PC to TiVo to PC

TiVo Series 2 really shows its colors when piloted with the TiVo Home Media Option. This is a software add-on for the TiVo that enables broadband streaming music, digital picture slideshows, sharing recordings across multiple TiVo, and setting recording options through the TiVo Web site.

TiVo Series 1 does not currently support the Home Media Option, but serious hackers can use the broadband readiness for getting under the hood of TiVo. Transferring files to and from the TiVo, adding software hacks, and playing MP3s are among the many Series 1 hacks available.

We’ll cover the following scenarios:

Playing music on TiVo

Viewing a slideshow

Watching on another TiVo

Sharing with your neighbor

Publishing with the Home Media Option

Purchase Home Media Option direct from TiVo to open the floodgates. Download the TiVo Desktop software from the Tivo.comWeb site, and install it onto a Windows PC running Windows 98 or higher or a Macintosh running OS X 10.2 or higher.

For some reason, TiVo Desktop may also be called TiVo Publisher. On the Tivo.com Web site, the references are to TiVo Desktop software. When installed, the shortcut and software title is TiVo Publisher. The TiVo Desktop software has two components that work together:

The Publisher File Manager

The TiVo Server

Desktop Publisher and Server

The Publisher is a graphical user interface to browse files on your PC hard drive.TiVo Publisher has two categories: Music and Photos. The music feature plays MP3 files directly. It recognizes MP3 playlists and extracts the MP3 files into the selector window. The photo feature recognizes many different file types, GIF, JPG, BMP, PNG, and DIB.

To publish a file, drag and drop the file from the file selector listing to the “Published” pane. Figure 12-8 shows the publisher with several MP3s published and ready to play on TiVo. After selecting and publishing the files, click the Server menu item and Start the TiVo Server. A black TiVo icon should appear in the system tray indicating the server is running. If the server is “paused,” a red “X” will be placed over the icon.

To play music or view photos, follow these steps:

1. Ensure the TiVo Server is running on your PC.

2. Press the TiVo button on the remote.

3. Select Music and Photos.

4. Wait up to 30 seconds for the TiVo to discover your PC files.

5. Select the appropriate media and press Play to start the slideshow or music.

Press the Enter button on the TiVo remote to select options while playing a slideshow or music. You can also play media content from TiVo’s central servers. This feature is called “TiVo Online.” Select TiVo Online as you would a TiVo Publisher source.

Remote Viewing

The Home Media Option also allows two separate TiVo units to work together. You can watch shows recorded on your family room TiVo from your bedroom TiVo. Not only does it allow this “Multi-room viewing,” but now the show can actually be copied from one TiVo to the other.

This requires at least two TiVo DVRs under the same account. Both must have a network connection to each other. And both must have the Home Media Option upgrade.

A few steps are required at the Tivo.comWeb site to get started:

1. Buy the TiVo Home Media Option for both TiVo DVRs.

2. Surf to the “Manage My Account” section on www.Tivo.com.

3. Select “DVR Preferences.”

4. Enable “Permit Multi-Room Viewing” for all TiVo that will trade content.

5. Click Save Preferences on the Web site.

6. Now on the TiVo DVR screen, go to Phone and Network Setup and select “Connect to

the TiVo service now” to download the latest settings.

Once the Home Media Option is enabled on both TiVo units, an update to the TiVo service has taken place, and 5 minutes have elapsed, the TiVo units will now be able to view content on each other through the “Now Playing on TiVo” screen.

Scroll to the bottom of the “Now Playing on TiVo” screen to see other TiVos in your home network. Click the TiVo icon to view its contents. Make sure the TiVo units are all on the same TCP/IP subnet due to possible limitations with Home Media Option discovery and routing. Theoretically, two TiVo units can share content even though they are miles apart.Try it out!