Yesterday, after over six months of development, TiVo finally announced their new program “TiVo Mobile,” which allows recording shows directly from their mobile phones. Verizon Wireless customers can download a “Get It Now” application, which they can use to search for shows and eventually schedule them for recording. TiVo Mobile currently only supports use along with Series 2/3 models and will only be available through Verizon Wireless.

“TiVo Mobile scheduling gives Verizon Wireless customers unprecedented control of their television experience and provides that control wherever they are.” Jim Denney, VP TiVo Marketing

The service does have a few downsides. First off, the Get It Now application will cost customers $1.99/month, which is in addition to their TiVo service cost. Second, it is only available on three phones at the time, one of them being the LG Chocolate. This will probably never catch on unless TiVo figures out a way to offer this for free. I would rather prefer access to a “TiVo Mobile” webpage, which works on mobile browsers.

Demo: TiVo Mobile “Walk Though”
Links: TiVo Mobile Info | TiVo Press

We just received our Wii Replacement Straps from Nintendo a few days ago. Nintendo has been sending out free replacement straps for any Wii owners who requests them. (link below) The new strap is much thicker and stronger than the originals included with the unit. (click image above to enlarge) Although there are numerous complains of Wii remotes “flying” at TVs, windows, walls, and children, we still were unable to break our strap with a decent amount of force. My feeling is that most of these complains came from people who decided not to wear the strap, but then blamed them faulty after they ended up breaking something.

If you own a Wii we suggest order one for just for extra safety. Nintendo will ship out a maximum of four straps per console (not remote). The straps are 100% free, no shipping tax or charges of any sort.

Links: Order Replacement Straps | Nintendo
Related: January 2007 Wii Games

On Wednesday (06/21/06), TiVo released TiVo Desktop v2.3 for Windows. TiVo Desktop now offers TiVo users the ability to convert and transfer shows from their machine to their Apple iPod (video) or Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). TiVo had originally announced their plans to offer this feature back in November 2005 and as expected, the “premium” edition, TiVo Desktop Plus, will not be free. TiVo Desktop Plus will run consumers $24.99, however a basic edition which supports all the standard features of music/photo sharing and show transfers will remain completely free.

The reason for the $24.99 “Plus” edition is because TiVo has to pay both Apple and Sony royalty feeds for the use of the Mp4 format. Luckily users who plan to use only the basic edition will only lack once premium feature, the ability to convert and transfer shows for portable devices. If you wish to utilize TiVo Desktop v2.3 (basic or premium) you will need to be running a TiVo Series 2 which is networked, has the latest software update, and has TiVo To Go enabled. The software unfortunately currently only works on Windows 2000/XP, however there is no word on a new version for Mac OS X users. (TiVo Desktop Plus can be purchased at TiVo.com)

Links: TiVo Desktop | TiVo Home
Related: TiVo To Go 4 iPod Video and PSP

On Tuesday (03/06/06), TiVo announced that they will soon start to offer their subscribers the ability to access all their recorded shows from Verizon cell phones. TiVo has made plans with Verizon Wireless and together they plan to offer streaming content probably through VCast technology. VCast currently offers subscribers a large collection of music and video clips which are streamed directly to their phones. TiVo stated that they plan to call the service TiVo Mobile. The full contract between TiVo and Verizon was not publicized, but at the momment Verizon will be the only provider offering this. (TiVo also plans to provide content to PSPs and iPods soon.)

“TiVo isn’t just about a great way to watch television but it’s also about a great way to manage your TV life, and to do that, we realize TiVo can’t be isolated. It has to be integrated with all these other digital devices in people’s lives,” Tom Rogers, TiVo CEO

TiVo previously made deals with Yahoo!, which allows scheduling shows right from Yahoo TV (tv.yahoo.com). With TiVo Mobile, members can schedule shows on-the-go right from their cell phones and even watch them once they have been recorded. Verizon customers can begin to download the program in early summer through Verizon’s “Get It Now”. Pricing has not been announced, but should be soon.

