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Now TiVo Bolt owners can stream TV anywhere
When I reviewed the TiVo Bolt last year I didn't mind its odd design as much as I missed some features it lacked compared to the older Roamio DVR. Now the recently-acquired company is fixing that with a software update (the full list of changes is here) it's rolling out that lets owners stream recordings or live TV on even when they're away from home, and also download shows recorded from protected premium channels (like HBO or Showtime, usually) to a mobile device for offline viewing.
TiVo's cord-cutting DVR gets more storage and drops subscriptions
TiVo's Roamio OTA was supposed to fulfill the dreams of cord-cutters who wanted a big-name DVR without the burden of a conventional TV subscription, but it didn't quite live up to that ideal. You could only record so many shows on its 500GB hard drive, and that $15 monthly subscription hurt the appeal for the cost-conscious. Thankfully, those two problems have just been solved: TiVo has unveiled a 1TB Roamio OTA model that shakes things up. The new set-top doubles the storage, as you've no doubt guessed, but the big deal is the shift in pricing strategy. Instead of a low up-front price and a monthly fee, you pay $400 outright -- while that's expensive at first, it promises to be less costly in the long run.
TiVo's QuickMode viewing feature hits all Roamio DVRs
Tivo's QuickMode option, which lets you speed up recorded shows with pitch-corrected audio, is available on every Roamio DVR as of today. The feature arrived last week for the TiVo Bolt, the company's latest set-top box, but it is now officially expanding to the entire Roamio family. TiVo says that, along with the release of QuickMode, it's also making other goods available in today's update. There's a refreshed look and feel in the TiVo Guide, as well as a new setting designed to make it easy for cord-cutters to get access to their content. Of course, the main attraction here is QuickMode -- TiVo says it can "shave a month of time each year" for people who want to watch shows at a faster pace.
TiVo's ad-skipping tech is coming to its older Roamio DVRs
It looks like TiVo Roamio owners won't need to buy an upgraded box for the new SkipMode feature. Zatz Not Funny points out info on TiVo's website promising SkipMode will come to older Roamio DVRs on December 10th, which the company confirmed in a statement to Engadget. Starting today, a software update is going out that enabled QuickMode sped-up viewing on the Roamio. Meanwhile, a limited test will only let older boxes in the Bay Area and Chicago access SkipMode, for now (it's available nationwide on the Bolt). In case you're not familiar, SkipMode lets users bypass ad breaks on selected shows (prime time broadcasts on certain national networks) just by pressing the green button on their remote. At least so far, it has avoided any legal issues seen by Dish Network's Hopper technology, and hopefully will continue to work as advertised. When I reviewed the Bolt, I found my favorite way to use it was skipping any stray seconds recorded before a show starts, so I could leap to the actual beginning. Update: TiVo has informed us that the SkipMode rollout for Roamio will start November 30th.
TiVo exec explains Bolt strategy, Fire TV app and new Pro next year
When the TiVo Bolt was unveiled earlier this week, most of the questions (that weren't about its odd shape) came from long-time enthusiasts wondering why it doesn't cater to them? Many aren't willing to downgrade from a Roamio Pro's 6 tuners and 3TB storage just to add 4K and commercial skipping. Dave Zatz points out that today TiVo Chief Marketing Officer Ira Bahr has faced the company's most dedicated fans in a thread on TiVo Community, and says not to worry. According to Bahr, "we already have a roadmap plan to bring you something you'll like way better in 2016 (more on this shortly)." As I figured during our Bolt preview, this device is an attempt to connect with new users, among the millions of people buying streaming boxes as they use internet video services to replace or add to traditional TV. As far as the look of the Bolt, Bahr said "my view is that we have to look different."
TiVo's 4K-ready, commercial skipping Bolt hints at the future
This new Bolt DVR may not totally remake the recording technology TiVo is famous for, but it introduces a sharp departure in design and adds features customers have asked for since it started in the late 90s. Just like the leaks suggested, the Bolt is a funky arc-shaped white box that looks different from anything else near your HDTV. Despite being smaller than TiVo's older DVRs -- or whatever cable box you probably have -- it's eye-catching enough for visitors to stop and ask what you're watching TV on. Looks aside, Bolt's main claim to fame will definitely be its ability to bypass commercials with a new SkipMode (No more hidden 30 second skip! We've been asking for this since 2009). That's actually an old trick, and while it's appreciated, where I see evidence of TiVo looking towards the future is the way it's connecting the DVR to Amazon's Fire TV.
