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TiVo Stream DVR-to-iOS transcoder box pops up for $129 pre-orders early
We haven't heard a lot about TiVo's Stream transcoder since it was officially unveiled in May, but today emails went out to winners of a Facebook contest informing them they can pre-order one for $129 (plus shipping) and receive it on September 5th. In case you've forgotten what its capabilities are, the notice shown above from Zatz Not Funny also includes a description of its capabilities which include streaming shows to up to three different mobile devices (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch) in the home at once, streaming a show to your mobile as it's recorded, or wirelessly transferring shows to the device to view them on the move, TiVoToGo-style. Those interested will of course need a Premiere series DVR that's hard-wired to a router, but with that it's just a one time fee to easily cut the tether on TV content. Interestingly, a few TiVo Community posters report being able to preorder from the listed number without being in the contest, so if you're already intending to jump just pick up the phone and give it a shot. [Thanks, @BrennokBob, Joe]
DirecTV Nomad is ready to launch, transcodes DVRed shows for mobile viewing
It was just about a year ago that we initially heard rumors of the DirecTV Nomad, and after some lengthy intrigue it is finally ready to launch. While its product page on the company's website isn't live yet, the folks at DBSTalk have been testing it and already posted one of their detailed walkthroughs, revealing the box as a TiVoToGo-style transcoder. Plug the $149 box into your whole home DVR network and it snags recorded programs and prepares them for viewing on other devices. Currently that list includes PCs with 1.2GHz processors or higher (no Atom powered netbooks invited to this party) and iOS devices, although an app for Android is apparently on the way. Compared to Dish Network's Sling-powered TV Everywhere streaming approach, DirecTV's sideloading has the distinct benefit of offline viewing, but without access to live TV on the go. The iPhone app is already available in iTunes and some forum posters report they've already been able to preorder the unit, but check DBSTalk for their breakdown and the device's manual in PDF form before making a decision on your placeshifting future.
Latest TiVo survey queries Facebook activity, VOD preferences and on the go viewing
With Hulu Plus on the TiVo Premiere and multiroom streaming apparently coming soon, we'll look again to the company's surveys to see what may be next on the list. One of our readers sent in a few screens of this month's poll, which went out of its way to find out the importance of access to video-on-demand from one's cable provider (an initiative that seems well underway) and some queries on Facebook usage (a: we're still playing Farmville all the time, is anyone else?) Finally, it asked about if users are still watching TV content on the go and if so, how they're doing it. It's been a while since we heard about any TiVoToGo updates, but with TV Everywhere spreading, maybe TiVo feels it needs to revisit its strategy. [Thanks, Michael]
FiOS customers moved to Frontier getting Copy Once DRM
Verizon's FiOS is literally at the top of its industry in customer satisfaction and it isn't just the fiber running to the outside of its customer's houses that makes it so great -- although no one is saying FiOS is perfect -- it is the total package including how FiOS doesn't mark any content as Copy Once or marry CableCARDs to 3rd party hardware. Well here is the first bad news for the 69,000 FiOS TV subscribers in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin that are now Frontier subscribers. You see although the company promised regulators that customers would continue to receive the same great service, on June 10th TiVo Community members started to notice they couldn't watch recordings in another room or on the go. After some discussion, and many a call to customer service representatives, it became apparent that Frontier is purposely setting the CCI byte to Copy Once, which for all intents and purposes locks down the content to being played on one TiVo. Not much anyone can do since the FCC does allow the Copy Once CCI byte to be set on non-broadcast TV, but still, it sucks for those who are affected.
TiVo Desktop Software hits version 2.8.1, adds folder view from PC, export for iPad, Pre & more
The latest version (2.8.1) of the TiVo Desktop software is official, and it's added a few new features in both its free edition and the upgraded Plus package. The basic software has added a few additional settings, but the most notable is the ability to view folders on a PC from the DVR itself. Those paying $24.95 for TiVo Desktop Plus should notice increased video quality on PSP TiVoToGo exports, plus new profiles for the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, DROID, Pre and several Blackberry models. Dave Zatz has already gotten his hands on the latest version, reporting some issues connecting to a TiVo Premiere; hit the download page for your own copy and let us know how it works.
