Overview

It’s not everyday you combine a perfectly good TiVo box AND an (almost) perfectly good Super Nintendo into a super-powerhouse of entertainment wonder. That’s why we chose to do it, and create the first ever (that we know of) Super NinTiVo.

Here’s what we started with, and what you’ll need to make your own:

1. TiVo box
2. Super Nintendo
3. Soldering gun
4. Hot glue gun
5. Dremel

We probably could’ve finished this in one or two days, but due to various circumstances it took us about a week. The following pictures outline the major steps of this project. All in all, we ended up with a still-working TiVo in a super badass box, and that’s whats really important.

Step 1: TiVo Disassembly

No pictures really necessary for this part. Really a TiVo is just a slow computer. Once we opened it up, we found a power supply, a motherboard, and a hard drive. Thats. About. It. So taking the thing apart was perhaps the easiest thing we could do. Of course, we did need to use Teque5’s crazy japanese black market drill bits to get it (and the SNES) open, but you can get those anywhere. Kinda.

Step 2: SNES Cleanout

Once we took out the guts of the TiVo, we started thinking of ways to position the power supply and motherboard inside the SNES. There isn’t a whole lot of room, and (as we found out later) some additional slicing and dicing had to happen to get the stuff to fit. Once we took apart the SNES and took out what’s inside, we mapped out where the TiVo components should go. We decided that attaching the power supply upside-down to the top of the SNES and putting the motherboard on the bottom would allow for the greatest use of space. In that light, we grabbed the dremel and starting hollowing out all the useless pieces of plastic inside the SNES. We were left with a very barren and a very smelly SNES. (Note the bandido bandanas and eye protection.)

Step 3: Heatsink Cutting - Capacitor Placement

Once we had the SNES emptied out we realized the power supply on top wouldn’t fit exactly as snugly as we’d like when we closed it up. We were forced to take off the heatsink and some capacitors to get it to fit properly. Call your EE friend and have him remove the solder from the heatsink and capacitors from the motherboard. Then grab the dremel and go to town. We took off about 1/2 inch from the heatsink before putting it back on there. The capacitors were just reconnected as normal, but with other wires to get them out of the way.

Step 4: Parts Fitting - Assembly

We ended up placing the motherboard (with all the A/V connections) off to the left side of the SNES, instead of at the back. We had to dremel some more to get the right cut-out of the SNES frame. We secured both the power supply and motherboard with simple hot glue. We also glued the power cable inside the top of the SNES as well as stretched the IDE cable across and out the back of it for the hard drive. Really, this step was just a puzzle to see what fit the best where. And we like puzzles.

Step 5: IR Sensor Placement

The final step before sealing up our SNTiVo for good was to put the IR receptor in a place that still worked. Careful with your IR receptor, folks… you don’t wanna mess it up and then have to order a new one online like we did. Anyway, we had to dremel out a portion of the right side of the SNES to place the receptor behind it. It worked well, and you can hardly notice it. Again, fastened with the trusty hot glue gun.

Step 6: Final Touches

Of course, the final pieces of flair include the John Madden faux game cartridge and the replacement of various parts of the original SNES. We had an extra Madden ‘94 from when Teque5 went to a game shop and bought out the rest of the Madden collection that we were missing. We again had to hollow out the cartridge and cut it in half to make it fit properly. We ended up using duct tape to cover up the controller ports, and glued the eject button and power/reset switches in from the bottom. Hot glue saves the day again.

Step 7: Only One Thing Left…

Once we had everything in place, we sealed it up and plugged it in. Note that the hard drive just didn’t fit inside, so it (for now) rests underneath the SNTiVo. We might try to do something with it later like put it inside another box, but for now, it works as is. So we plugged everything in, waited for that dumb TiVo opening animation, and voila! Success! The remote control worked and everything! Finally, we attached the faceplate (or the assplate, since it was previously on the rear of the TiVo) to the SNES and the project was complete.

Final Thoughts

All in all, a good project. Putting anything inside a Super Nintendo is always a good idea, and since it still functions as a perfectly good TiVo after, we’re golden. It turns out, the TiVo belonged to our roommate, and if we screwed it up beyond repair we would’ve had to buy him a new one. Thank god it works.