Tivo Network Cards

From TivoZA

There are a couple of different network cards that you can purchase for the TiVo. Note that a specialised card is needed, PC network cards will not work.

Network cards:

• Turbonet (US$69.25+US$24.75 postage): The first mass produced all-in-one network card for the TiVo, no frills but works well. Available in South Africa from TiVo Resellers (http://www.tivosales.co.za/turbonet-ethernet-card-p-37.html) for R550 or internationally from http://www.9thtee.com/turbonet.htm (Eklectic Systems (http://stores.ebay.com/Eklectic-Systems) frequently sell Turbonet cards at around US$69)

• X-factor (AUS$67.00+AUS$9.50 postage): This is a nice option, it's cheap and does everything that needs doing. Shipping insurance is available for AUS$7.50 giving A$100 cover. If you would like to order this card or enquire about bulk purchases you can contact Peter at oztivo@hotmail.com (mailto:oztivo@hotmail.com)

• CacheCard (US$94.95+US$24.75 postage): This is a combination of a network adaptor and a cache RAM card. The card's design utilizes the full 32-bit wide bus to increase efficiency of network operations. With a PC133 512MB SDRAM DIMM module installed the RAM caches the entire TiVo database for increased user-interface response time. Although you may notice a slight speed increase, with a 512MB PC133 chip now costing more than the TiVo itself it's not really worth going this route. This card can still be used without any RAM, i.e. just for network connectivity, or with RAM modules smaller than 512MB. The card is available from http://www.9thtee.com/tivocachecard.htm

• Terbonet: Developed by d0ugmac1 in Canada, these were produced as a cheaper alternative to the Turbonet cards, mainly to save on the US$24.75 9thtee charge for postage to Canada which actually only costs them US$1. When the X-Factor cards started production again in 2005, Doug stopped making Terbonets as the X-Factor cards were even cheaper. Though they are no longer produced you may still find them occasionally on eBay. Alternatively, you can make your own terbonet. The schematics, layout and bill of materials are all available on the terbonet yahoo group (http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/terbonet/).

• AirNet (US$69.25+US$24.75 postage): This converts the TiVo factory test(network) connector to a PC card socket for a PCMCIA wireless network adapters to plug into.
  
  Note: This does not include the actual PCMCIA card which will need to be purchased as well, only PCMCIA cards with a Prism 2 or 2.5 chipset will work and these are becoming hard to find. Also note the AirNet only supports 802.11b with up to 128bit WEP encryption, WPA is not supported. You won't be able to stream files direct from the TiVo as this solution is not fast enough and if used without an external aerial the range is severely limited. We suggest rather using a wired TiVo network card with either a wireless bridge, router or game adapter. This combination should be cheaper, is more secure, has a better range and is definitely faster allowing you to stream files from the TiVo. If using a wireless router you can connect multiple devices (TiVo, PS2, Xbox, etc) with just the one router. If you would like more information about the Airnet adapter, see: http://www.9thtee.com/tivoairnet.htm

• TiVoNet: This is an adapter card similar to the AirNet but allows connecting 16bit ISA network cards. The TiVoNet adapters are not sold new anymore, however plans are available on the internet for how to make your own. For more details about the card, see: http://www.9thtee.com/tivonet.htm

Cabling:

The wired network cards above have their RJ45 network connector inside the TiVo, this requires you run a cable from inside the TiVo to your hub/switch/router/PC/etc. A better option is to get a short patch cable (approximately 50cm) and a RJ45 to RJ45 connector. One end of the patch cable is inserted through the square hole in the bottom of the TiVo under the fan and is then plugged into your TiVo network card. The other end of the patch cable is plugged into the RJ45 to RJ45 connector which is then clipped onto the back of the TiVo. You can then plug your normal network cable coming from the hub/switch/router/PC/etc into the other side of the RJ45 jack on the adapter. Note if you are connecting directly to a PC network card you will need a cross-over cable, for all other instances you will need a patch cable. Patch cables (long and short) with a RJ45 to RJ45 connector are available from 9thtee (http://www.9thtee.com) but it would be cheaper to just get them from your local computer store, unless ordering one of the 9thtee (http://www.9thtee.com) network cards already. For a picture guide of how simple it is to install the patch cable have a look at either the Replacement Drive Kits with TurboNet or CacheCard guide on the [PTVupgrade site (http://www.ptvupgrade.com/installation/instructions.html#s1standalone)].