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Tivo must make three groups happy: Stockholders, Customers and Broadcasters. It seems like collecting and selling statistical information can't help but to improve the mood for the least-happy group -- the broadcasters. Having a way to easily survey 20,000 random households to determine which super bowl ads were the most liked (e.g. played more than once per Tivo), determining if people are skipping or watching opening credits to shows, and determining how many people "bail out" in the middle of a new show are all feedback that may help the broadcasters learn that Tivo is not all evil. As a customer, my biggest privacy concerns are addressed by their Privacy Policy, which clearly states that nothing personally identifiable is collected and that they have an opt-out option for even the anonymous stuff. To make me a really happy customer, I wish that they would return the life-time subscription (even if only available to broadband customers) and that they would figure out how to turn a profit, so that I can be sure that my current Tivo does not someday turn into a boat anchor.

These days watching TV means watching ads.

Not at all. There's no reason to watch ads on TV other than laziness. And it's inefficient laziness, since the few hours you invest in learning about alternatives will save you far more time in not listening to blathering marketroids.

...still no love for DirecTiVos. And, I guess, never. From http://www.tivo.com/4.9.4.1-1.asp
"The TiVoToGo feature is not currently available on Series3. This feature will not be available [emphasis mine] on the DIRECTV DVR with TiVo or the original TiVo boxes (TiVo Series1)."

All I want to do is download shows. I've got two hackable TiVos (and even a supported USB/network adapter) but I've never been able to get it to work, and with two jobs, a newborn, and no "spare" PCs anymore, it's difficult for me to try--my last attempt was over a year ago. Are there any reputable services/people that can hack my TiVo for me? I'm not trying to get around TiVo's fees, I just want to have it make shows available for download, and maybe a web-based frontend for recording/deleting shows and the ability to make its daily call over the network would be nice, too. Any suggestions?

It looks like there's no transfer-to-Mac capabilities without purchasing Toast:

"Roxio is the exclusive official provider of TiVoToGo(TM) for the Mac--and Toast 8 Titanium is the way to get it and enjoy your favorite shows on the Mac, on DVD, and on-the-go."

http://www.tivo.com/mactivotogo/

I'm still perplexed that there's not been faster and more widespread adoption of DVRs. As a technologist, I tend to be friends with the kinds of people who have DVRs, but I still have a hard time impressing on "regular people" how damn wonderful they are.

I also think most "regular people" underestimate how much television is a part of their life. Many people like to think that television is "not important" enough to pay extra money for what they think is a slightly advanced VCR. In reality, people watch way more television than they think they do. They would probably save lots of time and enjoy their time watching television a heck of a lot more if they used a DVR.

I continually explain that having a good DVR is like having refridgeration -- once you've had it, you don't see how anyone made it this far without it. To that end, my wife and I find it diffucult to watch tv away from home.

Convincing people to pay an additional subscription to put an extra box near their television, with no new content, is a difficult task. I think free trials might do it. 30-day money-back guarantees (like the one offered by TiVo) still seem like a hassle to the unconvinced. Better competition and lower prices are also needed. The leader, TiVo, is darned expensive unless you commit to a long-term subscription. Windows XP Media Center does not require subscriptions, but not many people hook up PCs to their televisions. Cable/satellite companies can probably push free DVR trials on their customers (integrated into the set top box), but their DVRs are not nearly as usable as TiVo and ReplayTV (last time I checked).

Tivo: free, subscription: $99/yr -> $297 (I know, that's not been available for a long time *grin*)
DTivo: free, subscription: $4.99/month (covers up to 5 DVRs) -> $179.64

Current deals: S2 Tivo: free, subscription: $299 pre-paid 3yrs

It's been some years, so I really don't know if the math works out the same anymore, but at least in my case I really don't think it's a wonder at all that I chose the TiVO.

Since you can no longer buy lifetime subscriptions, no the math doesn't work out the same anymore.
http://www.tivo.com/2.0.plans.step.1.asp

And further, the price for myth compatible hardware is way down since then.

IANAL, but if Creative, in any way, induced you to upgrade the firmware (i.e., it fixed an existing bug), then they have just handed the class action vultures a nice gift. Can't sell a product based on features, and then take them away.

