WeaKnees.com has TiVo Series1, Series2, and Series3 units available already with product lifetime service. They have both the original TiVo Series3 and the TiVo HD (the second Series3 model) upgraded with 500GB drives for 70 hours of HD recording with lifetime service, for $399.99. Note that product lifetime service alone is $499 for new subscribers and $399 for existing TiVo subscribers – plus the cost of the hardware. The new 500GB TiVo Premiere model lists for $149.99. So if you don’t care about the features unique to the TiVo Premiere (HD UI, Hulu Plus, etc.) this is a good deal for a unit ready to run.

Note that the original Series3 (TCD648250) requires two CableCARDs – S-Cards or M-Cards. While the TiVo HD (TCD652160) can utilize a single M-Card. Depending on what your cable company charges for CableCARDs this may or may not be a factor in your decision. The original S3 has the fancy OLED front panel display and the Glo remote, while the TiVo HD has the basic LED indicator lights and a non-Glo remote.

They also have the older Series1 and Series2 units with internal analog tuners and support for external set top boxes, both single-tuner ($299.99) and dual-tuner ($349.99) models. They even have Pioneer TiVo Series2 DVD combo units ($399.99). These units are available in 40GB (single-tuner) or 80GB (dual-tuner & DVD) base models, or upgraded to 80GB ($19.00 S2), 500GB ($99.00 S2 – $149.00 DVD), or 1TB ($149.00 S2 – $199.00 DVD).

The real old-school Series1 units are available in Philips ($199.99) or Sony ($249.99) models, both with 40GB. Upgrades to 80GB ($19.00) or 120GB ($39.00) are available. While I could see some reasons to buy the Series2 units, I really can’t see why someone would want one of the Series1 units these days. Maybe someone really into TiVo hacking with the old TiVoWeb and the like, but even then I doubt it.

All of these units have been refurbished and tested by WeaKnees, and they come with a six month parts and labor warranty. Quantities are limited, so grab one now if you’re interested.

Via the WeaKnees Blog.

Mirrored from Gizmo Lovers Blog.

Tags: dvd, dvr, gifts, pioneer, sale, series1, series2, series3, tivo, tivo hd, weaknees, weaknees blog

TiVo released more than a software update for the TiVo Premier tonight, they also released the long-awaited official TiVo Android App! That may explain why they recently had the 3rd party TiVo Commander app pulled from the Android Market, to eliminate any potential confusion with this official app. I now have both installed on my Galaxy Nexus and the icons are nearly identical. While TiVo Commander was a great app as a stopgap the official app is simply superior in every way, as far as I can tell.

The Android app looks much like the most recent update of the iOS version, and includes pretty much the same functionality. The app works with TiVo Series4 (Premiere family) and Series3 (S3/HD) units, though some of the features only work with the Premiere:

• Browse the channel guide without interrupting the show you’re watching – View shows up to 14 days in advance
• Schedule TV show/movie recordings and ongoing (Season Pass®) recordings
• Browse your recorded shows list and play a show from the App
• Find exactly what you want to watch – Search across TV, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video & Blockbuster —and see integrated results on Demand to find what you are looking for
• Explore cast and crew while watching a show
• Comment about what you’re watching on Facebook or Twitter
• Use a TiVo remote control replica or our intuitive, gesture-based remote control
• Manage your ongoing (Season Pass®) recordings and your To-Do List – Delete and reprioritize recordings for your favorite shows
• Instantly schedule, search and browse for shows while you’re away from home

If you have an Android device running 2.1 Froyo or later, grab it now.

Note that this only works with TiVo Series3 (S3/HD) and Series4 (Premiere) units. It does not work with the old Series1 or Series2 units, nor any DirecTV TiVo model. The description does explicitly state that it works with RCN & Suddenlink provided TiVo units – and I’d guess it also works for Grande Communications and Charter customers, but it’d be good to have confirmation of that. Also, you must enable the Network Remote Control feature under Settings & Messages -> Settings -> Remote, CableCard, & Devices -> Network Remote Control. Or whatever the path is on your specific model and software revision – just look for it under Settings. If you don’t have it enabled, the app cannot connect to your box.

On thing I want to call out, the app description says this is for your “Android phone or 7inch tablet”. That’s oddly specific. I don’t know why I wouldn’t work on a larger tablet, even if it isn’t fully optimized for them. Just as there are different versions of the iOS app for the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad there is probably a tablet-optimized version of the Android app. If you have a larger tablet and you give this a try, leave a comment about how it works for you. I’d also love to hear from Virgin Media TiVo users on whether this app works for you.

Some screenshots:

EDIT: TiVo published a video overview today:

Mirrored from Gizmo Lovers Blog.

