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| TiVo Home Media feature/TiVo To Go |
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| CNET rating: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.0 9 10 best |
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| The good: Easy access to digital photos and music on a PC or a Mac through a home network; shares programs among multiple TiVos in the same home; transfers recorded shows to PC for remote viewing or DVD
burning; supports wired and 802.11b-wireless networks; remote programming via the Web; easy setup; intuitive navigation integrates well with existing TiVo interface. The bad: Slow file transfer times for video sharing; extra hardware required; extra software required for DVD burning; can't share programming over the Web. The bottom line: Now that it's free, network-savvy TiVo users have every reason to activate this useful add-on. |
| CNET review |
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TiVo's Home Media feature, originally introduced as a for-pay upgrade, puts the popular DVR in direct competition with digital audio receivers, photo- and MP3-enabled DVD players, multimedia PCs, and just about any other product that brings music and photo content from your computer to your living room. For the price of an off-the-shelf USB networking adapter, you can enable your Series2 TiVo to access digital photos and music stored on networked PCs, share saved TV programs with other TiVos in the same house, and receive your remote recording requests via a Web interface. The addition of the TiVo To Go feature in January 2005 adds the ability to view TiVo programs on your PC and even burn them to DVD. For any current or prospective TiVo owner with a home network, it's a worthwhile addition. (Note that DirecTV/TiVo receivers and first-generation Series 1 TiVos cannot use the Home Media features. Furthermore, TiVo products with built-in DVD recorders can't use the TiVo To Go feature.)
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John P. Falcone, a senior associate editor for CNET Reviews, no longer owns a VCR. Have a question for him? Let us know!
Matthew Moskovciak contributed to this story.
Matthew Moskovciak contributed to this story.