What if they use Linux like TiVo does? TiVo releases the source of their changes to the linux kernel, but that is pretty much it.
http://www.tivo.com/linux/linux.asp

I'm currently using a setup where my DirecTV receiver (an old RCA box from probably 3 years ago) is hooked to my TiVo by a small data cable that looks like a miniature phone cable. They call it the home control cable on the TiVo Accessories Site. It only cost about $7 and it works great!

For the normal consumer, no one (not even Tivo) expects someone to fork out $800 then the cost of the monthly service with the Series 3.

It was meant for the prosumer/videophile arena.

Take a look at some of the feautures:

*) THX certification.

This was done to appeal to the high-end market. No one else would really care about such a cert.

*) Ability to output native resolution.

This is a HUGE feature with the Series 3. Why? Because high-end video setups use external dedicated hardware video scalers. In that sense, you don't want the Tivo scaling and processing the video signal... you want your dedicated equipment to take care of that job.

*) CC 1.0-only.

With CC 1.0/1.0+ support you don't have access to services like VoD, PPV, etc. The general consumer likes having these services however a videophile who's main goal is PQ (player quality) would be happy to sacrifice this in order to get native rate output (feature meantioned above).

With all this in mind, it puts the $800 price tag more into perspective. If you look at this as a prosumer/videophile-targetted piece of equipment, then price really isn't all that bad.

If you hang out on http://www.tivocommunity.com/ it was pretty common knowledge there that this unit wasn't intended for the casual user.

$800 is a chunk of change, but as a videophile this unit has features that I've wanted for a very very long time. I forked out the dough this morning at http://www.tivo.com/vip/.

It records OTA and digital cable. The box you have cannot receive HD from cable TV, this one does. http://www.tivo.com/2.0.boxdetails.asp?box=series3 HDDVR&plan=prepaid3yr

TiVo is allowing those who bought LTS on a Series 1 or 2 to transfer it to a Series 3 for $200

It's not just "announced". It's available for sale.

The Series3 went for sale a few hours ago on Tivo.com for $799.

According to TivoBlog, some Best Buy stores are taking preorders showing a delivery date of 9/17/06. There have also been rumors over the past few weeks that Best Buy and CircuitCity will have the Series3 Tivo in stock on the 17th or 19th.

Despite the heavy price tag, the need to rent 2 CableCARDs from my local Cable Company, and the expensive $12.95 Tivo monthly fee, I placed my order within a few minutes of Tivo making the change to their website. I bought one of the first 14-hour Tivos when they went on sale in 1999, and in all that time I have not seen another DVR that has a UI as good as the Tivo one. I finally abandoned Tivo in favor of a Cable Company DVR in 2004 when my local Cable Company started to offer HD programming. Finally Tivo is catching up 2 years later.

By the way, you can thank design firm IDEO for many of the UI innovations of the Tivo (and early Macs as well).

For a couple years now I've had an HTPC hooked up to my TV that is pretty much silent ... it has a TV tuner, DVD player, various information services, a thingamajig for showing photos and playing music from my Macs. Oh, and did I mention that it runs Linux?

The strength of Linux is in it's stable and secure kernel and low-level "plumbing." The same as BSD. An OS that includes a "Windows" experience on top of this solid foundation would for teh first time attract real attention and a real user base.

Not funny at all. I've posted on this tivo stuff before, and just chose not to get in to it all again. One of the big points of the Tivo technology argued during the case was the 'time warp' function. Tivo's page about the lawsuit - http://investor.tivo.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?Release ID=207787 - mentions the 'time warp' patent: "The Time Warp patent discloses systems and methods for the simultaneous storage and playback of programs, supporting advanced capabilities such as pausing live television, fast-forwarding, rewinding, instant replays, and slow motion."

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6233389.html has a quick summary, and IIRC, DISH's main defense was that they weren't converting to/from MPEG, so the patent wasn't valid. Also IIRC, that didn't prove to be enough to sway the verdict in their favor in April.

Any 'watching' in TV mode is still buffering to allow for pausing/rewinding/etc, so no matter whether you've got dual tuners or not, the buffering is what is violating the 'time warp' patent. My recollection from the trial notes I'd read was that DISH engineers had testified that their original pre-seeing-using-tivo versions of their DVRs wouldn't allow for pausing/rewinding/fastfwding during 'live' TV, only during playback of previously recorded shows.

