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Raffi Krikorian is an unapologetic TiVo fanatic.
The MIT graduate student and blogger regularly takes apart his two beloved TiVo digital video recorders to soup them up and writes software code that makes the devices do party tricks, like changing the titles of TV shows or downloading weather maps off the Internet.
Now Krikorian is taking his love affair to another level: Amazon.com is currently taking preliminary orders for Krikorian's new book, TiVo Hacks, a guide to 100 popular ways to score more features. The book, which O'Reilly & Associates plans to release late this summer, provides step-by-step directions on everything from how to add storage space to your recorder to how to get a 30-second-skip feature on the remote control.
TiVo spokeswoman Rebecca Baer said she was aware Krikorian was writing the book, but that the company did not have an opinion on it. Ever since the first TiVo hit the market in 1997, people have been breaking into them, she said.
"Overall, it's been a hands-off policy," Baer said. "People can hack into their own (TiVo recorders), but as soon as they open them up, their warranty is voided. We wouldn't be able to help with their DVR or the delivery of the service at that point."
But as Krikorian points out in his book, there are professional hackers willing to help nervous users break into their machines and get the services they want.
"Your TiVo runs Linux," Krikorian said. "It is a very special-purpose PC sitting on your television. You can get it to do anything you want it to do, just like your PC."
But even Krikorian admits he has limits. While he teaches his readers to tweak their TiVo recorders, he stays away from hacks that could hurt the company's business. For example, he doesn't tell people how to steal TiVo service, or how to download movies off the Internet, which, he says, could land TiVo into legal troubles with copyright attorneys.
Baer said her company's legal department did meet with Krikorian briefly to learn "what the parameters of the book were." But TiVo did not "help" Krikorian with the project.
Krikorian described his relationship with the company as friendly and "cooperative" on both ends.
"Almost no one will talk to you about how to steal TiVo service because TiVo has been really friendly to hackers in the past, allowing us to get access to their box," he said.
Not to mention, TiVo hackers love their DVRs, and would not want to see them become obsolete, he added.
"If you talk to any TiVo lover they will tell you, 'TiVo has changed the way I watch TV.' You have to wonder if TiVo puts it on the television screen because everyone says the exact same thing," he said.
Among his favorite hacks is a way to gain more than 100 hours of recording time -- rather than the standard 80 hours -- by breaking open the machines and installing additional storage drives and software. Krikorian said he has heard of people getting up to 200 hours of recording time.
Another "party hack" involves software that changes the names of television shows when their titles first appear on the TV screen. By running some code, viewers can change Late Night With Conan O'Brien to Conan O'Brien Fools Around at Night.
His book also includes suggestions from the TiVo community at large. One trick an Arizona hacker claims to have accomplished is a way to get his e-mail read to him. The Arizonan wrote a script that checks his computer's inbox, converts e-mails to MP3 files and has the TiVo read them for him.
One cheap thrill that has stirred a lot of controversy for TiVo is a 30-second-skip feature hackers developed, using the TiVo remote control. By pressing "select," then "play," then "select" again, the number "30" and "select" with the remote control, users can skip through programs for 30 seconds at a time. "You don't even need to open up your box to make that happen," Krikorian said.
TiVo has said the 30-second-skip feature is not officially part of the company's product and the company doesn't promote it. Industry analysts have said TiVo could find itself embroiled in a lawsuit if it was found that it developed a system that allowed customers to skip through commercials.
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