TiVo has released the Home Media Option for its Series2 Digital Video recorders. This adds a variety of new features, not the least of which are integration with iTunes and iPhoto to play your songs and show your pictures on your TV. You can also use the new Home Media option to remotely schedule your TiVo from your Mac, and to network multiple TiVos. According to TiVo:
“Home Media Option is a natural extension of the TiVo service, providing TiVo Series2 subscribers with an easy way to enjoy their digital media throughout the home without interfering with their ability to record and watch their favorite shows,” said Brodie Keast, Senior Vice President and General Manager, TiVo Service. “Our approach recognizes that the PC or Mac may be the best place to store, organize, manage and protect your digital media, but the living room is the best place to enjoy it.”
Home Media Option will fit into virtually any home network, making it easy to incorporate into new or existing, wired or wireless networks (802.11b). Key features include:
- Publish iTunes and iPhoto to your Living Room: Home Media Option allows subscribers to stream digital music and photos
from their computer to their Series2 DVR, without requiring users to
give up or partition the recording space on their DVR. With the TiVo
remote, subscribers can relax in the living room and view digital
photos and listen to digital music that is stored on the Mac or PC.- Connect Multiple TiVo’s Together: For people with more than one TiVo in the house, multi-room viewing allows programs recorded on one Series2 DVR to be
securely transferred to another in the same household.- Broadband Remote Scheduling: With a broadband-connected Series2 DVR and Home Media Option,
subscribers are now able to remotely schedule same-day recordings of
their favorite shows from wherever they have access to an Internet
connection. TiVo subscribers can now schedule recordings from
www.tivo.com and these changes will be relayed to their specified TiVo
DVR in less than an hour, allowing for same day recordings.
TiVo Series2 DVRs have USB ports that can be used to attach network adapters to the device. TiVo has tested this successfully with a variety of both wired (Ethernet) and wireless (AirPort/802.11b) adapters, and currently recommends units from Linksys.
To integrate with your Mac, you’ll need to be running a minimum of Mac OS 10.2 Jaguar, iTunes 3.0.1, and iPhoto 2. In addition, you’ll need to get TiVo Desktop for Mac, available for download from TiVo once you have purchased the Home Media Option for your DVR.
The Home Media Option can be purchased for a one-time fee of US$99 by TiVo subscribers with Series2 DVRs. Activating the package on additional Series2 DVRs within the home will require a one-time fee of US$49 per unit. Home Media Option is a basic software download, sent by broadband or phone line to any TiVo Series2, and can be purchased online at www.tivo.com.
The Mac Observer Spin:
Being TiVo freaks ourselves, this couldn’t be more exciting! While most of us have our Macs in our offices and/or mobile throughout the house, who wants to have to tether the Mac to the stereo in the living room just to crank your favorite tunes through the big speakers? Well, now you can do it over the network — wirelessly if you want — and let TiVo manage the process, all while your Mac is tucked away safely in your office. For those keeping score at home, this is a real life taste of the fruits of all that digital convergence babble these companies have been talking for years now. We here at TMO will be testing these features extensively over the next few weeks, so look here for an in-depth report just for you.