ReplayTVBlog

One of the great benefits of using ReplayTV in combination with DVArchive is the ability to copy recorded shows off of your ReplayTV to your computer with DVArchive and then edit the video files to remove commercials. The commercial free shows can then be imported back into DVArchive and watched on your ReplayTV, commercial free.

The one downside to this is that it is a manual and time consuming process. After editing the videos, they need to be converted to DVArchive format and then reimported back into DVArchive to make them available to your ReplayTV. To help with this situation, a new software tool has been released called RTVConvert Admin (RTVCA). RTVConvert Admin is a free program for Windows that will automate the process of taking edited ReplayTV videos and converting the videos and then importing them back into DVArchive.

Basically, RTVCA will perform the following tasks when it is run:

• Run the RTVConvert Program (from the ReplayTV Tools package) on all videos with a filename that ends with _CUT and sends the converted videos either directly into DVArchive or to a user specified directory so they can be imported into DVArchive later.
• Delete the edited video files that have just been converted into ReplayTV format.
• Delete or Backup the original ReplayTV video and index files
• Modify the DVArchive XML file for the unedited video with the new filename and length of the edited video.
• Rename the DVArchive XML file to the name of the edited and converted video filename.

RTVCA doesn’t actually convert the files (this is done by RTVConvert) but it does automate the process. It is configurable through a nice GUI Windows program and when run it will place an icon in the system tray. When you have files that are ready to be converted, all you have to do is double click the tray icon and all the files ending in _CUT will be processed.

Technorati Tags: ReplayTV, RTVCA, RTVConvert Admin, DVArchive

Popularity: 13%

Apparently, the only way to make a splash on the Internet these days is to take something that costs money and give it away for free. Google did it with Google Analytics (which used to be Urchin and was not cheap) and now Yahoo has done it with Yahoo! Go TV (which used to be Meedio and was not free). Yahoo Go TV is basically free DVR software for your Windows computer that also has a number of media management functions built in — very similar to Windows XP Media Center Edition in many ways.

Yahoo Go TV will run on most Windows based computers, but to take advantage of the DVR functions you will need to have a TV tuner card installed in your computer. I don’t have a TV tuner card in my computer (yet) but hey, it’s free and I’m definitely going to be downloading and installing the beta.

Technorati Tags: Yahoo, Meedio, DVR, PVR, Yahoo GO TV

Popularity: 16%

For a product that has yet to be released, the mysterious TiVo Series 2 Dual Tuner DVR has quite a history. First, it was spotted on Amazon with no expected release date. Then, it just disappeared from Amazon’s website — no announcements from TiVo, just gone. Now, we apparently have an official announcement from TiVo that there will be a Dual Tuner TiVo! According to the press release issued by TiVo the new unit will be called the TiVo Series 2 DT DVR and will include all the features of current Series 2 Tivo’s in addition to the Dual Tuners. The new TiVo DT will be available in two different sizes — 80 hour and 180 hour — although the TiVo press release only mentions the availability of the 80 Hour unit. It is supposed to be available from retailers and TiVo.com on May 1st, 2006.

The product page at Amazon for the TiVo DT currently lists it as unavailable and they do not have a date as of yet. They also only list the 80 hour TiVo DT, so the 180 hour unit is, at this point, just a rumor.

Looks like I’m going to have to start saving my money. I definitely want to get one of these as soon as they are available in May and I’ll post an indepth review here after I’ve been able to play with it for awhile.

Technorati Tags: TiVo, DVR, PVR

Popularity: 13%

Craig of Craigslist fame has posted a short entry on his blog about how he thinks that we can save democracy using our TiVo or any DVR / PVR. He apparently had this flash of brilliance while watching The West Wing and reading about how Congress spends more time raising money for re-election TV commercials than actually working.

Craig’s theory is that if everyone with a DVR (TiVo, ReplayTV, etc.) were to fast forward through all TV commercials and completely stop watching TV commercials, Congress might actually do some work! This is based on the assumption that it will be very difficult to replace TV re-election ads for politicians with something that is actually part of a TV show, such as product placement.

This sounds like an interesting theory, but I don’t know if it would actually work. Politicians are a pretty crafty bunch and will most likely figure out a way around this plan. I can just see it now — instead of the stupid Ford ads that we have on American Idol now, we’ll have Hillary Clinton in the Red Room with Ryan Seacrest interviewing the American Idol Top Ten while she campaigns for President.

