Beyond easy drive replacement, it’s come to light that the TiVo Roamio and updated Minis are capable of displaying arbitrary web pages and streaming H.264 video. I suppose it’s really no surprise given the Roamio’s Chomecast-esque DIAL capabilities and upcoming HTML5 Opera app platform. Fortunately, this new method of TiVo interface is unprotected and the infinitely useful kmttg has already been updated with rudimentary support – adding a new Web tab, as shown above. But I imagine it’s just the beginning…
“the infinitely useful kmttg has already been updated with rudimentary support – adding a new Web tab, as shown above.”
So, if you execute that command, do you get a Zatz live-cam? And if so, can we control your actions via some DIAL-like scheme?
No, but maybe I’ll upgrade my Foscam from the M-JPEG version to the H.264 version… could be interesting!
If it can display webpages and play h.264 video, that means it can run a plex client! Very cool. The S5 is getting more attractive by the day.
Yeah, so far this is looking way more forward thinking than the Premiere platform… (with the horsepower to match).
“If it can display webpages and play h.264 video, that means it can run a plex client! Very cool.”
Is that really true, absent platform specific effort on Plex’s part?
(I’m several generations behind on my Plex runtime. If it does the job I want on my lean-back, I don’t upgrade. So I don’t know what a current-rev Plex html lean-back solution would look like without further effort on the Plex team’s part…)
I think TiVo has done an amazing job of forward thinking with the choice of an HTML5 engine from Opera. Not only do they immediately make the Roamio platform easier to develop for than iOS or Roku but they didn’t have to waste any resources developing it in-house. There’s no longer a reason for companies to NOT support TiVo.
Smart TV Alliance now lets developers submit apps once for use on all supported TVs.. Opera Software is a member of the Smart TV Alliance which uses HTML5.
I love my Roku3 with HBOgo but having everything on one box would be nice. Even nicer if an app used the TiVo local hard drive to buffer when streaming.
Basically from a hardware point of view Roamio gets everything right including ability to go beyond 2GB limit, modern Broadcom SOC, 6 tuners (low end is 4 tuners!) , FR remote, and a remote finder. Now it’s all software development for new features for years to come.
Thousands and thousands of live channels that Roamio could play…
Yes, that’s how the appletv gen3 plex client “plexconnect” works, a simple DNS redirect to the plex server. If you can load arbitrary webpages and play h.264 video, you can run Plex!
Oh I see your question was if Plex would need to do anything to enable this– the answer is no, if there’s some way to navigate in the webpage with the TiVo remote control. Otherwise yes, they will need to port it over to the opera webapp stuff. But since an enduser created the Plexconnect client for appletv3, I don’t imagine that would be particularly difficult.
“your question was if Plex would need to do anything to enable this– the answer is no, if there’s some way to navigate in the webpage with the TiVo remote control.”
Yeah. TiVo remote control was pretty much the issue I figured could be problematic, absent platform specific efforts.
For me at least, a TiVo running a Plex client has always been the holy grail. It provides every random streaming service under the sun as well as local media playback. I have very little doubt there’ll be a Plex client soon enough.
The question now is whether I still care about cable TV. I’ve already got a XBMC HTPC and a roku3, which I use far more than the TiVo. For once TiVo is providing a solution that I could love.
But is even a REAL “one box” enough to get me to switch? Not sure.
@Rodalpho
Cable TV is for anyone who likes to watch more than what’s on CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX. AMC, FX, Comedy Central, ESPN, USA, TNT, TBS, HBO, & SHOWTIME. I’m hooked on The Living Dead, Homeland, The Killing, Game of Thrones. and The Newsroom. If you like sports not all games are on network TV but on ESPN, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, YES, MSG, SNY (or your local replacements)..
But it obviously can be done if money savings is your goal. I will say I was shocked at the picture quality of the OTA HD channels from my Leaf antenna. I think if more casual TV viewers knew that OTA network channels are free and crystal clear digital HD they’d at least try dropping cable/satellite.
Scripted content is available from Amazon Video for the Tivo.
You can even subscribe to have the commercial-free episodes you want pushed down to your Tivo.
And that’s a whole lot cheaper than paying $100+/month for digital cable.
