Earlier this month when Netgear announced new ReadyNAS products ($900 – $1350) that incorporate TiVo functionality, I reached out to the companies for more info. And, without having seen the feature in action, it sounds pretty much like what we’d expect… Sort of a TiVo Desktop port allowing you to offload shows to the NAS for storage and to later retrieve them from a network folder found within the TiVo UI.
Netgear also informed me they’re the first TiVo-compatible DVR network storage solution to alleviate local capacity concerns, so I asked TiVo about HP’s earlier TiVo MediaSmart implementation (recently updated, thanks Alex). Apparently, HP’s solution ($550 – $700) is also legit but the company didn’t go through the evaluation process that would allow them to be labeled “TiVo Compatible.” Whatev?
Both Netgear and HP solutions are nice additions if you happen to be in the market for a NAS, but I’m not sure TiVo integration is compelling enough to sell the device on its own. Then again, as a digital cable subscriber treated like a content thief by Cox Communications, I can’t offload anything but recordings of local network programming (and one premium they missed). Making me a less than ideal candidate.