Tags: android, dvr, premiere, series3, series4, software, tivo, tivo hd, video, youtube

TiVo is losing a couple of OTT services. Though, given their popularity, or lack thereof, it probably won’t impact many users. One True Media is dropping support for all TiVo models, according to a thread at TiVo Community. One user posted a message they received from One True Media.

We are sorry to announce that we are in the process of phasing out our “Share to Tivo” feature.* We are including instructions on how to access your current shares.* We realize that not everyone is set up to receive internet video on their televisions, but you can continue to share your One True Media creations via our “Share to YouTube” and Facebook shares.

TiVo URL for direct type in (when user is logged in)
To manage their channel:

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_channel

To add a Video to their channel:

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site…_id=**********

Directions to share:
1. Go to share online for the Video you want to add to your TiVo channel
2. In the URL replace /auth_share? with *channel_publish_work?
3. Make sure to keep the work_id
4. This take you to the TiVo share pages

Customer Care
One True Media, Inc.

I’ve never gotten the impression that One True Media is a very popular service among TiVo users, so I doubt there will be too many people up in arms over this. YouTube just dominates video sharing.

The other service TiVo is dropping may impact more users. TiVo models earlier than the Premiere lost Rhapsody, as reported by Zatz Not Funny. Rhapsody recently changed their API, which broke all of the existing third party apps, like TiVo. TiVo has created a new Flash-based app for the Premiere, but will not be updating the app for the earlier TiVo models. Given the popularity of other services, such as Pandora, the loss of Rhapsody probably won’t bring too many tears.

As Rhapsody explained it:

Here is some background: we contacted all our device partners several months before this necessary change to our service, providing them all the info necessary to make a successful change. The vast majority of these partners made the change on time and successfully tested their devices (as did Rhapsody) and signed-off. However, after roll-out, some partners found bugs in their systems not apparent in previous testing that they needed to address. These partners are working to correct the issues they discovered as quickly as they can. They realize you’re their customers too and want to get things working properly.

Rhapsody first revealed that TiVo had decided to drop support on the Series2 and Series3 platforms, updating only the Premiere:

Tivo has started pushing out their firmware update to their series 4 DVR systems. They say it should be out to everyone by the end of August.

As far as the series 2 and 3 devices, Tivo has chosen not to update the firmware for those devices, meaning Rhapsody will no longer be accessible on them. This was a call that Tivo made, not us, and yeah, it sucks. Wish it was better news, but that’s the news we have.

And this was later confirmed by TiVo on TiVo Community:

I can confirm that an update is rolling out to Series4 boxes which will get Rhapsody up and running again. Unfortunately, due to recent technical limitations with the Rhapsody application Series3 and Series2 users will no longer have access to Rhapsody from their TiVo DVR. We apologize for the inconvenience.

It sounds like One True Media didn’t give TiVo any choice, they’re pulling support. But with Rhapsody it sounds like they made a necessary update to their service to update an expiring cert and TiVo decided not to invest resources in updating the client on older platforms. Or perhaps they couldn’t, given the “recent technical limitations” statement, though I’d like to know what those limitations are.

So what about you? Are you upset by the loss of either of these services? Leave a comment.

Mirrored from Gizmo Lovers Blog.

Tags: broadband, dvr, one true media, premiere, rhapsody, series2, series2dt, series3, tivo, tivo hd, tivocommunity

Apparently Anthony Lieuallen got tired of waiting for TiVo to release an official Android application, because he went and created an free, open source version of TiVo’s iOS application for the TiVo Premiere, called TiVo Commander. From the Android Market:

Description

TiVo Commander is an open source clone of the TiVo for iPad and iPhone app for Android.
It is capable of connecting to and controlling a TiVo Premiere device.

Features:
* A full remote control, with keyboard input.
* Browse all recorded shows. Watch and delete them.
* Search for shows/movies/actors.
* See credits for shows/movies, and suggestions for similar shows/movies.
* Record individual shows and add/modify/remove season passes.

TiVo Commander is open source software. It is NOT affiliated with TiVo Inc.

Screenshots:

Note that he’s serious when he says TiVo Premiere. I tried it on my TiVo Series3 and it won’t connect. And if it can’t connect you can’t even get past the settings screen in the app. I checked my Series3 and it doesn’t respond on the port the app is using, so that’s Premiere-only for sure. If you have feedback there is a discussion thread at TiVoCommunity.

If you have a TiVo Series3 or Tivo HD and you’re looking for an Android app, Tim Hoeck’s TiVoRemote is still in the market for $0.99. I’ve had this on my Droid pretty much since it was released.

I also just stumbled over another free TiVo remote app for Andorid, RCX for TiVo. The app is listed as ‘free – beta’, but seems to work based on user reviews.

Both of these apps are just remote control apps, they don’t have all the fancy features for the Premiere like TiVo’s official iOS apps or TiVo Commander, but they will work with the Series3 and up. Of course, if you’re a Virgin Media TiVo customer in the UK you can use their official TV Guide.