Technorati Tags: TiVo, DVR, PVR, Democracy, Politics, Hillary Clinton, American Idol, Congress, Craigslist, The West Wing

Popularity: 14%

After just having accidently (?) leaked their possible new partnership with Blockbuster, TiVo seems to have sprung another leak — this time it’s a new feature called Guru Guides. Zatz Not Funny has posted a screenshot of the updated TiVo Privacy Policy and there is mention of something called “Guru Guides”.

Just like with the Blockbuster leak, this is all speculation, but maybe this has something to do with Celebrity or Expert Recommendations. Shows could be recommended by an expert or guru and recorded on your TiVo. TiVo Community has a discussion going on about a new page on the TiVo site about Expert Picks which sounds like the same thing.

While there is not much information and these are all just leaks — although I don’t think they are accidental leaks on TiVo’s part — it’s good to see TiVo trying out new things and adding new features. Seems like the Echostar victory might have given them a second wind.

Technorati Tags: TiVo, Echostar, Blockbuster, Guru Guides, Expert Picks, DVR, PVR

Popularity: 15%

Matt Haughey of PVRBlog has posted about one of his major pet peeves with his Comcast / Motorola DVR — it can ruin shows (like American Idol) by showing you the live ending to the show while selecting to play the recording show in the DVR menu. Basically, Matt likes to watch American Idol delayed so he can fast forward through the commercials. But his Comcast / Motorola DVR shows the current live TV channel in the upper right corner of the screen while you are in the “My DVR” menu. So, as he was about to start playing American Idol from the beginning from the menu, he saw Ace Young being voted off in the upper corner of the screen, effectively ruining the show.

I definitely feel his pain. For those of us with a Scientific Atlanta DVR from Comcast, we have a problem like Matt’s but even worse. When you are watching a show that is recording on a Scientific Atlanta DVR from Comcast, when the show finishes recording, you are immediately brought to Live TV on that channel. Inevitably what happens is I will be watching American Idol delayed while it is recording and when it finishes recording, I will be thrown to Live TV and will catch the last few seconds of the show, which of course will be enough to let me see who was voted off of American Idol. This has happened to me more than once, and as far as I know there is no solution other than to not start watching American Idol until after it is over.

Unbelieveable as it is, Scientific Atlanta released their DVR with this “bug” and still has not fixed it. While Matt’s problem with his Motorola DVR is a pain in the but quirk, I wouldn’t call it a bug. And this bug is one of the reasons that Scientific Atlanta will lose all of their Cable company customers (like Comcast) to TiVo. As long as Scientific Atlanta is willing to release buggy software like this and not fix it — it has been like this for over a year — they will never be able to compete with TiVo.

It’s things like this that really make me hate Scientific Atlanta!

Technorati Tags: Scientific Atlanta, Comcast, DVR, PVR, TiVo, American Idol, Motorola

Popularity: 13%

Over at Zatz Not Funny, they have posted some screenshots of the TiVo Online Store showing an option to order a Blockbuster Online Subscription with your new TiVo. The speculation is that TiVo may be partnering with Blockbuster to offer online DVD rentals through your TiVo.

Since TiVo stated a while back that they are no longer working on a Video on Demand (VOD) service with Netflix, I guess they are going to test the waters of offering DVD rentals through your TiVo. I don’t think this will have anything to do with actually downloading the movies to view on your TiVo. This will probably just be the ability to choose DVD movies for your Blockbuster Online DVD Rental Queue from your TiVo. You will be able to browse their selection and add DVD’s to your queue, but not actually download them and watch the movies on your TiVo.

Why would TiVo be partnering with Blockbuster instead of Netflix? I have no idea, but I don’t think it is that big of a deal. While I am definitely not a huge Blockbuster fan, both companies seem to offer a similar service and Blockbuster does have brand recognition that is at least on a par with Netflix in this segment.

Of course, all of this is speculation — the Blockbuster offers have been removed from the TiVo store and there have been no announcements from either TiVo or Blockbuster regarding any agreements. It’s anybody’s guess what all this means, but it’s still interesting.

Technorati Tags: TiVo, Blockbuster, Netflix, DVD, DVR, PVR

Popularity: 4%

One of the features that I love the most about my ReplayTV is the one I thought I would miss most on a TiVo — the ability to hit a button to skip ahead 30 seconds. It makes skipping through TV commercials so fast and easy that I go nuts when I use my Comcast DVR that doesn’t have it. Well it turns out that there is a hack that will enable a 30 second skip button on the TiVo Remote!

