TiVo Hacks

Chapter 1. TiVo Remote Control Hacks

Hacks #1-19

Before we talk about popping open your box, let’s focus on what we can get the TiVo software to do. Right out of the box, TiVo’s software sports some hacks of its very own, which come in three flavors:

Shortcuts

TiVo has a slew of remote control shortcuts—sequences of button presses on your TiVo remote control—for navigating the TiVo menu system at high velocity.

Easter eggs

There is a cult of pride in software development, often manifested in Easter eggs—silly surprises hidden strategically for chance discovery and amusement. Think of Easter eggs as hidden treasure, buried by the programmer for other programmers, and exploring users to find and admire. Easter eggs are traditionally benign, so you should feel comfortable playing with and passing on any you might find.

Backdoor hacks

The reasons for the existence of so-called “backdoor” hacks are not fully known, but a common theory is that they are installed so that the TiVo boxes can be fully tested while at the factory. They may also provide hooks for future development. Backdoor codes can fundamentally change how TiVo behaves, and they are sometimes so powerful that they render TiVo inoperable. Be very careful when using these hacks, and be sure to back up [Hack #24] before giving some of the more questionable ones a whirl.

Discovering TiVo’s built-in hacks was by no means easy. People like “Otto” (a well-known member of the TiVo hacking community) have repeatedly poked and prodded at ...