This was stuff that was all being developed during the same time period by different companies, at least if we are to believe the Tivo bashers. If so, why were they the only company to be able to figure this out? Other companies had DVRs out even before Tivo which did not have this functionality. If it was simply a hardware limitation issue, the other companies surely still could have patented the idea with working prototypes which would simply be too costly to market (at that time) then bring the tech to market later when costs came down. I don't think that was the case. The materials I've read seem to point to Tivo having come up with a technique which was unique/novel/nonobvious *at that time*, and was able to implement it in a commercial play as well. Believing this to be the case (in absence of evidence to the contrary) I say good on them, and I hope echostar pays through the nose for the violations.

Link to the full patent: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PT O1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fs rchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6233389.PN.&OS=PN/62333 89&RS=PN/6233389

DirecTV is actually a TiVo licensee. Up until recently, all DirecTV DVRs actually ran TiVo software. Three months ago, TiVo signed a deal with DirecTV to extend the licensing arrangement until 2009. TiVo will continue to service the ~2 million DirecTV DVRs based on TiVo software, and both parties specifically agreed not to sue each other over patents as happened with Dish Network/Echostar.

http://www.tivo.com/cms_static/press_85.html

I hope that Tivo get's taken to court. It would be a triumph for open source efforts.

Er, TiVo's one of the good guys, they release their source in compliance with the GPL.

http://www.tivo.com/

But you are ignoring a very real way in which it (or, at least general DRM) is being used to kill open source: Tivo's abuse of the works it builds upon and distributes which are licensed under the GPL.

"A TiVo is a computer running propriatary software for a specialized purpose."

Wrong from the very start. Tivo may be commercial, but it isn't propriatary. What is at issue is this: since tivo is a computer running GPL-ed software, and since they *do* make their modifications available (see previous link), should they be able to disallow the running of my modified version of the GPL-ed software I recieved from them on CD on my machine? Doesn't it seem as though the purpose of releasing GPL-ed software is thwarted perversely in this fashion? So then, shouldn't tivo have to stop distributing the GPL-ed software?

I think the bigger part of this story is that TiVo wants to change their privacy policy to collect more demagraphic info about what you're doing. i.e. your clicks won't be so anonymous any more. From the NYTimes article about this:

For now, TiVo will not be able to tell advertisers anything about the demographics of the audience it measures. The privacy policy of the service allows it to gather data about viewing habits, but not any personal information. Mr. Juenger [TiVo VP of Audience Research] said TiVo hoped to find a way to change that by the end of the year.

The current TiVo Privacy Policy says repeatedly that all the data collected is anonymous. I guess that will have to change.

In the end it's all about money. TiVo needs to make more money. They're trying to do more with the watching data they already collect. And they want to collect more data to make it more valuable.

Can I buy a movie that will be full-screen DVD quality and play it through my Tivo Desktop to my television? That would be cool. TivoToGo http://www.tivo.com/4.9.4.1.asp, is compatible with iPod, but would it be compatible with iPod video downloads (iTunes), rather than recorded programs? I don't want to buy and watch a 2+ hour movie on a tiny iPod screen, if that's where this is going. Oh, and I'm not buying, I'm renting according to the article. Not as good, but I'd try it. I guess a high quality download would be too big. Would it? How big is a 2 hour feature film download at good or very good quality?

No I don't, actually. I've had a TiVo since their first models came out and I don't recall any of them having a 30-second skip.

Haven't used it in a while, but just tried it 5 minutes ago on my series 2 (ver 7.2.2*), and works without a hitch. The reason IIRC I gave it up before was that the 30-second skip was a little too precise - 30 sec skip, watch 1 sec, 30 sec skip, repeat n times, and you're 5 seconds or so into the program and have to back up anyway. I also tried the above hack with "29" instead of "30" and no dice ;-)

More on your topic: I'm on a fence with my TiVo. I'm worried about the whole DRM thing. It hasn't affected me yet, but the instant it does, TiVO will lose a household with three TiVOs in it immediately.

Advantage: Tivo

The series 2 TiVos let you choose which style of guide you like and you can change them by simply pressing guide again.

