TiVoToGo for Portables Updated 53
fistfullast33l writes "In a followup to previous stories on Slashdot, IGN is reporting that TiVo has released a new version of TiVoToGo that now allows subscribers to transfer shows to portables such as the iPod, PSP, and Treo without the need for third-party software such as Videora. The upgrade costs $25 for current subscribers and includes the ability to transfer to desktop PCs as well. To recap, you can now transfer your TiVo shows to your laptop, desktop, and portable, as well as burn them to DVD. Time for me to subscribe to HBO."
But still not available for MacOS... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:But still not available for MacOS... (Score:2)
Re:But still not available for MacOS... (Score:1)
We now have to hope for Apple to create a Tivo replacement.
Re:But still not available for MacOS... (Score:1)
Re:But still not available for MacOS... (Score:2)
Looks like a PC using an Apple display to me. The mouse and the tower should be a dead giveaway.
Re:But still not available for MacOS... (Score:2)
Quick someone alert the MPAA! (Score:2, Funny)
Live television on cell phones and wifi devices (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Live television on cell phones and wifi devices (Score:1)
Re:Live television on cell phones and wifi devices (Score:2)
The battery life is better than on your notebook, and it's not as much crap to haul out of the overhead storage bin. The tiny screen on your typical cellphone isn't all that great, but the bigger screen on a Treo or similar device is watchable enough.
Re:Live television on cell phones and wifi devices (Score:1)
Or I could do the whole thing for free... (Score:3, Informative)
Before you bitch about the fee... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Before you bitch about the fee... (Score:2)
Resolution low + Tivo still allows broadcast flag (Score:5, Informative)
So TivotoGo is hardly everything it's cracked up to be (if you want true freedom, you'll still have to set up MythTV or a similar app). Adding portable support is a step in the right direction. And it is nice to be able to transfer recordings to DVD (but only using Tivo's special codec on the encrypted transferred files).
-Eric
Re:Resolution low + Tivo still allows broadcast fl (Score:2)
Umm, no I didn't - that's the point of a product that transcodes for a *portable* device. You still have the full resolution version sitting on your PC - TiVoToGo doesn't drop resolution on normal transfers...
Secondly, TTG doesn't use a 'special codec' on DVD burns - if they did it wouldn't work in a DVD player. It simply decrypts the tiv
Tracking (Score:5, Interesting)
Television programs transferred to portable devices using TiVo Desktop Plus contain information that can be used to identify the TiVo account and/or DVR from which the transfer originated.
Re:Tracking (Score:1)
Seriously, this is exactly what they should do if they're worried about their content being uploaded to the internet. I would much rather have some sort of watermark that is invisible to me than to have restrictive DRM that forces me to used Windows or any particular device. I still can't watch the TivoToGo stuff on my mac or my linux machine, so at least they're starting to go in the right direction. One day maybe I'll be able to use the services I'm paying Tivo for.
Re:Tracking (Score:3, Informative)
Considering the tool only runs on Windows, they've already managed to accomplish that.
I'm a TiVo user (have lifetime sub on my box, actually, and 160GBx2 of drive space, and might get a Series 3; we'll see) but I'm also a Mac user, and every time there's a new update, it still doesn't have a Mac counterpart.
Simply inexcusable.
Re:Tracking (Score:1)
It wasn't that hard, especially for anyone who's ever put together a PC and used a unix command line.
Re:Tracking (Score:1)
So, tell how it's done? Links? ( I have one of the DirecTV units and have been annoyed at many of it's "features", especially the disabled USB ports).
Re:Tracking (Score:2)
Re:Tracking (Score:2)
TiVo being evil, or TiVo being afraid of the *AA?
ultimately a disappointment... (Score:5, Interesting)
as an owner of both supported mobile devices (the ipod video and the psp) i found it a noble gesture, but ultimately it fails. here's why:
bottom line is, it feels like tivo rushes this type of thing out the door and risks distancing themselves from the only people who are still rooting for them. writers have been sounding their death knell [gizmodo.com] for a while now [engadget.com]. where's the series 3 [arstechnica.com] box? are there enough compelling features to push me to upgrade to it, if it ever comes out? what are their engineers and developers doing in their spare time, then, since we haven't seen a new product in eons? do they really not have the available time to write a five star product instead of a weak little three star app that almost cuts it?
fortunately i run mostly windows still so i won't complain about the lack of full OSX support [pvrblog.com], although i have tried their version of tivo desktop for OSX and it won't even start up on my macbook.
remember, with two free applications (directshowdump and videora/pspvideo9) you can strip out the DRM and render the video at whatever size you want for your portable devices. don't shell out $25 for a DRM-crippled, slow, clunky, low-res solution.
