TiVo Rolls Out a Monster Update

Just last week I gave an interview about convergence devices where I noted that there were plenty of devices for playing digital media from your PC on a TV, and plenty of devices for getting TV shows and broadcast media to your PC... but nothing that could do both.

Well already I'm being proven wrong: TiVo just announced a wild collection of updates and upgrades that mark a first major step toward being the device that will serve as a media hub and translator between the computer world and the TV one. I sat down with TiVo VP Margaret Schmidt to hear more.

Here's what you need to know, straight from the horse's mouth:

• Download web video direct to TiVo: No, you won't be able to search YouTube through TiVo, but you'll be able to search TiVo partner sites through the box and download web video, just like you search and record regular TV. This will be a free upgrade.
  
• Upload any non-copy-protected video to TiVo: You'll need a $25 software upgrade, which will let the TiVo Desktop Plus software transcode any MPEG-4, QuickTime, or WMV for uploading to your TiVo. For most users, this means you'll be able to keep home movies at arm's length instead of digging through a stack of tapes or DVDs.
  
• Video sharing with friends and family: Got those home videos on TiVo now? After you upload them to your TiVo box (see above), you can share them with other TiVo users (you have to authorize them to access your "private channel"). It's a convenient alternative to emailing videos or burning DVDs. Some sites are reporting this as a peer-to-peer system, and in a way it is. It will cost $4 a month to use.
  
• Celebrity Guru Guides: Bah. Celebrities offering TV and film recommendations. Thankfully it's free.

So that's the gist. No, you still can't get all web video on your TV set through TiVo, but this is a giant leap toward making that a real possibility. I'll write more on this topic in early 2007 when these updates actually roll out to users. Stay tuned!

More Yahoo!s on the TiVo news: Tom, Dory