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TiVo Getting YouTube Streaming TODAY
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 2:01 PM on July 17, 2008
TiVo's YouTube player that was announced back in March is finally going live today and will allow streaming, yes streaming, of all H.264 YouTube videos. It's a major part of the 9.4 Summer Update that is hitting all boxes by the end of this month. Even though all boxes are receiving this update only Series 3 and HD TiVos will be able to see the YouTube feature, sorry Series 2'ers. We haven't gotten a hands on yet but we've been briefed on how it will function and it actually sounds usable.
AU: Obviously, this feature won't be live for the Aussie TiVo launch - you'll probably have to pay extra for it in a few months time. Probably.
Hidden within the Download TV, Movies, & Web Video selection, in the Find Programs menu, there will now be a YouTube option. TiVo's YouTube menu page has a different layout than the usual TiVo menus. From this YouTube menu you'll be able to select from popular videos, recent videos or search for videos using the onscreen keyboard. Alongside each video there will be a thumbnail, title and a short description just like YouTube.com. Once a video is selected the player will automatically go full screen and start streaming within seconds. Since the video streams live there is no need to go the Now Playing List and there is no option to save the video there.
Right now there is no way to login into an YouTube account, but TiVo says there's a minor update coming in eight weeks that will incorporate this feature. Overall the YouTube integration sounds pretty legit. We hope now that TiVo has figured out streaming video it will open up options for other services like Netflix and Hulu.
YOUTUBE™ ARRIVES TO THE BOOBTUBE THROUGH THE TIVO SERVICE
TiVo Offers Subscribers More Ways to Discover Relevant and Personalised Content Directly from the TiVo Remote
ALVISO, Calif. -- July 17, 2008 -- TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced the availability of YouTube videos on the TV via a TiVo® DVR. A joint alliance between the two companies allows broadband-connected subscribers with TiVo Series3™ and TiVo HD DVRs, to access hundreds of millions of user generated videos hosted on YouTube. Whether you like to watch the new up-n-comers, or classic YouTube favourites, TiVo subscribers are in control of the content they want to watch, whenever they want to watch it.
YouTube on the Web attracts millions of viewers a day, and now TiVo offers consumers the opportunity to experience YouTube content where it is more comfortably consumed - in front of the TV set. TiVo users can now search, browse and watch their favourite YouTube videos through TiVo's famously easy-to-use interface. Soon, users will also be able to log into their YouTube accounts directly through the TV to access their videos, channels and playlists, making the experience even richer.
"YouTube brings video where the audience is - across the Web and onto mobile devices, TVs and video games," said Hunter Walk, YouTube's director of product management. "The partnership with TiVo extends our ability to make YouTube accessible anywhere and lets people watch what they want, when they want it."
Over the next few weeks TiVo will roll-out a software upgrade to Series3 and TiVo HD DVRs which will enable this feature. For more information on how to view YouTube videos on the TV via a TiVo DVR visit www.tivo.com/youtube.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
Chris
Posted July 28, 2008 10:51 AM
When do we get it in Australia? sucks if it is an extra cost...
strider_mt2k
Posted 2:50 PM 17/7/08
Will they know what you watch and you know...report it?
strider_mt2k
pzy
Posted 2:39 PM 17/7/08
How about the Comcast Tivo? Will that get this feature?
hahahah, hahaha. oh man, I kill me.
pzy
FubarGuy
Posted 2:33 PM 17/7/08
Meh, for once I'm glad I still have all Series 2 boxes in the house. Of all the vid sites out there, YouTube is the last one I'd waste time browsing from the TeeVee.
FubarGuy
tkohrs2002
Posted 5:23 PM 17/7/08
Tivo is for recording a show enough that u see every episode in about a year, get sick of that show, and find a new show when you would actually be entertained by reruns of that show if u were able to miss an episode everyonce in a while.....
Tivo is NOT FOR YOUTUBE
tkohrs2002
SuperCollider
Posted 6:00 PM 17/7/08
@tkohrs2002: YouTube is on-demand, just like watching your pre-recorded shows is kind of on-demand. In that sense, I think it fits the bill nicely, though I can't imagine myself ever getting any use from it.
SuperCollider
liquidsoapdispenser
Posted 11:42 PM 17/7/08
@MacBandit: Wow, have none of you ever thought about some great old music video or commercial from your youth, and then been amazed to watch it again, thanks to YouTube? Or heard about your favorite person appearing on a talk show that you missed, but no problem because you can find just that 8 minute clip on YouTube? And it usually only takes a minute to find what you're looking for. Either you guys are missing the boat, or your brains are wired differently than mine.
liquidsoapdispenser
MacBandit
Posted 11:28 PM 17/7/08
I could care less about You Tube in general but I think any and all added functionality is a good thing. Unless of course it means it shoots lasers at my eyeballs. That would be bad.
MacBandit
liquidsoapdispenser
Posted 11:28 PM 17/7/08
To those who pass off YouTube on your TV, I disagree. First off, there is every type of content, so you can't say you don't like what's on YouTube. Second, no one can argue that the TV is a pretty convenient way to watch video streams. The only thing you can knock about YouTube on your TV is the quality. But YouTube's new higher def option isn't really that bad at an SD resolution.
