TiVo adds PC-based video downloads, TiVo-to-TiVoCasting, CBS content

After years of keeping us waiting with hollow promises and a bunk Netflix partnership, TiVo's finally rolling out video downloads. Kind of. It's actually just DRM-free web video downloads, a la video podcasts and user generated content (think: YouTube) which can be imported from the TiVo Desktop software -- which still costs $25 for the Plus upgrade codec pack (although this added functionality will be free, presumably for those customers). We don't know yet if TiVo Desktop will help aggregate said content, or why you'd want to spend so much time putting web content on your TiVo, but whatev. Also, TiVo will be adding a video sharing "channel" for other pals who also have TiVos, automatically sending video to boxes on their own TiVoCast network. (Details are still hazy here to -- does this include TV shows? We think not.) TiVo is also enabling CBS video downloads from CBS.com, CBSnews.com, and CBS SportsLine content, although we don't yet know if it's limited only to clips or if we're talking full eps of Survivor. Oh, and just in case the vague source article goes down, we grabbed a screen from the site that borked the embargoed release. More to come!

[Via ZatzNotFunny]

[Mike @ Nov 13th 2006 10:31PM]

I love my Tivo, but does anyone else think that Corporate America is getting extremely money hungry?

[Mike @ Nov 13th 2006 10:33PM]

NEVER MIND! Forgot that its free. I feel stuipid

[Cory @ Nov 13th 2006 11:03PM]

$25 for Tivo Desktop software? Since when? I've been using it for months (and upgrading) and haven't paid a dime.

[Conjecture McSpeculate @ Nov 13th 2006 11:22PM]

Is this available for Series 3 TiVos? And more importantly, will they release a Mac version of TiVo desktop that finally supports stuff like this?

[James @ Nov 14th 2006 12:35AM]

I think you meant "free*".

*: included with $800 hardware purchase and $ONE INFANT CHILD/month subscription fee.


What I don't understand is why anybody would shell out that kind of money when for the same amount you could build a Myth box completely from scratch and have enough left over for a small (SD) TV -- and never pay anybody a dime in subscription fees.

[Angel @ Nov 14th 2006 7:05AM]

Ummm.....Only the HD box is $800. You can usually get most of the other boxes for free and pay a monthly subscription charge. As for building a Myth box, the average consumer is not interested in doing that. I love when people bring up Myth as an alternative to TiVo as if the ease of setup and learning curve are the same. If you give my parents the option of setting up a TiVo or a Myth box, they're going to pick TiVo, just like most average consumers. Using the cable's crappy dual-tuner HD boxes is more attractive than setting up a Myth box as well.

[JP @ Nov 14th 2006 12:54AM]

Ah the sweet irony.
One AOL owned website revealing the idiocy of another...

[JimmyStewart @ Nov 14th 2006 5:24AM]

Well I'll tell you why I use Tivo... two reasons... HD and lifetime subscription. Sure I just paid $200 to transfer my old lifetime subscription to my new HD Tivo but outside of that I haven't paid any sort of subscription fee to Tivo in over 4 years. And I fully expect I won't be paying anything any time soon. Since they just raised their prices I can safely say I won't be a returning Tivo customer but in the mean time it looks pretty great on my HDTV. Now if it was easier to make a Myth setup in HD I'd be a lot more interested in which you speak... but until then Tivo is my only option. And since I'm not paying any subscription fees for the next several years... it's too hard to argue with the Tivo service. Tivo has better service than any of the freebies, but only when it's free. I could do without if I had to pay the insane fees Tivo's trying to charge... but as long as their both free to me, Tivo will win every time.

Oh and Cory, the $25 fee mentioned is for the "Plus upgrade codec pack" as you can see in the article. This upgrade let's you transfer video to your iPod/PSP. And in deed it does cost $25. The Tivo Desktop program itself has always been free... but if you want the upgrade you've got to pay.

[GadgetGav @ Nov 14th 2006 9:23AM]

Why would you want to watch YouTube content on your big screen TV..? The resolution makes them look like cr@p in a window on a computer screen - they could only look worse on a TV.
If this is the best TiVo can come up it's a sad day.

[andy @ Nov 14th 2006 9:25AM]

s3 w/ liftime owner here.


Let me know when they enable high def downloads directly to the TIVO box w/o the use of the computer (ala XBOX video live). Then I'll be interested in TIVO downloads.

[w @ Nov 14th 2006 9:26AM]

Yeah, as a current series 2 owner with a lifetime subscription, I wanted to pay the $200 to switch it to a series three too...that is until i saw it cost $800 for the box. I'm not laying down half the price of my Samsung 56" 1080p tv just for tivo. I'll pay the $10 a month to use the far inferior cable dvr. If i spend 8 1/3 years before finding a better alternative, then I guess I made a bad economic choice.

[Rob W @ Nov 14th 2006 12:47PM]

Tivo Suckers,..
I've had this feature for the past 2 years on my ReplayTV. And better than what Tivo is proposing. Not only can I transfer any show (HBO movies, regular tv shows, etc.) from a fellow ReplayTV owner, it's completely free to me.

Tivo has become a bloated corporate cash monger. They don't offer lifetime subscriptions anymore and they've raised their rates.

Long live ReplayTV!

[chuck.northrop @ Nov 14th 2006 4:05PM]

Rob Dub, my brotha! Gotta love that ReplayTV. Commercial Advance (no longer a feature) and the ability to trade shows totally rocks my world. My 5060 box was the best $149 I've EVER spent. I haven't watched a commercial in years, schedule the sucka via the web and I've never had to pay off my friends at Apple for downloading a show I've missed. All that and only $9.95/month. I don't get what people see in a TiVo box--it STILL isn't ready for prime time and the money-grubbing only depreciates their brand. C'mon TiVo, bring it already!

[The Jeremy @ Nov 14th 2006 6:51PM]

TiVo "brought it" a long time ago.

For one, they are still in business.

How many companies has Replay bankrupted so far? Three? Yeah, that's what we thought. Hardware wise, its dead, Jim.

Now, with that having been said, it would be nice if they'd cut the price of the S3 and brought back the lifetime subscription option.

And for the perennial MythTV suggestor, MythTV does not work with CableCard. Suggesting MythTV in comparison to a TiVo S3 is like trying to assert that your car is just as energy efficient as a hybrid by saying you can add a Mr. Fusion to it.