# DIRECTV is killing Series II TiVos.



## Jeany (Mar 21, 2013)

News for DirecTV customers: DirecTV is discontinuing legacy MPEG4 receivers, which means standard definition TiVos will be rolled off DirecTV in the coming weeks and months. That means they will no longer be able to receive local channels. The first three states to be rolled off are Texas, Colorado, and Minnesota, starting today.

DirecTV is not making the route of discontinuation public; the manager of the service unit who gave me the above information told me they do not know.

I was told that DTV will replace the discontinued receivers with "comparable" equipment (as if their crap DVRs could ever be comparable to TiVo) and the subscriber would not be put under additional contract regardless of their current contract status.

Please feel free to cut and paste and distribute as widely as possible.

I would personally love to see a class action lawsuit over this, but because DTV is not making this cost their customers anything, I suspect it would be tough to make a case.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Just by way of correction, old TiVos are MPEG2, not MPEG4. I see this as part of a long term strategy by DIRECTV to move to MPEG4. 

It's obvious that you aren't terribly pleased with this and that you don't care for DIRECTV's DVRs, but I don't think there's really any call for class action here. I'm not aware of any contractual obligation where DIRECTV promised to support these older receivers indefinitely. Unless I am adding wrong it has been about 7 years since the last Series II DIRECTV TiVo was made. 

I'm sure you are also aware of the THR22 TiVo which has the software you love. Yes it is an HD product but I'm sure with only minimal effort you would be able to get one and have the HD Access fee waived for quite some time. It seems to me that you would probably be satisfied in that case.


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## SPECIES11703 (Oct 10, 2004)

So my Tivo THR-22 is being discontinued? After spend $200 bucks. They decided to pull the plug huh?


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## FHSPSU67 (Jan 12, 2007)

SPECIES11703 said:


> So my Tivo THR-22 is being discontinued? After spend $200 bucks. They decided to pull the plug huh?


The THR-22 is continuing. It's the older MPEG-2 TIVOs going away


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## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

Anyone got a link to a press release or statement of some kind? I have 2 old DTiVos still in service and have heard nothing


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## RMichals (Sep 28, 2008)

I think whoever told the OP is mistaken, they have confused MPEG-2 with MPEG-4 and that is not even the current issue.

Directivos use APG advanced program guide stream and not the MPG master program guide which is what is ending this month.


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## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

^this guy...is correct


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## Jeany (Mar 21, 2013)

Stuart — thanks for the correction about the units being discontinued are MPEG 2 instead of MPEG 4. The mistake was made by 2 DirectTV people, a supervisor and that supervisor's manager in the technical support division for people who pay for the equipment protection plan. I was very careful to ask for multiple repetitions of details. I am a retired Mac graphics systems integrator and application trainer, and I assure you I did not mis-hear or mis-transcribe the information they gave me. I am not au fait with details of the TiVo product line. I know what I have, period.

The discontinuation is to be a slow roll. The plug will be pulled in a few markets at a time, and the service that will no longer be available is LOCAL CHANNELS. You'll get an e-mail telling you they will be discontinuing full service to your TiVo receivers, and you will have to respond by asking them to send you a replacement free of charge. 

I googled to find fora in which I could put the information out BECAUSE DTV is so massively unforthcoming. Last week I was talking to the same people about incorporating refurbished equipment, and heard for the first time just yesterday that the equipment I just acquired couldn't be activated. There is no information anywhere so far as I've found. FWIW, the first person I spoke with today said no such thing was happening. She was a little offended when I asked to speak to her supervisor, as I explained to her what I had been told yesterday. When the Sup got on the line, he was like "Oh, that's happening, we just found out today." I had to ask how the guy I talked to yesterday found out.

I'm sorry I don't know more. There is NOTHING on the web that I can find.

I get the impression sometimes that DTV customer service is performed by people in their own homes in bathrobes, who have little idea what they're talking about, and who get their information from e-mails.

I did spend some time on the phone with Weaknees letting them know what I had learned. Their response was that the DTV business plan appeared to be to push people to 100% leased equipment.


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## Jeany (Mar 21, 2013)

How would one go about getting accurate information from DirecTV? I've talked to six people in two days, and none of them say the same thing. 

***** ^^ this ^^ is a serious question. I simply don't know who to believe.


I am put out because I bought two old DSR 708 units on eBay; one worked and one didn't, but I was able to combine two non-working units into one that worked, briefly, then spit an error #51 (incompatible hard drive) and died. Since then, I've been jerked around like a fish on a line. 

I won't be pursuing repair of the 708s any further, but because of my equipment status, I basically badgered them into sending me another DTV DVR to hook up at my Dad's house, which was what I was trying to achieve from the beginning. So I'm all set, except for taking the boat anchors to a landfill. 

