How To Control Your TiVo Remotely?
I just received this email via this site’s feedback form:
I’ve had my TiVo for a year now and can’t imagine life without it. (Is that how the majority of the emails you receive start out?)
Anyway, as TiVo introduces more and more ways to integrate their system with your computer, I find it interesting that there is not a better way of setting up season passes.
The idea is simple:
A web interface that is accessible from either your TiVoToGo enabled TiVo or your TiVo account page on tivo.com that lets you see what season passes you have subscribed to in a timeline fashion. Overlaid over a normal programming guide grid for example. User can define how many hours to show and how much detail (5, 10, 30, 60 min increments). What this would do would show all overlapping season passes and allow the user to define which program to record. The priority list in the season pass manager does not do the job well enough. There’s no way to see easily what you are going to be missing. This way you’d have a visual representation of what “could” be recorded at any given time. Users could then pick which programs were to take precedence at any given time.
Im sure someone has thought of this before, it just surprises me that nothing has been done about something that seems so simple.
Thanks,
-Oly
Oly has made a good point. TiVo should offer some type of service where you can administer your TiVo box via the web. I understand that you can setup recordings via TiVo’s website however; as the email above suggests, it would be nice to have complete control of your TiVo. I know that there is the TiVo Web Project however; for the average user, this seems to be a little difficult. Does anybody else know of any other solutions? Thanks Oly for this feedback!
September 4th, 2005 at 11:52 pm |
What they need to do is serve up the ToDo list in a xml file similar to what they do with the Now Playing list. Then combine it with zap2it labs xml file and, using alittle xslt magic, meld into a webpage.
You’re right this would be simple; tivo already has it’s own webserver.
I don’t know how many times I’ll be browsing tv listings online, see a show I’d like to record, and try to tivo it only to find there is a conflict. Then i’ll see if there’s upcoming showings and if there isn’t i’ll see if there’s upcoming showings of the show already set…and so on and on.
September 6th, 2005 at 7:59 am |
TiVo’s stance on this is that they won’t do it because it would require them pulling your personal info (what shows you watch) and tie them to your name (ie: your online account).
They could easily do this and just have users have to opt-in but they don’t want to because they’d risk the privacy wackos getting all worried about how much TiVo knows about your TV viewing.
So, it’s not going to happen anytime soon.
September 7th, 2005 at 8:14 am |
Chris,
How do you know this? Have you seen something written in TiVoCommunity about this feature?
September 21st, 2005 at 2:46 pm |
Will Orb’s TiVoAnywhere plugin (http://www.tivoanywhere.com/) help with this? I haven’t tried it myself however; according to the description it allows you to schedule recordings from any web-connected device.
Has anybody used it?
September 24th, 2005 at 2:15 pm |
[...] The other day I received the following question from Oly asking me why I think his TiVo is using more disk space for a 70 minute program then for a 100 minute program. I’ve never experienced this myself however; I’m wondering if others have. Here is his question: Show Channel Running Time Quality %Disk Usage Spartan HBO 1:40 Best 7% Band of Brothers History 1:10 Best 10% Rome HBO 1:00 Best 5% Rescue Me FX 1:04 Best 9% Family Guy TOON 0:30 Best 4% [...]
November 1st, 2005 at 8:32 am |
How about the slingbox? Is anybody using this device to remotely control their TiVo? The device looks interesting however, I really don’t have a use for it. I enjoy using my TiVo but, I don’t need to be able to watch my recordings from “anywhere”.