TiVo Desktop 2.4 public beta loosed, enables PC-to-TiVO transcoding
It's that time again folks, when you gleefully head on over to TiVo's website and download a new release of its desktop software to add more of those PC / TiVo integration features you love so dearly. While we've watched the software mature from 2.1 to 2.2, right on up to the much-anticipated 2.3, it's now time for 2.4 to shine, albeit in beta fashion for the time being. While the now-prior rendition allowed users to convert TiVo recordings into mobile-friendly versions for a $25 fee, 2.4 seeks to offer up the process a bit in reverse by allowing non-DRM-laced video files on your PC to be transcoded for playback on your TiVo box. Unfortunately, the $25 fee for the required TiVo Desktop Plus upgrade key is still again in place, and while this process can be done manually for those looking to save a few bills, at least the company is offering up a simplified alternative for those with more money than time. Additionally, users can look forward to broadcasting "HD resolution" (read: up to 1,280 x 720) photos from their PC to a Series3 unit, but beta software wouldn't be complete without a stash of digs built in. Aside from the list of known issues that will hopefully be ironed out by the final release, Mac users won't be enjoying any of these niceties right away, and of course, the $25 fee is a debatable downside as well. Still, for those looking to get their transcoding on with non-protected WMV and MP4 / H.264 files, and don't mind the expected hiccups associated with a "preview release," be sure to hit the read link for your downloading satisfaction, and tap the Via for a few snapshots while you're at it.[Via ZatsNotFunny]
Roxio says stand-alone TiVo To Go client a "possibility"
I spoke with the folks at the Roxio booth here at Macworld Expo 2007 about that slight complaint many of us have over the much-anticipated new TiVo To Go client being bundled into Toast for the not-so-low price of $99. Obviously, if you're looking for the power of Toast and TiVo To Go, this is a killer deal since the inclusion of this hot new software didn't increase Toast's price at all. For everyone else just looking to score a TiVo fix, Roxio did say the don't have any immediate plans for a stand-alone TiVo client, but they *would* consider it if enough (potential) customers expressed interest. Obviously, this is by no means a promise, but they at least didn't slam the book on the idea and kick me out of the booth.
This just in: Roxio charging $99 for free software
Michael posted that Roxio has released a new version of Toast, complete with a highly-anticipated bundled version of TiVoToGo for Mac OS X. While this is certainly a joyous day for those anxiously awaiting the ability to Macify their TiVo content, I can't help but have a severely bitter taste in my mouth from the fact that TiVo and Roxio are essentially charging $100 for what Windows users get to do for free. Sure, it was probably a painstaking and grueling process to build a Mac OS X client, and it's even likely that many Bothans died to bring us this software. But *bundling* it with a $100 disc burning app and no alternative for a stand-alone purchase? Even accepting the fact that they (for some odd reason) *have* to charge for a Mac client, I call foul - and so do plenty of our readers. I'm sure many of Toast's users will welcome the new 'feature' in this version upgrade, but Roxio and TiVo really need to offer a separate purchase (or free!) option for those who, like me, would rather use burning software that won't break the bank. With complaints in hand, I'll be sure to bug Roxio about this during our Macworld 07 coverage this week.