TiVo owners can finally download recordings on Android
About a year ago TiVo added video streaming to its Android app, and now the app can also download recordings for offline viewing. It's something TiVo DVR owners with iOS have been able to do for nearly two years, but better late than never (we guess). As noted by Dave Zatz, if you have a Roamio Pro or Plus, the necessary hardware to convert TV shows and movies (that aren't flagged by your cable company to prevent transfers) is built-in, while owners of a Roamio Basic, Roamio OTA or Premiere box will need a TiVo Stream add-on to make the magic happen. We tried it and it worked without a hitch, and you can even choose what quality to download the recordings in, if you need to keep an eye on available storage space. The only bad news, is that if your space is mostly on an SD card, there's no way to select a different download location at this time. [Thanks, Dan]
TiVo's iOS app now sends video to your Apple TV
Have one of TiVo's DVRs in the living room, but would rather not get another one of its devices just to watch recordings in the basement? If you use Apple devices at home, you no longer have to. TiVo has updated its iOS app with (long, long overdue) AirPlay mirroring support, so you can send your recorded shows to an Apple TV as long as everything is on the same local network. You'll need a Premiere, Roamio Plus, Roamio Pro or Stream device for AirPlay to even be an option, so don't get your hopes up if you're hanging on to old hardware. Still, this a big step forward -- you now have an easy way to catch up on missed episodes without having a TiVo-based set-top attached to your TV of choice.
TiVo gives ex-Aereo customers a break on its cord-cutter DVR
TiVo made no bones about wanting to scoop up Aereo's former cord-cutter TV business, and that apparently includes many of its viewers. The DVR provider has launched a promo for ex-Aereo customers that gives you a Roamio OTA box, a TiVo Stream and two years of service for no money down and $20 per month. It's not the hugest deal in the world, and it won't exactly match what you got under Aereo, but it could help if you're still hunting for an easy way to watch over-the-air broadcasts on your own terms.
Cox is bringing VOD to select TiVo boxes in July
Cox and TiVo have been making noise about joining forces and making the cable provider's extensive Video-On-Demand catalog available on retail TiVo set-tops for nearly five years now. Following a recent post by ZatzNotFunny, however, Cox confirmed earlier today that the integration will finally be taking place in "early July." But don't get excited just yet -- the initial rollout will only be available to specific IP-connected customers in Orange County, California.
TiVo OnePass finds your favorite show no matter where it is
TiVo DVRs have been powering binge-watching since they first hit the market, but now that means something different. Instead of diving into an archive of recordings or even disc-based boxed sets, we're usually queuing up a few seasons from a streaming internet service, and now TiVo can help with that. An update coming to Roamio, Premiere and Mini devices will evolve the old "Season Pass" recording into OnePass, which searches out episodes across the multiple video apps the boxes have access to. It doesn't matter if they're recorded, have yet to air, pop up on streaming (Amazon, Netflix, Comcast VOD, Hulu, Vudu -- you get the idea) or are just coming soon to streaming, they all show up in one easy-to-navigate screen. It's a simple extension of what TiVo's various boxes already do, but it's something you won't get from cable/satellite, and set-top boxes like Roku or Apple TV usually don't have access to traditional TV sources.
TiVo Roamio OTA review: Finally, TiVo makes a DVR for cord-cutters
Cable TV and TiVo go together like peanut butter and jelly, or at least they did until now. The company that, for all intents and purposes, invented the DVR has, after 14 years, released one specifically designed for people who don't want to pay for a TV subscription. If you look past the marketing, the $50 TiVo Roamio OTA is actually the same as the standard-edition Roamio, but with a nonfunctional CableCARD slot and no option for Lifetime Service. So, is this the one box a cord-cutter needs? Just as important, is the price right?
TiVo's Android app now supports streaming
It was nearly a year ago that TiVo brought streaming to its iOS apps, enabling you to watch recorded shows anywhere with a WiFi signal. Eleven months later, and the company has finally added the same functionality for TiVo's Android app. The feature will work on most devices running Android 4.1 or above, but there are a few caveats, like the fact that it won't work on devices with Intel's mobile chips, and you're still at the mercy of whatever copy protection restrictions is placed upon the shows. On the upside, the app will also access content from Hulu Plus, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video - the latter being another service that's belatedly gotten around to adding Android support for its users.
TiVo's Summer 2014 update makes it even easier to find something to watch
Despite arriving nearly a year after the TiVo Roamio launched, this update looks to be one worth waiting for. To address the age old problem of choosing what to watch, TiVo has two new features that make that much easier. The first is a new third column added to the My Shows view that makes it possible to browse recorded shows by category (movies, kids, sports, etc). You can easily choose which categories are shown -- who watches kids shows anyway? -- and in what order, or revert to your old ways completely (check the demo video embedded after the break to get a feel for how it works). The other new feature is in the same vein, bringing on-demand and web app options to the traditional guide and giving us flashbacks of Windows Media Center's similar option. TiVo Premiere owners will also be very happy with their version of the update since it adds the aforementioned new features but doesn't stop there. As Zatz Not Funny points out, users are reporting much needed speed improvements with an "updated, modern design" that brings it closer to the Roamio experience.
