GOOD NEWS! NICAM stereo as used in New Zealand and South Africa is now supported! See how further down this page.
USA TiVo's come with a tuner module that is NOT compatible with PAL transmission standards. You can use an external program source to feed into your TiVo via the one set of A/V input connectors from your Foxtel/Austar pay TV service, VCR or a Digital Set Top Box and this works fine. A lot of people indeed use their TiVo like this and are happy doing so. However if you would like your TiVo to tune your TV stations internally and therefore free up the external A/V input for something else (the type of USA model TiVo's we use in Australia and NZ only has one external input unless you get the "2nd Audio Mod" done) then the PAL tuner modification is for you. This procedure involves removal of the NTSC tuner and the installation of a PAL tuner. The type of PAL tuner used is the exact same one used in the UK Thompson TiVo.
View of a USA TiVo with the PAL Tuner and "Mark 2" stereo decoder chip (MSP3410D) fitted.
Now with "Mark 2" Stereo Decoder: From the start of August 2005 there is a new method of decoding stereo sound from the tuner which has some added advantages and is more stable than the original stereo decoder that used to sit on top of the tuner module (see THIS PHOTO for a picture of what the old installation looks like). Consequently the older decoder (now called the "Mark 1") is now considered the older technology, but still gives good enough results if you wish to utilise it rather than tackling replacement of the Micronas chip as it does involve delicate soldering which requires a fair amount of skill.
Benefits of the "Mark 2" stereo decoder over the original "Mark 1" version:
* Mono transmissions get detected and switch to a true mono output in under 1 second whereas the "Mark 1" decoder could only ever output a mono transmission as left channel audio with no sound in the right channel.
* Poor signal areas now hold stereo better, and fall back to a true mono if necessary.
* No interference from an internal "Airnet" wireless card as some people experienced with the "Mark 1" decoder.
* It is more stable than the "Mark 1" in stereo separation and performance.
* It has the ability to decode more stereo sound standards in other parts of the world if required.
* It looks more elegant. In fact as you can see by the photo below it is hard to see that the board has even been modded!
NOTE: The 3410D chip used in the "Mark 2" decoder is designed to support NICAM stereo sound standard as used in New Zealand and South Africa but there is a permanent hardware and software conflict issue preventing this from being supported. There is now a solution to this problem thanks to user Catdog on the OzTiVo forums. He has developed a add-on daughter board decoder that allows NICAM sound to be decoded. For more information please visit the forum page HERE.
Please note however that the PAL tuner modification is an analogue tuner. There is no digital solution for a Series 1 TiVo other than to use an external digital set-top box.
Advantages of having the internal PAL tuner fitted:
1. Faster channel changing. Using an external Set Top Box (STB) and the "IR Blaster" to change the channels is slow (about 1 to 2 seconds per channel) so "channel surfing" is slow compared to an almost instantaneous channel change with the internal PAL tuner fitted.
2. Easy setup. Using an external STB requires you to know the specific codes for the "IR Blaster" to mimic the right remote control codes to change channels on your STB. While there are quite a few codes already defined for various model STB's already, if yours is not in the list you will have to create your own. While this is not hard (depending on your level of expertise) it will take a little time to do.
3. You can use the RF Output socket to feed into your TV if your TV does not have an A/V input, or the RF output can be used to distribute the output of the TiVo via your antenna system to other TV's in the house. ALL A/V outputs (RCA and S-Video) and the RF output can be used simultaneously.
A rear view of a USA TiVo with the PAL tuner can be seen here:
As can be seen the existing Left/Right inputs are used with the composite video RCA connector and the new set of Left/Right connectors are used with the S-Video connector. If both your external sources are RCA you can purchase an RCA-to-SVideo converter plug from places like Jaycar Electronics.
A rear view of a USA TiVo with the PAL tuner can be seen here:
PAL tuner Antenna (RF) input and RF output connections.
As you can see in the picture the old "Channel 3/4" switch is gone and replaced with a sticker. With the PAL tuner installed you can also use the RF Output as well as the RCA and S-Video output simultaneously to feed a signal to a remote TV or to a TV that does not have A/V inputs. By default the RF Output is on UHF Channel 60 but this can be altered to anywhere from UHF 27 to UHF 69 via the "palmod_config" software on the OzTiVo image. VHF channel output (eg 0 to 11) is NOT possible as the tuner does not support it.
Want to do the conversion yourself or need the modification "how-to" document?
Full documentation on the PAL tuner installation with all three types of sound options (mono, "Mark 1" stereo and "Mark 2" stereo) can be obtained HERE for those wishing to see how the modification is done or for those who wish to tackle the modification themselves. Note there is some delicate soldering involved with ALL methods of install. This document also details the necessary change to the "palmod" software to make the "Mark 2" stereo decoder conversion work (it's not hard - only two files - but required to make the audio work properly).