30 hours of HD recording got you down? Weaknees is taking pre-orders for S3 units with expanded internal storage. I assume they’ll also offer hard drive upgrades to folks that have already made a purchase or want to get in on the Lifetime Service VIP dealio. Michael tells me he’ll have pricing info up later today, so expect an update from me then.

UPDATE: Weaknees is selling stock S3 (250GB drive) for $799, double storage S3 (500GB) for $1299, and triple storage S3 (750GB) for $1599. Upgrade kits for $399 (500GB) and $599 (750GB) are also available. So the question is, how bad do you want it?

Based on how quick they’ve turned this around, I assume traditional upgrade methods work if you’re comfortable moving drives around and operating from the command line… though there may be some question regarding Western Digital’s unique drive connector.

Self Storage Self Storage

I trust several savvy readers cashed in on those recent Harmony 880 remote deals… So here’s a nifty feature you may not have picked up on — the on-remote television listings feature has been replaced by icons of channels you frequently access. For some this might not be such a big deal, but I find it more much convenient than remembering 103-11 is ABC (or is it CBS?) and keying it into my LG HD tuner.

Download a large set of logo image files from Squareworld and customize your remote using Logitech’s web configuration tool (use IE, Firefox isn’t working lately): User Options page, Favorite Channels button. If you’re creative (or bored), you also have the ability to create a custom slideshow or change your theme.

By default, clicking the 880’s Media button will bring your favorites up.

Todd Perlmutter responded to my request for a custom GUI and has delivered the TiVo Converter Wrapper. TCW allows you to choose an encoding profile and queue up .tivo shows for conversion. Unlike TiVo Desktop, you can transcode multiple shows on demand and irrespective of folder location (and without mucking around in XML and the command prompt). Also unlike the TiVo Desktop, you can efficiently choose and run different profiles as needed — useful if you have multiple devices.

Great work, Todd! Now get started on adding settings for custom resolutions.

By default, the new TiVo Desktop software transcodes recordings to 320×240 for portable devices. According to TiVo VP Jim Denney this decision was made to limit potential piracy. However, there may be times when you’d prefer something a bit larger. For example the PSP (480×272), various PMCs (up to 640×480), various PDAs (up to 640×480), and (hopefully) future video-capable iPods all support higher resolutions. Additionally, if you’re interested in manipulating these files on a Mac with iMovie/iDVD why cripple your content? (For best results, do not transcode to a higher resolution than your source material.)

Step 1. Open up C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop\Support\encodeprofiles.xml in Notepad and study the various tivotrans:Profile name entries (in quotes) to determine which method you’ll be using for your device. You can confirm your selection in the My TiVo Recordings for Portables subfolder. Within the relevant profile, edit the hrez and vrez variables to the desired dimensions. Before going down this path, it would be prudent to make a backup copy of encodeprofiles.xml.

Step 2. Use TiVo Desktop as you normally would and/or… To transcode immediately open a command window to C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop, type this, and hit enter: TiVoConverter.exe /profile=”xxxxxx” “C:\yyyyyy\zzzzzz.tivo” Substitute xxxxxx with what you researched above, yyyyyy with the TiVo Recordings directory path, and yyyyyy.tivo with the show you want to transcode.

Step 3. There is no Step 3. (more…)

One limitation of the new TiVo Desktop software is that it only allows you to transcode newly downloaded recordings for portable devices… Or so we thought! If you’re not scared of the Windows command line and perusing a small XML file, you can transcode any .tivo show on your system — new OR old.

Step 1. Open up C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop\Support\encodeprofiles.xml in Notepad and study the various tivotrans:Profile name entries (in quotes) to determine which method you need for your device. Confirm your selection in the My TiVo Recordings for Portables subfolder.

Step 2. Open a command window to C:\Program Files\TiVo\Desktop, type this, and hit enter: TiVoConverter.exe /profile=”xxxxxx” “C:\yyyyyy\zzzzzz.tivo” Substitute xxxxxx with what you researched above, yyyyyy with the TiVo Recordings directory path, and yyyyyy.tivo with the show you want to transcode.

Step 3. There is no Step 3.

Someone should be able to whip up an executable in about ten minutes to make this a bit more efficient (drop-down for profile, text box to paste .tivo file name). If we don’t see one in the next few days, I’ll borrow VisualBasic and crank it out.

TiVo’s KidZone software update (client & server components) includes a new feature to repair personal settings should they get out of whack. How would those settings lose sync, you ask? Hard drive upgrade. While it’s unofficial and unsupported, if you’ve opted in to KidZone or Guru Guides and upgrade your hard drive, TiVo will repopulate your Season Passes and Wishlists on that new drive. Awesome! I’m more than willing to trade a little privacy (I can’t be the only one with a Paris Hilton Wishlist, can I?) for an “online” backup of my recording preferences.