Link: TiVo | Verizon Wireless | Yahoo TV
Media: Yahoo News | USA Today | TiVo Press
Related: TiVo 2 PSP & iPod | TiVo & Yahoo Team

1) Skype 2.0 BETA now has Video! – released to public on 12.01.05. There are major changes including thousands of features, changes, and bugfixes when comparing it to the current v1.4. (See Full Change Log) There were many 3rd party addons to enable video, but Skype has offically added it into the program themselves at last. (v2.0 BETA only available for Windows)
Link: Get Skype 1.4 | Skype 2.0 BETA | Full ChangeLog

2) TiVo has offically launched “TiVo Online Services,” which brings broadband enabled users live data from Yahoo and other providers. Starting now information from Yahoo Photos, Weather, Traffic, and other services such as Live365 Radio and Fandango will be available to everyone for FREE. (+ Podcasts) It may take a few weeks to recieve the update, but if you are in a hurry to try it out, submit your TiVo service number into the Priority List and you will recieve your update within three days. (Only for broadband enabled Series 2 units)
Link: TiVo Online Services | Priority List

SoftWare Updates:
a) VideoLan v0.8.4 has been released. Tons of features since v0.8.2.
Link: VideoLan | Download VLC | (See Full ChangeLog)
b) Azureus (Java BitTorrent Client) has been updated to v2.3.0.6
Link: Download Azureus | Java Required | (See Full ChangeLog)

Recent:
Gmail AntiVirus Soon? – gmail might get a virus scan soon
Mozilla Firefox v1.5 – a new major update for Firefox
Playstation Portable v2.6 – adds WMA and RSS support
Free PS3s Conga Line – get a free PS3 from FreePay

TiVo announced last Monday that they would soon be launching a new service as part of the currently TiVoToGo (TTG) service, which would allow transferring recorded shows to both the Sony PSP and the Apple iPod. In CES 2005 TiVo released the second edition of TTG which let Windows users transfer recorded shows over a home network to their computers. They later updated that service so that the DRM enabled shows would then be compatible with Portable Windows Media Players. (EX: Creative Zen)

“The increasing popularity of mobile devices for viewing video such as Apple’s iPod and the PSP device demonstrate the enormous consumer demand for entertainment on the go.” Tom Rogers – TiVo CEO.

TiVo now plans to release the third update to the TTG service sometime in the first quarter of 2006. This will let users transfer videos to either the PSP or the iPod. Unlike the previous free editions of TiVo Desktop, this program is expected to be priced at $15-30. TiVo stated that the reason for charging customers is to deal with paying royalty fees to both Apple and Sony for the use of the Mp4 format. TiVo also stated that the first editions of this service would lack DRM and therefore they would instead place watermarks onto all converted videos to prevent piracy. The feature that is expected to be the most popular is the “Overnight Season Pass Sync,” which will transfer all your scheduled shows onto your portable device overnight.

“I can sit in front of the PC in the morning and say I want this show, this show and this special event, and transfer over the file to a PC–happening in about real time–and you could watch it on your mobile device,” Jim Denney – Marketing TiVo.

This service will only work with Series 2 boxes that are broadband enabled. TiVo will relase the BETA versions of their program to specially selected TiVo subscribers within a few weeks. TiVo has also promised to release a Mac version that would have the same capablities as the Windows editon. (current Mac edition doesn’t allow transfering shows, only music and photos) TiVo expects that their conversion format will require about 1GB of space for every 2.5hrs of video. Many people currently use opensource programs on the web to accomplish converting shows for both units, but most average users will have trouble figuring out how to do so.

Link: TiVo Desktop | Sony PSP | Apple iPod
Coverage: BetaNews | CNet | MacWorld | Forbes | Yahoo
Related: TiVo Downloads | TiVo + Yahoo Team Up
Recent Posts: Popular Majors | Google Reader Button

A few days ago TiVo started to make downloadable content available not only to BETA testers, but all broadband connected TiVo Series 2 owners. Current free downloadable content included short CNet reviews, which are available from TiVo Central, but more programing is expected to be available soon. TiVo also is letting TiVo Series 2 owners download a free movie as part of a TiVo Research project. To get this free download go to TiVo Research’s page and enter your TiVo Central Online username and your TiVo Service Number. If you qualify, which most people should, then the movie will be downloaded onto your TiVo around November 23.