Advantage: Tie for the new DT Tivo & DirecTiVo

Advantage: DVR for now, but series 3 Tivos are cablecard ready

Advantage: DVR for now, but series 3 Tivos are HDTV ready

Advantage: Tivo.

I really don't like the boops.

So turn them off, then.

I have used Cox, Comcast, Time Warner and TiVo The Comcast DVR is by far the worst. It sporadically turns off--often. The recordings become pixelated and distorted. Sometime the DVR doesn't even capture sound (try watching Sopranos without sound). And the unit will periodically stop accepting input from the remote control, only to eventually do 10 things at once (usually somthing like PAUSE, PLAY, PAUSE, PLAY, PAUSE, PLAY, PAUSE since it never wants to stop fast forwarding). Recording 2 things at once is buggy at best and if you want to record on the fly (press record rather than prescheduling it), don't even think about changing the channels. I never had any problems with my Cox unit, but I used that one about a year ago. Maybe the newer modles are suffering from the same problems as my current Comcast unit. The time Warner unit is the best of the Cable companies' offerings. TiVo is on a different level in my opinion with features like commercial skip, smart recvery from FF/RW (jumps back a few seconds), suggestions, content organization and management, etc. Someone also mentioned not being able to record 2 shows simultaneously, but this is possible with the Series2 model: http://www.tivo.com/2.0.boxdetails.asp?box=series2 80hrDTDVR I guess you get what you pay for. As for the cable vs. sat. battle. If cox offered a TiVo with the DVR option I would take this over anything else currently available. Oh, and I don't work for TiVo...just a TiVo evangalist.

Found on a TiVo press release.

US Patents

6,850,691 - Automatic playback overshoot correction system

6,847,778 - Multimedia Visual Progress Indication System

6,792,195 - Method and Apparatus Implementing Random Access and Time-Based Functions on a Continuous Stream of Formatted Digital Data (continuation of 6,327,418)

6,757,906 - Television Viewer Interface System

They also have exclusive licensing rights to

5,241,428 - Variable-Delay Video Recorder

Japanese Patents

3615486 - Multimedia Time Warping System

Chinese Patents

ZL 99804757.0 - Method and Apparatus Implementing Random Access and Time-Based Functions on a Continuous Stream of Formatted Digital Data (see US patent 6,327,418)

ZL 00805987.X - Data Storage Management and Scheduling System

This is of March 2005, they may have more since then. Also, if you want to search the text of the US patents, you can start here

"Who wants to invest money in developing a product, only to have the open source community go after you? And you get bashed for trying to earn a living."

I know that Tivo and Cisco (Linksys) hate the GPL. I mean, if you look here http://www.tivo.com/linux/linux.asp you can see that Tivo thinks the way to stay in business is to hold the source code close. And of course, using open source, GPL'd software is a way to drive Linksys out of business http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3 562391

If your business model depends on closed source, then you are increasingly a dinosaur. It's like the employee who thinks he has job security by keeping what he does a "secret" from his boss. It only works for a little while.

You can get a tivo with a DVD burner built it (or attach one) or transfer the videos to your (windows-only) laptop, and do many of the other net things you're describing (weather, photos, music, netflix, etc). The only real differences are SIP videophone, visualizations, and full web browser. Are those different enough to be worth the extra money and time?

Plus, the series 3 is shipping this fall with dual HD cablecard tuners...

tivo apps: http://www.tivo.com/4.9.11.asp

Oh you don't want suggestions? too bad..

Or, you could just turn them off if you don't want them.

You should check out TiVo, http://www.tivo.com/, it will help with that last part. Now you can play your video games even longer, safe and secure in the knowledge that your favorite shows are being saved up for you to watch later.

> TV barks ... and you can only get that show at some specific time.

What I don't understand is since Tivo holds a bunch of patents why aren't they going after the other PVR producers? I figure they must have some legal angle to pull a "SCO" on Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, Dish and other companies that are edging them out of the marketplace. At least in the case of Tivo they were one of the first, the best, and shouldn't be upstaged by second rate monopolist-funded copycats.

