Yesterday, TiVo announced that later this year you will be able to access YouTube directly from your Series 3 or TiVo HD DVR (sorry, no Series 2 access). Other then that information, the official press release really doesn’t contain a lot more. Hopefully, “later this year” means some time in the summer as opposed to the winter time frame.
On a number of occasions, I’ve gone on the recorded as saying that TiVo should provide access to YouTube. That being said, I am extremely excited about this news. Anything that brings more content to my TV is a good thing, especially when there’s nothing on TV…
ALVISO, Calif., March 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced an agreement with YouTube(TM) that will offer access to YouTube videos directly from the TV via a TiVo DVR. The service will be available later this year to broadband-connected subscribers with TiVo Series3(TM) DVRs, including the new TiVo HD.
Every day hundreds of millions of videos are viewed on YouTube and hundreds of thousands of videos are uploaded. Upon launch of the TiVo-YouTube service, TiVo users will be able to search, browse and watch these videos directly on their television sets through their broadband connected TiVo DVRs. The combination of having the YouTube experience with the convenience and familiarity of TiVo’s intuitive user interface will provide TiVo subscribers with the ability to discover and enjoy the most shared and most discussed web videos in the world on their televisions. Importantly, users will be able to log into their YouTube accounts directly from their TiVo boxes and access their favorite YouTube channels and playlists.
“We’re delighted to be working with the world’s leading online video community so that TiVo subscribers can access YouTube’s popular content on the TV via the TiVo DVR,” said Tara Maitra, Vice President and GM of Content Services at TiVo Inc. “Being able to make available YouTube videos to the TiVo subscriber base using one device, one remote and one user interface is another major step in our commitment to combine all of your television and web video viewing options in one easy to use service.”
[...] Apple TV, Tivo, Xbox & Micosoft Media Center are making YouTube an extraordinary platform. This is why they [...]
[...] new features to their DVRs. For example, sometime in the near future you will be able to watch YouTube and Disney Movies on your Series 3 and TiVo [...]
[...] Back in March I blogged about TiVo’s plan to offer YouTube content on your Series 3 and TiVo HD DVRs. Well, as I had expected, the 9.4 software upgrade will include YouTube support. My blogging buddy Dave Zatz was lucky enough to get his hands on the 9.4 upgrade and he has produced the following video (embedded below) showcasing the new functionality. Another cool thing about this upgrade is that the YouTube content will be H.264 encoded which means that the upgrade will enable H.264 on the Series 3 and TiVo HDs! [...]
Tivo needs to implement this feature for Series 2 DVRs as well. There is no technical reason why it can’t be done. This is bullshit. Networked DVRs should have the ability to access any video content available on the Internet and not just Youtube. C’mon Tivo, or I’m moving over to MythTV.
Rich,
I think it has something to do with the fact that the YouTube content will be H.264 encoded.
I’d be happy if i could subscribe to my own video podcasts instead of depending on the lame selection that Tivo provides. don’t get me wrong. i love my Tivo, but they surely could continue to improve its services. unbox is awesome, but go further!