And of course, wait for the other shoe to drop, because the TiVo I'm currently using will be killed off eventually.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I understand the frustration. CSRs today are not trained in these 7+ year old devices. Most likely you will not be able to get a straight answer from anyone until a very short time before these machines become unsupported. It's a much better plan of action to presume that they will become unsupported sometime soon and take steps toward that end. Like, for example, getting a THR22 TiVo.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

If DirecTV is eliminating MPEG-2 locals, wouldn't that also kill *all* the SD receivers (including the current D12s)?


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## sbl (Jul 21, 2007)

I thought a lot of the current SD boxes were MPEG4-capable. I could be mistaken. I would assume that DirecTV would replace boxes for free....


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## RMichals (Sep 28, 2008)

Diana C said:


> If DirecTV is eliminating MPEG-2 locals, wouldn't that also kill *all* the SD receivers (including the current D12s)?


Yes, which is why the premise of the thread does not hold water. There are millions of MPEG-2 receivers on accounts which would be suddenly sent into caos. Some guy and some guy's manager told the OP this and that. I say that's all bunk.

Again, what is ending immediatly is the MPG master program guide and along with the discontinuation of all non RID receivers.

Of course if you have a hardware problem with S2 directivo you must find a way to support that hardware problem yourself. National guide data or software issues are another matter like what happened in November 2012.

Directv isn't going to offer you a new hard drive or power supply or an exact replacement refurbished S2 anymore, never have, never will. This seems like what the OP wanted to achieve and he got all sorts of misinformation in the process.

We love our S2 directivos and at some point they will probably cease working, just not today or in the sudden way that you have been told.

It would be reckless if Directv would operate that way. They would first inform users if either APG or MPEG-2 support was ending even on some locals.



Jeany said:


> And of course, wait for the other shoe to drop, because the TiVo I'm currently using will be killed off eventually.


Not really, the OP says he got Error 51 when combining spare parts and just needs to perform a clear and delete everything and then let the unit sit for 8-12 hours, then enter a working local access number as the dialing prefix to complete guided setup again.


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## Jeany (Mar 21, 2013)

Again, I am doing my very best to convey the information I've gleaned through multiple telephone conversations with several levels of support personnel at DTV. 


Again, I beg all of you, if you have any idea how I can get a straight answer from someone at DTV. please communicate that.


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## Jeany (Mar 21, 2013)

RMichals said:


> ...the OP says he got Error 51 when combining spare parts and just needs to perform a clear and delete everything and then let the unit sit for 8-12 hours, then enter a working local access number as the dialing prefix to complete guided setup again.


oh, where can I learn how to do the clear-and-delete?


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## studechip (Apr 16, 2012)

sbl said:


> I thought a lot of the current SD boxes were MPEG4-capable. I could be mistaken. I would assume that DirecTV would replace boxes for free....


None of the sd boxes is mpeg4 compatible, except perhaps the R16, which is normally an sd dvr that will do hd.


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## ndole (Aug 26, 2009)

studechip said:


> None of the sd boxes is mpeg4 compatible, except perhaps the *R22*, which is normally an sd dvr that will do hd.


One more model up :lol:


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## studechip (Apr 16, 2012)

ndole said:


> One more model up :lol:


Oops, I mixed them up!  You got my drift.


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## Jeany (Mar 21, 2013)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I understand the frustration. CSRs today are not trained in these 7+ year old devices. Most likely you will not be able to get a straight answer from anyone until a very short time before these machines become unsupported. It's a much better plan of action to presume that they will become unsupported sometime soon and take steps toward that end. Like, for example, getting a THR22 TiVo.


Thanks, Stuart, I had missed this comment.

Will a THR22 work with standard def TVs?

My dad has a DVR receiver he bought when Circuit City was closing; the model is R22100, and I understand it is switchable between SD and HD. I also have been told that it is a discontinued unit and no longer available.


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## RMichals (Sep 28, 2008)

Jeany said:


> oh, where can I learn how to do the clear-and-delete?


If the frankenstein unit is booting up, then go to main menu>settings>restart or reset system>clear & delete everything> thumbs down (3 times) enter,

Then wait like 10 hours, seriously.

If you ever get it working you are going to need new access card and to activate through access card dept (ask for it by name for all owned boxes).


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## Jeany (Mar 21, 2013)

studechip said:


> None of the sd boxes is mpeg4 compatible, except perhaps the R16, which is normally an sd dvr that will do hd.


The DTV DVR that I hate so much is the R16. Even with "scrolling effects" disabled, the lag between remote command and receiver response is horrible.


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## studechip (Apr 16, 2012)

Jeany said:


> Thanks, Stuart, I had missed this comment.
> 
> Will a THR22 work with standard def TVs?
> 
> My dad has a DVR receiver he bought when Circuit City was closing; the model is R22100, and I understand it is switchable between SD and HD. I also have been told that it is a discontinued unit and no longer available.


