With the apparent July 1st announcement only a few days away, speculation is out and about as to a number of TiVo things.
There’s talk of needing an Internet connection, possibly broadband, to be connected to the TiVo. This would be for three main purposes, it is assumed:
- Downloading of the Electronic Program Guide (show info: channel, start time, duration, description, genre, actors/presenters). Enabling the recording by simply selecting the shows name from a list etc. Apparently it does not support the EPG that is delivered over the ‘air’ ; as part of the digital TV signal
- Downloading of updates/fixes for the TiVo itself; specifically the firmware
- Streaming (like YouTube) of video shows directly off the Internet. May not be YouTube as such, perhaps things like TEDs.
Initial reports are that the TiVo will come with the ability to plug directly in to a wired network (your typical Ethernet blue cable) but you may have to purchase a wireless adapter, should your home network be wireless.
The things that I’d be interested in finding out include:
- If the recordings can be copied up to a PC, are they encrypted or protected with DRM
- Can it play back media files from your local PC, hard drive, USB thumb drives etc. Things like MP3s and AVIs.
- Can you really record two shows at once whilst watching back an earlier recording, or starting to play back one of the shows still recording?
- Is it a ‘closed’ box or can users install their own code to enhance the base function, like some Topfield PVRs support?
- Does it work with universal remote controls, such as my Logitech Harmony?
All will hopefully be revealed very soon.