TiVo has stated they are working on an official Android app, but no word on when we might see it.

While looking in the Android Market I noticed a couple of other interesting, TiVo-related apps.
TiVo Music Server by Earl Magnus does pretty much what the name implies. It streams MP3 files from your Android device to your TiVo, just like TiVo Desktop does on your PC. It is a fairly new app and has some limitations (MP3s must be on the SD card/external storage, not internal, etc.) but it is free and seems to do what it promises. And Earl has a support thread on TiVoCommunity for feedback.

The other app is the $1.99 Zamar by JCIDSoftware.

Description

Your Media Library Wherever You Are
Take your media library with you, where you go!
•Stream your music
•View and download photos, display them through your TiVo on you TV
•Download your movies
•Remote control your TiVo

Use TiVo Desktop media server, or pyTiVo to stream your music, photos, and music. Remote control your TiVo, and auto-scan favorite channels

While it also claims to work as a TiVo remote, the really interesting thing is that it implements TiVo’s API for streaming media – but not as a server, as a TiVo does! So you can stream/copy content from TiVo Desktop or third party servers like pyTiVo/PyTiVoX (and I’m guessing Streambaby might work), which are normally used to send content to a TiVo. That’s pretty unusual, but if you have things setup for your TiVo you can take advantage of it with Zamar too.

TiVo Commander spotted via Engadget.

Mirrored from Gizmo Lovers Blog.

Tags: android, anthony lieuallen, blogs, dvr, earl magnus, engadget, jcidsoftware, mobile devices, premiere, rcx for tivo, series3, tim hoeck, tivo, tivo commander, tivo hd, tivo music server, tivocommunity, tivoremote, tv guide, virgin media

Joining the already available TiVo App for iPad, TiVo today released and app for iPhone and iPod Touch. The new App has full support for the TiVo Premiere, and partial support for the TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD. Additionally it seems the iPad App has also been updated with S3 & HD support.

From the press release:

Features of the TiVo App include:

• NEW! Guest Mode — Even if you don’t currently have a TiVo DVR, you can still sample the TiVo experience through the new Guest Mode. Users can browse, search and scroll through program and channel guides and experience the simplicity of the TiVo interface.
• NEW! TiVo Series3™ Support* — Now users who have TiVo Series3™, HD and HD XL DVRs can also download the app to browse, search and schedule recordings as well as make use of the reinvention of the TiVo remote.
• Gesture-based controls — Take complete control of all recordings, even move forward and backward through a show with a simple tap or swipe.
• Program Guide — Browse your full-screen TV program guide without interrupting TV viewing.
• Schedule — Schedule one-time recordings and Season Pass® recordings from the device at home or on-the-go.
• Get more from your shows and movies — Explore cast and crew and other recommendations of your favorite shows without interrupting the big screen.
• Search — Search for all of your favorite TV shows, movies, actors or directors across both broadcast and broadband from Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, and more.
• Share comments with your friends — From within the TiVo App, comment and share your thoughts on your favorite programming on Facebook or Twitter.

* TiVo Series3™, HD and HD XL DVR users will enjoy the app’s guide, scheduling, remote control, search and explore features, but these users should anticipate a smaller set of features and capabilities than TiVo Premiere users.

This feature matrix illustrates which app features are available for use with each TiVo platform:

Now, can we get some Android love? Please, Tivo?

Edited to add – TiVo also published a video demo:

Mirrored from Gizmo Lovers Blog.

Tags: ios, ipad, iphone, ipod touch, premiere, premiere xl, press release, series3, tivo, tivo hd, tivo hd xl

Ever since the abortive first attempt was announced four years ago there have been on-again, off-again rumors of TiVo and Netflix working together again. They finally got it over with and released the tension in October by announcing a new deal. At the time they indicated the service would launch soon - and they were right, it is launching today!

But they have one more surprise up their sleeves - high-definition content! From the press release (below) it looks like they'll be launching with some HD content available to stream to TiVo. As stated previously, the Netflix service is only available on broadband connected TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL units. The Series2 platform unfortunately is incapable of supporting the video codec Netflix uses. Only the newer units have the required hardware, sorry, that's just how it is. It isn't like Series2 units don't have options - Amazon VOD, CinemaNow/Disney, and Jaman are all available.

This is likely why the HD units started getting the new software revision last week, to prep them for the launch of Netflix.

( Press release below: )

Tags: netflix, press release, series3, tivo hd, tivo hd xl
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Music: TiVo: Robot Chicken

Nigel Tufnel should be happy with TiVo's latest software update for Series3 and TiVo HD models, as it is version 11. Zatz Not Funny mentioned that version 11 is hitting Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL units. Poking around the net it looks like this started trickling out back on November 20th. TiVo usually trickles out a release as the last test before launching the full download for everyone, and it looks like the floodgates opened within the past day or so. A number of people are now reporting receiving it, and my Series3 downloaded it today and I just restarted to install it.

