on programming in Tcl, mucking about in Linux, and generally being a hard-core warranty violator. One appendix is dedicated to being a Tcl reference list while another hits you up for some basic Linux training (to be able to work comfortably in the OS).

Keegan has also been kind enough to include a CD-ROM with pretty much all the programs and utilities needed to accomplish what's in his book. It's a telling personal trait that he apologizes for putting it all on a CD instead of enabling readers to go out and search for the programs themselves.

To say I learned things in this book is an amazing understatement. Just to know that some of these things are even possible with my TiVo guarantee how I'll be spending the next few hundred dollars, buying larger drives, getting a cache card, and wiring the machine for ethernet. And Yes, it tells you how to get the shows off of your TiVo onto your computer's hard drive.

I'm glad this book came into my collection and I think any TiVo owner (or hopeful TiVo owner) will agree.

The Series 1 is still very much alive. It is the most hackable tivo and has the most extra features/programs you can add to it (like Tivo Control Station). And, since they are VERY reliable, you can find many of them cheap on Ebay. I just bought another one off Ebay to handle recording conflicts.

The Tivo user community has developed most of the hacks that any of these books use (i.e., Von Hagen's book). Jeff Keegan has been an active participant in the community and gives credit to the people responsible for the hacks. I know Von Hagen has not been an active participant and I am not sure in his book whether he gives proper credit or not. I understand some community members reviewed the book though prior to it being published.

Jeff knows his stuff. His publisher threw out the Series 2 hack due to litigation concerns. Von Hagen was able to include it. It doesn't make Von Hagen's book better. And, the hack that was thrown out can be found on the web as well as a full step-by-step install document.

So here are my thoughts:

If you have a series 1: Buy this book.

If you have a series 2 and want to explore all that is available for it and learn to hack on your own: Buy this book and find the cross-compiler and main hack information on the web. Or buy the Von Hagen book for the extra Series 2 information and this book for the extra programming and hack information.

If you have a series 2 and just want to upgrade your hard drive: This book is fine for that. I used the web for my upgrade instructions and I found that this book actually covered some things I didn't know that may save someone from damaging their hard drive.

This is a great book. The CD is very well put together with its own install script for EITHER series 1 or 2. There is a wealth of information for any Tivo user or programmer/hacker or tinkerer/enthusiast. For Series 1 it is a no-brainer. For Series 2, either get Von Hagen's book in addition to this one or find the few pieces of missing information on the Tivo community forums.

Now just to set the record straight once and for all - these hacks WILL work on Series 2. But, you Series 2 owners will have to do a little extra work to access your device. If you are serious about doing that, you will find it - its out there. Once you do that, most of the hacks work on Series 2.

To be very specific, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are all useful to Series 2 users (with 1,2,3,14 useful right away, and 6,7,11,12,13,15 useful after you do the little extra work for Series 2. And if you happen to be one of us who have a Series 1 TiVo this book is going to blow your mind!

Heck, the chapters on upgrading your hard disk space (which works with either Series 1 or 2 WITHOUT any extra work) is worth the price of the book alone, not to mention the CD ROM which contains the tools you need INCLUDING several Series 2 binaries. You can easily spend $10 on a much lesser CD on the web.

I just started considering the whole hacking my TiVo thing about 2 months ago, and I had been using the web for most of my information. I got a little fed up with trying to track down everything online and keeping track of my favorites so I decided to break down and go for a book. I purchased this one, and the TiVo Hacks book, and this one is by far the better of the 2.

I saw that using this book with Series 2 had mixed reivews, and I was not convinced. Now that I have read the book, I can tell that most of the hacks will work on Series 2, but you have to be saavy enough to read between the lines a little, and take the hints to find out how to get access to your Series 2 box. Its already out there, and I suppose the book didnt cover it because of all the legal stuff, but it is certainly not a secret.

Once you do that, you are home free for the most part, and the book really makes it as easy as it can be. I say that because hacking TiVo is not easy - its takes some skill, and some confidence to try some new stuff. If you are afraid you are going to hurt your machine, dont do it. But if you, like me arent afraid to tinker a little, you can do it with some help provided in books like this one and the online community. Having said that MAKE YOUR BACKUPS!