The only thing this does is close the loophole whereby vendors could technically release source code that runs on their device, but if anyone actually tried to exercise their rights under the GPL by modifying the code (i.e. the entire point of it being Free Software in the first place) the device would refuse to run the code because the checksum/key wouldn't match.

GPLed DRM has been shipping for years. Every new TiVo box uses DRM to make sure that only TiVo corporate code is allowed to boot.

If you install your own code or make changes the boot ROM halts the system when it sees an invalid code signature. The OS signed this way is Linux.

Ok, I know I shouldn't feed the troll, but:

You still have Tivo the company in the mix, which in the past has:

Erased user-recorded content

Yup, due to broadcast flags being set incorrectly by the originating broadcaster. All mistakes have been quickly reported and resolved. Note the fate of ReplayTV, which was sued and sold into oblivion due to their ignoring obvious DRM issues.

Recorded programs that Tivo wanted you to see, without asking your permission (which in addition to being very annoying, also used your precious disk space)

Yup, this can be turned off very easily. Also, a portion of the disk is dedicated to system-level functions, and suggestions are one of those functions. Note that disk space is no longer precious.

Limited the duration you have for watching recorded content

Um, see #1 above. This has not yet happened on a widescale basis.

Not guaranteed any of Tivos features - They can remove them as they see fit (conversely, they can also add features, but who's going to complain about that?)

And who today guarantees any features?

Made very questionable deals about subscriber privacy (selling demographical information, regional data, etc)

Sigh. Subscriber data is aggregated and sold. Read here for more information. http://www.tivo.com/5.11.3.asp

And this Tivo box, as with all other Tivo models, is still limited in what it can do, NOT in terms of hardware and potential, but in what Tivo will let you do with the hardware you're purchasing.

This is a general use consumer device. If you want full control and customization, roll your own.

Tivo2 allows you to view your external videos and movies files and browse the directories on tivo today.

Given these two and the fact that you can attach a fat external SATA hard disk should be enough to get you out of your mythbox now.

PSSST... they announced it at LAST YEARS CES.
Not Kidding

-dm

does the same thing for $3.50 per month

If I don't have a need for digital cable, it would only cost me about $12.95 per month according to the Tivo site, and I would save $20 per month not getting the digital add-on to the normal cable (which usually has everything I really would want to watch anyway).

Sure, MythTV and/or Freevo might seem cheaper, but my time is valuable as well. I need to factor in the amount of time I will have to deal with getting them set up in a way that my Wife, and any babysitters would be able to use them without any issues. This is already a done deal with a Tivo.

No, no, no. They said *early* 2006 last year, see the press release on their site.

No these guys pitched themselves a nice easy 12 month deadline, with a working prototype and an already shipping HD unit (DirecTV), AND MISSED IT ANYWAY!!!

See my post below, these guys are dead, they just haven't figured it out yet...

As I sit here, drinking a DITE COKE , reading slashdot... I'm asking myself, why don't I have a TIVO And if I did have one, which network would I choose to record... HBO ? Hmmm.........

But if they really expect me to convince Dad that he can't live without a season pass on those Seinfeld reruns he loves so much, then they should be giving me the 50 smackers. I'd probably have 10 people signed up under me right now if I got some sort of compensation for it. (By the way, click here [freeminimacs.com] to get a free Mini Mac!):-)

They've had that for quite some time now: http://www.tivo.com/rewards

Gist of it is that they give you 5000 points for every referral, and you trade those in for swag. Good swag too, like iPods and DVD Recorders and such.

Too expensive??? Right now you can get a factory renewed 40-hour TiVo WITH 12 months of service for a total of $185. If you are already a subscriber (personally I have the lifetime subscription) you get this same deal, only it's 23 months of service. This is an "instant rebate" deal, nothign to send in http://www.tivo.com/2.0.1.asp. ...and no I do not work for TiVo, I just love the technology! Sure it's "factory renewed", but when you consider that you are really paying $30 plus $150 for 1 year subscription, its a sweet deal. As compared to the so-called "free" alternatives (Freevo or MythTV), the way I justify it is as follows: Cheepest PC I could find (excluding home-built from scraps around the house), about $299 after rebates. Assuming a similar configuration (low-end processor and 40 GB hard drive). Software: Free Linux + MythTV or Freevo Specialized hardware: Hauppauge WinTV TV capture board ($40-ish) Service: Nada Time: Assuming proficiency with computers, 2 hours, lets assume that you are woth $50/hr, call it $100 total. Total investment: $439 By comparison: Tivo $185, including 1 year of service Additional year of service: $155 Time for setup: Negligible Total investment: $340 Now the real difference is that your wife will actually understand how to use TiVo, whereas the open source alternatives might actually cost you a marriage not to mention the divorce lawyer, legal fees.