The version number is 11.0-01-2-648 on my S3. This update includes the changes seen in the 9.3.2 update that hit Series2 systems recently. Aside from those changes I don't see any other differences. I looked through all the menus but nothing seemed different to me. I'm sure there are under-the-covers changes to warrant a major revision number jump. I'm guessing WMV/VC-1 decoding is in there for Netflix streaming support. And maybe some other surprises.

Tags: series3, software, tivo hd, tivo hd xl, zatz not funny
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: TiVoCast: TMI Weekly

Hmm, I wonder if I upset someone over at TiVo? I didn't get any advance notice on this one. Well, anyway, on to the news. Correction, their PR firm did email me - a little after 20:00, less than four hours before the embargo lifted at midnight eastern. That's a little late to be letting folks know about a major announcement, especially as I know others got the word around 15:00. Unfortunately, that was after the last time I'd checked email before midnight. I might've caught it, but I'm down with a bad cold and not hovering online as much as I normally do. I only caught it after seeing the news elsewhere.

Netflix streaming is coming to TiVo - very soon. It is great news, but it isn't too surprising. TiVo and Netflix first talked about partnering over four years ago, though that initial deal seemed to fizzle when Netflix had trouble getting content rights.

In the meantime the market has completely changed. Netflix has rolled out their streaming service and TiVo has added streaming support to their platform for YouTube. And, of course, movie downloads from Amazon and Jaman, with CinemaNow/Disney expected any day now. Content providers are much more open to digital distribution than they were four years ago, and the technology has improved as well. A lot of us have been expecting TiVo and Netflix to bring streaming to TiVo. Especially after Netflix made deals with LG and Samsung to stream to some their Blu-ray players.

This now gives TiVo content from four major services - Amazon, Jaman, CinemaNow (soon), and Netflix. The only major service left that I can think of is Blockbuster/Movielink. And, honestly, they're not exactly the market leader. I suppose TiVo could work with VUDU to build a VUDU client into TiVo, but with all the other content I don't know that it would be worth it for TiVo. More benefit for VUDU I'd think. The only thing left to make TiVo *the* platform for movies is HD content, and I'm sure that's coming.

As Amazon VOD also offers streaming, I expect TiVo to bring that to their platform in addition to the downloads available today. And we're all just waiting for HD content. There have been repeated hints and mentions of work toward bringing HD content downloads from Amazon to TiVo, and more recently Jaman and Cinema now. And just today Netflix announced they'll be streaming in HD to Xbox 360. So maybe we'll see Netflix in HD on TiVo as well.

What's next for TiVo and broadband content? I think we'll see them making deals with more content portal sites and networks, like Hulu.com and CBS.com. It is just logical, and TiVo already has the infrastructure to support such streaming sites. I think TiVo is making the right moves.

The Netflix streaming, like YouTube, will be coming to the TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL. It isn't clear if they'll be using H.264, like YouTube, or if the streams will be using VC-1 - which Netflix uses for their PC and Mac streaming. The TiVo hardware is capable of supporting both codecs, but VC-1 hasn't been used to date. Why no Series2 support? As with YouTube, the hardware doesn't support the newer codecs.

Picked up from Zatz Not Funny.

( The press release: )

Tags: netflix, press release, series3, tivo hd, tivo hd xl, zatz not funny
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: sick
Current Music: TiVo: Most Daring

Reader David commented on a previous post that Time Warner Cable of San Antonio, TX has a link to order a free Tuning Adapter to enable SDV on TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, or TiVo HD XL units. The order form states: "The expected availability date is later this year." That leaves two and a half months, though I personally suspect it will be sooner rather than later, especially as Comcast is already deploying Tuning Adapters.

Is anyone else seeing Time Warner offer Tuning Adapter pre-orders in their area?

Tags: sdv, series3, time warner cable, tivo hd, tivo hd xl, tuning adapter
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: quiet

Buy.com has the Western Digital 500GB eSATA My DVR Expander on sale again for $131.99. This is the only drive officially approved for use with the TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL. That's a great price on that drive, so if you've been thinking about getting one, now is a good time.

Tags: buy.com, esata, sale, series3, tivo hd, tivo hd xl, western digital
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: TiVo Web Video: MobLogic

It isn't quite as good as the recent $131.99 deal at Buy.com, but it is still a good one. Amazon is selling the Western Digital 500GB My DVR Expander eSATA drive, compatible with the TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD (and Scientific Atlanta cable DVRs) for just $134.99. That's 29%, $55, off the usual Amazon list price of $189.99.