Sure the THR22 works with a sd tv as long as it has a compatible connection.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Jeany said:


> Thanks, Stuart, I had missed this comment.
> 
> *Will a THR22 work with standard def TVs?
> *
> My dad has a DVR receiver he bought when Circuit City was closing; the model is R22100, and I understand it is switchable between SD and HD. I also have been told that it is a discontinued unit and no longer available.


yes, indeed


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

Diana C said:


> If DirecTV is eliminating MPEG-2 locals, wouldn't that also kill *all* the SD receivers (including the current D12s)?





RMichals said:


> Yes, which is why the premise of the thread does not hold water. There are millions of MPEG-2 receivers on accounts which would be suddenly sent into caos. Some guy and some guy's manager told the OP this and that. I say that's all bunk.
> 
> Again, what is ending immediatly is the MPG master program guide and along with the discontinuation of all non RID receivers.
> 
> ...


If the report is true, I think what they mean is that DIRECTV will start to progressively turn off local channel access to the SD DTIVOs on subscribers accounts through conditional access. Not a removal of SD local channels from the satellite stream, just the DTIVOs will be instructed to not to decode and display the locals transmitted in the stream.

I guess this degraded service is a more moderate strategy initially anyhow, to try and nudge subscribers to upgrade rather than a wholesale turn off of the units that will come much later.


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## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

Nothing at ALL to do with MPEG-2 peeps...deals with old legacy receivers that are MPG ...only MPG NOT MPEG-2 rcvrs will be affected...and you will be notified if this means you!


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=213662


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## Jeany (Mar 21, 2013)

That thread is not an encouraging read. I'm sure there's some good developments in the works, but when one's budget dictates sticking with aging technology (SD CRT-based sets) and your content supplier acts like you're doing a really big favor to let you go on paying for what they resent supplying, you know there's a boulder rolling toward you, and you just don't know when it's going to hit. 

They're trolling my 92 year old dad with a "deal" that would put him under a 24 month contract. He won't even buy new underwear, because he might not get that much use out of them.


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

I had one of the old DirecTiVos Series 2 when I became a subscriber in August, 2003. The 40GB hard drives were quickly replaced with two 160GB hard drives. One of the biggest issues with the old DirecTiVos is that one of the tuners would give out. In addition, the receivers are not SWiM compatible. Also, they have not been sold in over seven years. They are MPEG2 only.

Part of the confusion is that, a long long time ago, DireTV did sell a HD DirecTiVo, however the limiting factor was that it decoded a MPEG2 HD stream. It got discontinued when DirecTV implemented a MPEG4 HD Stream. This was WAY before the THR22 by years.


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## sbl (Jul 21, 2007)

The other thread describes an issue that doesn't affect any DTiVo. It has nothing to do with MPEG2 vs. MPEG4.


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## ADent (Jul 7, 2002)

I live in Colorado. I have a Series I DTivo. I only have a round 18" dish with the single dual output LNB. 
I still get my locals (as of last night) and have not seen any notices or such that they are going away. 
Loss of the locals will lead to immediate termination of my account by me (unless they give me a free SD DVR with no commitment, even then it is iffy).


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## NorthOlyPen (Feb 1, 2007)

In March, 2012, I fried an RCA DVR 80 Series II TiVo box by letting it get too hot in my motor home. Since we were in the Los Angeles area I drove to WeakKnees and paid the $200 lease fee to get a THR22. I discovered that the THR22 does not have a coaxial RF out jack. Only HDMI and component video. The coach has a "box of many buttons" that allows configuring the two TV's in various ways. OTA, DVD, VCR, DBS, etc. to either or both of the TV's. It uses coaxial RG? cables only. There are no provisions for HDMI or component video and no practical way to install them. 

We had a replacement SeriesII DirecTV TiVo at home and have since activated it and use it in the motor home as was done with the prior box. The THR22 was hooked up to a newer TV in our sticks and bricks home that has HDMI input and all is good again..

The question is; if at some point we must insert a THR22 into the motorhome configuration, is there some kind of converter box that will take the THR22's HDMI output and turn it into an RF signal on an RG? coaxial connector? The goal is to deliver the THR22's signal to the distribution box on an RG? cable - no more and no less. Less power consumption is better than more power consumption. We have ample power but generated heat is the problem.

Thanks,

Dave M.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

it's time to replace old RV switch box; get HDMI type and be sure all your TV has HDMI input


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## LI-SVT (May 18, 2006)

Get a cheap modulator from Radio Shack. Connect the composite video and two audio wires (yellow, red, white) to the modulator. The modulator will give you the RF over coax you need.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

using RF today is nonsense - you can get HDTV monitors (not TV!) cheap for all sizes !


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## sbl (Jul 21, 2007)

LI-SVT has the right idea. The THR22 has a composite video (and analog audio) output - use that with a traditional modulator. There's no need to mess with HDMI if all you want is modulated RF.


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