# Backdoor Codes / Tweaks (Was: Hacking...)



## greenie95125 (Feb 3, 2006)

Is there any speculation as to the "hackability" of the HR-20? I really miss the 30 sec SKIP, and my wife is about to divorce me due to my ineptness of using FF to bypass the commercials. The unit certainly skips backwards just fine, so I hope that some brainiac figures it out. I'm sure it's there... just like the tivo.  

ReplayTV had it right with their "commercial skip" feature. I know it was only about 70% accurate, but it was good! Damn networks....

--Mike


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

As of right this moment...
No one has reported successfull of hacking the HR20/R15.

There is no backdoor code to get a magical 30s SKIP, instead of SLIP, as it simply isn't there in the code to be found.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

30 second skip wasn't even a "hack" it was a backdoor deliberately put in by Tivo.


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## greenie95125 (Feb 3, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> As of right this moment...
> No one has reported successfull of hacking the HR20/R15.
> 
> There is no backdoor code to get a magical 30s SKIP, instead of SLIP, as it simply isn't there in the code to be found.


Thanks for the reply. I do understand that it was a backdoor w/tivo (as opposed to a true hack). I'm just surprised that DTV didn't do the same.

--Mike


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

greenie95125 said:


> I'm just surprised that DTV didn't do the same.


Really? You're surprised that a company that is owned by a company that also owns *commercial television networks* didn't want their DVR to have the functionality to skip commercials?


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Tivo has been much more open to these sorts of backdoors and modifications than any other DVR manufacturer.


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## asousa (Sep 12, 2006)

the 30 second ff thing on the HR20 doesn't really bother me that much


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

asousa said:


> the 30 second ff thing on the HR20 doesn't really bother me that much


Me either. OTA and Dual Buffers are a LOT more important to me. (not to mention overall reliability, although I have not had reliability problems to this point (3 weeks))


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## Marty B (Sep 21, 2006)

Anyone know what OS the HR20 uses? I am guessing lynux.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Note, I changed the title of the thread to be a little more descripitive...
And not to use the "nasty" word... hacking  

Just don't want people thinking we are going to chat about how to HACK the box to get recordings off of it, or bypass the security in the system.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Marty B said:


> Anyone know what OS the HR20 uses? I am guessing lynux.


It doesn't use Linux.


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## lpctv (Aug 26, 2006)

Jeremy W said:


> It doesn't use Linux.


OK...since you were kind of definitive on what it doesn't use, is it a big secret as to what it actually uses?
I thought I saw some of posters in the eSATA thread say that if they had their external drive pre-formatted for Linux based file systems the startup sequence didn't include formatting and such?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

lpctv said:


> OK...since you were kind of definitive on what it doesn't use, is it a big secret as to what it actually uses?


Nobody has publically said exactly what OS it uses. But I know it doesn't use Linux because there are no GPL notices to be found.


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

I believe it doesn't have to run linux just to use the linkux filesystem. They could have chosen that for ease and to avoid having to either roll their own or pay rolyalties if they something from Microsoft.

Or IOWs a filesystem does not equal a OS

To go along with what Jeremy W says, Dishnetwork posted the GPL parts of their Linux DVRs code to complie with the GPL. Note that they didn't have to post the code to the parts they wrote.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

TBoneit said:


> Or IOWs a filesystem does not equal a OS


Exactly.


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## LameLefty (Sep 29, 2006)

Linux is (technically) a kernel, not an full-fledged OS. Similarly, Tivo years ago published the code to their kernel extensions and enhancements to Linux in order to comply with the GPL. They did not publish the code to their UI or other patented operating features. In addition, there is no "Linux filesystem" per se. There are LOTS of filesystems and formats that can and have been used with Linux (or any *nix kernel) over the years. I personally have used ext2, ext3, reiserfs, FAT32 and even NTFS with Linux systems.


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