Tags: amazon, esata, scientific atlanta, series3, tivo hd, western digital
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: quiet

TiVo has updated their Web Specials and they're now offering a factory-renewed TiVo Series3 for $349.99, considering the value of the 'Glo' remote, the added capacity, and the few features the S3 has over the TiVo HD, that's not a bad value when compared to a new TiVo HD.

However, factory-renewed TiVo HD units are also Web Specials, just $179.99. I don't think the Series3 is $170 better than a TiVo HD, nearly double the price. So, personally, if I were buying a factory-renewed TiVo, I'd probably take the TiVo HD. (You can also get a factory-renewed Series2DT for just $49.99, but I couldn't recommend that for most users.)

However, either way, the TiVo Web Specials are good deals. You have the same 30-day return window and the same product warranty as new units. So there is little risk, and you save a good deal of money.

Tags: sale, series2dt, series3, tivo hd
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: quiet

Since the TiVo 9.4 update enabled YouTube support a few weeks ago, I've been hoping that the ability to stream video would be extended to HME. Since the entire YouTube interface on TiVo is implemented with HME, using the HME toolkit internal to TiVo (probably with features first implemented for the OCAP development work), it makes sense that it would be possible to support video generically through HME.

And the developer community did not disappoint, they've figured out how to support video playback in HME applications. It is early days and people are still sorting it out, but it is possible to stream MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/H.264 video to a TiVo Series3 or TiVo HD with the 9.4 software. That means it is possible to implement a generic video playback application via HME to stream any MPEG-2 or H.264 video to the S3/HD - or any video as long as the application can transcode them. That's fantastic news!

And the fact that MPEG-2 works for streaming implies that it may be possible for TiVo to add the streaming support to the Series2 for just MPEG-2, since the hardware can't decode H.264. That hasn't been any indication that TiVo will do so, but it would certainly be nice if they did as it would then be possible to produce a generic player application that transcoded to MPEG-2 for the S2 and MPEG-2 or H.264 for the S3/HD.

Of course, this is all reverse engineered by the developer community and it is possible TiVo could change something to disable this, but I would certainly hope that they don't. In fact, I still feel quite strongly that TiVo should embrace HME and support 3rd party developers, and I would love to see TiVo issue an update to the public HME SDK which included official video support (and official HD support, as it is only in the beta SDK today - still).

But even without official support this has great potential. The ability to stream video from an HME application means that 3rd parties could bring video to the S3/HD directly. Sites like Revision3, Veoh, Break.com, Heavy,com, etc could host their own HME front end to allow streaming of any of their videos directly to TiVo. Of course, the elephant in the room is adult content, which TiVo seems loathe to officially acknowledge. But with the ability to stream right to the TiVo via HME, and bypass TiVo (the corporation), it is certainly possible. In general the ability to stream video is something that has been requested since the first days of HME, so now that it is here it may generate some new interest from developers who had moved away from HME. It would be especially useful if TiVo would bring the streaming support to Series2 units as it would create a much larger potential market, but even just the Series3 and TiVo HD are significant as it is a growing market with the HD being TiVo's primary platform now.

I'm looking forward to seeing what people come up with, and when and if any video streaming sites embrace this.

Thanks to reader Kevin Moye for the tip.

Tags: hme, series2, series2dt, series3, tivo hd, tivocommunity, video
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: TiVo: Masterminds

Thanks to my friend Jer for the heads up on this great deal. Buy.com is selling the TiVo-approved Western Digital 500GB My DVR Expander eSATA External Hard Drive for just $131.99 - and that's with free shipping. That's a great deal, Buy.com has the list price as $179.99 and TiVo.com still lists them for the old $199.99 MSRP. This is the only eSATA drive officially sanctioned by TiVo for use with the TiVo Series3 and the TiVo HD. I've had one connected to my Series3 for quite a while and it works great.

EDIT: Reader Mike Turpin points out that you can get the same deal through Amazon.com from the seller BuyNow Incorporated (see the 'More Buying Choices' on the right) and avoid the sales tax Buy.com charges in several states. BuyNow Incorporated is really Buy.com, so it is the same deal, without tax for those who would be charged from Buy.com. Thanks Mike!

Tags: buy.com, esata, sale, series3, tivo hd, western digital
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: quiet

Over at Blogcritics, Barbara Barnett has published a Technology Review of her experience using a TiVo Series3 for the past several months. She'd upgraded from the Comcast cable DVR, and as she says: I will never, ever look back. I’ve been "TiVo’d."

She highlights the features of TiVo that have made her, as a non-geek user, a TiVo convert, such as the Season Pass, the advanced search capabilities of WishLists, the Thumb Ratings and TiVo Suggestions. All of the features usually touted as making a TiVo more than just a standard DVR. She also highlights the more advanced features added by connecting the TiVo to a network, but also prosaic things like being able to undelete a program, which while simple is something most DVRs don't provide.

