[subego]

TiVo CFO: Mac integration unlikely

So this is a major drag.

I don't know why I was waiting to buy a second TiVo, but this will certainly put it on hold.

I'm pretty sure this will press Apple closer to the inevitable "media center" type machine.

While I don't see Apple coming up with a cheaper solution than TiVo, Apple can certainly put the smackdown on TiVo's UI, the only other advantage TiVo really has any more.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, I wonder if Steve is ticked he let TiVo sell their boxes at the Apple store lo these many years ago?

[subego]

Oh yeah, from the TiVo website:

"TiVo is working hard to make the TiVoToGo™ feature available on TiVo Desktop for Mac."

Twits.

[Dale Sorel]

Whatever... my DirecTiVo still rocks

[TailsToo]

If Apple were to make something like Tivo with their branding, I'd buy it in a sec!

As much as I hate to say it, Media Center PCs are kinda neat. I just know that Apple could make it 10 times better than MS can.

[zerostar]

I have had my main DirecTiVo for 2 years now and just got a free upgrade to a 70hr one for the bedroom too.

As much as I hate the limitations DirecTV put on the TiVo software it is still the only way to watch TV for me :-)

[Kilbey]

Originally Posted by Dale Sorel

Whatever... my DirecTiVo still rocks

Quoted for emphasis.

Personally, I don't want my computer and my entertainment units combined. I like my computer in a different room and not tied up when someone wants to watch TV. So the media center idea is lame if you ask me.

The only reason I can think of having my TiVo and Mac networked is so I can watch TV on my Mac. Personally, I can't really see any advantage to that. My TV has a bigger, better picture and much better sound.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Kilbey

Personally, I don't want my computer and my entertainment units combined. I like my computer in a different room and not tied up when someone wants to watch TV. So the media center idea is lame if you ask me.

A TiVo is a computer.

Originally Posted by Kilbey

The only reason I can think of having my TiVo and Mac networked is so I can watch TV on my Mac. Personally, I can't really see any advantage to that. My TV has a bigger, better picture and much better sound.

1) Theoretically unlimited storage
2) Ability to burn DVD's without having to buy a TiVo with burner
3) Even if you have a TiVo with burner, you still can't burn stuff transfered via HMO from your non-burner TiVo
4) Did I mention theoretically unlimited storage? That's a biggie
5) Edit out commercials

[willed]

Originally Posted by subego

1) Theoretically unlimited storage
2) Ability to burn DVD's without having to buy a TiVo with burner
3) Even if you have a TiVo with burner, you still can't burn stuff transfered via HMO from your non-burner TiVo
4) Did I mention theoretically unlimited storage? That's a biggie
5) Edit out commercials

Add to that list (AFAIK):
6) Ability to browse iPhoto library from TV in living room
7) Ability to stream mp3s through TiVo to living room

+ possibly more cool features such as iCal integration if TiVo hadn't dropped the ball on development.

[Kilbey]

Originally Posted by subego

A TiVo is a computer.

I know that. But it is a second computer. I do not want my main computer tied up with media related processes.

Originally Posted by subego

1) Theoretically unlimited storage
2) Ability to burn DVD's without having to buy a TiVo with burner
3) Even if you have a TiVo with burner, you still can't burn stuff transfered via HMO from your non-burner TiVo
4) Did I mention theoretically unlimited storage? That's a biggie
5) Edit out commercials

1. Do you know how easy it is to expand a TiVo's storage to astronomical already? It is much easier and wouldn't tie up the HD space on my Mac. Moot point. Theories are nice, but I like reality better.
2. A cheap component DVD burner will do the job. Probably do a better and easier too. Oh, and there's your "theoretically unlimited storage." Cheaper too.
3. See answer #2
4. See answer #1
5. No biggie for me, I just FFwd through them. Editing video is already cumbersome and I wouldn't want to waste my time editing out commercials from video that is rarely with the DVD it is going to be burned to. Besides, if you ever do pull those DVDs out in a decade or so, I think it would be just as entertaining to watch the commercials that were in the program initially.

[Paco500]

This makes me unhappy. Tivo to go is pretty cool- not great but pretty cool. I travel a lot for work and being able to watch tivo content on the plane is neat, I just really wish I could do it from my powerbook instead of my work dell.

A big dissapointment. I may have to start looking into mythtv.

[mitchell_pgh]

I purchased a Elgato EyeHome and it's changed the way I watch TV. I watch 1/2 the shows and 2X the movies.

[iDriveX]

A TiVo representative posted on the TiVo forums that the executive (CFO) was not directly talked to by the reporter and he was misquoted. Here is the TiVo representative's post:

His comments were not represented accurately at all in that article.

We value Mac enthusiasts who own TiVo DVR's. And as we've previously stated, we're working towards support that would bring TiVoToGo to the Macintosh platform.

We have not yet announced a timeline as to when that service may be available though.

In my opinion though, this is more ambiguous BS and doesn't really deny or accept the truth of if or when it will ever be delievered. I would switch platforms but I have no choice but to use TiVo or not use TiVo as all of the Mac solutions like El Gato don't have an IR Blaster out port to change channels on my DirecTV HD box.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Kilbey

I1. Do you know how easy it is to expand a TiVo's storage to astronomical already? It is much easier and wouldn't tie up the HD space on my Mac. Moot point. Theories are nice, but I like reality better.
2. A cheap component DVD burner will do the job. Probably do a better and easier too. Oh, and there's your "theoretically unlimited storage." Cheaper too.
3. See answer #2
4. See answer #1
5. No biggie for me, I just FFwd through them. Editing video is already cumbersome and I wouldn't want to waste my time editing out commercials from video that is rarely with the DVD it is going to be burned to. Besides, if you ever do pull those DVDs out in a decade or so, I think it would be just as entertaining to watch the commercials that were in the program initially.