Note: This is not available to people who own DIRECTV DVRs and only service numbers starting with 110, 130, 140, 230, 240, 264, 275, 540, 565, 590, or 595 are elgible. You can find your service number either in your TiVo Central Online page or under System Information on your TiVo.

Link: TiVo Research Register | TiVo Central Online
Related: TiVo and Yahoo Team Up
Recent Posts: Google Reader Button | PSP December Games

TiVo and Yahoo announced partnership on Monday that would allow all TiVo Series 2 owners to schedule shows onto their unit through “Yahoo TV” (tv.yahoo.com). In the past TiVo customers had to visit TiVo’s website to schedule shows, but this can now be accomplished easily through your Yahoo! Account. Yahoo TV is much more interactive with webpage, with plenty of reviews, ratings, guides, program information and more, unlike TiVo’s current web interface.

“Working with Yahoo is another way for us to deliver the best way to watch television and give viewers control of the television experience,” Tom Rogers – TiVo CEO.

When a TiVo customer, who is hooked up to either DSL or Cable, schedules a show it will be entered into your TiVo’s “ToDo List,” within 2 hours. (unfortunately ~36hrs if on dial up) The reasons for creating this new service include getting TiVo customers to use Yahoo’s free services as well as to get Yahoo’s customers to purchase TiVo units. Yahoo also announced that TiVo customers should start to see Yahoo content such as traffic, weather, music, photos, possibly email and more soon. They also said they are working technologies to search for and download videos directly from Yahoo for local playback.

To get started make sure you have a working Yahoo Account (if not create one). The first time you set this service up, you will need to enter your TiVo.com username and password to get access to your TiVo. In the future just logging into you Yahoo account will get you access to you TiVo’s online scheduling capabilities.

Link: Yahoo TV Sign Up Page | TiVo Central Online
Coverage: BetaNews | NewsCom | Gizmodo
Recent Posts: iPod Icon Mod | Free iPod Nanos

1) Google has created 4 new ad link formats. All are in the formation of a line and have either 4 or 5 related ads. Google RSS/Atom ads should be open to all users very soon, currently only available to chosen users.
Link: AdSense Samples | +digg | digg

2) Here are some great sites to find deals, coupon codes, and freebies: CurrentCodes, FatWallet, TechBargains, ResellerRatings, DealCatcher, XpBargains, SlickDeals, and SaleCircular.

3) Sony BGM has sold ~2 million CDs with their new copyright protection. First, to copy the CD onto your WINDOWS computer you will need to install a little app to listen to the music, otherwise the CD will eject itself. Second, if you do install it you will only be able to copy the music in Microsoft DRM formats. (Microsoft WMA & Sony ATRAC) They will also limit the max burns to CDs to 3 times per song and a max of 3 transfers out to DRM enabled portable players. Apple computers will not be able to copy or even listen to the music because Apple declined to use DRM in their computers. This also means Apple’s iPod line of products won’t be able to play the music even if it is transferred from a Windows computer. BGM’s goal was to place locks/limits to prevent people from sharing their copied music on P2P and BitTorrent networks. Their CDs are also enraging many unaware customers, who have not been able to copy their music or even play them in their standard CD players or home/car stereos.
Link: MercuryNews | Reuters

4) TiVo – DirecTV has disabled the serial port channel-changing feature on their D10 units so that standalone TiVo boxes will not be able to record shows automatically. No word yet whether it was done purposely or was a bug. – TiVo Demos downloadable movie service (Netflix?) via Broadband. Service most likely allows downloading of movies (payperview) and probably has a 30-day store limit and a 24-hour limit once the movie is played.
Link: Wired (DirecTV) | PVR Blog (Downloads)

5) Others:
DivX 6.0 is out – allows creation of menus and chapters, similar 2 DVDs.
vSkype – add video to your VoIP conversations.
PSP Homebrew 9 – from the creators of PSPVideo9
Google Maps + Census Data