Slashdot Mirror
Tivo 2 Features On the Horizon
Lemuel writes "Tivo has finally pre-announced its music and photo pictures for the Tivo 2. Users will be able to play MP3s and view photos that come from their computer. It will also be possible to program the Tivo via a web site. An official announcement is due in January. There will be revenue associated with these items. Only the remote programming sounds interesting to me, but I'm glad for anything that would keep Tivo afloat."
Due to pressure from the MPAA, they're dropping the program recording capability.
move files onto the computer for archiving/storage? The article talks about playing mp3's/video from the computer as well as "home networking", but there are no real details. Any other info?
Like pi? Try 10,000 digits.
int sexualStatus ( char *sexuality ) {
if ( (strcmp(sexuality,"I'm not gay goddamnit")) == 0 ) {
recommendGayPorn();
fputs("Sorry, Dave, we think you're gay", stdout);
} else {
recommendGayPorn();
return 1;
}
PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
We wanted to announce that we are gonna say this at a later date. Oh wait! Crap!
I thought about going that route. However, there's a few things missing:
1) I don't want to watch TV on my monitor. My TV is nicer. My TV is in front of the couch. My TV has a better picture. My TV has sound through my stero.
2) Season Passes. To be honest, I don't know when half of what I watch is one. I just look at at my Tivo list & watch one of them.
3) Searching by category. Everyone so often, I like to go look at say, all the movies, coming up & Tivo the ones I've wanted to see.
4) The interface. Any way you cut it, Tivo did a great job here.
Viva La Tivolution!
-Bill
SlashSig Karma: Excellent (mostly affected by moderatio
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Andrew Tridgell's notes on hacking the TiVo, including his various hacks for the device. Also, TiVo hacking FAQ may be of interest.
I.O.U One Sig.
http://tivo.lightn.org/
:)
No add'l streams of revenue off us Tivo 1-model hackers. Heh heh heh.
Yeah...we can't view photos (boo hoo) and listen to MP3s (Apex DVD player anyone?) but we can extract shows, FTP, telnet, etc. into our Tivos...
Wonder if Tivo will now be disabling this "ability" with a new round of hacker "thwarts"?
TiVo is very open about what kind of data they collect (data which is not linked to specific users), and provide an easy way to opt out of that collection process.
The fact that you can record video on a pc means nothing to me -- a Tivo is nothing but a really low end computer running linux -- but you don't get a Tivo just to record tv. Saying "my computer with a video capture card does the same thing" is like saying that "my ford escort is just as good for a 2000 mile treck across the country as luxury sedan". They both get the job done. One is just a hell of a lot nicer than the other.
I WANT them to track my viewing habits. It's like voting for your favorite show. And if they want TiVo to record show that follow my habits, more power to them. Anything to reduce the "Friends" ratio can't be bad.
And for watching TV on my PC, I think I'd much rather sit in my Lazy Boy, with my feet up, looking at a 35" screen and not having the sound drowned out by CPU fans.
I have the freedom of recording whatever I want on my pc with my video capture card
Yes, you do. On the contrary, I have the freedom to enjoy using my extremely user-friendly, feature-filled TiVo. Of giving programs thumbs-up and having it record similar programs. Of easily setting up Season Passes for all my favorite shows. For setting up wishlists based on favorite actors, directors, and keywords, and having any matching programs automatically record. And this all comes in a nice-looking black box that blends in with the rest of my home stereo equipment.
without paying a fee
I don't "pay a fee." That implies I'm getting nothing in return. I buy a service. I could also fork out $250 and get that service for the lifetime of my TiVo. If you had a TiVo, you wouldn't be complaining about $15 a month. I'd pay 2-3x that for what TiVo does.
without my viewing habits being tracked
This is the worst mud you can come up with to sling at TiVo?
Yes, horrors, TiVo aggregately tracks your viewing habits. I like this. I would prefer future content be tailored to what I like to watch. I like the idea that maybe my viewing preference information will make its way back to the bigwigs... maybe more West Wings, and Sopranos, and Six Feet Unders, and Andy Richters will show up on TV then!
I wonder what kind of nasty stuff they have cooked up in this Tivo 2 of theirs....
Sigh... You're the stereotypical slashdotter. I bet you get all hot and bothered with every "Your Rights Online" post they make here, don't you?
I am willing to trade a little meaningless privacy for a lot of added value.
Yes, that's right, it is MEANINGLESS to me if "they" know what I watch on TV! If I want to watch something deviant, I'll buy it on DVD like the rest of the world.
"And like that
I've been a Tivo subscriber for 2.5 years now, and while I love my Tivo (Series 1, 90+ hours), $13 a month is starting to get old. I don't understand who would be willing to spend yet more to play music and view pictures.
