Tivo Box useable sockets
 

I see from the pictures of the back of the Virgin Tivo box (mine hasn't arrived yet) that there are numerous sockets some of these are designated in the pictures. There are other sockets but it is a bit difficult to see from the pictures what they are. Are any of these useable ?? I can see an RJ45 & there appear to be sockets like USBs though these are not clear enough to make out. Any Info ?

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

On the back there is 1 x optical audio, 1 x ethernet, 2 x USB sockets. The optical worked on delivery the latest 15.2 software update has enabled the ethernet socket, plug it into your router (I use the TiVo Premier iphone app for a handy remote control simulator) Virgin will be delivering UK android and apple apps for use on smart phones and tablets soon. Posters on other forums say that the update enabled them to use keyboards with the USB sockets (see. http://vmhd.blogspot.com/).

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Thanks for that useful info dwarfofpoison

Was hoping that there might be some form of analog sound out (headphone socket or line out) as I am a bit hard of hearing & use infra red earphones.

My present TV gives headphones out without muting the speakers but if I change to an Flatscreen TV I doubt that this option will be available.

I may have to take an output from the scart lead or use the optical output via a D to A convertor & put this through a small amp to feed the headphone transmitter which is a rather messy & complex setup just to get some earphones working. Either that or let the wife go without sound :D

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Unfortunately KDBCOM there's no analog sound output from the TiVo but your idea of changing to a flat screen is highly recommended. Not only to take advantage of High Def TV (not at all dissapointing) but on my TV there are numerous connections including anolog phono out, so connecting your headphones without disabling the TV sound isn't a problem. (adds to the sell to the wife as well!)

---------- Post added at 13:12 ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 ----------

Sorry KDBCOM I'm not stalking but have found the simplest and cheapest way to solve your problems, look at the two links!
http://www.maplin.co.uk/through-scar...nd-s-vhs-33041
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Female-3-5mm.../dp/B0029HQ132

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Analog phono out would be handy for me, trouble with changing to a flat screen is is that I am limited to size as the old 26" LG (has been an excellent set & is still going well) fits inside a disused fireplace / chimney breast. I am a bit concerned that the stand on the flat panel may project too far forward into the room as my wife is in a wheelchair & we have limited space. I could possibly board up the front of the fireplace & mount one of the new very flat panels on it with the VESA mounting bracket. In this case I could probably go up to a 32" screen but it would to be a model with the phono out sockets.

BTW dwarfofpoison what brand is your TV ?

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Ethernet and USB have been enabled and are usable as of the 15.2 update. Ethernet is supposed to be used for multi-room streaming however even though the feature is there people with two or more TiVos report it isn't working (yet), but you can still control the TiVo using a smartphone app like Peanut (iPhone) or TiVo Commander (Android), and connect a USB keyboard for typing in searches and some UI control.

Technically the SCART has stereo analogue sound output though you'd probably have to make or buy a specialised cable in order to split it from the video signal etc.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

No need to apologise those are 2 excellent ideas to sort my problem, and at a reasonable cost, just got to wait just over a couple of weeks for the Tivo to arrive now
Thanks for the links

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Depending on whether or not you need use of the TV speakers (which in anything 32" or below tend to be tinny) you could just use the headphone out socket with a 3.5mm to two RCA (red/white) jacks converter lead to go to your amp. I have my old 5.1 system hooked up using TV optical, and the headphone jack goes to an old hifi with small speakers for quiet nighttime viewing (no sub to shake the walls and wake the neighbours).

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Will the latest update come with the Tivo or does it do a download soon after it is set up ?

Does anyone know if that Ethernet be used to output the Tivo to a PC

---------- Post added at 13:32 ---------- Previous post was at 13:29 ----------

Unfortunately I have just got rid of my 5.1 amp as I was not using it due to my hearing problem & the wife is just content being able to just hear the voices. May have to get a little mini hifi to run it through as we are not bothered with the 5.1 sound.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

My TV's a Sony Bravia but did you you check the problem solving links on my previous post?

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Yes very useful info thanks.

This seems like a very helpful & informative forum & not bitchy like some I have been on, perhaps you are all breaking me in gently ;)

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Apart from the odd troll here and there, it is generally pretty civilised, yes. TiVo forums tend to appeal to geeks and generally speaking most geeks are well-behaved. :)

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Of the forums this ones my favourite but don't be fooled you posted a question that the responses wouldn't be too personal and just after a very good software update (15.2). Where you can almost feel a tangeble optomism about TiVo, there are threads that the personal sniping and Virgin bashing are rife!

But for now a gentle welcome!!!!

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Hi, sorry for a possibly dumb first post but here goes:

Can I use the spare ethernet socket on the Tivo to access the internet via an ethernet cable on my laptop? It is an old laptop and hard wiring tends to work better than WiFi on that machine.

