TiVoCasting is Here; Is Anyone Impressed?

[Wayde]

TiVo, that little PVR service that keeps on ticking after repeated beatings is continuing to find new services for its customers. TiVoCasting is the new name of the feature unveiled yesterday by TiVo that will allow online content providers to send video feeds directly to your TV through TiVo. Funny thing about the name, it had been previously called Video PodCasting but TiVo wisely decided the name was too tied to Apple's brand.

Subscribers with TiVo's Series2 hardware can now watch video from online sources like Cnet, Rocketboom, even special highlights from the NBA and other online video sources. Integration with TiVo's menu system couldn't be easier. You access TiVoCasts through the Showcase area on TiVo Central. From here all the videos are offered at no extra charge. Of course you won't escape advertising. TiVo's partner content providers have the ability to integrate advertising into their TiVoCasts.

TiVoCasting is interesting but not exactly revolutionary. Grainy online video blogs and selected content through your TV isn’t going to bring a whole new wave of customers over to TiVo like something truly unique might. If TiVo could pull off IP streams to the TV with movies and video content in an OnDemand style service, that would be something special. The real potential for web integration with Home Theater is nothing short of a true alternative to Cable and satellite TV services. Perhaps the phone companies will answer that call with broadband IPTV which is just on the horizon. Consumers really want quality feeds of only those movies and TV shows they want to see instead of having to subscribe to an entire network or package. Now that would be truly interesting! But that's out of TiVo's reach. For now TiVoCasting is likely to be relegated to occasional curiosity for most subscribers.

Anyone with a Windows XP Media Center PC has played with the Online Spotlight that is similar to TiVoCasting. The web content on TiVo's new service is limited now but will but should grow quickly. We can only hope it will broaden public exposure to online only media sources. Would you be willing to sit in front of the tube to watch a video you're not already watching from your PC?

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