Categories: TiVo

TiVo Adding H.264 Playback?

So maybe the official headline is YouTube Coming To TiVo… But the interesting news here is TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD unit exclusivity – sorry, Seres2 owners. We already know these newer devices have chips capable of decoding more than just MPEG-2 video, and perhaps TiVo is getting ready to flip the switch “later this year.” If so, how else might they utilize this… An improved movie download service, more video podcast options, streaming my own computer-dwelling video?

Regarding YouTube – while they host a ton of content, the signal-to-noise ratio isn’t favorable and I’m not looking forward to browsing (low resolution) clips on my (high definition) TV. However, accessing my own account favorites and uploaded videos might occasionally come in handy. Though, I haven’t been taking advantage of that on my loaner Apple TV.

Other devices offering YouTube on the TV: Wii, SageTV HD Media Extender, Netgear EVA8000.

Published by
Dave Zatz