Related link: http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/425e17f82bf08
The Daily Pennsylvanian quotes TiVo CFO David Courtney saying:
“We haven’t committed to any plans [for integration] to [the Mac] because of the cost,”
along with
“unless we find a way to record it under the current platform, and I don’t think that will happen in the next few years.”
That might as well be never in internet time. It’s not the technology that’s the problem (or the cost). It’s the rights management that’s fouling the works.
I can download to my Mac shows recorded on my TiVo. I just can’t watch them. TiVo is effectively saying I’ll never be able to watch them on my Mac.
time for myth
Our LUG meeting's topic this week was MythTV. I was excited by one or two of the things that it can do that TiVo can't. I didn't see much reason to switch though; the only big feature I've been waiting for it... wait for it... TiVo To Go to my Mac.
Jerks.
Re: TiVo not committing to the Mac
Good thing you just bought that Dell ;)
Re: TiVo not committing to the Mac
TiVoToGo doesn't work on my PC either since I'm missing the appropriate codecs to let Windows Media Player deal with MPEG-2. I guess that costs extra even though it came with Quicktime.
TiVoToGo just seems like an all-around loser.
Re: TiVo not committing to the Mac
Add to that, TiVo doesn't work with DirecTV and HD unless you spend $1000 and pay an extra $10+ a month .... I am seriously looking at switching to cable + no-name DVR later this year. DirecTV and TiVo have squandered their position.
Re: TiVo not committing to the Mac
Did you install the TiVo desktop software? The thing is kinda junky, but I think it comes with all the codecs you need. At least, once I installed it, I was able to play the tivo files just fine. Plus, it's free. I didn't have to install any paid software to watch my files.
I was just giving you a hard time about ye olde Mac. I'm currently trying to move as much of my home computing to Linux. I'll still have to use Windows for gaming and for my Tivo DVD burning software. I could use cedigo for my games, but it costs a subscription fee and I've already paid for Windows, so I still gotta use dual boot for now.
ReplayTV
I've been ReplayTVing-To-Go on my Mac (and PC) for years now using DVArchive. TiVo has never been as open as ReplayTV and probably never will be. If you do get one, make sure you get an older model with automatic commercial skip, it works about 90% of the time. Also, because DVArchive saves the metadata files from your ReplayTV, VLC will also skip commercials when you play on your computer. Further, because DVArchive makes your computer show up as another ReplayTV you can play anything downloaded to it on any of the ReplayTV boxes hooked up to the network. The files downloaded from ReplayTV are just straight MPEG-2 format files -- no DRM.
Re: TiVo not committing to the Mac
I installed the TiVo Desktop software, but the start of the installation said it had to scan for codecs. Since I bought the least expensive computer, I didn't get a DVD drive. I guess I don't get the codecs that would go with that sort of thing, either. In the TiVo support pages it explains that. They don't come with the software.
I'm acctually a bit miffed that I seem to be missing things in Windows. Surely the right codecs come with other Windows installations, so why not mine?
The most inana thing, however, is that Microsoft has a program that will tell you which codecs you have installed. To get this program, I have to run a thing called "Genuine Windows" which looks at my system then gives me a key to use to download the program. That seems like a lot of work to simply list what I have installed. I can only run it on Windows (since it is a Windows program), and if anyone wants to reverse engineer it, they just download it on a Windows machine. I don't see the point of going through several steps to get such a simple program.
file formats
can you re-encode the file format and/or play it with mplayer?
Maybe I'll do some testing on my friend's tivo.
file formats
In the US, that would be illegal. I'd have to circumvent the DRM associated with the file. Surely you're not suggesting that. :)
file formats
Just think of it like a fan-sub of your favorite not-yet-released-in-the-US film. Did Real ever have to stop providing "value added" applications to their customers?