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TiVo Premiere, S2DT: hardware specs?

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  • #1

    TiVo Premiere, S2DT: hardware specs?

    I have a couple of questions:

    1. Am I right my TiVO Wireless-G USB adapter will work with S2DT and with Premiere? But if I buy a Wireless-N adapter it will only work with Premiere?

    2. Are the ethernet ports on both boxes Fast Ethernet (100Mbps)? IOW, the S2DT isn't 10Mb and the Premiere isn't Gigatbit?

    3. Is it worth putting a 1TB or 2TB drive into my Premiere (currently 320GB)? I don't see the minimal saving being worth going to 500GB, is there some reason people would consider that? I know $20 is $20, but it's $130 vs. $150 for a box that's already costing a fortune. Or is it better to go to a newer box? And is the Premiere upgrade as easy to install as the S2DT? That one was a piece of cake for me a few years ago, though I'm used to desktop computers so the S2DT's insides were pretty spacious by comparison.

    4. It looks like the Premiere is last box to date that supports OTA? That's theoretically an issue for me in Canada, but my Premiere still has the FL-issued CableCard installed (not working until it goes back to FL ) and I have not yet done anything with OTA other that testing it. So it may not be the issue I think it is, but at some point I may want to use a TiVo that way (OTA in Canada).

    Thanks!
    =aw
    Tags: None
  • #2
    1 - That's basically right. Technically, the N could work with the older unit if it were first programmed on a computer or on the newer unit.

    2 - I think both are 100 MB, but I'm not positive.

    3 - Basically, the 500 GB is just the cheapest way to resurrect a failed unit. If you are looking to upgrade, then you are right. It doesn't make sense to go only to 500 GB.

    4 - Yes, that's right. It's the only one.
    Been here a long time . . .

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    • #3
      Thanks Michael, I will give some thought to a 1TB or 2TB upgrade when I see the CableCard still working in FL at Christmas.

      I assume there's no official way to transfer existing programming and settings (at least not by the user)? So I would back up all recordings onto PC using TiVo Desktop or KMTTG, replace the HD, set up again (including same MAK), then pull everything back down from the PC (assuming I wanted it all, that is).

      BTW does TiVo actually publish specs like "what speed Ethernet" anywhere? I couldn't find it anywhere. Was hoping for Gigabit on the Premiere (though I'm not set up to do it, my notebook supports it and the rest is cheap home networking gear).

      I'm installing a 10/100 ethernet switch ("installing" is a bit pretentious, it's about as complicated as plugging in a USB hub and will report back on whether I see any difference between the S2DT and the Premiere when it comes to wired (100Mbps) connection. So far I've only downloaded by wire from the Premiere and got about 38Mbps, which I suspect is reasonable for this connection (if anyone thinks I should be seeing much faster, please let me know). On an earlier test with a 10Mbps (very slow) ethernet hub, I got 8.3Mbps from the S2DT but obviously the hub was the known bottleneck in that case.

      Thanks again!
      =aw

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      • #4
        As a point of comparison, I downloaded a SD show from the Premiere and from the S2DT (not at the same time) using kmttg v0p9l. Computer is wired to router, TiVos are wired to a 10/100 switch at the end of a cable from the router. Range of speeds is from watching it for a couple of minutes once it got up to speed, not necessarily the full range of speeds during transfer.

        Premiere: 34.8-37.7Mbps

        S2DT: 11.5-11.7Mbps

        I'm wondering if there's either a limitation on speed the S2DT can manage, or if it's a slower HD, or what. Premiere has whatever 320GB HD it was released with, S2DT has an upgraded 500GB HD.

        When I earlier used a 10Mbps wired hub instead of a 10/100 switch, I was getting 8.3Mbps from the S2DT. Since I'm getting >10Mbps with a 100Mbps connection end-to-end, I'm thinking that 11.6Mbps today indicates another possible limitation. Is there possibly anything else I can do to speed this up? I have a lot of recordings I want to transfer onto the TiVo. (Tests have been from TiVo to notebook).

        Thanks!
        =aw

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