Dear Tivo,

I wish TiVo wasn't so in bed with Microsoft and the Studios, i.e., I wish I could view video on: Mac, iPod, (ironically) other Linux based systems, etc. (Granted, I could get video on an iPod -- possibly illegally due to DMCA -- through unsupported methods. Despite TiVo's developers embracing/exploiting open technologies like Linux and Java, Tivo2Go remains tied to Windows.)

I wouldn't be surprised if the next series of TiVos gave up on Linux too and just used some form of subsidized Windows Embedded. (ed. note: with the Viiv article, this seems to be the case, haha, how prescient of me.)

Here's the irony, your early adopters, like me, generally loathe Microsoft... and yet... HMO is unsupported on Linux, Desktop is broken on Tiger (yeah, I'm not going to go without OS upgrades just to watch TV), no TiVo2Go, no video for the new iPods (AND THE LIST GOES ON). I thought you guys were promoting the TV revolution -- TV my way?

As long as "my way" is tethered to a couch or a Microsoft device.

It must suck that iPods are about to encompass every function that TiVos do (and Archos' players already do PVR). Here's how it will work in the not too distant future... maybe even before you get the cable-card and HD recorders out:

Cancel Tivo. Throw out box. Cancel cable. Throw out box. (That's the hard part, all that wiring and talking to customer reps.) Put iPod dock where TiVo used to be (that's the easy part, connect one cable to TV, one cable to PC/Mac/Airport/USB charger). Now, download shows from iTMS. Take iPod in living room, place it in dock. Enjoy commercial free television with elegant user interface right from the couch with comfortable remote.

There's a good chance that when I'm saving over $100 a month (cable plus TiVo subscription) that I'll maybe even come out ahead buying episodes at $2 a pop! You're killing me! You don't see this?

Don't even get me started on Front Row and what will happen if/when Apple's mythical PVR/mediacenter comes on scene. You still have the edge while MythTV and El Gato's EyeTV are the other non-Microsoft choices. TiVo is a great value in today's market. Here's hoping that HD and cable-card save you before online-distribution becomes the new model.

Don't get me wrong -- I love TiVo, I've been pimping it to friends for years now (4? more?). Each time I've upgraded, I've given my old one to someone else who's signed up (and that first series 1 is still dutifully serving a friend of mine). I'm just scared that 'being on the ropes' has made you too timid. This is the time to be pushing the envelope not bowing to the DRM crowd and frustrating your most loyal customers.

You could be running surveys right on all the TiVo boxes out there right now (maybe in Tivolution with a system mail saying where it is). You could start with this one: Do you have a computer? Do you use Windows? Do you dislike Microsoft? Should the MPAA control how you watch video you've recorded on your TiVo?

I'd imagine the majority of responses to EACH question will be 'yes'. Yes, most people with computers use Windows, despite that, I'd be surprised if most people love Microsoft for it. I'm sure that no one with a TiVo wants "The Man" telling them what they can do with video on their own devices in their own homes.

Please seize the day. All of your early adopters will thank you -- we believe in the vision. I don't want to see it compromised for expediency.

Sincerely,

David Rolfe

Check out TivoToGo, which allows you to download content off your Tivo and onto a computer where it can be burned on to DVD for easy viewing. Also allows downloads to mobile devices like Video iPod.

I'm not certain, but my guess is, based on Tivo's supported network adaptors list, TSNs 110, 130 and 140 are USB 1.1, all others are USB 2.0.

Nice to see Tivo do something smart, for a change. This company has disrespected and disowned the Mac platform since Tiger came out. A *one line* fix for the Tivo Desktop software is all they needed to release for final Tiger compatibility. As of today, that broken version is still on their web page. It also doesn't include aac audio support; a minor thing on other platforms, but a snub to the Mac users who have large aac collections. That version also lacks significant functionality that it's Windows counterpart contains. Noteably the TivoToGo (video downloading) feature. This is why I wrote TivoTool.