Really, there are too many things competing for a consumer's monthy share of the paycheck. There's cable/satellite. Cell phone. Bill payment service. Bank fees. The ISP. Tivo. Gym membership. Subscriptions to various web sites. And it's been said that the world's favorite operating system and supporting programs will be billed monthly in the not-too-distant future. With an economy in not-top-shape (here in the US, anyway) and the unemployment rate rising, who can afford to pay for all these monthly services?
As for increasing my $13/month to Tivo for new services... I'd consider a one-time charge to add software to it, similar to when I install an application onto my PC. But not a monthly billed increase.
Some links:
8 34255&mode=thread&threshold=
http://www.digitalregime.com/tivo2svcd/
http://www.tivonews.com/article.pl?sid=02/09/09/1
What makes them think that people will pay extra to listen to music? People may pay extra if they get to download the music and burn it to CDs and transfer it to their MP3 players, but I can't imagine Tivo getting away with that when others have tried and failed.
And I can't even imagine how they could get people to pay extra to show their own photos on their own TV.
As a Tivo subscriber, I find it alarming that these guys are flailing around aimlessly with stupid business models like these. It makes me think that their days truly are numbered.
If electricity is produced by electrons is morality produced by morons?
The second generation TiVo has been around for quite some time (months even), and it does not have broadband support. Unless they'll be selling hardware upgrades (which is doubtful considering the warranty situation), you'll probably have to get a third generation TiVo.
Wrong. TiVo 2 comes with USB ports. These are meant for addons. There are plenty of USB-Ethernet solutions available. In fact, TiVo 2 comes with (albeit somewhat hidden) support for these devices already. You can change your telephone dialup # to a special code, and TiVo will use the USB/Ethernet connection to download program guide data and system updates (and to update the clock).
Presumably these new addons would utilize this broadband over USB technology.
Of course, that's not to stop you from getting the Turbonet Ethernet Adapter Board [9thtee.com] for your TiVo from The 9th Tee [9thtee.com].
It's amazing that you linked to 9th tee's turbonet product, and yet completely missed the USB/Ethernet stuff I was just talking about for TiVo 2's.
"And like that
There certainly are. Several of the ReplayTV models are priced (or were, maybe they've changed) sans-subscription. Of course, the prices started at $500, coincidentally, very similar to the subscription-based models + lifetime fee. The subscription fee is really just a different method of making a profit on the hardware. The catch is that few (or fewer, as these companies are all struggling) people would shell out $500 for this equipment, but $200-$300 falls within the acceptable range. Just think about it this way: your PVR costs $500+. You can pay them now, or you can break half of that out in installments.
Not to toot the ReplayTV horn again, but their units ship with 10BaseT Ethernet. Although there isn't official Replay->PC support, there are programs that let you do it.
I don't know about you, but my computer can already play MP3's and view photos. Why pay $250 to do that again?
Sigh. What is with these lame, ignorant posts getting modded up tonight?
1. Can your computer play MP3's on your stereo in the living room, which just happens to be hooked up to your TiVo?
2. Can your computer display photos on your big TV in the living room for the entire family to see?
If you answered No to either question, you just may be in their target market. Golly.
"And like that
Are there any good PVRs out there that you don't need to pay a monthly service fee to use?
No.
I mean, come on. TV listings are hardly worth $5/month or whatever. I can get all of that off the web for free.
Then do it.
However, if you think it's too much of a pain in the ass to write and maintain a program that can consistently generate accurate results for your home-brewed PC-based PVR, then you just may be interested in a TiVo, where everything is easy to use, and it costs a mere $13 a month for the entire service.
I also really don't want some company (and possibly TIA in the future) sifting through my TV viewing habits.
1. They're aggregate, not tied to you. 2. You can turn it off. 3. What are you afraid of? That Mr. BigWig will know you are one of 100,000 people watching X-files reruns at 3AM. WTF cares? Worry about something that matters.
Are there any PVR solutions out there that just let you record TV shows and watch 'em later?
The beauty of TiVo is what happens when you don't have to worry about setting your device up to record shows. You tell it what you like, and it does everything for you.
I think you may be looking for a VCR?
"And like that
It doesn't look like they've allowed for updated Tivo over broadband yet. I dropped my land line for a cell phone and broadband (had the cellphone already anyway). Tivo looks great, but is un-usable.
This is like the 5th highly rated comment in this article that is just plain wrong.
If you have a standalone TiVo (series 1), you can buy cards that fit in your TiVo and give you an ethernet port. Or you can buy the AirTivo device, and have WiFi connection instead!
If you have a standalone Series 2 TiVo, you can buy a USB device that plugs into the port and gives you an ethernet port. You could also buy a wireless AP and connect it to this port to give you wireless connectivity as well.
In either case, if you bought compatible hardware, you simply punch in a special code instead of a dialup phone number into the TiVo menu, and your TiVo will use your existing LAN connection to the net to download all its data each night. No software hacking required.
The TiVo forums refer to this as "broadband un-support," because while it works great in the TiVo, it is not yet officially supported.