It is nice to see a blog from a non-geek user about that features they really use, and why they love their TiVo. It is a chance of pace from the usual parade of geeks - myself included. :-)

Tags: blogcritics, series3
Current Location: Foster City, CA
Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: TiVo: Cranky Geeks - via Slingbox

As I reported earlier, TiVo is launching YouTube support on Series3 and TiVo HD units with the new 9.4 software revision today. Now they've put out an official press release confirming the launch.

Tags: press release, series3, software, tivo hd, youtube
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: quiet

When I reported on the release of the 9.4 software for the TiVo Series3 & TiVo HD on Tuesday, I speculated on whether the update also included the promised YouTube support. Well, that question has been answered - it is in there, and Dave Zatz got a look at it and to keep things circular, he posted a video of it to YouTube. Since this was only announced on March 12, 2008 it is nice to see it coming out so soon. 9.4 enables native H.264 decoding on the S3 & HD, required for YouTube support. What is not known is if there decoding support has been extended to other areas as well, such as video podcasts. If so, it could eliminate transcoding on a PC via TiVo Web Video, at least for video podcasts in H.264 - which is many, if not most, of them. I'm hoping the H.264 support does apply to other video sources, it would make life much easier. TiVo Web Video is OK, but not ideal.

Speaking of, allow me a small digression...

I realize I never did pull together a review of TiVo Desktop 2.6 as I'd said I would. I've been pretty busy and it got away from me. And, honestly, I've had so many problems with it that each time I think about writing it up I just get upset again. I recently had TiVo Web Video forget all of the podcasts I'd subscribed to, twice in two days! I noticed it wasn't transferring anything after a couple of days, and when I checked the config file it was back to default - all the subscriptions gone. So I restored them and it started transferring again, so I went to bed. The next day it had stopped, and the file was wiped out, again! I wiped everything and started from scratch and it has been working for over a week now. And this isn't the first time this happened, early on it lost all the subscriptions too. Of course, since TiVo Web Video, unlike TiVoCast, doesn't just start with the most recent recording and move forward, but insists on downloading and transcoding back episodes as well (default is 5), it would re-download and re-transfer everything. It literally takes a few days for my PC to suck down all the backlog (I subscribe to a number of podcasts) and transfer it. So when this happens it is a major pain in the posterior.

And it doesn't clean up after itself, I found over ten gigabytes of abandoned downloaded recordings sitting the the Downloads directory. Recordings it should've deleted after transferring to the TiVo. It just slowly uses up the drive. The leaking seems to vary - right now there are two files from back on 7/8 totally about 50MB. But all it takes is a few long-form HD podcasts to be missed and it adds up fast. Those are just a couple of the problems with it. Don't get me wrong, having it is better than not having it at all, but it is far from a stable solution, let alone ideal. But I digress, I really should make myself write up all the issues and such.

Back to the topic at hand..,

So anyway, I would really love to see TiVo allow the S3/HD to download H.264 podcasts directly, bypassing the PC. Heck, as an interim even if they downloaded to the PC but skipped transcoding and just transferred to the TiVo as-is it would speed things up a great deal. Transcoding really slows things down.

Dave got a look at what is apparently a pre-release version of the software, so the final release could vary, but probably won't. YouTube is added as another option under the TiVo Central -> Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video menu item. It looks like the screen has been retitled from 'Video Downloads' to 'Broadband Video', which may be a reflection of the fact that TiVo is now streaming video and not just downloading it. The 'Movies & TiVo from Amazon Unbox' link has been changed to 'Amazon Unbox TV & Movies', which I think sounds better. And just below that, slotting in above 'Brows Other Videos' is a new link entitled, simply, 'YouTube'.

The only sub-option at this time is 'Watch YouTube Videos', and once you select that you get into the YouTube HME application interface proper. The color scheme reminds me of the current Music Choice application. Within the application you can select Featured Videos, Most Recent, Search, Top Favorites, Most Viewed, or Top Rated. Each selection then has sub-selections. The interface looks pretty good, and you can even rate the videos 1-5 stars, just as you can online.

From Dave's video I don't see a way to link this application with your YouTube account, which would be nice. I'd like to be able to pull up the subscriptions I have on YouTube from my TiVo. And to have ratings from one location be reflected in the other. Being able to subscribe or favorite a video on the TiVo and having it show up online would be nice. But this is the first release, and from what I can see it looks good. This could always be a future enhancement.

UPDATE: Shortly after I posted this I was looking over some other blogs and over at Gizmodo I saw that TiVo will indeed be adding the ability to login to your YouTube account, in an update due eight weeks out.

Dave also tacked a quick look at the Tuning Adapter and Network Remote Control screens at the end of the video. He says we can expect the official press release later today, and the application may start showing up on TiVos with 9.4 as early as today (Thursday) as well. TiVo has a new page on their site as well: http://www.tivo.com/youtube

Now that TiVo has support for H.264 and streaming video, I'm hopeful we'll see more features using them. Aside from the aforementioned video podcast support, TiVo could support Amazon's upcoming video streaming service, HD video downloads (most HD downloads use H.264), perhaps even streaming video between TiVo units, or from a PC to a TiVo.