To enable the 30 second skip on your TiVo, you first have to start watching a recorded program on your TiVo. While watching the program, press the following buttons in this order on your TiVo Remote:

Select, Play, Select, 3, 0, Select

After correctly entering this sequence of buttons, you will hear three of the famous TiVo boing sounds that will indicate that you have enabled the 30 second skip.

To use the 30 second skip on your TiVo, all you have to do is press the skip button on the remote. It is the button that looks like an arrow pointing to the right with a line next to it. It kind of looks like this:

>|

That’s all there is to it. Now, every time you press the skip button on your TiVo, it will automatically advance 30 seconds. You will have to reprogram this hack after any reboot of your TiVo — such as after a power outage or a TiVo software update is installed. If you ever want to remove the 30 second skip, just enter the codes the exact same way and that will disable it.

Technorati Tags: TiVo, DVR, PVR, TiVo Hacks

Popularity: 6%

The Fox Television Network has announced that they will be making many of their prime time shows available on the Internet. The shows will include 60% of their prime time schedule but they have not yet announced specifically which shows will be available. To make this possible, Fox has signed a six year agreement with their affiliate stations that will share the revenue from showing the shows on the Internet with the Fox affiliate TV stations.

Presumably, they will make money with advertising during the shows, similar to what ABC / Disney is also going to do with their prime time TV shows.

It’s good to see the major TV networks starting to fall into place now and realize that they need to adapt to the Internet and find a new method of broadcasting. While broadcast TV is not going away anytime in the near future, the Internet is definitely becoming another means of delivery for Television content. To survive in the future, TV networks will have to find a way to distribute their shows over the Internet that will bring in the advertising revenue they lose from viewers not watching the shows on regular broacast TV. Offering the shows for free (with advertising and commercials) will also help to defuse the problem of TV shows being downloaded over the Internet for free. When given the choice of paying to download TV shows (iTunes) or downloading them for free, most people will opt for the free lunch!

Technorati Tags: Fox, ABC, Disney, iTunes, TV

Popularity: 6%

Investor’s Business Daily is reporting that the jury in the TiVo vs. Echostar case has found in favor of TiVo! In addition, they have awarded TiVo more than $73 Million in damages. TiVo has released a press release about the decision and has said that they will seek a permanent injuction against Echostar’s (Dish Network) DVR products.

This is definitely good news for TiVo. While TiVo will probably never see any money from Echostar, if they can use this decision to pressure either Echostar or any other company into using TiVo DVR software instead of a generic DVR, this will mark a major turning point in the history of TiVo.

On the other hand, Echostar will of course appeal the decision and it even could be overturned on appeal. Echostar apparently has their own DVR patent lawsuit coming up sometime in 2007 against TiVo.

As I said before, TiVo will probably never see any money from this, but if they did I’m sure they could really use $73 Million Dollars. That would definitely be a nice addition to the old corporate coffers!

Technorati Tags: TiVo, Echostar, Dish Network, Lawsuit, DVR, PVR

Popularity: 3%

ABC has announced that they will start to experiment with streaming some of their TV shows online for free. The shows will be available as a test on the ABC website for the months of May and June and will include Lost, Desperate Housewives, and the entire season of Alias. The shows will contain commercials, although it is unclear if they will be the same as the broadcast commercials.

Finally, a network decides to be innovative and tries to co-exist with new technology instead of attempting to defeat it. Not only are they offering the shows for free, but they may also be trying some new interactive commercials. From the article:

The show’s advertisers, which include AT&T, Cingular, Ford, Procter & Gamble, Toyota , Unilever’s Suave, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures, plan to experiment with offering users who elect to stream these shows online the ability to click on their ads and receive more information, and possibly long form ads

I hope that this experiment is successful for ABC and the advertisers. Not only could this become a new model for broadcasting TV shows but it could also help to create a new format for TV commercials that is both more interactive and more effective.

