Weaknees kit review

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Weaknees kit review

The San Jose Merc does a review of the Tivo upgrade kit from Weaknees.

If you can follow step-by-step directions, written in simple English -- with pictures, no less -- you can upgrade from about 40 hours to as many as 320 hours of storage in less than a couple of hours. The instructions even include information on how to fix a rebooting glitch on a handful of DirecTV units -- just in case.
[later in the same article]
Shapiro said the company has already upgraded more than 100,000 TiVo units -- about 10 percent of the total TiVo boxes out there. Last year, sales were more than 400 percent over the year before, they said.

If any PVRblog readers have tried the Weaknees kit, feel free to leave a quick comment to let us know how easy it was to install. From the numbers that are quoted, it's clear that many Tivo owners want a LOT more storage than is installed from the factory.

Mercury News: Add-on kit boosts TiVo storage [mercurynews.com]

by Gen Kanai January 26, 2004 in TiVo

Comments

I did a Weaknees upgrade about a year ago. It could not have been easier. It was scarey but very easy and the guys at Weaknees are the best. Six months later, I called and ordered a modem from them for my Mom's TiVo and they remembered me.

Posted by: Susan Dennis at Jan 26, 2004 8:22:01 PM

Susan, thanks for the comment. Glad to hear it went smoothly. I suppose if they are selling over 100k upgrade kits, they must be doing something right :)

Posted by: Gen Kanai at Jan 26, 2004 10:32:53 PM

That's incredible to think they've upgraded 10% of all TiVos sold, ever. I previously reviewed their series 2 upgrade bracket here on my last standalone TiVo and the fit and finish was terrific and it wasn't hard at all to install.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Jan 26, 2004 11:12:33 PM

I just used their TwinBreeze w/PowerTrip last night. It was the easiest install experience I ever had. The instruction they provided where great. The parts appear to be well designed. I was shock by the level of professionalism they bring to the table.

Posted by: Dan Kroboth at Jan 27, 2004 6:31:25 AM

I've installed two Weaknees upgrade kits in DirecTivos, and each one went incredibly smoothly. Total time on my last upgrade, from unplugging the TiVo from the wall to receiving satellite signal again, was under 30 minutes.

Posted by: AJRitz at Jan 27, 2004 9:57:35 AM

Thank you all for the comments. We wanted to let you know that the 100,000 number in the Merc article is overstated. The number derived from an old statistic that was misinterpreted. Business is good, but not THAT good.

Posted by: WeaKnees - TiVo at Jan 27, 2004 11:34:23 AM

My WeaKnees upgrade was also incredibly simple and flawless--especially gratifying since I'd never previously done any major tinkering or upgrading on any of my computer equipment. Instructions are easy to follow and the pre-configured drives are great for novice upgraders like me.

Posted by: Chris at Jan 27, 2004 1:11:14 PM

Mine - DirecTivo with the two fans - took 10 minutes and has not had a single problem. My DTiVo is slow as hell but that ain't Weaknees' fault.

Posted by: brett at Jan 27, 2004 4:49:13 PM

I am actually one of those persons who does NOT want an upgrade to my DIrecTivo. By maxing out the included 30 hours, it prevents me from watching too much of the drivel that seems to be infesting tv these days. Now, if Apple comes out with a video iPod and I can transfer shows to that from my DirecTivo, then lets talk.

Posted by: afpilot at Feb 3, 2004 12:23:49 PM

I bought an upgraded Tivo from Weaknees in September. The two hard drives failed and they replaced both in less than 24 hours. Not only that, but Jason waited past their closing time on a Friday for me to get there (I'm local and there was a ton of traffic) to pick up my beloved TiVo. Otherwise, I would've had to wait until Monday to pick it up! Thanks, Jason!

Posted by: Chris Salomon at Feb 5, 2004 12:19:21 PM

Its unfortunate that the San Jose Mercury news did not verify the information that was presented to them. As of about two-years ago, approximately 10% of TiVo systems had been upgraded (about 49,000 units), most of them by do-it-yourselfers, not commercial entities. It is statistically impossible for the information present by the SJM to be even close to accurate.

Posted by: Lou Jacob at Feb 10, 2004 8:36:35 AM

I bought 1 of WeaKnees add on upgrade kits, and I could not be happier about the results. Delivery was fast, parts were quality, and above all the installation was flawless. Turned it on, went to "System Information" and there it was, my newly acquired program capacity. I can't possibly brag enough about this company's product and service. ......... TheFOG

Posted by: TheFOG at Nov 9, 2004 1:20:33 PM

TheFog@earthlink.net passed away peacefully in his sleep 3/10/05. Thought his online buddies might want to know.

Posted by: Beth at Mar 17, 2005 8:02:44 PM

I am thinking about adding storage with a new b drive but I heard after installing the new drive Tivo slows down. Is this really a problem?

Posted by: chuck at Apr 7, 2005 12:10:02 PM

Weaknees kit review

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