TiVo and Yahoo! get cozy with one another

We're not sure how this is going to make the crew over at Google feel (or AOL, for that matter, who've had the same feature integration for years), but it looks like TiVo's found yet another new squeeze in Yahoo!. This isn't quite the Google Video-to-TiVo experience we'd all been hoping for, but you can now program your TiVo's schedule via the Yahoo! TV interface (what, TiVo Central Online isn't good enough anymore?), as well as get four new Y! HME apps for weather, traffic, and photo streaming. Not bad, but we can't help wondering whether all these features are really what TiVo needs to stay afloat, and not, say, a solid change in business plan (or direction). Man, are we ever starting to sound like a broken record — then again, so are many of these minor partner deals of TiVo's.

[Thanks, Dave and Mike]

[Todd Plants @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I hate it when companies don't have their act together.

I really like using Yahoo as my TV Guide, so this feature appealed to me. I went to try it out and it just didn't work. Step 3 on the registration process yeilded an indecipherable error. Now, whenever I try to click "Record to my Tivo" Yahoo just delivers a file not found error.

Grrr...

[chris @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I can use www.tivo.com/tco to schedule my tivo box.. but cant use this service.. i get all the way thru registration, but get SORRY Can't connect when trying to finish registration..
I have a tivo settings page i can go to, and all looks fine there.. maybe its not quite ready yet.
cj

[super_structure @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I'll continue the TiVo-complaint broken record:

Hey TiVo, how's about adding USB 2.0 drives and WPA support in your next update? That'll take you about a hour of work to download the stuff and roll it in there. You don't even need to say please since it's all open licensed. I bet including some cheap value-added stuff like that may keep the doors open a week longer, too.

[Darien @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

And once again us DirecTivo owners get left out... hey but at least we have dual tuners... right?.... right?!?!?!

[Jody @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Really...what's the big deal. Tivo Central has been doing this for quite some time. It's mainly just a convenience if you just happen to be in Yahoo TV already, which I rarely am.

[Mr.Ortiz @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

I just scheduled a recording via yahoo. Worked great. Much better interface than TiVo Central. I'm not sure what Yahoo gets out of this, but TiVo gets the billions of eyeballs that visit Yahoo every day seeing a "record to tivo!" button. Oh yeah, that's what Yahoo gets, MY eyeballs!

Darien: I would kill for dual tuners on my standalone box, but it would require a cablecard tivo where i live. When do we get those?

[Aaron @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Off topic but I'll continue the TiVo rant. I gave up waiting on an HD (non-DirectTV) TiVo and got 2 Moto 6412 III DVRs from Comcast. The interface sucks and the HDMI out from the DVR has all sorts of audio problems.

TiVo: Hurry up and put out a TiVo-Comcast HD box already!

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Been able to do this for a long time with my Media center pc and http://tv.msn.com. Microsoft needs to start advertising MCE better!

[Whisky @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

It be great if DirecTV Tivo's could do this.

[Pacey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

The only way MCE can become a truley serious contender in the home DVR market, they need to get prices down on the full MCE units. What, TiVo is like 50 bucks now, to buy? Ok great, so I don't have to pay 12-13 bucks a month for MCE, but it'll take a really long time to make up the difference in price.

Sure, I'd love for TiVo to release a HD multi tuner unit tomorrow, but it's going to take time, we're not far enough into the "late adapters" yet for it to be profitable.

It's coming though, ever think that may be part of the reason their unloading the series 2 units for what they are now?

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

How about being able to access Yahoo's video from a Tivo? You know, the Launch music videos, maybe their Yahoo Music Unlimited thing, some ABC news stuff, Mario and Zelda cartoons, etc.

[Wry Cooter @ Dec 19th 2005 12:55AM]

Mm, Yahoo on Tivo? Or Tivo on Yahoo? Which is it? Magically invoking your Tivo while browsing Yahoo, which you don't do? Or Browsing Yahoo, which you don't do, while watching your Tivo?

I don't think turning Tivo into WebTV is going to be as useful to Tivo's lifeline as merely including lifetime subs as part of the purchase price of a under 200 dollar that has two tuners, a DVD burner or better, and allows extending storage by firewire or USB drive. You know MythTV for the cost of an old school VCR or DVD player.