TiVoToGo DRM cracked, and that's not necessarily a good thing
Mac-using TiVo lovers rejoice - but proceed with caution. It seems the TiVoToGo DRM encryption has finally been cracked, effectively giving non-Windows users a way to enjoy TiVoToGo for a change. The TiVo File Decoder is a Portable C program that converts a .TiVo file from TiVoToGo to a normal MPEG file with the Media Access Key for the TiVo which generated the file. The decoder is an open source BSD license, and it's just a command-line solution right now, although a GUI wrapper can't be far behind.As Dave Zatz points out, this development may have been inevitable, as all DRM just begs to be cracked, and TiVo hasn't helped matters by dragging their feet for so long when it came to making TTG accessible to anyone but Windows users. But by circumventing TiVo on this, it may only make things worse for us in the end. Dave rightly suggests that this "could dissuade potential content providers from partnering and/or dissuade CableLabs from supporting multi-room viewing and TiVoToGo features on the Series3, despite protected media (TiVoCast, Macrovision flagged stuff) not being available for TTG transfers."There are already reports from Mac users who have successfully compiled gotten it working this morning. Anonymous says "I am successfully watching downloaded content on my Mac, without using any sort of Windows solution at all. Downloaded from the TiVo via the web interface (though I'll probably start using Galleon), decrypted it via tivodecode, and I'm able to watch it in VLC. QT doesn't like the files though. I was able to use iSquint to convert it to an MPEG4, and now my iPod is playing Robot Chicken :-)"My initial reaction to this was "WOO HOO!!!", but now I'm not convinced that it's worth it. Let's face it, TiVo will probably change the DRM to defeat this crack and the more time they spend on that, the less time they will spend on bringing Multi-room viewing (MRV) and TTG to the HD Series 3 and TTG to Mac users in general.For more details, you can follow developments on the TiVoToGo wiki. Although I'm conflicted, I'll still be keeping a close eye on things. Let's hope TiVo rises to the challenge by making it irrelevant and shows a little more love to non-Windows using TiVo lovers.[via Zatz Not Funny]
No release date in sight for TiVoToGo for Mac
Dave Zatz points to a letter received by someone at the TiVo Community Forums that confirms there is no target release date on the horizon for TiVoToGo. Forum member pdxkevin wrote a self-described angry letter last week and emailed it off to TiVo. Much to his surprise, the letter found its way to Tom Rogers (TiVo Pres.) and then got passed along for the VP of Marketing to respond.Here's the reply from Jim Denney, VP of Retail Marketing (bold added for emphasis):My name is Jim Denney, I am in Vice President of Product Marketing for TiVo's retail products. Tom Rogers forwarded your message to me. I wanted to thank you for your email and apologize for the delay in TiVoToGo for the Mac. I am sorry that you feel we have not paid attention to the Mac community. That is certainly not our intention. We are aware of our subscriber's desire to get TiVoToGo on the Mac. Believe it or not, we are actively working on the project and have been for the past year in various forms. Unfortunately, developing on the Mac platform has been a little more difficult because of its closed nature. We are working through the issues we have encountered. They are not simple to solve given the needs that we balance in TiVoToGo. We don't have a release date for the feature yet. We have gotten ourselves in trouble in the past when we estimated it would be out by mid year this year, we obviously missed that date. In the interest of setting the right expectations this time we want to wait until the feature is actually ready. We are not ready to make that announcement yet. That is why our customer care representatives have been instructed to give the answer they gave you. We can let you know when the feature is ready for launch. We are listening to you. Until it is ready, we appreciate your patience. As a long-time TiVo owner and one who has been longing for TiVoToGo for Mac for quite some time, I appreciate TiVo's frank response, although it's admittedly almost too little, too late. Their communication on this issue has been pretty poor and only served to set us all up for a fall time after time. I know most people want companies to commit to release dates early and often, but I'm of the camp that believes "We really don't know" is better than "Maybe next year." Until recently I've been using TiVoToGo on a spare Dell laptop that doesn't get used for much else. That being said, since I now own a Series 3 HD TiVo along with my Series 2 w/ DVD Burner, a retired Series 1 and a Sony LocationFree TV system (with Mac Pak), I have limited use for TiVoToGo now - until it's available for the Series 3 at least, when I will, of course, jump on it like a rabid dog.
