TiVo to Go Released 238
SimCityHippy wrote to us with the news that TiVo has TiVo To Go. Right now, the To Go feature is supported only on Windows XP & Win2k; no word on whether the feature will be rolled out to OS X or WinME. It's also interesting to note that while they recommend Windows MP, VLC gets a nod as well.
What are you doing.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What other products have this capability? (Score:1, Insightful)
WMP Requirement? (Score:1, Insightful)
I guess I will find out when I get home.
Re:burning to dvd... (Score:5, Insightful)
Burning to DVD is a problem for the studios? Yes. They'll certainly fight for DRM or other limitations. But why should it be this way? For years and years everyone KNEW they had a right to videotape whatever they pleased for their own personal collections. Many fans of shows videotaped every episode, and kept a complete personal archive. In what way is it different to do this with a Tivo and DVD than it is with a videotape? Hell, leave out the middleman - there are plenty of DVD recorder decks now available for consumers, and they work more or less like VCRs.
But we've gotten to a point where we assume that just because the studios have found a business model, anything that rips into it is fair game for litigation. And the studios might win such litigation. And that's just sad.
Re:What other products have this capability? (Score:3, Insightful)
Not at all. Especially on Slashdot, people seem to have blinders on that TiVo == DVR. They even use TiVo as a verb. I really don't understand it either since there are other alternatives to TiVo like ReplayTV or even free ones like MythTV. Why do people so vehemently defend TiVo even when they do stupid things like announce wanting to put commercials on while you fast forward and openly oppose copying the shows off your system in order to archive them? BTW, "Hacks" don't count, that functionality should be built into the system to let you copy the digital movie format off the hard drive and transfer it to your PC with little trouble.
Re:burning to dvd... (Score:3, Insightful)
the bad part is even though the entertainment industry realizes this fact, they still want to cripple any capabilites which are perfectly legal under fair-use laws. right now geeks are the only people that will use these capabilities, loading up their portable devices with media and watching episodes of seinfeld and ali g on the subway.... but in the future that will likely change and unfortunately the mass population won't realize until then that the entertainment industry has stolen all of their fair use rights
So is world peace. (Score:4, Insightful)
ReplayTV it seemed we barely knew you. (Score:2, Insightful)
Replay TV 5xxx series 2003-2004
P.S. May you be reborn in a 6xxx series with support for viewing ALL media formats available on your network. Including documents.
Re:burning to dvd... (Score:3, Insightful)
That's exactly what I say/think when EA whines about piracy of titles that have MY name on them.
Rampant piracy is not what distinguishes the 50K title from the 5M one, lameness is.
Anyone in the industry has sufficient information that this should be painfully obvious.
Re:Obligatory product bashing (Score:3, Insightful)
I justify the TiVo monthly service expense for the convenience. It's fairly easy to understand if you start from the premise that you and I place different values on nearly everything - Starbucks coffee, restaurant meals, cars, mortgages, computers, etc. But mostly for me it's about valuing time and convenience. Although I am technically capable of doing so, I have no desire to assemble, configure, and maintain a homebrew PVR system. My wife and seven year old son can operate the TiVo. That has value to me as well. And a free programming guide from Yahoo, or printed weekly in the newspaper, does not compare to the simplicity of a few clicks to keep the TiVo full of fresh episodes of the Magic Treehouse and SpongeBob.
"Or keeping a landline for TiVo to use when you probably already have broadband and a cell phone?"
I plugged a USB 802.11b adapter into the TiVo and it utilizes my wireless network. That enables TiVo to stream photos and music from iPhoto and iTunes which the aforementioned wife enjoys. Her happiness = my happiness. And not messing up the most basic home entertainment needs trumps my geek impulses.
"If MythTV is too complicated to setup, just get the cheapest Windows PC and use whatever PVR program comes with the TV tuner. Might want to throw in a wireless keyboard+trackpad."
What's exciting to you is frightening to me. I'd rather pay the $13 a month. But I am glad that options exist so we can all benefit.
Re:burning to dvd... (Score:3, Insightful)
And this stands true whether we're talking about perfect digital reproductions (which we're usually not with over the air and cable recordings, but as HDTV and digital cable become more common, maybe we will be eventually). The principle isn't dictated by the quality of the recording, or how long you expect to keep it, or the ease of redistribution. Keeping your own personal copy is ALWAYS ok. Redistributing it without permission is ALWAYS infringement. That's the distinction made when the courts talk about fair use copies.
After all, even in the pre-everything-is-digital age, you could still create a remarkably good copy with a high-end video deck and good cables/components to reduce line noise. And you could sell them for a few bucks on the street. It wouldn't be legal, and infringers were often punished/sued, but the tech was there.
Re:What other products have this capability? (Score:3, Insightful)
First off, I'll preface this with the fact that I went from cable, to DirecTV, to DirecTiVo, and back to cable, then finally to a cable supplied DVR. What i've found is that the TiVo DVRs have such a major following because they ARE -that much- better. My cable DVR is no more special than a f'ing VCR. You can record a particular show, or record it every time it shows on that channel. However it's not as simple as with TiVo where you say "season pass" then type in the first couple letters to find it, then you're done. On this DVR you actually need to go find a point where that show is playing on the channel you want it on, then hit record, then start assigning recordings. That is my most major gripe.
Secondly, the menuing system BLOWS on my new DVR. It's nowhere near as friendly as the TiVo's. I can't cite anything at the moment, as I gave my TiVo away since I couldn't get DirecTV anymore, but I do know that I'm nowhere near as comfortable with this menuing system as I was with the TiVo.
I also like how TiVo will record recommendations for you. I've found some really cool shows that way. I do miss that damned machine..
BTW, "Hacks" don't count, that functionality should be built into the system to let you copy the digital movie format off the hard drive and transfer it to your PC with little trouble.
This is the cool part though, TiVo ENCOURAGES hacking. They've got a VERY strong community following and it seems like they actually encourage all of the little hacks and projects people work on. I've heard nothing but praise for the TiVo hacking community. I haven't had a chance to play with it myself, but again, my TiVo is gone.
TiVo is like the google of TV appliances, it's just really cool, really friendly, and doesn't offend anybody