Give Mom Her Own TV Channel, Starring You

We spent the weekend playing with One True Media, one of the easiest web services available to create photo slideshows and home videos and then share then with others. You can upload your photos or video to the One True Media web site, add music and text, and then either invite people to share online or create a DVD.

Now (impeccably timed for Mother's Day) One True Media can send slideshows or video to your own private TiVo channel. Then you can create an automatic invitation for friends and family who have a TiVo to come and view your channel. They receive an email with step-by-step instructions on how to find your TiVo Channel inside the Music, Photos, Products, & More folder on their TiVo. With TiVo's Season Pass feature, your broadcast will automatically show up on that TiVo user's Now Playing List.

To subscribe to your channel your guests will need a broadband-connected TiVo Series2™ or Series3™. (If they have an old TiVo there are upgrade kits available for $50 to convert from a dial-up to a broadband connection.)

The TiVo feature on One True Media is available free until the end of May after which the sender will pay a small fee. Anyone who is a TiVo subscriber with a broadband enabled box can view Home Movies for free.

To create our videos I've been using one of our Last Gadget Standing finalists, the Pure Digital Point and Shoot Camcorder. Today, Pure Digital is launching a next generation of this camera that it's calling the Flip Video. The new improved version is a pocket-sized video camcorder that shoots video and stills and lets you create a quick movie with text, special effects, and transitions by using the software that comes built in to the camera. You can email your edited video to friends or share directly to YouTube and other video websites. The camera has a retractable USB that plugs directly into your computer. You're not going to get amenities like a built-in flash, but the camera does have a 2X digital zoom and a small 1.5-inch color playback screen. The new camera goes on sale today; the 30-minute Flip Video Camcorder is $119 and a 60-minute version sells for $149.

Of course, it's a tough competition against Lost and American Idol, so don't expect the crowds to flock to your new station. But it's a great way to build a channel that only a mother could love.