Spotted on TiVoLovers.

If you follow this blog on a regular basis, you probably already know about how I’ve ragged on TiVo in the past for not releasing an update to their TiVo HME SDK. Well, on the 2nd of this month TiVo released an updated version of the SDK that I honestly didn’t even notice. This update includes a small number of new features however, I hope that this release will spark some new interest in HME and maybe just maybe we’ll start to see some new TiVo HME applications.

10/2/2007 - Experimental HME SDK 1.4.1 Released

* Multiple resolution support: This release introduces the ability for an HME application to control the rendering resolution of the receiver. The resolutions supported by the receiver are constrained by the hardware capabilities and current output configuration. The primary purpose of this feature is to enable the rendering of true HD resolution HME applications on Series 3 and TiVo HD platforms.
* Thread safe API wrappers (experimental): This release contains extensive use of locking and ’synchronized’ blocks in the SDK implementation to work around poorly written applications that use multiple threads but are not thread safe. This bulletproofing of the SDK comes at a measurable cost to performance, and so other solutions are being evaluated. There is no significant visible API change associated with this change.
* This SDK is EXPERIMENTAL, meaning that the direction of the SDK implementation in this release should not be taken to be indicative of future releases. The resolution support is part of the protocol, but the way it is exposed in the SDK may change slightly. The thread safe bulletproofing is a test concept, and so applications that want to be forward compatible should do their own locking and not depend on it.

Spotted on TiVoLovers & ZatzNotFunny.

TiVoLovers, EngadgetHD & Gizmodo all broke the news about the Rhapsody on TiVo partnership which TiVo first announced @ CES ‘07. According to these sites, TiVo has started to roll out a HME application which will allow Rhapsody subscribers to access more than 4 million songs from the comfort of their couch. The service will cost ~$13/month in addition to the cost of the TiVo service. According to TiVo’s recent press release, TiVo & Rhapsody will offer a 30 day free trial for new subscribers. TiVo has also created a new section on their website where you will be able to get more information about the partnership (this link is currently not available at the time of this writing).

To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure how much I’ll benefit from this partnership. I’m currently not a Rhapsody subscriber and since I’ve bought into Apple’s way of doing music I’m not sure that I will have a use for this service. That being said, this is some great news for anybody who does subscribe to Rhapsody or for anybody who has a Rhapsody compatible device (you can’t play music that you’ve subscribed to on your iPod). Having access to 4 million songs from the comfort of your couch is definitely a nice feature.

Let me know if your TiVo has access to the Rhapsody service. I checked both of my TiVos and neither of them have been updated with this new HME app.

More on this later when I actually have time to blog….

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — TiVo Inc. is introducing music to its mix of entertainment services, offering owners of the company’s digital video recorders access through their TVs to the Rhapsody music service.

The new feature announced Tuesday means TiVo subscribers with broadband-connected set-top boxes will be able to listen to music streamed over the Internet from Rhapsody’s service. The service, now part of Rhapsody America, a new joint venture between RealNetworks Inc. and Viacom Inc.’s MTV Networks, has a catalog of more than 4 million songs.

Tivo and Rhapsody view their partnership as a way to cross-market to boost their subscriber bases.

The deal also marks the latest in a string of features TiVo has added to promote itself as a premium service. TiVo has teamed with Amazon.com for movie downloads and with Yahoo Inc. for photo-sharing. It also offers direct access to some online content and lets users share home movies with other TiVo users.

Whether users access it through TiVo, a PC or portable gadgets, the Rhapsody service will cost $12.99 per month on top of the $12.95 or more TiVo regularly charges.

Rhapsody is considered one of the leading providers — along with Napster Inc. — of subscription music, where users can listen to as much as they want as long as they continue to pay the monthly fee. It’s not as popular as a la carte download services such as Apple Inc.’s iTunes Store. Rhapsody also offers songs for 99 cents per download, but not through TiVo.

TiVo says it will roll out the Rhapsody feature in stages with priority for current customers who sign up. They can try Rhapsody for 30 days free.

Earlier today John Kohl uploaded a new version of Galleon (2.5.1) which mostly includes bug fixes.

Version 2.5.1:
———————-
* Fixed a screen saver bug–it would consume all your CPU time on the PC
* Updated Linux install Makefile to work in more cases/on more distributions

Known problems:
* not all galleon skins in HD cover the screen–use tivo skins
* still some layout glitches in HD
* still some HD menu highlights are too big for text

I still haven’t gotten around to trying out Galleon 2.5. I’ve been awful busy and I just haven’t had any time. Have you tried out 2.5? If yes, what do you think?

Just a little while ago, John Kohl uploaded a new version of Galleon. This latest release includes a number of bug fixes as and new features. According to the release notes, the new version (2.5) incorporates the following changes:

Version 2.5.0:
———————-
* Added iPhoto album display capability into Photos application
* Increased album artwork size in music players (HD)
* Fixed built-in Photos application to lay out the grid better for HD.
* Fixed JPG image tag reading for Photos
* Added a new HD Photos plugin that will download, install and run the TiVo Desktop hdphotos
HME application integrated into Galleon similar to what it does for TiVo Desktop.
(you must open TCP port 7111 on your firewall)
* Reimplemented skin resource loading so they don’t use as much memory and cpu
* Added scalable backgrounds that fit the screen in HD mode for pictures and music
* Fixed the HD playbar in the music app so it draws properly
* Fixed layout on music player screen when in HD mode
* Increased font size on music app in HD mode for all screens
* Fixed screen saver on music app to fill the entire screen
* Fixed lyrics downloading to grab from a different source since lyrictracker is down
* Fix MacOS problems (tracker #1760027)
* Upgraded Movie Rentals app to 0.8
* Fixed missing jars in windows installer
* Added service wrapper for unix release and a Makefile to do “make install” or “make uninstall”
* Added a global screen saver framework for all apps that extend BApplication and AppFactory
* Added a bouncing screen saver to display cover art and track title for music player apps