TiVo update lets you set recording defaults, when it isn't creating chaos (update: fix on the way)
TiVo has been rolling out a firmware update that has given some DVR users a lot more than they were bargaining for. Officially, the refresh supplies Mini, Premiere and Roamio units with a very helpful page for default recording options as well as a host of bug fixes. However, that's when it's working -- quite a few subscribers have been dealing with glitches instead. Some Mini users have received an error that prevents installing the update without unplugging the set-top box for up to three days. Meanwhile, others have seen some of their gear roll back to older code, which can wipe out customizations and break multi-device setups. There are reports of spontaneous reboots and other hiccups, too.
TiVo reportedly lays off industrial design team, sees its future in DVR software (update)
According to a rumor from Wired, the network DVR prototype TiVo showed off at CES is much more than a dream, and could be a big part of its future. The unnamed internal sources claim TiVo laid off 5 employees that make up most of its hardware team (which just celebrated its four Emmy awards), leaving just two engineers to handle support for its current devices, and those yet to come from third parties. We contacted TiVo and received the same response as Wired (available in full after the break), saying it's going to "allocate resources where strategic growth opportunities exist...we expect growth in the cloud-based delivery aspects of TiVo's business." TiVo has talked up the possibility of delivering a cloud-based DVR experience since last fall. After releasing the highly-regarded Roamio line, it's possible the company feels there's little growth left in set-top box DVRs, especially considering the current state of FCC regulations and CableCARD. Microsoft's Media Center project appears to be over, and very few new third-party devices have shipped recently. We pinged investor Sam Biller for ideas on what other plans TiVo might have, and he pointed to a lack of detailed forecasts for the company's nearly $1 billion in cash, seeing the possibility it could acquire another company to build hardware. Whatever TiVo does from here, it's finally delivered on the promise of a capable do-it-all box with the Roamio -- hopefully that essence remains in future products. Update: In a phone conversation, VP of PR Steve Wymer told us the company remains "fully committed" to Roamio, and called it the crown jewel of TiVo. In his view, it's not accurate to say that TiVo is exiting the hardware business as it continues to expand current products and plan future ones, but that it is reallocating resources with an eye towards the future -- a future that hopefully includes both the sweet nDVR prototype, and even better set-top boxes for those that want or already have them.
TiVo Stream update brings TV to mobile devices, even away from home
TiVo promised that the placeshifting TV capabilities recently added to its Roamio Plus and Pro DVRs would expand to its older hardware, and now they have. Updated TiVo owners with a Stream transcoder plugged into their Premiere or standard Roamio DVR can start streaming and downloading live or recorded TV from anywhere, so long as it's over WiFi. This functionality is rolling out starting today, and all users should have it within the next couple of weeks. If this pace keeps up, it shouldn't be too much longer before the devices and services that can't stream live TV anytime, anywhere, will be outnumbered by those that can.
TiVo Network PVR puts Roamio recording technology in the cloud
However good TiVo's new Roamio DVRs may be, not everyone can justify purchasing them -- especially not TV providers that would have to buy in bulk. TiVo could make that experience more accessible with its just-unveiled Network PVR. The service (not yet pictured) puts the Roamio interface in the cloud, letting operators offer similar recording and streaming features though cheaper set-top boxes and mobile devices. Network PVR should also let providers offer perks that aren't possible with locally-stored shows, such as sharing a recording with friends who missed the big season finale. There's no estimated launch time frame for Network PVR, although that's more likely to be dictated by the providers; don't be surprised if it takes a while for the technology to reach viewers.
TiVo adds Opera SDK support to Roamio platform, wants more HTML5 apps
The TiVo Roamio platform is still extremely young, what with it only having been launched earlier this month and all. Still, the DVR maker isn't wasting any time and is now finding ways to bring as many features as possible to its new set-top boxes. With this in mind, TiVo let it be known today that it's adding support for Opera's Devices SDK and TV Store to its lineup of Roamio DVRs, providing developers an opportunity to create a variety of HTML5-based applications. TiVo's hoping the partnership with Opera can introduce a slew of apps in different categories to the platform, including entertainment, fashion, sports, business, gaming news and more. As for Opera, we can imagine it's rather pleased to get its app-creating tools used by yet another company.
Weekly Roundup: Gamescom 2013, Ballmer stepping down, Connecting Cape Town, and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