I've used it for well over a year now, back when you used to have to muck with the software to get it to work.
Visit 9thtee for the necessary addons.
"And like that
TiVo has been "signing" their kernels so that the TiVo hardware will only recognize the kernel compiled by themselves. So, while TiVo does provided the source code to the Linux kernel and their modification to the source code, you will never get your own compilation of the kernel to ever run on the hardware. Of course, this defeats the hole point of CopyLeft/GPL!
But, even if you don't care about Free Software and the future of Linux, there is also the issue of the future of TV. The FCC keeps claiming that there will be *ALOT* more ATSC digital TV broadcasts in 2006. That is only 4 years away! Why would anyone want to pay at least $200 + $250 subscription for a total of $450 on something that the NTSC tuner can't be replaced in?? TiVo still makes no claims to the be "HDTV ready." If it had some USB2 ports then there might be hope in the future but the two USB v1 ports provided have a *practical* maxium through-put of maybe 16 Mbps *combined*. An ATSC tuner can spit end up spitting out 19.2 Mbps of digital TV goodness of which the TiVo USB ports can't keep up. By the time TiVO figures out how far behind they are either a future version of Xbox or PlayStation will have entered the PVR market.
You won't understand the zealots untill you've joined them.
1) The monthly fee is a financed $250 payment. Anyone with basic math knowledge will pay the lifetime fee and be done with it. (a used replay or tivo with lifetime subscription sells for about $250 more than one without). A tivo or replay costs $500 new, give or take 50.
2) PVRs do what they're supposed to do. A PC which costs more than a tivo can do the same thing as a tivo, and do a worse job. With a PVR, you're watching extreemly flexible TV. With a PC, you're using your computer to watch TV. Oh, and a new ReplayTV will do everything you mentioned and they're fighting for your right to do it in court.
Why are Tivo Zealots so, well, zealous?
I could turn your question around on you. Why are computer-centric *nix zealots so against a user-friendly device that doesn't run on their computer?
Or I could answer your question directly and say, because non-TiVo users spout ignorant bullshit and get modded up by equally ignorant moderators?
Monthly fee. You may be willing to pay it, but I'm not.
Fine. Don't pay it. End of story. I couldn't care less if you aren't willing to pay it. Good for you.
However, if you want to post on slashdot and pretend that your no-monthly-charge, put-together PVR with the web-downloaded TV guide hack is as elegant as my $13 a month TiVo, please expect a strong rebuttal.
I don't care about downloading programming, etc, etc, all that stuff is available free on the web, I won't pay for it.
This is what drives me up the wall. I don't pay $13 a month merely for programming content. I pay $13 a month because TiVo, the company, takes care of making sure the content is accurate, the format is compatible with my PVR, the guide is updated if channel lineup changes occur, the PVR automatically uses the data to update recording times, the PVR handles my season passes automatically, etc.
Can't do a lot of cool stuff that it should be able to.
You're right, I'd love a TiVo BJ, but that hasn't made it in there yet.
The new Tivo's will come with a NIC, right?
No, they have a USB port where a USB/ethernet device can be plugged in, such as those found on 9thtee.com.
I should be able to connect to the Tivo and download mpegs.
You can. You've been able to for years. It's not officially supported (yet), but this is one of the reasons the TiVo Series 2 has USB ports -- so TiVo can make addons that support new feature ideas, without risking the entire device to lawsuits that may require them to stop production on certain products.
I should be able to send shows to friends, download them to my laptop, burn them to VCD, etc.
You can easily save shows out the S-Video port, to anything that can handle S-Video, such as a VCR, DVD recorder, etc. You can use the unofficial software I talked about above to pull video off the TiVo. Honestly I've never felt the need to do either one. However, there is nothing stopping TiVo from coming up with addons to add these features. I am sure this is why they added USB ports and are now talking about networkable features that are in the works.
Obviously I realize why Tivo will never include this functionality.
You do?
"And like that
Replay alrady does this and more
-lets you set your program from the web www.myreplaytv.com
-Pictures can be uploaded to it
-streaming over the network
-share shows over the internet (you cant share what you recieved)
I can live without mp3
I did some temp tech support for these before SONICblue moved to India (last week). Nice PVR, wish I bought one.
my associative arrays can kick your hash - TCL
Keep in mind that Tivo's so-called lifetime fee only covers the lifetime of the unit; when the unit needs replacing, so does your lifetime membership. How long will your tivo last?
.
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
In case you happen to be using DirecTV, which of course is impossible since DirecTV isn't offered for sale in Canada, and you've bought a TiVo, which of course is impossible since TiVo isn't offered for sale in Canada, you can just hook up the Tivo, tell it your Canadian area code, give a US Zip code that DirecTV services, and it will find a local Canadian number to download the DirecTV guide data from.
Or so I've heard. Because I certainly don't use DirecTV and TiVo up here, no siree.
- In Capitalist America, law violates YOU!