Technorati Tags: ABC, TV, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias

Popularity: 3%

File this under “We expected this and are suprised it didn’t come sooner” category. In response to Cablevision’s announcement of their upcoming Remote DVR service, all of the lawyers at the major programming networks are reviewing Cablevision’s new service. Surprise, surprise, the major TV Networks don’t like the idea of Cablevision recording all their shows so that viewers can fast forward through commercials. I’m not sure if Cablevision thought that they would be able to sneak this by the networks or if they are ready for a fight, but in the end I don’t think this is going to end well for cable customers. Either Cablevision will make a deal with the networks and probably end up disabling fast forwarding through commercials or Cablevision will back down and cancel the Remote DVR service. Either way, this is just another good reason for having a stand alone DVR (TiVo, ReplayTV, Windows XP Media Center, etc.) that is not controlled by cable companies and TV networks.

Technorati Tags: DVR, PVR, Cablevision, Cable, TiVo, ReplayTV, Windows XP Media Center

Popularity: 3%

Sometimes, confusion and rumors reign supreme on the Internet. Case in point is all the noise about the mysterious TiVo Series 2 Dual Tuner DVR that has been the subject of many blogs and news reports over the past week. First, there were reports of the new TiVo Series 2 Dual Tuner DVR after a product page for it appeared on Amazon. Initially, there was no release date from Amazon. Then, we saw a couple of possible release dates listed on the Amazon product page. Now, the new TiVo has mysteriously disappeared from Amazon all together — no release dates, no product pages, nothing.

So, will there be a Dual Tuner Series 2 TiVo? I know there are reports that the upcoming TiVo Series 3 DVR has been certified by Cable Labs and people are speculating that TiVo may not release the dual tuner series 2. I think this would be a huge mistake on the part of TiVo. While all of us DVR aficionados are anxiously awaiting the release of the High Definition TiVo Series 3, most people will not want HD and definitely won’t want to pay for it.

A Dual Tuner TiVo without High Definition recording capabilities would be an excellent addition to the TiVo product lineup. It would fill the gap nicely between the current Series 2 TiVo and the upcoming Series 3 TiVo and I hope that TiVo sees fit to release it.

Technorati Tags: TiVo, CableLabs, DVR, PVR, Amazon

Popularity: 13%

MythTV is finally getting some mainstream press! The Wasington Post has an article that attempts to explain what MythTV is to those not in the know. I wouldn’t call the article comprehensive but it does give a brief account of the history of MythTV and then attempts to explain what MythTV is and how somebody would get it. Of course, the obligatory comparisons to TiVo are there (since that’s what everybody knows) and the article does a good job of explaining what MythTV is from a high level. They even touch on the KnoppMyth project and link to a couple of companies that sell ready made MythTV systems, MagicITX and iDOTpc.

It’s good to see the MythTV project getting some publicity — while it may not be for alot of people, it’s definitely for more people than are currently aware of it. Hopefully, this will raise awareness of MythTV and the DVR in general.

Technorati Tags: MythTV, DVR, PVR, TiVo, ReplayTV, KnoppMyth, Washington Post

Popularity: 6%

Over at XYZ Computing they have posted a great article on How to Build Your Own Mini-ITX DVR. This is actually the third part in a series of articles on building a tiny Mini-ITX based computer. In the beginning, the Mini-ITX motherboard booted a very small Linux distribution off of a flash drive and was not very powerful, but definitely small and quiet. The second part of the series added a better “cube” shaped case, more cooling, and it booted a larger Linux distribution from a CD and could actually save data to a Comact Flash card.

In this, the third part in the series, XYZ Computing shows how they took their existing Mini-ITX system and added a hard drive and Video Capture Card with TV Tuner so that they could turn it into a DVR running MythTV that could replace a TiVo or ReplayTV.

This is a project that I have been thinking about tackling sometime in the near future and it’s interesting to see someone else’s approach to this idea. While I think that their final Mini-ITX / DVR system is nice, there are some things I plan on doing differently. For one thing, I think that the noise level is extremely important when building a computer that is going to be in the living room next to the TV and I would like to try and build one that doesn’t need any fans. Either it is water cooled (if possible) or runs cool enough that it doesn’t need any additional cooling — again, if possible. The other thing I know I would do differently is to use a case that is more like an audio or video component case than the tiny cube shaped case that XYZ Computing used. This will be a larger case that will help solve some of the space issues they had inside the cube case and it will fit in better with the rest of my home entertainment system.

With lots of pictures and specific hardware examples, this article will be a great reference for anybody trying to build a Mini-ITX based DVR — I know that I will be referring back to it when I start my DVR project!

Technorati Tags: Mini-ITX, DVR, PVR, TiVo, ReplayTV, MythTV

Popularity: 6%