I'm still waiting to receive 9.4 myself, can't wait to play with this.

(And no Dave, you're not the only one still waiting for Tekzilla. ;-) )

Tags: gizmodo, sdv, series3, software, tivo hd, tuning adapter, youtube, zatz not funny
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
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TiVo has long had the practice of trickling new updates out to a small number of users before officially deploying the update. It is a kind of feeler, one last check to make sure there are not major issues that were missed in testing, and to make sure the deployment systems are ready to go. And it looks like they've started to do that with the 9.4 update for the Series3 and TiVo HD, as users at TiVoCommunity have started to notice. You can tell it is a pre-release from the version number: 9.4.L6.01-2-648. That 'L6' indicates it is revision L, build 6 of the development effort. Final release versions drop that bit.

This looks like a great update, and it brings a number of features to the TiVo - some of which have been requested for years. According to LoREvanescence at TiVoCommunity, the updates notice is as follows:

Subject: You have a new service update!
From: The TiVo Team
Date: Tue 7/15

Congrats! You've just received the Summer 2008 TiVo Service Update for TiVo HD and Series 3 DVRs, including these new enhancements to your TiVo Experience:

*Play or Delete a Folder
Play or delete an entire folder of programs with a single button press (including kids shows, music videos ext). Highlight a folder and press PLAY to play all the shows in sequence. Pres CLEAR to delete the entire folder.

*Browse the Guide Any Time
Press the GUIDE button to display the program guide over what you're watching: live TV, a previously recorded program, or even a video download.

*Jump Forward in the Guide
When the Guide is on-screen, press the ADVANCE to jump 24 hours ahead. Press INSTANT REPLAY to go back 24 hours.

*Find a Station in the Guide
Now you can search for a station "call sign" within the Guide, e.g. KQED, WPIX, MSNBC. When viewing the program guide, press ENTER to bring up Guide Options, then SELECT Find by call sign.

*Toggle Closed Captioning On and Off
The Closed Captioning icon in the Channel Banner now toggles closed captioning on and off.

*Review Thumb Ratings
To display a list of all programs that you have rated, select Find Programs, then TiVo Suggestions. Press ENTER to bring up the Review Thumbs screen

Enjoy!

-The TiVo Team

Playing or deleting an entire folder has been requested since the first day folders were introduced - probably before that during the beta for that matter. Being able to view the guide without jumping to Live TV is something that has probably been requested since the earliest days of TiVo. I know people have been asking for it since I first starting using TiVo in 2002. Being able to jump forward and back in the guide is something we just heard about as coming for the Comcast TiVo software, and in that post I said I hoped TiVo would add that to the standalone boxes too - and here it is.

Being able to find channels by call sign is interesting too, I'd never thought of that, but it sounds neat. Controlling Closed Captions from the channel banner, without having to go down in menus, has been requested since the S3 first shipped. So it is nice to see it added.

Reviewing the Thumb Ratings reminds me of the old hidden feature, Teach TiVo. Most of you probably don't remember it, since it was a hidden feature and pretty much went away with the release of 3.2. But in the early days of TiVo there used to be backdoor features that could be enabled by entering the right phrase on the right screen. These were generally incomplete features that TiVo was working on developing but were not yet ready for release. So they'd still be in the code, just disabled by default. If you knew the right codes you could enable these features, at your own risk of course, and play with them. After 3.2 you could still access some of them for a while by hacking the software, but eventually most of them seem to have been completely removed, or well hidden. IIRC, Teach TiVo went away completely with 4.0.

So what was Teach TiVo? Well, early on TiVo wasn't really sure how people would use TiVo. One of the concepts they had, to help with Suggestions, was to provide an interface in which users could edit their thumb ratings for not just programs, but actors, directors, etc. Basically it exposed the underlying thumb rating data system - when you rate a program you're also influencing the ratings for any associated actors, directories, etc. Teach TiVo gave power users a way to fine tune their ratings. Say you hated a program, but happened to like one actor in it. You could rate the show down, but go in an adjust the actor's rating up. Or vice-versa. But it did make for a bit of a complex interface and since it didn't fit with TiVo's philosophy of keeping the UI simple it was never completed and released.

So, anyway, this new ability to see your program thumb ratings and edit them sounds like a new, simplified approach to at least a subset of what Teach TiVo provided.

But that's not all, exploring the menus has revealed some additional features. First and foremost, support for the Switched Digital Video (SDV) Tuning Adapter is here! Both Motorola and Cisco/Scientific Atlanta has their TAs scheduled for certification testing by CableLabs at the end of June. So if they passed testing we could see cable MSOs making them available soon, and it looks like TiVo users will be ready with 9.4.