I was excited by the headline, only to find my Series 2 wasn't included. So I still won't be able to watch YouTubed versions of my old Gizmodo contest entries on my TV...
+ Watch video
+ Watch video
liquidsoapdispenser
distortedloop
Posted 11:24 PM 17/7/08
Whether it's on a TiVo or an AppleTV, YouTube videos are just butt ugly on a large screen television. Even with h.264 encoding, they're gonna have to update the video quality to make this an interesting feature. This is possibly, or maybe even probably an issue beyond YouTube's control, as they're limited to the lousy cellphone and webcam content that much of the uploaders provide. Hopefully that will change with time.
Speaking of interesting, how much YouTube is really worth watching? For me, not much, but I acknowledge in advance that your mileage may vary in that regard, and that's okay with me.
distortedloop
MikeTy
Posted 1:37 AM 18/7/08
First, YouTube should be worrying about Viacom and others that will probably follow. Now they are going to stream those videos to even more places! huh?
The TiVo revolution is great and it's changing TV networks economics, according to this [tinyurl.com] . As you can read in that link, in the short-run, the TV networks are taking advantage of broadband, but what about the long-run?
MikeTy
mcdonnr
Posted 2:30 AM 18/7/08
Is it just me, or does it seem that Series 2 is just being forgotten by the sands of time? I don't like being forgotten! Where's the love for Series 2?!
mcdonnr
scuba_steve_1
Posted 3:13 AM 18/7/08
I wonder if the series 2 boxes have a technical limitation that complicates conveying the youtube feature in the update...or if TiVo has made a business decision to try and motivate folks to upgrade...and kick their lifetime subscriptions to the curb.
I for one will be hanging on to my Series 2 lifetime subscription unit until they pry it from my cold dead hands. I paid up front and the break even point vs a monthly membership passed by about four or five years ago...and I have been maniacally laughing ever since.
scuba_steve_1
Zlevee
Posted 3:12 AM 18/7/08
Navigating an onscreen keyboard with the Tivo remote is gonna blow.
Zlevee
peerpul
Posted 6:17 AM 18/7/08
So let me sum this up:
1. Get a Tivo, watch a few movies and save on tivo's harddrive.
2. Decide you want more storage on your tivo so you
wire it into your computer to store movies.
3. Run out of movies to watch, resort to youtube on computer.
4. Think "this would be nice to have on the tv". (even though you probably already have your computer hooked to the tv)
5. Wire youtube into the tv, and fill up hard drive with tivo.
6. Wire the tivo into the computer to store more youtube.
7. Cry because now that youtube is "on tv" they decided they should charge like every other company on tv.
8. Search internet for a free video storage.
peerpul
rainmkr
Posted 8:11 AM 18/7/08
@scuba_steve_1: Yeah, same here. I'll milk my S2 until it dies..
rainmkr
churchmany
Posted 12:18 PM 18/7/08
I JUST bought a Series 3 HD Tivo 2 weeks ago. Comcast was finally able to install the Cablecards correctly yesterday. Now I'll be able to download Hi-def TV shows on my laptop ANYWHERE because of Tivo ToGo. I can't imagine ever needing the YouTube option, but the more the merrier.
churchmany
liquidsoapdispenser
Posted 2:29 PM 18/7/08
peerpul said:
1. Get a Tivo, watch a few movies and save on tivo's harddrive.
So far, so good.
2. Decide you want more storage on your tivo so you wire it into your computer to store movies.
Series 2 doesn't work that way, don't know about Series 3. But you can put in a bigger hard drive.
3. Run out of movies to watch, resort to youtube on computer.
I never seem to run out of movies. And I only watch YouTube on my computer when I'm already at my computer for other reasons. Does anyone run out of stuff on the TiVo and decide to go to the computer to watch YouTube?
4. Think "this would be nice to have on the tv". (even though you probably already have your computer hooked to the tv)
Yep, would be nice to be able to watch YouTube clips on the TV in comfort, with the wife, perhaps with company (watching funky old music videos, etc.). But I have not hooked up a computer to the TV, and I believe most people haven't done this. Plus, it would be redundant to have a TiVo AND a computer hooked to the TV.
5. Wire youtube into the tv, and fill up hard drive with tivo.
YouTube is an "on demand" service, so there is no reason (or capability) to download YouTube to your TiVo (main function of a TiVo is to convert TV broadcasts to "on demand" for the user).
6. Wire the tivo into the computer to store more youtube.
Wrong, for reasons given above.
7. Cry because now that youtube is "on tv" they decided they should charge like every other company on tv.
Really?
8. Search internet for a free video storage.
Yeah... Sure...
liquidsoapdispenser
ps61318
Posted 11:29 PM 18/7/08
In teaching my eBusiness class last night, I reminded them that 95% of the Internet is garbage. (This was in the context of doing research, by the way.) That remaining 5% is great usable stuff - and even though as a percentage it's pretty small, the 'Tubes are so vast and the pie is so big, there are going to be plenty of pearls to be found.
Ok, extend this to YouTube. It's probably true to that 95/5 ratio of garbage/value. But getting that golden 5% (and that's really subjective - it's a different 5% for each person) in another venue - that's really kind of neat. As long as it's at no additional charge, why not? Does this impinge on other services that TiVo offers? So no monetary cost, no technology cost, what's not to like?
ps61318