Yeah, you can get all those scripted shows on amazon, except for HBO. You can’t get HBO or sports programming legally online.
Cord cutters need to compare apples and apples. You still need to pay for high speed internet. So right off the bat your saving are almost cut in half. Then to buy episodes of a series is $2.99 HD. And try paying for a season with 24 episodes!
You lose out on a lot of live sports and SportsCenter and since you need cable to get premium channels even if you wanted to pay for them you couldn’t. I need my weekly Real Time with Bill Maher, my Daily Show and Colbert Report.
I pay $89 for 50 Mbps, 230 channels, unlimited phone (extra $10) TiVo 4 box included. Compared to my cellphone plan that’s a bargin.
“Yeah, you can get all those scripted shows on amazon, except for HBO.”
Beyond sports, and the immense lobbying power of Comcast, I think the main thing holding the cable bundle together Against All Odds is Time-Warner.
I mean, I always laugh when I read nescient writers claiming that the reason that there is no HBO OTT-only option is “billing issues”. Time-Warner has a lot of channels that all get a big chunk of your cable bill aside from HBO. They have a big stake in maintaining the current cable bundle. And given that HBO is by far the best best scripted programming available, it gives Time-Warner a lot of leverage in holding down the fort.
(And let’s not ignore that AMC has rectified their current error and has decided to own their future shows. So come tomorrow, there there will be no buying directly on that source from Lionsgate after Breaking Bad and Mad Men are finished.)
To repeat, besides sports and Comcast’s power, Time-Warner is the Big Fish. (Hell, I subscribe to cable for HBO, the NBA, and miscellaneous that the wife likes. It’s a relatively decent deal, if you like content.)
“For me at least, a TiVo running a Plex client has always been the holy grail.”
I never understand why my personal logic that a Mac Mini HTPC makes perfect sense never catches on.
You like Plex, well, hell, why transcode? I mean, seriously, WHY TRANSCODE? There’s a reason that Plex bills their OS X Plex client as their “flagship” client. And that reason is cuz it’s true.
Plus, transcoding a Chrome tab via Chromecast? Why not have your Mac Mini HTPC run Safari with no transcode? It’s not tricky to automate sending an AppleScript or UNIX command to your Mac Mini to have it launch a browser with the tab you’re looking at. Then screenshare in, and click away.
And that’s not even getting into the AirPlay possibilities via third party software.
(And pro-tip: Sofa Control is a nice way to tie the whole room together for your ten-foot interface.)
I mean, am I wrong?
I have a HTPC in my living room, so you’re preaching to the converted there. I run XBMC on the HTPC for local viewing and the Plex server to feed content to roku3s on other TVs.
The roku3 is $99 ($89 this week with promotions); the cheapest mac mini is $599, and then you need to pay for a decent remote control. So while I agree that putting mac minis next to every TV in the house is absolutely the best possible solution, it is a substantial price difference. And the roku plex client works really well.
“the cheapest mac mini is $599”
My Mac Mini HTPC was the base model ‘early 2009’ with a bit of extra RAM, since that was the first unit capable of 1080 video playback entirely with the GPU. It’s four and a half years old, still runs like a champ, and likely will continue to run like a champ for the foreseeable future. (I can gracefully survive any future loss of the internal HD.) Plus, in the unlikely case I choose to sell it, given the bizarrely high resale value of the Mini, I’d likely get something around two-thirds of my original investment back.
In short, if you amortize and include resale value, it’s amazingly cheap.
“So while I agree that putting mac minis next to every TV in the house is absolutely the best possible solution, it is a substantial price difference. And the roku plex client works really well.”
I follow your point. We’re an urban one-teevee household, so that issue didn’t really come up for us. But yes, I can certainly understand the up-front financial (and anti-clutter) case in using just Roku’s for secondary teevees. But I still hate the PQ degradation inherent in transcoding a lot…
The roku can direct play h.264, but only in a mp4 container, so usually plex just drops it in a mp4 container without transcoding. It does have to transcode the audio from DTS or AC3, but that’s fine.
The UI on the roku plex client isn’t great, but it really does work quite well.
Rodalpho, actually the Roku can also now direct play h.264 within a mkv container. It was added in the last build. Though I don’t believe Plex has added it yet.