And remember when the network remote control functionality was discovered in May? Since it is always on and has no security at all, at the time I said TiVo should really do something to protect that before someone writes malware designed to probe networks for a TiVo and send random commands to it. Well, it looks like TiVo has taken a step in that direction with 9.4 There is now a menu item for Network Remote Control and it is disabled by default:

"The network remote control feature allows your TiVo Digital Media Recorder to be integrated with home automation and entertainment control devices on your network. These device include touch panel remotes and other devices that are configured to work with TiVo's network based remote control protocol. This setting will be enabled by your home entertainment or home automation installer."

That's certainly safer for the majority of users who will never use this feature, and the power users who will can easily enable it. It sounds like it is just an on/off toggle currently. I'd still like to see TiVo make it on/off/secure, with the secure option forcing some kind of authentication. But just being able to turn it off is a big step in the right direction and I'm glad TiVo did it. I just wish they'd officially publish the network remote protocol.

There is also a report that the Live TV buffer has been extended from 30 minutes to one hour. Looks like this was a false alarm, unfortunately.

Note that 9.4 is only for S3 & HD users, but I suspect there will be a 9.4.1 for S2 units to follow. We saw that with the last updates, with 9.3 for the S3 & HD, and then 9.3.1 for the S2. Since the TiVo HD is the current flagship and the focus for TiVo it isn't surprising they're now getting the updates first. Staggering the S3/HD and the S2 helps avoid overloading the engineering and beta teams by trying to do it all at once.

No word if this release includes updates under the covers to support H.264 decoding to handle the forthcoming YouTube support, or if that will be delivered in yet another update. I'd say it is a toss up. TiVo has certainly done that before, slipping features in an update deactivated and only enabling them later when the new feature launches.

The priority page hasn't been updated yet for 9.4, but it probably will be soon.

Thanks to Dave Zatz of Zatz Not Funny for the heads up.

Tags: sdv, series3, software, tivo hd, tuning adapter
Current Location: 42.308929N 71.795328W
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It would've been more surprising if TiVo hadn't extended their rebates, given the track record for the last several cycles. They last extended them in April, but that rebate expired on 6/28. So starting on 6/29, and running through 8/30, a new rebate takes over. Slightly different terms than the last one - $200 off a TiVo Series3 (TCD648) or $150 off a Series2DT (TCD649), there is no longer any rebate on the old single-tuner Series2. You can get the rebate form in HTML or PDF and pre-qualify via TiVo's website.

The rebate brings the Series3 down to $392.45 through Amazon (and as low as $381.97 through their 3rd party sellers), and the Series2DT down to $65.99 through Amazon.

Personally I wouldn't go with either of those, but rather the TiVo HD at $249.40, especially if you're considering the Series3. Get the TiVo HD and pick up the Glo remote separately and save some money. If you plan to use any of these units with WiFi, remember to pick up a TiVo USB WiFi Adapter.

You can also pick up a factory-renewed TiVo HD for $199.99.

Via TiVo Blog.

Tags: amazon, rebates, series2dt, series3, tivo blog, tivo hd
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Reader Rob Brooks-Bilson sent me a tip about a letter he'd received from Cox Communications in Phoenix, AZ, which he posted about in his blog and scanned into PDF. The big news is that Cox will be implementing SDV of July 1,2008. The bigger news is that later this year they will be offering Tuning Adapters to their users - FREE! I believe this is the first time we've heard of any firm pricing plans from a cable MSO with regard to the Tuning Adapter.

Notice to TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD owners: Cox, along with others in the cable industry, has worked with TiVo lnc to develop an external device called a Tuning Adapter that will allow TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD devices using CableCARDs to access channels delivered via SDV. Availability of the Tuning Adapter is expected later this year. At that time additional information will be sent to you. The Tuning Adapter will be provided by Cox at no charge. In the interim, continued access to channels delivered via SDV is available with a Cox digital set top receiver.

I have to say that Cox's letter is very clear overall and explains the issues around SDV clearly and without unnecessary drama, and other cable MSOs could take a lesson from this. There is no FUD, no attempt to spook customers into jumping onto a Cox STB - quite the opposite really. I think the letter is clear and concise, I wish more companies communicated in this fashion.

So, it sounds like there will be a period of time between July 1, 2008, when Cox begins using SDV, and a point later in the year when they begin offering the Tuning Adapter, where users may lose access to some of their channels, unless they get a Cox STB for the interim. Since the Tuning Adapters are scheduled to be certified by CableLabs at the end of June, hopefully the gap will be a short one. But in any case it is nice to know they'll be offering the TA for free. Hopefully this will be across all of Cox's systems and not limited to Phoenix.

Tags: cox communications, sdv, series3, tivo hd, tuning adapter
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