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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.

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It looks like TiVo's 9.4 Summer Update has been released ahead of schedule and will supposedly be hitting every box by month's end. This update brings six new features, two of which actually seem really useful for most TiVoers. Folders will now have the option to be played or deleted, and the guide can be viewed at any time (while watching live TV, a recording, or even a download, but obviously not during menus). Since TiVo's 9.4 priority page hasn't been posted yet this update should hit your box as a total surprise while you're sleeping. [Zatz Not Funny!]

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Channel 7's new ad for TiVo has hit the airwaves (and YouTube), and it's not too bad an effort - towers made from videos build up around an animated TiVo icon, which then sucks them all down inside it at the end of the ad.

The problem is, like Sony's bunny ad before it, this one borrows pretty heavily from someone else's work. In this case though, it's not some obscure artist that's been ripped off, it's Apple.

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TiVo has been setting the bar for timeshifting television (what you want, when you want it) for the better part of a decade. Its latest models, the TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD, further refine and extend functionality to high definition TV and downloadable movies. But the future might not be so bright for TiVo, as other players such as Microsoft' Vista Media Centre, Apple's Apple TV, Netflix's Roku player, and upstarts like the Vudu aim to drink their milkshake. What's a company to do? Innovate. Use the internet. Connect users together. Go beyond broadcast TV. Here's what we think TiVo needs to prioritise in their next box in order to dominate the living room for the next decade.

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TiVo has a lot of data on their 1.7 million users and now they're tapping it to make some money on the side. TiVo is licensing their information to media-marketing research company TRA, including demographic-based data regarding live TV, recording, time-shifting, digital/analog cable, satellite, OTA channels and even the stuff their viewers have purchased.

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Until a week ago, I did not own a pair of shorts, but I did have two plaid flannel shirts and a drawer full of thick woolen socks. I say "to-more-owe," not "to-mah-row," and I went to "university," not "college." I have a full beard in the heat of summer. My passport reads United States of America, but I haven't lived here in four years. Yes, I was living in Canada, who today celebrates the peaceful unification of the Eastern provinces in 1867. Our northerly neighbo(u)rs were always kind to me, providing cheap higher education, affordable healthcare and a government that didn't totally suck balls. I loved living there, and haven't ruled out moving back. Yet beneath its placid exterior, there is a deep, dark secret threatening the life and liberty of its people: It absolutely blows to be a gadget nerd in Canada.

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We knew it was happening, but Channel 7 today officially launched the Australian version of TiVo. We weren't there, but we've grabbed a copy of the press release and had a read of Asher Moses' piece on SMH, and have to say that we're not inspired.

For a start, the press release is full of smacktalk. Now, I know Channel 7 enjoys the smacktalk, but in a press release? Have a read for your self:

"The TiVo HD DVR brings you all the features, and more, that until now were only available to pay television customers. Why pay monthly fees for pay television when 56% of pay television viewing is on the free channels anyway?"

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TiVoremote, the iPhone / iPod touch Telnet TiVo Remote app, was finally updated a few weeks ago with an ooey gooey GUI, and some really useful new features. Now at version 0.23, the app can now detect TiVos on your home network, allowing for easy selection of the TiVo you want to control. What's even better is the app now has the ability to download the Now Playing list data from the TiVo, allowing the iPhone to show what's been recorded and display each recordings data info. The app can also use the NPL data to start playing the recordings automatically. So if you've got a Jailbroken iPhone / iPod touch, and a Series 3 TiVo, I would suggest giving the app a try, it's surprisingly useful. [TiVoRemote]

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If reports from the Financial Review are correct, we'll soon be able to play with our very own peanut controller when TiVo launches in Australia in mid-July.

Aside from the obvious dilemma of where to spend your money (there's some new phone launching on July 11, remember?), the mid-July timeframe does work with the previous announcements that Channel 7 made about it launching before the Olympics.

The box itself is likely to cost somewhere around the $700 mark, which isn't exactly cheap for a DVR. Seven are likely to promote the box's superior EPG functionality in order to justify that price, although we'll wait to see how it's implemented ourselves before we recommend on whether you should spend the money.

The other interesting point made in the Fin's article is that Harvey Norman are likely to have an exclusive distribution arrangement for 3 months, before it will be available in JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith's shops.

I'm sure there are important factors influencing that decision, like scratching the backs of old mates and heavy advertisers, but I think Channel 7 may be overestimating TiVo's appeal in Australia. Personally - I'm very intrigued, but I would need to see some obvious advantages in TiVo's local implementation before I dropped 700 big ones. Especially now that Foxtel's iQ2 is on the market.

UPDATE: Pete Blasina over at GadgetGuy.com.au is reporting that the launch date is officially July 15. Considering his relationship with Channel 7, I reckon this is pretty much guaranteed.

[MIS Australia and GadgetGuy]