Similarly if I get a Sony Internet enabled TV, can I connect that via the ethernet socket on the TiVo? Will it make any difference to using the TiVo? That is, if I can connect in this way, is there any change in performance to the TivO?

Hope this makes sense.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Well here is an update:

I tried connecting it anyway.

The laptop detected a local area connection with a speed of 100Mbps, but said that it had limited connectivity. When I launched IE it couldn't connect, andit couldn't repair the connection.

Any ideas anybody? It seems a connection could be made but I'm not sure how. I am hoping this is possible as it would be great to have an internet TV enabled in this way, as the dongle costs extra, and I do prefer a wired connection.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

The ethernet socket on the TiVo is for connecting the TiVo to your home network, not for providing broadband services. You won't get an internet connection from your TiVo.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

What if you unscrewed the coax from the TiVo and plugged it into a spare modem?

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Not really sure what you mean by "spare modem". There can only be one modem active on your account. Any other modem wouldn't work.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

OK, thanks for that. Somebody needs to tell the techs then. The tech I had seemed to think I could.

Another dumb question:

Why and how would I connect the TiVo to my home network?

An internet TV would be connected via wireless dongle to my Super Hub then?

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

The old non-TiVo boxes used to provide broadband services years ago but the TiVo boxes never have.

You would connect via ethernet if you wanted to use the forthcoming iPhone/iPad app or for streaming between 2 TiVo boxes at some point in the future.

Either that or via Ethernet. That's how my TV is connected.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

OK, thanks Lew.



I don't have an iphone or an ipad, so that's not a problem for me. By streaming between 2 TiVo boxes, do you mean sharing stuff off the HDDs?

We will have one in the front room, and one in the back room when the other one turns up. Would need a very long lead!



At the risk of appearing ultra thick, I take it you don't mean via the ethernet socket on the TiVo then?

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Yes record on one box, watch on the other. You can connect them via the super hub either via ethernet cables or ethernet homeplugs which passes ethernet over the mains


No TV to the superhub. Although the TIVO box has an internet connection, its only for TIVO to use, you can't use it for your own devices

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

I wonder if those home plug things might be an option. plug ethernet lead from spare socket on superhub (looks like there's a few), to the home plug one end, then plug TV to home plug the other end. Surely that must give a more reliable connection than wifi? Superhub is good for my desktop PC, but it does go down sometimes and need a reboot etc.

---------- Post added at 19:08 ---------- Previous post was at 17:26 ----------

Does this hold true if there are two entry points for the cable into the property? What I mean is our Cable TV socket is at ground floor level. Our Broadband socket is upstairs as we had that first and at the time our PC was upstairs.
We have our old broadband router/modem thingy, what happens if we connect that to the spare way on the TV socket? Obviously if it's not allowed I wouldn't do it.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Your old modem will have been deactivated when you had the Superhub installed.

Home plug is definitely worth trying though.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Will you not be able to stream from pc to TiVO then? I know the tivo remote app on android will work when connected which is good.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

With thanks to advice from dwarfofpoison & other members of the forum I have finally got a system to my liking.
Having had reliable service from an LG TV for many years I replaced it with an LG 32" LCD model, unlike my old set this did not have the facility to listen to headphones whilst still having the speakers on (I am a bit hard of hearing & require the volume up a bit loud for the wife's liking. To get over this problem I have run an optical lead to a redundant mini disc player which is used as a digital to analogue convertor which powers the infra-red transmitter for my cordless headphones.

On advice given here I used the audio out from the TIVO boxes SCart socket to power a VIVO 2.1 subwoofer system which is quite good for listening to music etc.

I have connected a wireless keyboard to the usb socket on the TIVO for Utube use & this brings me to the problem I can access Utube type in the required page & the thumbnails come up but when I try to play the "program" I very often just get a blank screen or a control bar with start & stop buttons with this a red line travels part way across the screen (as if something is trying to load) and then everything stops. If I press the red arrow button or key I move onto the next thumbnail but the same thing keeps happening ie no program starts. Is the Utube very unreliable on the TIVO ????? also catchup does not seem as good as on the old Virgin box especially as you are now routed to BBC Iplayer
which also seems a bit unreliable.

Sorry for the rambling post but any info on this would be appreciated


This brings me to my point is the

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

The failure of YouTube and iPlayer to start are known software problems. They should be fixed by future software updates, but meanwhile rebooting the box should get iPlayer working.

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Thanks, will we know when this software has been issued or will it (hopefully) just appear to be fixed after an overnight download sometime in the future

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

It'll just happen overnight, but I don't know when

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Hi, just wondering if it would be possible to stream tivo content via a pc

Re: Tivo Box useable sockets
 

Sorry that is not possible