But members of the ExtractStream group soon caught wind of Tridgell's bargain, and they didn't like it. After learning about the possibility of routing TiVo content via Ethernet, they got $100 TiVoNet Ethernet cards that could be physically attached to TiVos. Now they wanted the software to make those cards work. They waited, but never heard from Tridgell. So without knowing if Tridgell would ever release the software they needed to send TiVo files over networks, they decided to build their own.

"The ExtractStream team basically came together over frustration," says the British member of the group. "A select few who did have Tridge's code taunted the rest of the TiVo hackers with it. These people did not have the skill to create the program for themselves; instead many were 'script kiddies' with elitist attitudes. That really consolidated our group."

Before releasing the code, ExtractStream consulted a lawyer, who told the group that it had a good case. If TiVo or the Hollywood studios tried to sue, ExtractStream could simply argue a "fair use" exemption for its activities. It could also point out that similar products already existed.

What ExtractStream did is probably not illegal, says Eben Moglen, a professor at Columbia Law School and counsel to the Free Software Foundation. "They're in the land of contributory copyright infringement," he says. "And it's not Napster because they don't have control over how people use the software. It's in the domain with copy machines, technologies that can be used to break the law but which are generally allowed."

ExtractStream didn't answer questions about the number of downloads, but TiVo isn't welcoming the consequences of this hack. "We don't know what our legal responsibility is, but we don't want to get our partners up in arms," Bulwinkle says. In today's conservative copyright environment, "it's the look of impropriety that matters."

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So far, no studios have come knocking, and the MPAA didn't even know about the hack as of last week. TiVo, however, already has a defense in place. Encryption is on the way: Everyone who buys a new TiVo or upgrades the software this summer when release 2.5 comes out will discover that TiVo content is locked up with "military grade" encryption.

Bulwinkle wouldn't go into details about how the encryption works, but said that the company is "confident that no one is going to get through this."

Tridgell disagrees. Like most hackers, he's confident that someone will find a way to pick TiVo's lock. Ultimately, he says, the recordings have to play unencrypted on a television, "so if the device can do it, then the keys must be on the system," he says. "That means that someone can find it."

In the meantime, TiVo may have other problems to face. Pirated-movie traders will soon be flocking to buy TiVos, says Shawn Reimerdes, founder of Yo!NK, a file-trading service. "People will now have the ability to make perfect captures from their digital satellite systems, which will cause an explosion in available digital video content online," he says. "Finally we have the key to the TV content."

Lawyers likely won't be far behind.

And even if TiVo extracts itself from the legal quicksand, the company's decision to employ encryption may alienate its hacker fan base and, perversely, encourage even more attacks on its software. Some of the most diehard fans may stick by the company -- people like Curry who appreciate the reasons behind TiVo's plans. But others will surely set their sights on the guide. Knowing that someone already successfully hacked it will only push them harder.

"I hope it doesn't come to this," says the British ExtractStream member. "The relationship with TiVo's been good, for both sides. I don't want to see TiVo lose out on subscriptions."

To which TiVo might respond: A relationship is good only if neither party abuses it. If the hackers keep breaking TiVo wide open, they could easily turn a friend into a foe. And no one wins from a bad breakup.

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