Smart Home Lifestyle

January 6, 2007

No longer just a glorified VCR - TiVo becoming more versatile

Admitting that you’re still using a VCR is as bad as me confessing I’m still on dial-up. Pitiful- on both accounts. And while DVR’s and broadband may be old news, when you put them together, like TiVo did, now you’ve got something to talk about.

DVR’s aren’t just “DVR’s” anymore. Thanks to computer integration and the rise in home theater popularity, TiVo’s followed the trends and turned that plain-old “play” and “pause” into a power-packed media center.

“For more than 10 years, people have talked about the TV and internet coming together,” said Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo. “The dramatic expansion of video options is being driven by the amount of video now available via the power of broadband distribution. TiVo provides the only approach that brings it all, broadcast, cable, broadband, together into a seamless experience for the viewer.”

What’s your function?

Yea, yea, TiVo has the standard functions like recording and pausing live TV- yawn, yawn. But did you know you can listen to your MP3 music files? Or watch a slideshow of your digital photos, which also acts as a great screensaver for your TV?

And, with TiVo’s new online services, you can easily access Yahoo! photos, weather and traffic. You’ll also link up to Live365 Radio Network, Fandango, to check movie listings, and a wide variety of podcasts and even some news shows from CBS.com.

And the best part is if you have two TiVo boxes, you can access any programming from either box at both locations. This means, if you start watching a movie in the family room, you can finish it out in the bedroom. Programming can be sent back and forth between the two at any time.

I’ll take mine to go

Leaving town? TiVo doesn’t just let you share programming by the box, you can actually download programming to your laptop or portable device, like a Creative Zen or iRiver. TiVo also offers units with built in DVD recorders to take programming on the road.

Forgot to record your favorite show? TiVo offers online scheduling. Simply pull up your account from anywhere via the Internet and set your show to record. TiVo even offers top daily pics and listings of top recorded shows on their website.

This is your life

And if that wasn’t enough, now you can share home videos with your friends and family, now that TiVo has partnered with One True Media.

“One True Media makes it easy to tell the most important stories of our lives and share them with friends and family,” said Mark Moore, CEO, One True Media. “We are excited to work with TiVo to enable consumers to now create their own personal TV channels and enjoy their videos on the big screen in their living room.”

Instead of having to burn and mail out DVDs, or upload videos on a computer, this service allows you to set up your own private channel to send home videos directly to another TiVo subsciber’s TV set.

What about drawbacks?

Well, the first is cost. Most media management systems only require you to just buy the unit, while TiVo requires an additional monthly subscription fee. Also, you’ll need to purchase additional software to perform functions like burning DVD’s. Required Sonic MyDVD software runs just under $75.

Finally, getting back to basics, you’ll need a networked computer and a broadband connection. Also, make sure you get a TiVo Seriers2 DVR or better, since the older Series1 boxes may not support some of the newer features.

Author: Diana Kostigen, Marketing/Public Relations Director, Comtec