TiVo

TiVo Android Streaming Details Emerge

Two years after TiVo introduced streaming capabilities, Android owners will soon get in on the action. However, whereas iPhone and iPad owners have enjoyed both streaming and video downloads, presumably due to security issues, the Android crowd won’t be taking shows offline – according to the newly updated compatibility chart, shown above. However, they will receive cellular streaming … Read more

TiVo Fall Update Arrives (better stuff to come)

TiVo’s Fall Update has begun rolling out – with TiVo Roamio, Premiere, and Mini boxes on the priority list slated to receive software version 20.4.4 as early as last night. Deployment is expected to conclude in a few weeks. Package highlights: Record series on all channels Extended timelines up to 6 months for Season Pass recordings Updated HTML5 … Read more

TiVo Mini… To Do Home Automation?

By way of Engadget and the FCC, we learn there’s a next gen TiVo Mini in the works. And it’s a curious little beast. While there’s nary a reference to traditional WiFi frequencies, as requested by both RCN and myself, RF communication is present in the form of Zigbee – the up and coming home automation protocol. … Read more

TiVo Mini Drops Service Fee

Best Buy and Weaknees have seemingly confirmed our earlier intel that the TiVo Mini would be subject to some sort of favorable pricing adjustment. Indeed, while the DVR extender jumps in price from $100 to $150, the TiVo service fee requirement is no more — effectively lowering the price of Mini by $100 and making a … Read more

TiVo to "Support Popular Consumer Devices"

Via an FCC filing, we learn more of TiVo’s intentions to further leverage hardware beyond their own set-top boxes: Consumers today can purchase retail TiVo DVRs and ancillary devices that support iOS and Android products, as well as TVs (using the TiVo Mini), and that soon will support additional ancillary devices that are popular with consumers. Back … Read more

Amazon Instant & Vudu Coming To TiVo

It’s shaping up to be a splendid fall for TiVo (and us subscribers). As if a TiVo Mini fee adjustment, mega rack mountable DVR with hard drive RAID, and Android streaming weren’t enough, two highly desirable apps will be joining the party… perhaps as early as next month. Sources indicate, and seemingly corroborated by forum chatter, that … Read more

Catching up with Simple.TV

simpletv-home

Although our initial impressions of the dual tuner Simple.TV was less than stellar, the company has been hard at work not only updating the little cord cutting, place shifting black box, but also launching new features. Recently, I had the chance to talk to Simple.TV CEO Mark Ely to discuss some of these changes.

First, from a software perspective, Simple.TV will be moving away from Silverlight as the default player outside of Safari on Mac. Currently, if you’re using IE, Chrome, or Firefox on a Windows computer, you are required to install Silverlight for video playback of your shows or live TV. Chromebooks are not supported at the moment. A move away from Silverlight and to a more compliant HTML5 video player will allow Simple.TV to expand their device playback on Windows, but also for Chromebooks.

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TiVo & Cable's Inevitable MPEG4 Transition

By way of a new TiVo support note, we learn that TiVo has indeed been preparing for the inevitable MPEG4 transition as cable operators look to reclaim bandwidth (beyond dastardly SDV). In October 2014, Comcast will transition its system in Augusta, Georgia, from MPEG2 format to MPEG4. This transition means that cable channels in this … Read more