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 tivo.com
Price: $99 (does not include TiVo device or monthly service fee) |
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Photograph courtesy of TiVo
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Tech TIME Archive
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By WILSON ROTHMAN
Devout TiVo fans will tell you that the device is just perfect. It lets you download your favorite television shows to a hard drive and it's simple to use. While TiVo may not be as ubiquitous as the Palm, for example, its cult-like following swears that it's the biggest invention since the television itself. Now, TiVo has added some new features that are sure to please the faithful — and may even recruit some new buyers to the fan club.
For a one-time $99 upgrade, TiVo owners can get the Home Media Option, which lets you browse photos and stream music stored on a Mac or Windows PC, or share TV programs with a second TiVo in another room. HMO also gives TiVo functionality that its competitor ReplayTV already featured: broadband access to the service (which replaces a daily dial-up modem call), and the ability to add shows and change your recording schedule from anywhere via the Web.
There are plenty of devices out there that can help you stream MP3s from your computer to your sound system, and even ways to view digital photos on your TV. What TiVo is offering is a chance to add both of those functions to your entertainment center without adding an extra box.
But don't just jump into the Home Media Option without some know-how. For starters, you need TiVo Series 2, a broadband connection and a little home-networking experience. You can use a $20 adapter to connect the TiVo's USB port to an Ethernet router; for my Wi-Fi network, I used D-Link's DWL-120 USB wireless adapter ($50). TiVo recognized it instantly, but I still had to go fill out four or five screens of detailed set-up information.
Once everything is activated, "Music & Photos" appears in TiVo's main menu. Selecting it takes you to any networked computers running TiVo's desktop software, as well as TiVo's online media library. The photo feature lets you browse folders until you find a gallery of images, which you can then view one at a time or in a slide show. Music on Windows systems is organized the same way: folders of artists leading to song file names. Mac users (running OS 10.2 or higher) get more functionality because they can sort by artist, genre, song title or others, much like they can in iTunes. The biggest downer is that you can't look at photos while listening to music — it's an either/or proposition — although that capability may be added in time.
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