1) Yup, because I have. Extra 160GB. Still gets filled up all the time. As far as easy goes, I haven't seen much easier than a FW or USB external hard drive, no TiVo case popping needed. External HD also won't tie up space on your mac. Of course, since it's an external HD you can put anything you want on it, not just TV shows.

2) Why should I get this when I have one in my laptop already? For someone who doesn't want to buy a second computer you sure don't mind telling other people to pile up on crap they don't need. Already you have me getting a HD that can only watch TV, another DVD burner, and a biiiiiig stack of DVD-Rs. If TiVo would just develop the freaking software, I wouldn't need to buy a thing (except said software).

5) Okay.

[Kilbey]

Originally Posted by subego

1) Yup, because I have. Extra 160GB. Still gets filled up all the time. As far as easy goes, I haven't seen much easier than a FW or USB external hard drive, no TiVo case popping needed. External HD also won't tie up space on your mac. Of course, since it's an external HD you can put anything you want on it, not just TV shows.

2) Why should I get this when I have one in my laptop already? For someone who doesn't want to buy a second computer you sure don't mind telling other people to pile up on crap they don't need. Already you have me getting a HD that can only watch TV, another DVD burner, and a biiiiiig stack of DVD-Rs. If TiVo would just develop the freaking software, I wouldn't need to buy a thing (except said software).

5) Okay.

You win. You have far too much of an obsession with TV.

I wasn't telling anyone to buy anything. I was stating how easy it is to accomplish what you want a Mac to do. Me, I like specialized components that do the job well. Not Swiss Army Knives/Leathermans that do a bunch of different jobs badly.

Go watch tv and quit yer bitchin'

[CIA]

I have a DirecTivo which I LOVE. Last summer I hacked it. Went from one 40GB drive to 2x120gb, and added a Tivo CacheCard w/ network adapter and a 512MB ram chip (and yes, those uber cheap-ass 64x4 ram sticks work great). I added a bunch of network card hacks to access the tivo from the web, but now I wonder why as I have never once used that feature since I did the upgrade. Anyway now the thing is much faster, makes its daily call over the internet and not the phone, and holds 200+ hours of TV. And honestly, if I'm that far behind on my TV watching, I'm trying to watch way too much TV.
It's nice that I still can have every 2004 ALCS and World series game on there, all cued up to the moment when we won. One of my room mates is a die hard Yankees fan, and whenever he gets a little roudy, I fire up the third out from game 7 to shut him up. GO RED SOX!
Since I got the TiVo 2 1/2 years ago, I've had 3 room mates come and go, and once they moved out, they all bought TiVo's. Once you have one for awhile, you can never go back to regular TV.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Kilbey

You win. You have far too much of an obsession with TV.

Yay... hey, waitaminnit!

Originally Posted by Kilbey

I wasn't telling anyone to buy anything. I was stating how easy it is to accomplish what you want a Mac to do. Me, I like specialized components that do the job well. Not Swiss Army Knives/Leathermans that do a bunch of different jobs badly.

I probably didn't give enough background. If you're running the most recent TiVo OS (7.1), you can already access your "Now Playing" on your TiVo from Safari and stream the video to your Mac as easy as clicking a link.

Try it. Point Safari at:

https://[your_tivo_ip_address]/nowplaying/index.html

User is "tivo", the password is your media access key, which you can find in settings>Account Information & something or other.

Macs with DVD burners already have nice simple DVD burning program in iDVD, people on the PC side have to use a program which is universally reviled. It's all set to go. It would (not surprising to most around here) be a bajillion times better than the PC version. I'm not trying to be argumentative (I swear to god) when I emphatically state it isn't a swiss army knife solution.

However TiVo chose non cross platform Microsoft DRM. Mac users get screwed again.

Being a Mac user, it's not like I'm not used to this. You have hopes though. TiVo is one of those "Insanely Great" things like the Mac. You want them to come together and be "Insanelyer Greater". You have to think a disproportionate percentage of Mac users (relative to market share) have TiVos. The (unofficial) TiVo representative on the TiVo Community BBS even uses a Mac. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Admittedly I should have probably named this "Apple Zealot Whinging about TiVo Gripe Thread".

Originally Posted by Kilbey

Go watch tv and quit yer bitchin'

Quit my bitchin? This is a mac forum right?

[subego]

So I trawled through this thread on the TiVo Community board. Saw you chime in there iDriveX. The only genuinely new piece of info was from TiVoPony (a marketing guy from TiVo who chimes in every now and then):

Originally Posted by CrispyCritter
I suspect this is very close to what TiVo is doing. The files are currently coming off TiVo encrypted, and being decoded by the DirectShow filter supplied by TiVo on the Windows machine. Evidently there isn't a place in the current (or future) Apple OS for such a filter/low-level plug-in.

To be a true plug-in, TiVo would have to write a media player(s) themselves that could run under both Windows and MacOS. That's harder.

This is a very apt observation.

Pony

So maybe I'm snapping at TiVo a little too hard, but they're still being way the hell too cagey about this, especially since...

Man oh man! I thought I was a mac zealot. TiVo is getting reamed real real hard over in that thread. Even non-mac people are chiming in with cries of "bull****". Even the troll-like apologist is agreeing.

People are just shy of calling for this CFO's head on a platter.

Makes me proud <snif snif>.