We have previously written about the benefits of DIRECTV’s single-wire multiswitch (SWM). Using a SWM, you can power multiple receivers from a single line, and you can power two tuners on a DIRECTV HD DVR using only one line.

The SWM now comes in multiple varieties. The two primary flavors are (1) the single-wire multiswitch, which is used together with a standard 5LNB dish, and (2) the new SWM Dish, which is a 5LNB dish with an integrated single-wire multiswitch.

The SWM dish has one single-wire multiswitch built into it, and can handle a total of 8 tuners (eg. up to 4 DVRs). It has NO expansion capability, so it is a bad solution for anyone expecting to have or need more than 8 tuners, now or in the future. (By comparison, the 5LNB dish without a SWM has 4 lines coming out, which can feed receivers, a SWM or a different mulitiswitch.)

The SWM (mutiswitch, not DISH) can be used with other SWMs to feed 10, 20, 50 or hundreds of receivers. The single-wire mutiswitch + standard 5LNB dish is a much more versatile solution and is ideal for anyone who already has a 5LNB (non-SWM) dish or who needs to power more than 8 tuners.

If you have a simple installation with just a few receivers, you might consider the SWM Dish instead.

For years, we have had the largest inventory of replacement TiVo power supplies around. We can now add another notch to the bedpost (and believe me, we TiVo geeks do notch our bedposts over this stuff).

After years of searching, we finally have power supplies for the Toshiba SD-H400 TiVo DVR with DVD player. This short-lived TiVo seems to be prized among TiVo owners, since it has TiVo Basic service and consolidates a DVR and DVD player into a nice compact box. Although the cost of the power supply is unfortunately nothing to sneeze at ($149), they are brand new authorized parts.

With this addition, we now have replacement power supplies for every TiVo made, with the exception of the latest TiVoHD models. Those power supplies should be coming soon.

As TiVos age, repair has become increasingly important to TiVo owners. Whether it’s a TiVo hard drive, TiVo power supply or TiVo motherboard, we can repair most problems. TiVo repairs will preserve lifetime service and in many situations (failed power supplies, motherboards and some drive problems), we can also preserve recordings! As always, help is just an email away.

Tags: power supplies, power supply, sd-h400, sdh400 power supply, tivo, tivo repair, toshiba

We’ve covered TiVos and the February 2009 digital conversion before, but TiVo just wants to be sure the word reaches all of their customers. So if you have any questions about the changes coming in a few months, be sure to visit their site for the latest information.

There, you can enter your TiVo service number for specific information on how the changes will affect you.

For example, I entered the number of a TiVo we just use with basic cable - RF in, and no cable box, but no antenna. TiVo knew what my programming input source was, so they displayed this message for me:

So if you have any questions or concerns, go check it out!

So, once again, a system update came down to HR20, HR21, HR21 Pro, and HR22 units, and, once again, the units seem to be requiring manual restarts. We reported on the last OS update from DirecTV requiring restarts earlier this month.

But, this time at least, there’s an added feature, and one that seems surprising: 1080p. We really don’t have all of the details yet, but it seems that through software, DirecTV has enabled 1080p in certain cases. 1080p is the highest quality level of HD signal that most current equipment can use - it’s generally a bit sharper than 1080i.

Initially, at least, only limited HD programming will be available in 1080p. What little information we have on the subject really stems from this press release. If you have any more - please post in the comments!

My TV, of course, only goes to 1080i. Maybe LG can update its software

If you’ve got an HD TiVo and you want to get all of the channels from your cable company, you’ll likely want a Switched Digital Video (SDV) Tuning Adapter. These items are just rolling out in from cable companies around the country.

Briefly, the idea is that this enables the TiVo to tell the cable company which video stream to send down to your unit. So more options are available, since not every stream has to be sent at once. The unit plugs into your TiVo’s USB port and then you plug the cable line into it, and the output from it goes to the TiVo. See more info on our earlier blog post about SDV and TiVos.

Now Time Warner seems to have a way to pre-order the unit for any eligible customer. See this page where you can enter you zip code and confirm eligibility, then sign up!

As far as we know, the adapters will be free for eligible customers.