The CD ROM is very good, easy to use, and comes with almost all of the hacks for the Series 1s, and some of the Series 2 binaries. For the stuff that doesnt come with Series 2 binaries, the source code is usually included and you just need to recompile. The last part of the book covers writing your own hacks, and even if you dont want to do that you can use it to learn to recompile source, which is what I did.

The book is extremely well written and understandable, and like I said the best of the 2 I purchased. But if you think, like it seems some readers have, that you can just buy a book and pop in a CD to create some uberTiVo instantly and with no effort - forget it. No book or website will do that. However, with this book, and 3 nights after work, I had everything I needed to hack my box.

If you are interested in hacking your TiVo, take a deep breath, commit yourself to taking the time to learn to do it, and buy this book.

I've been a regular customer of Amazon's from the day they opened their virtual doors way back in the 20th Century :) Having said that, this is the first time I have felt compelled to write a "review" for a book that is worth its weight in Gold - in fact, Gold cannot measure this book, so dare I say it's priceless? Come to think of it, this would make a very touching MasterCard commercial that would certainly leave the entire TiVo community teary-eyed..
I have been in the I.T. industry since 1984, and have been an avid user of Linux (the operating system that runs TiVo) since '98. To be completely honest, Linux 'can' be quite intimidating the first time you get the courage to venture beyond the "DarkSide" (aka: Microsoft Windows)!
**Rest assured** The author, Jeff Keegan, does an outstanding job of writing this book in a way that BEGINNERS & EXPERTS alike can relate.
In my humble opinion, the only 2 things that YOU-the-READER will need to have are: A Passion for Technology and the Desire to Learn how to "tinker"; if you have at least one or both of these, then what are you waiting for? Order it already! Incidentally, there is actually a 3rd characteristic the reader MUST have, but I assume you wouldn't be reading this if you don't fall under this third-one - You better be a TiVo ADDICT, JUNKIE, AFICIONADO, -or- GEEK, that can't imagine what life was like before TiVo found it's way to your home and your heart. And after you read my passionate review, I hope Hacking TiVo will find a way to your bookshelf. Heck, do your fellow TiVo-Friends a favor, and make sure you buy them all a copy that ends up under their Christmas trees too! Those of you with Children, make sure and pencil this book in on their 'Christmas List' and don't forget to Coach them on exactly what-to-say when they go see Santa and he asks them what they want MOST for Christmas! If they "slip-up" and just ask for TiVo (and not this TiVo book/masterpiece), no sweat, it never hurts to hook up one in the Bathroom or in a weather-proof enclosure on the back or front porch! Now back to the review...

Now that I've described who this book is best suited for, on to the GOOD STUFF
Here are just a few (of the countless) things the book will help you accomplish; these happen to rank as some of the coolest. However, with a hearty thanks to Mr. Keegan, these four highlights barely scratch the surface of what you'll find within these 500 pages and the companion CD.

1) How does increasing your (basic) storage capacity from your current, 14, 20, 40, or 80hr unit to a whopping 175-275hrs sound? All it takes is a little time & money and it's as easy as 1,2,3 !!

2) How would you like to sit on the couch watching your favorite program on TiVo and not have to move a muscle when someone bugs, er...I mean calls you on the telephone? No problem, with a little work, TiVo will be happy to "pop-up" a handy caller ID message on the TV so you can decide if you want to take the call or let Mr. Answering Machine save the day.

3) Do you have a Home Network and need some extra storage space? In no time, the Mr. Keegan will walk you through setting up TiVo to act like a File Server! Also, through your home network, TiVo can back itself up on almost any workstation/server on your network, regardless of their operating system(s) (like Windows, OS X, various Unix flavors, as well as various Linux flavors too) ; this means if TiVo 'dies' or looses/deletes the most important episode of Friends, ever - fear not, you can restore that oh-so-important 30-minutes back to your TiVo right away!