Re:ultimately a disappointment... (Score:1)
Re:ultimately a disappointment... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:ultimately a disappointment... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:ultimately a disappointment... (Score:2)
About January 2004. Two and a half years ago.
Not to mention that on the Tivocommunity website a TiVo rep there (TiVoPony) said Mac support wou
Re:ultimately a disappointment... (Score:2)
Actually, no. A Tivo (at least series-2 units) without a subscription is more like a $300 doorstop. Even for series-1 units, they removed the "dumb VCR" mode in later versions of the TiVo OS. Nice, eh... keeps the pleebs tied to that monthly service fee.
Re:ultimately a disappointment... (Score:1, Informative)
I can't argue with the rest of your points
It's all bits (Score:3, Interesting)
TiVO/Motorola == Apple/Microsoft (Score:2)
Motorola's big push is to get all of their product lines interacting. They had working demos of a "whole home DVR" that will let you pause on one TV and pick up right where you leave off
Re:TiVO/Motorola == Apple/Microsoft (Score:3, Informative)
Re:TiVO/Motorola == Apple/Microsoft (Score:2)
I would have bought one of the silly things a long time ago if I could have BOUGHT one and been done with it. Or if the "subscription" was $20 a YEAR (price of TV guide). As is, I don't need yet another $20/month "service" perpetually draining my credit card.
Re:TiVO/Motorola == Apple/Microsoft (Score:1)
HBO? (Score:4, Insightful)
The pay movie channels really aren't all that great, IMO. Except for the homegrown series that can be pretty good, the movie selection sucks. They just repeat the same limited set of movies all month long. And if you have a cable provider that does on-demand, you can usually watch most of them for free anytime you want. For the cost of just one or two premium channels you can get a Netflix account and get just about any movie you want. Spend a month or three seriously abusing Netflix and you can end up with a pretty big collection of ripped movies which you can reencode however you want and put on whatever device you want.
Heck, I don't even have cable anymore. I used to use a MythTV box to record TV, but now I just use it to play shows downloaded from Bittorrent. That is, when it is too early to get the show on DVD from Netflix. I wasn't watching the commercials anyway, so I don't feel like a pirate. (they were being broadcast for free originally). Saves a lot of money per month. Cable is just too damn expensive.
Pay $25.00 or use a free utility. (Score:1)
OR
One can just download TIVO2AVI/TIVO2WMV/TIVO2MPG for free. All you have to do is enter your Media code to decrypt the
The transfer time from the tivo to the desktop is ungodly for being just 1 GB for a 1 hour show. I assume this is due to the media partition bein
Re:Pay $25.00 or use a free utility. (Score:1)
OR
One can just download TIVO2AVI/TIVO2WMV/TIVO2MPG for free. All you have to do is enter your Media code to decrypt the
The transfer time from the tivo to the desktop is ungodly for being just 1 GB for a 1 hour show. I assume this is due to the media partition being e
Re:Pay $25.00 or use a free utility. (Score:1)
The .tivo file is encrypted on your PC. I think Tivo2go rocks! I get about 3 gig an hour transfer rate.
The setup is a wired connection and a Linksys USB200M adapter on the Tivo. The Tivo is a standard 60 hour Tivo brand series 2. In case you can't find it elsewhere the Link
Life Ungotten (Score:3, Insightful)
Let's see, $50 for basic cable, $20 extra for HBO, $15 for your Tivo subscription. That's a really big recurring cost. You could go to a lot of movies and rent a lot of DVDs for that much. Perhaps you're willing to pay a huge premium just to see the latest ep of The Sopranos without waiting for it come out on DVD. Or maybe you (shudder) spend so much time in front of the tube that it's a bargain.
But most likely, you're like most consumers: you've been programmed to shell out big money for little bits of entertainment. Now that is really a sad though.
Re:Life Ungotten (Score:2)
But most likely, you're like most consumers: you've been programmed to shell out big money for little bits of entertainment. Now that is really a sad though.
Nice point about the high cost of entertainment nowadays, but I bet you probably live under a rock and get your TV via antenna? The point is that we all have to pay this crazy amount to get any kind of entertainment. Personally, I don't own TiVo or HBO. I pay $54 a month for digital cable (NYC no longer has basic cable service) so all in all it's
Re:Life Ungotten (Score:2)
Indeed. And I can't watch Fox or CBS because their local stations don't come in well. I had to give up cable because I was dead broke, but now that I'm rich again, I just don't feel like letting all that crap back into my life. Netflix and the half-dozen stations I do get — and living within walking distance of a good public library [sjlibrary.org] — is all the home entertainment I
Still no DirecTivo support, right? (Score:2)