Nero Unveils LiquidTV, TiVo For Your Computer 156
bigwophh writes to mention HotHardware is reporting that Nero has decided to try a new step forward for home theater PCs by bringing the TiVo service to your computer. The new LiquidTV / TiVo PC package includes a (USB-based) high definition ATSC digital/analog TV tuner, antenna, remote control, IR blaster, Nero's LiquidTV software, and a 12-month subscription to the TiVo service for around $200. You can cut that in half if you already have a compatible TV tuner. This is the first time that TiVo has licensed their intuitive interface for a PC package. In addition to the TiVo interface, the rest of the LiquidTV software package allows you to burn your TV recordings to DVD or transfer the videos to other computers, iPods, PSP, or "other mobile devices." This service is due to launch next month.
Hey America (Score:0, Informative)
Bout time (Score:5, Informative)
If it's from Nero, it has to suck. (Score:5, Informative)
Nero is notorious for installing processes you don't want that run all the time. I bought the DVD writer program (the commercial product, not the free version) and, even though I turned off everything else, it installed an "indexing service" and a "backup service", which started up at boot time. I wouldn't trust a product from them. You don't know that it's doing.
(By the way, what's a reliable Windows non-Vista product for writing DVDs of both data and video formats. I don't need "ripping", but want to transcode some of my old animation .avi files to DVD.)
In response to blatent advertisement for TIVO... (Score:5, Informative)
No subscription charges, files are stored so anyone can view them or burn to DVD. It also includes compression and advertisement skipping, an hour of TV is about around 500 to 900MB. They also offer a $30 add-on so you can view from another computer on the network. I share the hard drive instead, but then the advertisement skipping feature can't be used, just standard fast forward.
Snapstream isn't the most intuitive program out there, but you don't have to pay the monthly subscription charge for access to free information once the first 12 month subscription runs out.
Re:If it's from Nero, it has to suck. (Score:3, Informative)
http://cdburnerxp.se/ [cdburnerxp.se]
And it's free!
Re:If it's from Nero, it has to suck. (Score:3, Informative)
Imgburn is freeware and works well, but it doesn't do menus.
If you want menus... I actually use Nero, mainly because I hate all the other applications I've found for this task, notably Ulead DVD Creator and Roxio Easy Media Creator.
IR blasters are unreliable -- stay away! (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Who asked for this? (Score:4, Informative)
Among others:
1) You can have up to 4 tuners in the PC.
2) You can stream the video to different PCs on your network.
3) More storage, and better use of storage. For example, you can archive the actual Tivo recordings and burn them to DVD. (and yes, you can get them out of the program and edit them as you see fit).
Re:If it's from Nero, it has to phone home (Score:5, Informative)
Nero also phones home every time you launch it.
Re:Geeks do this w/o TiVo (Score:3, Informative)
1) My PC based DVR can record encrypted content. Tivo's edge here is gone now.
What hardware/software do you use for this? Something new must have come out recently... As recently as a year ago I was unable to find a legal device that would allow me to record encrypted QAM from my cable connection. Even the devices that claimed to be able to do it, but were bundled with Windows media center couldn't actually get the job done as expected (could only decrypt when saving to DRM encumbered WMV).
will all see the same content? That's certainly news to me. Any
random PC in the house can be another "extender"? News to me.
Yup. As long as the "random PC" is running Windows, MacOS, or Wine. I watch the shows that are on my TiVo from the road by connecting to my home network via VPN from my laptop.
Any platform can access the data as a simple file? News to me.
Now you're adding extra requirements. You have to use Tivo Desktop to view it. However, you can burn to DVD and re-rip... To me, and most people though, this is a non-issue. As long as the video plays, and the quality and speed are good, who cares? Now if you want to modify the TiVo, then you can get them as simple files... Even FTP them straight off the device... It's not very hard to do, but that defeats the purpose of having an off-the-shelf DVR. (I used to run a hacked TiVo before I switched to MythTV, before I switched back to straight TiVo)
Re:Geeks do this w/o TiVo (Score:4, Informative)
Buy yourself a Hauppauge 1212.
Can't miss it. We're all gushing over it.
Re:how does it compare to appleTV? (Score:3, Informative)
"for sure is not as intuitive or legal as an appleTV"
First, I highly doubt the DVR features on the AppleTV are intuitive at all mostly because they do not exist.
Second, why would a DVR be illegal? Recording TV has been legal in the US since Universal v Sony was decided in 1984.
They are other ways to get HD capture (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Geeks do this w/o TiVo (Score:3, Informative)
"Extra requirements" is fine. It's just hard to discuss something with somebody if they're always moving the goalposts.
It does what I said it does... not the extra stuff you added on. If it doesn't work for you, so be it. I have a feeling it *would* work for you though, 'cause there's a big difference between "any device I like" when the list is made up of what you'd actually use and "any device I like" when the list is made up of any device you can think of such that you can say "See! It sucks! It doesn't support [blah]".
Re:Hey America (Score:1, Informative)
Is it still hard to set up and have compatibility issues? Last time I tried it, you had to practically sell your soul to get it to work. I think most people just want something that works with minimal effort.
Re:Hey America (Score:3, Informative)