TiVo today announced TiVo subscribers can now watch video content from the Web directly on their television sets.
Starting today, TiVo users can subscribe to and watch a broad range of video content available through Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, including everything from network nightly newscasts and The Sesame Street Podcast to Daily Headlines from MTV News and College Humor from CHTV. The application also gives consumers access to hobbyist videos covering areas far more specialized than cable and satellite channels.
The availability of the web video comes on the heels of last week?s announcement that TiVo subscribers will be able to access YouTube videos directly on the TV via a TiVo DVR later this year. Upon launch of the TiVo-YouTube service, TiVo users will be able to search, browse and watch these videos directly on their television sets.
The new web video capability requires TiVo Desktop Plus 2.6, an update to the Windows application which also converts TV shows recorded on a TiVo DVR for viewing on portable devices including iPod and Sony PlayStation Portable. TiVo Desktop Plus 2.6 is available for a one-time fee of $24.95, and is a free upgrade to earlier versions. TiVo continues to work with Roxio on delivering equivalent functionality on the Mac platform.
With this new feature, users can choose web videos downloaded on the home PC using web browsers, RSS video clients such as iTunes podcasts, or other video download software to automatically copy to their TiVo DVR?s Now Playing List alongside recorded broadcast and cable TV shows. TiVo is also providing an on-screen guide of select web video sources for users to browse and select as individual episodes or get a Season Pass.
Subscribers can even use the TiVo service?s Season Pass functionality to get their own personal video folders on their PC, where they save their home movies and other video downloads. High Definition television enthusiasts will appreciate that TiVo preserves the original quality of high-resolution web videos, up to 720p, when delivered to TiVo Series3 or TiVo HD DVRs.
For more information on TiVo or to download TiVo Desktop Plus visit www.tivo.com/desktop.