It sounds like you might have bad tuners, but that would not explain why your drive worked for a short time after installing it. If you have two HDVR2s, you could test things by moving the new drive into the other HDVR2 and seeing if the pixellation follows the drive. If you go this route, after installing the new drive in the other unit, you will have to choose 'clear and delete everything' from the system reset menu to get the drive to function in the other unit.

I am willing to try that. Before I do, though, I assume I am replacing the drive in the second TiVo, not adding on..correct. Also, if it turns out that the drive is just fine, will I be able to reinstall the upgraded drive back into the first TiVo (the one I am currently having problems with). Essentially, by doing this procedure, am I going to wipe out the TiVo operating system?

Thanks.

Just a reminder - The upgrade may not have solved the problem to begin with. The day after I upgraded we were hit with a big snowstorm in the area and I had a small degree of pixellation. I attributed it to the weather (snow on the dish) since it had seemed that the pixellation was much less frequent immediately after the storm. Right now, the pixellation is horrendous independent of weather. I might have made an error in judgement by assuming that the upgrade had initially solved the problem.

Yes, you only move the drive in place of the existing drive - you don't use both together. And, yes, you'd be able to move it back, subject to another "clear and delete everything" once it's back in this unit.

I can certainly do that.

Let me play devil's advocate for a second, though. Would it be just as worth my time and money to invest in one of the refurbished Humax TiVo DVR's with a DVD Recorder (the website says that these will still work with DirecTV, which is what I have), add the new hard drive that I purchased from you to my other HDVR2 that is running fine as an extra drive (or the master drive) rather than worrying about tv tuners and such. From a purely fiscal standpoint, if the problem is the TV tuners, am I just better off purchasing a new system from you guys?

If so, are there any catches with DirecTV and the Humax machines that I should be aware of?

Thanks.

First, to use the Humax with DirecTV, you'll need a 'dumb' DirecTV receiver for the Humax to control. The Humax has no internal DTV decoder.

Next, that drive could still only go in the other HDVR2 as a replacement - not in addition to the drive in that unit.

Michael i too have had pixilation problems with my hdvr2, it was only on sat2 live or recorded porgrams, one temp solution is to disconnect the s-video cable and use the analog video out works fine for most, don't know why, will work for about a year?????????????????????????

Yup - HDVR2 units do seem to have some strange problem where SAT issues can be caused by using S-video.

Further Troubleshooting results

Michael,

The drive looks to be fine. To confirm that it is not a problem within the cables or other connections specific to the lines that the receiver is on, I flip-flopped the receivers to see if perhaps the pixellation occurred in the same room versus receiver. (If you remember I have two identical receivers in different rooms, one of which is working perfectly, so I have a nice method of making this comparison). The result is that the pixellation follows the receiver, not the cables, so I am pretty certain that the problem is within the receiver itself.

So, I suppose the question is whether to send this in to see if Weaknees can repair it or do I simply purchase a new box.

Can you please let me know some estimates on a repair (I assume it would be for tuners)?

In reference to your last response, though, what do you mean by a "dumb" DirecTV receiver in reference to the Humax? Is that just any DirecTV receiver? I do have a couple of old DirecTV (non-DVR) receivers from the time before I got TiVo. Would that qualify as a dumb DirecTV receiver? Are there only certain models that the Humax can control?

Thanks!!
Ryan

We can generally repair tuners in DTV TiVos for $179 (standard definition only).

Right - dumb DirecTV receivers are the non-DVR units. The best for the Humax to control is a D10 or any unit with serial control.

"Dumb" Receiver

My old non-DVR receiver is a RCA Model DRD480RE. I don't see anything that would be a serial input. It has simply a phone jack, low speed data, RCA Video and Audio Right and Left, S-Video, a VCR input I don't recognize, Ant In, TV Out, Digital Audio Out, Satellite In, RF Remote. I assume this model would not work.

If that is the case, do you sell "Dumb" receivers in addition to the Humax?

The low speed data port could do it. We've heard some people can get that to work. You'll need a cable that matches the input from here:

http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-cables.php

Good to know. Looking at that page, I would assume it is the:

"TiVo Home Control Cable with RJ-14" for $11.

If that is the case, I think I might give this a try. Anything else I would need besides that cable, my old receiver, a new access card, and the Humax?

Thanks for all of your help!!

If your unit's port looks roughly like a phone jack, that's it.

Your list looks right. You might even be able to re-activate an old access card.

It does indeed look like a phone jack. I will be placing my order shortly. Thanks again for all of your help!!! I appreciate it!!!