4) My final highlight stems from the "Save to VCR option." What if I told you the author shows you how to either save your shows to a PC (or Mac) to watch on your computer? Better still, the author outlines how to make your own DVD of what once was saved on TiVo, and is now on your PC or Mac! (Incidentally, there is a new TiVo/DVD-Recorder coming soon - late 2003, but my guess is that it will cost a lot of $$$ AND have restrictions in place that will only let you burn certain recordings) Never fear, Hollywood can't tell you what you can or cannot do when it's on your computer :)

As you can tell, if Amazon would let me, I'd go on and on by singing the praises of not only this book, but the inspiration behind it all, that being TiVo, of course!
A BIG thank-you to Mr. Jeff Keegan on putting together 500 wonderful pages that I will continue to use again & again, at least until the 2nd edition is released!

Happy TiVo-ing & I hope my first review will be of assistance!
Kevin from Chicagoland
A Tivo Addict Going On 5+ Years and Darn Proud Of It...

I'm afraid I have to disagree with reviewer cosber. Perhaps that reviewer hasn't read the book closely enough. In chapter 2 (beginning on page 57) the author explains in great detail how to enable backdoor mode for the newer TiVos by modifying the disk directly. That lets anyone running any version of the TiVo software (including 4.0 and 4.01) access backdoor mode. Furthermore, there aren't any backdoors specific to 4.0 or 4.01, except the Free Space Indicator code which the book does cover (on page 53.)

And the hacks in the book WILL work on Series 2 - once you get access to it. That is not covered in the book for what the author calls "legal reasons."

I have found the book extremely valuable, and well worth the effort. I was not at all confused by the instructions or the author's style, and have been able to complete each hack I have attempted with the book so far.

This hobby takes some effort - it is not easy, but it is not impossible either, and this book certainly provides the guidance you need.

This is absolutely the best coverage I have seen of hacking this great consumer device. I am not new to this - I have been playing with my beloved TiVo for a few months now, and it is really nice to have all the information in one place without having to bounce all over the web looking for hints and tips.

The Author absolutely loves this stuff, and his enthusiasm is contagous. It literally jumps off the page at you, and is peppered with cool stories about his life with TiVo.

It includes all the hacks you would imagine are there - upgrading hard drives, backdoor codes, caller id, instant messaging, etc. But this is the very best I have seen TCS covered, and is worth the price of the book alone.

Whats more, the CD is the easiest to use I have found yet, having purchased several TiVo hacks CDs on the internet. I would recommend you use the "install all" option, which puts all the hacks on your TiVo in one step - something I have not found anywhere else.

The last parts are about writing your own hacks. Turns out the guy wrote parts of TiVoWeb that can be used to connect and control your TiVo from the web, and you can tell he really understands what he is doing.

Now just to set the record straight once and for all - these hacks WILL work on Series 2. But, you Series 2 owners will have to do a little extra work to access your device. If you are serious about doing that, you will find it - its out there. Once you do that, most of the hacks work on Series 2.

To be very specific, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are all useful to Series 2 users (with 1,2,3,14 useful right away, and 6,7,11,12,13,15 useful after you do the little extra work for Series 2. And if you happen to be one of us who have a Series 1 TiVo this book is going to blow your mind!

Heck, the chapters on upgrading your hard disk space (which works with either Series 1 or 2 WITHOUT any extra work) is worth the price of the book alone, not to mention the CD ROM which contains the tools you need INCLUDING several Series 2 binaries. You can easily spend $10 on a much lesser CD on the web.

Lets all face it - hacking your TiVo is not trivial, and its not necessarily easy. But it is worth it. But dont go into it thinking its as easy as simply installing some software. You are going to need to be patient, make sure you do all your backups, and have some fun.

If you have a TiVo - you need this book.

I bought this book and "Hacking the Tivo, Second Edition". The two books cover a similar range of hacks and include Linux boot CDs. However there are key Series 2 hacks that are not covered in this book. For example, video extraction is a very valued hack. I want to transfer videos between my Series 2 Tivo and my PC.

"Hacking Tivo" backs away from this hack on Series Two claiming "legal reasons". Bah! "Hacking the Tivo, Second Edition" shows you how to do this and shows the likely reason why "Hacking Tivo" avoided it. It's harder! "Hacking the Tivo, Second Edition" is written by someone who loves every aspect of hacking the machine and it shows. Get this one instead.