Known problems:
* tracker on music in HD is goofy
* not all galleon skins in HD don’t cover screen–use tivo skins
* still some layout glitches in HD
* still some HD menu highlights are too big for text

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Galleon, here’s a brief summary of Galleon’s features taken from Galleon’s website:

Galleon is a free open source media server for the TiVo® DVR which allows you to enjoy many kinds of content and interactive applications right on your TV. The server runs on your home computer and organizes your media collection so that they can be viewed on your home network. Galleon also brings Internet content and applications to your TV.

It’s been a while since I had Galleon running on any of my computers however, this release has me interested once again. I’ll try to find some time tomorrow to install 2.5 and if I do I’ll be sure to let everybody know how it goes. I really am looking forward to seeing what Galleon looks like on my HDTV…..

Download Galleon 2.5 here.

Earlier today I received the following press release from PlayTeeVee.com:

San Francisco, CA, September 8, 2007 - PlayTeeVee, a new service dedicated to providing big fun on the small screen, announces the launch of its games server that offers free casual games exclusively to TiVo users. Subscribing to the service is simple. The only requirements are a TiVo (series 2) and a broadband internet connection. A comfortable couch is optional but recommended. To get started, users simply add the PlayTeeVee game server’s IP-address to their TiVo. Games are then brought directly to the unit and played with the familiar TiVo remote control.

PlayTeeVee was created by two game industry veterans with a combined experience of over 30 years. The service evolved out of a desire to create a fun casual gaming experience suitable for the whole family. Currently on offer are four games and one read-along story: Star Strikers (a skill based soccer game), Puzzle Invaders (a puzzle / action game), Balloon Rally (an action game), and TeeVee Pool (a pool simulator). An intuitive interface lets the user navigate through the available titles on their TiVo with ease and gives information on updates and new games.

Staying in touch with the TiVo community is one of PlayTeeVee’s most important goals, which is why the service is free, although donations and advertisers are welcome. Users are encouraged to actively participate and offer suggestions for future games using the forum on www.playteevee.com.

Contact information: For more information, please visit www.playteevee.com or email contact@playteevee.com

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend that you try out what PlayTeeVee has to offer. The games are rather basic however, that hasn’t stopped me from being excited about this press release. The reason why I’m excited is because I’m happy to hear that there are developers out there who are still interested in developing TiVo HME applications. In my opinion, HME is one of the most important features that distinguish TiVo from other DVR solutions. I really wish that TiVo would update the HME SDK. I bet if they updated it, we would start to see HME development start up again. Several developers have expressed their frustration with the fact that TiVo has abandoned HME (there hasn’t been an update since 10/31/05). What do you think TiVo? Maybe it’s time for an update….

John Kohl has released Galleon 2.4.1. This version includes a number of bug fixes as well as new features. John has done a wonderful job restarting Galleon development. You should check out Galleon if you haven’t already. It really does improve the TiVo experience.

Version 2.4.1:
———————-
* Turned off HD for applications that don’t need it (e.g. top level menu,
Weather since its maps are small)
* Updated Mac OS X install to put applications in subdirectory:
/Applications/Galleon/
* Fixed Mac OS launch scripts to enable quit function
* Fixed Movies application (needed an update to parse HTML output change from data source)
* Fixed Windows installer JRE detection (accepts Java 6)
* Fixed MusicOrganizer MP3 count (1746310)
* Upgrade to htmlparser-1.6 (fixes movierentals add-on application)
* Added movieRentals application to distribution
* Fixed log file location on windows to put logs inside the logs directory

Known problems:
* tracker on music in HD is goofy
* galleon skins in HD don’t cover screen–use tivo skins
* lots of layout glitches in HD
* HD menu highlights are too big for text

Please report any bugs via SourceForge trackers:
https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=126291&atid=705256

John Kohl just announced that Galleon 2.4 alpha is now available for the Mac. Try it out if you haven’t already…

Posted By: johnkohl
Date: 2007-06-16 21:12
Summary: MacOS installer for 2.4.0 alpha

I’ve updated and created a MacOS installer for 2.4.0 alpha. Submit any bugs with SourceForge tracker.

Just yesterday I reported that development on Galleon was about to start back up thanks to somebody by the name of John Kohl. Well, it looks like John has been working over time because late last night John announced the release of Galleon 2.3.1 and 2.4 alpha. According to a forum post, 2.3.1 mainly includes some code cleanup with minor internal changes. 2.4 is in the alpha stage however, this version will ultimately bring HD support to Galleon.

Nice job John! I’m excited about getting a new version of Galleon especially since I now own a HD capable Series 3 TiVo.

Release notes:

Version 2.4.0 alpha:
———————-
HD application support. Try out HD photos!
Local forecast page added to weather.
Known problems:
* tracker on music in HD is goofy
* galleon skins in HD don’t cover screen–use tivo skins
* lots of layout glitches in HD
* HD menu highlights are too big for text

Version 2.3.1:
———————-
Upgraded open-source components to mostly current versions
Use track title instead of file name for “Music” listings
Published modified Bananas library
Switched to build with Java 1.5

*** Please send in bug reports if there are any problems with things
that work fine in 2.3.0. This release should not behave any
differently ***