Earlier this week, Brad Grupczynski (SPG creator) released an updated version of the SeasonPassGetter. According to the release notes, SeasonPassGetter v.10 fixes an IP address issue that some people where having.

Version 0.10 (08-OCT-2007)
- Fixed the Get Shows button in the Show List window. Bug only affected some users depending on their TiVO IP address.

It’s great to see a new version of SPG (even if it only contains one bug fix). If you have any issues with SPG you should definitely contact Brad. I know from personal experience that he is more then willing to help.

Early last week I stumbled upon a free little Mac app called SeasonPassGetter (SPG). SPG allows you to automatically download and transcode TiVo recordings for playback on a number of devices.

SPG takes TiVo content and transfers it to iTunes. Its main purpose was to transfer regularly scheduled recordings (Season Pass on TiVo) for viewing on AppleTV. There was a lot of interest in content for the iPod, so when a show is transferred to iTunes, SPG will initiate an iPod sync. Wake up in the morning and your shows are ready to go. I haven’t experimented with many different settings, just the ones I list below.

Thus far I’ve had a lot of fun working with SPG. The app is relatively easy to use and I especially like the fact that transferred shows automatically get added to iTunes (we all know how much I like this feature). Using SPG, I have successfully transferred eleven shows (two season passes) to my Mac. Both transfer times and the quality of the transcoded content seems to be the same if not better than other TiVoToGo clients that I’ve used.

The only complaint I have about SPG has to do with its GUI. In my opinion, SPG’s GUI is rather plain and somewhat difficult to use for a novice user. I spoke with the developer (Brad Grupczynski) about this and due to his time constraints, he doesn’t think that he will update the GUI anytime soon.

That being said, I think SPG is a great application and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you don’t want to pay for Popcorn or if for some reason you not happy with TiVoDecodeManager. The software does a great job transferring TiVo recordings and I wouldn’t shy away from it simply because the user interface isn’t glamorous…..

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As a side note, I would like to thank both Nathan and Kenneth for putting me down as their 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 Nathan & Kenneth!

According to several posts on TiVoCommunity.com, TiVo has started to roll out new software (v 9.1.L5) to the Series 2, Series 3 & TiVo HD. The update incorporates a number of new features including the following:

• Crestron Integration
• Advanced Wishlists (TiVo support article)
• Manual recording screen now has some improvements
• Better looking graphics and “crisper” text throughout (mentioned here as well)
• Emergency alert message integration
• MRV and TiVoTGo on the S3 & TiVo HD (the update doesn’t enable TTG & MRV instead it seems to be laying the groundwork for when TiVo enables these two features in November)

TiVoLovers also has a great summary of what’s new in 9.1.L5. Please feel free to leave a comment on this post if your lucky enough to get 9.1.L5. I just tried to update my two TiVos (S2 & S3) unfortunately, neither of them received an update. I expect that TiVo will publish a software priority page for 9.1.L5 sometime in the near future.

When Apple announced the iPod touch last week I was extremely excited. The touch is exactly what I’ve been looking for ever since Apple came out with the iPhone. For those of you who don’t know, the iPod touch is essentially an iPhone without the phone and camera features. Yesterday, I finally got around to ordering a 16 GB iPod Touch. The device is supposed to ship the end of this month.

How is this related to TiVo you ask? Well, I currently use TiVoToGo for most of the video content on my 80GB iPod video. The iPod touch is even better at playing video than the 80GB iPod so, I am excited to see how TiVoToGo content will look on the device. I expect that I’ll watch even more TiVoToGo content once I start using the touch. Stay tuned for more information. I’ll probably post a little review once my iPod touch arrives.

Here’s some news that we’ve all been waiting for…. Late last night TiVoPony (TiVo employee) posted a thread on TiVoCommunity letting everybody know that TiVo has plans to enable both TTG and MRV on the Series 3 & TiVo HD. According to TiVoPony, TiVo hopes to enable these features in November!

