So far I’ve been extremely happy with my $44.99 purchase of Roxio Popcorn 3. I purchased Popcorn mainly because I wanted an officially supported TiVoToGo solution for the Mac and also because I wanted to review the product.
Click on each of the following screenshots for some additional information…
————————————————————————-———————————————- As a side note, I would like to thank Fred for putting me down as his TiVo rewards referrer. If you’d like to put me down as your referrer, all you need to do is enter my email address (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your TiVo. Thanks Fred!
When TiVo KidZone was first released I thought it was a great feature however, at the time of its release I really didn’t have a use for it. A year and a couple months later I now find TiVo KidZone extremely helpful. My 2 1/2 year old son now knows how to turn on the TV and I’m pretty sure he even knows how to use the remote. We don’t allow him to watch TV whenever he wants to but, being a 2 1/2 year old he sometimes turns on the TV without our permission. That being said, I decided to enable TiVo KidZone on both my Series 2 and Series 3. As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s a lot of junk on TV that isn’t appropriate for a 2 1/2 year old. If possible, I’d like to prevent my son from seeing something that he shouldn’t. Thanks to TiVo, I no longer have a TV in my house that isn’t “protected”.
I especially like how KidZone groups all of my son’s shows together and how he only has access to the programs that are appropriate for his age group. I also like how it blocks “Live TV” that isn’t appropriate for him to see. Another nice thing about KidZone is that it is easy to deactivate whenever I want to watch TV.
If you have small children, I highly recommend that you give TiVo KidZone a try. TiVo has done a nice job developing this feature. Check it out if you have a child in your house. I’m sure you’ll be pleased….
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As a side note, I would like to thank Brian for putting me down as his TiVo rewards referrer. If you’d like to put me down as your referrer, all you need to do is enter my email address (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your TiVo. Thanks Brian!
Last week I received an email from the President of DVRupgrade.com (Lou Jacob). Lou contacted me because he wanted to talk about a post I published concerning DVRupgrade’s TiVo HD upgrade drives. After passing several friendly emails back and forth, Lou mentioned that he would be willing to send me a product for review. Out of all the products that DVRupgrade has to offer, I told Lou that I would be interested in reviewing an upgrade drive for my Series 3.
Late last week I received a 750GB upgrade drive from DVRupgrade. The drive was sealed in a static bag and neatly packaged in a box that was labeled fragile. Inside the box there was also a Torx T-10 screwdriver. The Torx T-10 screwdriver is the only tool that I needed for the install so, it was great that DVRupgrade included it with the upgrade kit. Last but not least, DVRupgrade also included detailed instructions on how to install the drive.
Over the weekend I went ahead and installed the drive in my Series 3. The entire process took ~30 minutes. I was extremely impressed with how easy it was to replace my Series 3’s existing drive. DVRupgrade’s installation instructions(PDF) were well written and easy to understand. If you follow the instructions step by step, I don’t see how you could have a problem.
In summary, I would highly recommend DVRupgrade to anybody who wants to increase the recording capacity on their TiVo. The instructions that DVRupgrade provided were extremely easy to follow and the entire process took hardly any time. I really liked how DVRupgrade included a Torx T-10 wrench with the upgrade kit. If you’re thinking about upgrading your TiVo, I suggest that you give DVRupgrade a try. Upgrading my Series 3 was actually a lot of fun.
Before you go ahead and order an upgrade drive, you probably should know that opening your TiVo’s case does void your warranty.
Disclaimer: DVRupgrade was kind enough to allow me to keep the upgrade drive. The fact that I’m allowed to keep the drive has not altered my review of the product. I truly had a great experience with the upgrade kit and that is why I am blogging about it.
CNET has published a review of TiVo Desktop 2.5. Overall, the review was positive however, CNET did have a couple of negative things to say including the fact that TiVoToGo is slow. Check it out if you’re interested in reading what others have to say about TiVo Desktop 2.5.
Personally I’m really happy with TiVoDesktop and TiVoToGo in general. It does take a long time to transfer and transcode a show however, I have TiVoDesktop setup to automatically transfer my favorite shows so I really don’t notice how slow it is. In my opinion, it definitely is a lot better than having to pay $1.99 for TV shows off of iTunes.
MegaZone has already posted a lengthy review as well as several pictures of the newly released TiVo HD DVR. Instead of trying to summarize what MegaZone has said, I suggest you head on over to his site for the complete review. There’s a lot of information in the review some of which I didn’t know….
Gizmodo.com got a chance to play around with TiVo’s new swivel search feature. Overall, they were impressed with swivel search and they think it is a good addition. Read on for additional analysis…
Have you had a chance to try out the new swivel search feature? My TiVo hasn’t received the update yet. Has yours?
A business writer from the AP has put together an unfavorable review of some of TiVo’s newest features. I don’t normally cover unfavorable reviews but, I felt like I should cover this one since it brings up a couple of good points. Are some of the new features that TiVo has introduced better suited for the computer? For example, is it necessary to be able to order movie tickets from the comfort of your couch?
I’m not sure where I stand on this issue. Being the geek that I am, I like having all of these new features. However, when it comes down to it, does the average user (i.e.: my Mom) really need this functionality?
When 
I especially like how KidZone groups all of my son’s shows together and how he only has access to the programs that are appropriate for his age group. I also like how it blocks “Live TV” that isn’t appropriate for him to see. Another nice thing about KidZone is that it is easy to deactivate whenever I want to watch TV.
CNET has published a 
A business writer from the AP has put together an 
