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Tivo 3.0 'Firebolt' Hits the Wild
James Evans writes "Tivo is rolling out version 3.0 of their software, including Ethernet drivers as well as the ability to download program data directly from a cable broadcast without using the phone line."
My guess is it'll be awhile before everyone gets it since these things come
in waves.
It probably simply means that the ethernet support will be unused for first and second gen hardware, and that TiVo didn't feel a need to branch the OS development tree. That's a pure guess on my part, but it's a plausible (to me at least) one.
I think you are paying for the *hardware*. Tivo boxen are sold below cost. With the Replay boxs, you have a choice of paying upfront for the box or paying monthly.
Who cares about the onboard ethernet controller? If all it's doing is downloading program listings from the internet instead of the phone line, I am not impressed. My current Tivo does this at night basically.
What would impress me if I could download all those juicey mpeg-2 vdieo files (or better yet, compress them to Divx) and share that stuff on Kazaa or WinMX. Unfortunately, Tivo won't play that game. Since the 2.5 software, my 9th tee Ethernet controller won't work.
Doh!
but then won't tivo be losing that $13/month you pay for the ability to download schedules, subscribe to TV shows and whatever else? i don't own one, but from what i understand (my brother has one) your tivo dials in to get a schedule so it knows when to record the list of shows you program in. i underastand you can program it like a VCR anytime (like: record channel 17 at 22:00 Tuesday), but to go to a grid and pick "Buffy" you have to pay the monthly fees, right?
Um, last time I checked, you are not obligated to buy the service. Without the service, your TiVo will just let you pause live TV or record at sepcific times. This only makes sense. Why should they provide ongoing services to you (the programming guide) if you're not going to pay them?
Uh... see, there are these things called PCs... you might have heard of them... get yourself a video capture card with PVR software, a big honkin' hard disk, and a good sound system, and you are good to go.
Asking for this is like saying "I won't buy a car until they can fly through the air." In reality, what you're really looking for is an airplane...
Oh yeah, the thread that has this information is on the excellent TiVo Community:
. ph p?s=&threadid=54620
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread
Bah. Not a problem for me. I've been using my Tivo almost 2 years. Yes, it records more than I can ever watch. So most of it goes unwatched.
I find Tivo indespensible now for 2 reasons:
1. The ability to pause or replay anything I watch. I can't even tell you how often I replay the last 10 seconds to catch something I missed, or pausing while I got check the meat on the BBQ. And my wife calls me in often to replay something for me that she found interesting or funny.
2. Efficient use of viewing time. I don't care enough about TV to go out of my way to watch something when it airs, and I sure don't care to watch everything Tivo records. (My hacked unit is only 52 hours.) What is important is that for the few hours a week that I _do_ want to watch TV, I am able to select the best of the best. That is, I tell Tivo to record only things I like, and then I watch only what I want, when I want. The ability to FF through commercials means it only takes about 42 minutes to watch an hour show, so the time I spend watching TV is maximized.
Well, I seem to be watching the same amount of TV. I was never an addict to begin with and when I switched to directv I had a choice: buy a reciever box for $50 or a Hughes DirecTivo for $120. Guess what I went for.
Right now I have it set to record a few shows (7-8) in season pass mode. I shut off the auto-record suggestions mode because it really just recorded crap. Just because I like the Simpsons doesn't mean I like everything thats animated, especially stuff for the 4-7 year old demographic. I spent some time just rating movies and TV shows and it still was pretty lousy. Plus, I really don't want to watch lots of TV unless its interesting. The programs I choose are good enough and if I'm channel surfing I'll check whats on the various discovery-type channels and movie channels.
The real fun part is that I never look at the clock and think "Hey the Daily Show is on" or whatever. Even if I know something good is on I prefer to catch it 10 minutes or so late so I can skip the commercials, boring parts, bad guests, etc. Its weird how clock oriented I was toward TV. If I cancel I'll probably be using the hell out of my VCR.
The real problem is I can't stand live TV with its ads. Its bad when you haven't seen a commercial break in months and now you have to find ways to entertain yourself for 3 minutes 4 times a show. So I just hit record and walk away. Come back and skip commercials as usual.
Its great at catching every showing of something. So if you like the Power Puff Girls you're going to get four per day, unless otherwise programmed. Great, one of those is probably one I haven't seen. The interface is sweet compared the directv boxes and because its a DirecTivo I'm always recording at MPEG-2. It doesn't compress anything, it just records everything raw - highest quality from directv.
The pitfalls for most people is that they load up on the suggestions and veg away. Avoid that. Make TV your bitch. I did.
Its not the hardware that really matters with the Tivo, its the software and the back-end services from Tivo that make it so cool.. And lets not forget about the little Tivo remote control thats ooh-so-sexy!
mje0w!!!1!