I wanted to let you know that development has been progressing smoothly, and all is well. You can expect TTG & MRV to be available for Series3 and TiVoHD this November.

These features will provide support for video transfers between Series3 & Series2 systems and between a Series3/Series2 system and a PC. High Definition content will not be supported for transfer or playback on a Series2 system (Series2’s just can’t play HD), and copy-protected High Def or Standard Def content cannot be transferred (same as our current Series2 products). The aptly yet unofficially named TiVoToComeBack also will be supported, including HD content.

I’m obviously very excited about this especially since I now own two TiVo DVRs (Series 2 & Series 3). I look forward to being able to use MRV between my two DVRs. I’m also happy that I will be able to transfer HD content off of my S3 (although it will probably be extremely slow).

I’ll post an update as soon as I hear more…

Spotted on ZatzNotFunny.

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As a side note, I would like to thank Wayne 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 Wayne!

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…

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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!

I just found a coupon code which allows you to receive 10% off of the price of Roxio Popcorn 3. With this code, you can get Popcorn for $44.99. Amazon has a better price ($42.99) unfortunately, at the time of this writing you can’t download the software directly from Amazon so, if you want to save a couple of bucks you will have to wait for Amazon to ship you a CD.

To get this discount, all you have to do is enter “ANNIVERSARY” during the checkout process.

Just today, Roxio made available Popcorn 3. As promised, the software is available for $49.99 ($42.99 on Amazon). For those of you who don’t know, here’s what Popcorn 3 has to offer:

Popcorn® 3 lets you enjoy your video anywhere you want, on the playback device of your choice. Easily make high quality copies of your DVDs and movies. Take television recordings from your Mac to the portable device of your choice for on-the-go viewing or fit 4 hours of video on a single layer-DVD. Now with batch video conversion, support for a broad range of consumer devices, and exclusive support for TiVoToGo^TM transfers, your video will go everywhere you do.

I’m downloading my copy now so stay tuned for a review some time in the near future….

Spotted on TiVoLovers.

Roxio has announced that they are going to release Popcorn 3 with TiVoToGo support. For those of you who don’t know, Popcorn is a Mac application which allows you to transcode video content into several different portable formats. Version 3 will include TiVoToGo support so that you will be able to transfer and re encode shows from your TiVo (similar to TiVoDesktop Plus on Windows). Roxio plans to release Popcorn 3 in August or Sept for ~$50.

Ever since January of this year, Roxio has offered Toast 8.  Toast 8 is currently the only officially supported implementation of TiVoToGo on the Mac. One of the complaints that people have had with Toast is that it costs too much ($79.99 after $20 rebate). Popcorn 3 appears to be Roxio’s attempt at releasing a TiVoToGo solution that doesn’t cost as much as Toast.

I plan on purchasing Popcorn 3 once it is available. I’m currently very happy with TiVoDesktop Plus on Windows however, I would definitely like to get my hands on an officially supported TiVoToGo solution on the Mac. I almost bough Toast 8 when it was first released. The only thing that has held me back has been the cost. I’ve also used TiVoDecode Manager but, that software hasn’t been updated since January ‘07.

Are you going to buy Popcorn 3 once it is available?  If not, how are you doing TiVoToGo on the Mac?

Spotted on MacNN via TiVoLovers.

EngadgetHD has published an interview that they had with Jim Denney (TiVo’s VP of Product Marketing). The interview includes a lot of great information about the TiVo HD as well as other features that TiVo plans to enable. In the interview, Jim talks about how TiVo would like to enable TiVoToGo for the Series 3. According to Jim, TiVo has plans to release TiVoToGo with HD support the only caveat is that the shows will have DRM attached so that you can’t share them illegally.

TiVo is also working to ensure TiVoToGo will not be resolution-restricted, only copy-flag restricted. (Read: TiVoToGo will work for SD and HD content.)

To get more information, you should read EngadgetHD’s interview. It’s definitely worth your time.