The TiVo Rhapsody music service announcement made last January bears fruit today:
With Rhapsody on TiVo, you can choose from millions of songs, search for your favorites, tune in to continuous music on Rhapsody Channels, and build your own library—straight from your TV using your TiVo remote. Whether you’re in the mood for classical, hip-hop, or anything in between, it’s all just a few clicks away. And with a Rhapsody membership, you can listen all you want, without the need to buy individual songs.
Essentially, anyone with a Rhapsody account ($12.99/mo, free 30 day trial) will be able to access “artists, albums, playlists and channels” via a broadband-connected Series2 or Series3 TiVo. TiVo intends to flip the switch and activate the service today under the Music & Photos DVR menu, but you’ll need the fall software update (v9.1) to partake.
Having been a prior Rhapsody customer, I do appreciate their music service… on a computer or portable device. I’ve gone down the TiVo/TV-as-Jukebox path before and it doesn’t really do much for me. And now, with my precious plasma, I just want to turn it off when not watching something. Having said that, this new service does represent a significant technical accomplishment and further differentiates TiVo from generic DVRs.