Gadgets: TiVo Personal Video Recorder – Review – 80

Personal video recorders (PVRs) are everywhere these days, but a new machine is in town that could change the way Kiwis watch TV. If it were yet another generic box, you’d be forgiven for not taking notice, but international market leader TiVo has partnered with Telecom to deliver FreeviewHD TV and, if you’re a Telecom broadband customer, online content.

With only a single button on its front panel, most of TiVo’s controls are on the remote. Sporting a TiVo button at its tip, accessing the menu is dead easy. Keying in a universal remote code will also allow it to control your TV.

TiVo sports heaps of connectivity options, too. As well as the UHF jack for FreeviewHD, there are also composite, Component and HDMI, plus outputs for S-Video and a SPDIF. You also get networking options from the Ethernet socket or an optional USB wireless adapter.

Unboxing revealed an assortment of wires, but strangely no HDMI cable. Given the TiVo packs twin FreeviewHD tuners, this strikes me as somewhat odd. This aside, the TiVo was idiotproof to set up. After connecting it to my antenna and broadband router, and answering some plain English questions, I was up and running. Popping over to www.mytivo.co.nz I was also able set up a TiVo account to purchase movies, pay-per-view TV shows and music videos, and schedule recordings online.

Having been available in the US for many years, TiVo has had plenty of time to refine its wrinkles. Take its EPG for instance. TiVo takes things way further than other PVRs. Not only does it go 14 days into the future, but it’s also fully searchable.

As with MySky, The TiVo’s ‘Season Pass’ function automatically records every episode of a favourite show, but you can choose to keep only recent episodes or even skip repeats. Nicer still is the ‘Wish List’ feature, which automatically records shows matching criteria you set. Then there’s TiVo ‘Suggestions’ that learns your viewing tastes and records programmes you might like.

TiVo also offers stacks of stuff for Telecom broadband customers. Connecting TiVo to your router gives it access to a rapidly growing pile of online content including  movies, TV shows and music. Importantly, downloads don’t count towards Telecom’s data allowances, so trips to the video store are a thing of the past. Recordings can also be remotely scheduled using a phone or web browser.

Rounding out TiVo’s online goodies are weather services, a world clock and a bunch of games. Downloading the free TiVo desktop app gives you access to digital media. Any photos or music stored on your computer can be played, while music and video on your PC (including video formats such as DivX and Xvid) are also playable, transforming the TiVo into a kick-ass media hub.

Packing features other PVRs can only jealously dream of, there’s a whole lot to like about the TiVo. From its bomb-proof setup to its intuitive user interface, TiVo manages the near impossible task of being customisable without requiring you to be a rocket scientist.

PAT PILCHER

TiVo Personal Video Recorder – Tech Specs

Supported Formats: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
Video: HDMI, Component video, S-Video, composite video
Audio: HDMI, SPDIF, analogue audio
Connectivity: Ethernet, USB (optional wireless adapter), e-SATA (external drive)
Size: 419.1 x 320.6 x 85.7mm (W/D/H)

Pros

• Highly customisable
• Dead easy to use
• Integrates with PCs and portable devices

Cons

• No bundled HDMI cable

Verdict

Do we have a new PVR benchmark?

Contact

www.mytivo.co.nz

This article is from Tone issue 80. Click here to check it out.