One goal of TivoTool is to represent what I think TivoToGo should be like on the Mac. It looks like soon I will be able to directly compare. The other goal of TivoTool is to put a friendly front-end on some "hacking" tools. You see, that is the catch - you need to decrypt their MPEG2 video streams to have true freedom. This requires you open the device (void your warranty) and hook up it's drive to your Linux box. Since there are many types of Tivos and many software versions, this process is not as easy as it should be.

In no particular order, here are some points about TivoTool v TivoToGo:
* The Tivo network drivers are slow. Even with a USB2 device and hardware support, the drivers just don't take full advantage of what they have. Of course the enthusiast community has come up with faster drivers.
* Streaming video right off your Tivo and watching it on any computer in the house is cool (TivoTool does this). I don't forsee Tivo adding this capability anytime soon.
* With TivoTool, you can burn a DVD right from the main interface. TivoToGo requires that you purchase another program to do this.
* You also need to pay for some sort of MPEG2 codec. TivoTool uses MPlayer which has MPEG2 support.
* TivoTool can stream-compress to various formats such as avi and mp4 as you download it from the Tivo.
* Other stuff, I don't want to totally start comparing dick sizes. There is a Linux version of TivoTool though!

Finally, I should point out that this new software from Tivo will only work on a specific subset of Tivo hardware. Specifically the "Series 2" with software version 7.x. If you have a DirecTV Tivo, sorry. If you have a Series 1, sorry. If you are in the UK or Aus, sorry. Yes, TivoTool works with all of the above.

Also, notice the Mac platform was never mentioned in their press release. Only "iPod support". This *might* be bad news for the Mac platform, but I'm putting a little faith in Tivo because I still love their device and what it does for me. They can't just put in iPod support for Windows. That would be insane.

Nice to see Tivo do something smart, for a change. This company has disrespected and disowned the Mac platform since Tiger came out. A *one line* fix for the Tivo Desktop software is all they needed to release for final Tiger compatibility. As of today, that broken version is still on their web page. It also doesn't include aac audio support; a minor thing on other platforms, but a snub to the Mac users who have large aac collections. That version also lacks significant functionality that it's Windows counterpart contains. Noteably the TivoToGo (video downloading) feature. This is why I wrote TivoTool.

One goal of TivoTool is to represent what I think TivoToGo should be like on the Mac. It looks like soon I will be able to directly compare. The other goal of TivoTool is to put a friendly front-end on some "hacking" tools. You see, that is the catch - you need to decrypt their MPEG2 video streams to have true freedom. This requires you open the device (void your warranty) and hook up it's drive to your Linux box. Since there are many types of Tivos and many software versions, this process is not as easy as it should be.

In no particular order, here are some points about TivoTool v TivoToGo:
* The Tivo network drivers are slow. Even with a USB2 device and hardware support, the drivers just don't take full advantage of what they have. Of course the enthusiast community has come up with faster drivers.
* Streaming video right off your Tivo and watching it on any computer in the house is cool (TivoTool does this). I don't forsee Tivo adding this capability anytime soon.
* With TivoTool, you can burn a DVD right from the main interface. TivoToGo requires that you purchase another program to do this.
* You also need to pay for some sort of MPEG2 codec. TivoTool uses MPlayer which has MPEG2 support.
* TivoTool can stream-compress to various formats such as avi and mp4 as you download it from the Tivo.
* Other stuff, I don't want to totally start comparing dick sizes. There is a Linux version of TivoTool though!

Finally, I should point out that this new software from Tivo will only work on a specific subset of Tivo hardware. Specifically the "Series 2" with software version 7.x. If you have a DirecTV Tivo, sorry. If you have a Series 1, sorry. If you are in the UK or Aus, sorry. Yes, TivoTool works with all of the above.

Also, notice the Mac platform was never mentioned in their press release. Only "iPod support". This *might* be bad news for the Mac platform, but I'm putting a little faith in Tivo because I still love their device and what it does for me. They can't just put in iPod support for Windows. That would be insane.