Woot’s offering the TiVo HD (refurb) for a low $165, shipped. Like all Woot deals, you’ll need to act fast. As in today. And before they sell out. I believe this is the lowest we’ve seen THD and it’s a great price to get in on. With the money you save, I suggest picking up the very nice TiVo Glo remote to replace the traditional TiVo controller - unless you’re using a Harmony or similar.

(via Gizmo Lovers)

I’ve noticed a decent amount of energy waste coverage lately. The general theme has been specific to devices that consume electricity while in standby mode or even powered off. While I’m lazier than I am cost conscious or environmentally aware, it did get me wondering what exactly goes on in my apartment.

So I went around my place with a Kill A Watt measuring the consumption levels of various digital media hardware (and a few other devices for comparison) when not actively engaged.

Some interesting discoveries… The Netflix Roku box draws the same amount of power (5 watts) when not in use as my DivX-capable Philips DVD player when in use. The Staples shredder draws 2 watts when in standby and when powered “off.” Most surprising, though, are my two Panasonic HDTVs which appear to pull less than 1 watt when shut down - kinda negating a lot of the bad press, if accurate. (One set confirmed by CNET. Perhaps older televisions are more demanding.) Here’s the complete breakdown:

• Watts - Device
• 42 - TiVo Series 3*
• 38 - TiVo HD*
• 38 - TiVo HD XL*
• 18 - Vudu*
• 13 - ZvBox
• 11 - Slingbox PRO-HD
• 8 - Ooma Hub
• 7 - Slingbox Solo*
• 5 - Roku Netflix box
• 4 - Neuros OSD*
• 3 - Panasonic cordless phone
• 3 - Maxtor OneTouch 4
• 2 - Xbox 360
• 2 - Shredder
• 1 - Sony alarm clock radio
• <1 - Panasonic HDTV (x2)

Obviously, these various components are consuming electricity when not in use. Shutting down the TiVo units isn’t a reasonable option, so a remote powerstrip kill switch is out of the question. But devices like the Roku and Xbox 360 only need power when the television is on, making Smart Strip-like adapters appealing. These solutions cut power to peripheral devices when the primary device (television, in this case) is off. In the meantime, I’m taking a page out of Brian Lam’s and Jeremy Toeman’s book - by simply unplugging. Since the Xbox probably won’t see much playing time until the next Call of Duty arrives and I’m still waiting for mainstream blockbuster content from Netflix (Roku), both these devices have been unplugged (along with the shredder). At the same time, it’s worth keeping these numbers in perspective - my electric bill jumped over $90 once the outside temps passed 85 and I cranked the AC, while the TiVo Series3 is responsible for only about $2.25/month.

I just swung by a local Best Buy and noticed their TiVo HD units listed for $225. While I’ve seen refurbs as low as $185, I’ve not personally seen retail prices much lower than $250ish… (Though, there’ve been reports of Costco pushing the THD for $219.) Not sure if this is an unadvertised special, specific to open-box units, or a mistake. But if legit, it’s a good deal on a new TiVo.

While this isn’t exactly the TiVo+Amazon announcement I was hoping for (that’d be HD Amazon video downloads), Amazon customers with broadband-connected Series 2 or Series3/TiVo HD units will now have the ability to initiate product purchases - triggered via in-show advertising overlays or search:

Starting today, TiVo will launch the new service to consumers by merchandising products related to several high profile shows, including but not limited to The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Colbert Report, and Burn Notice. Consumers will also be able to use TiVo’s Universal Swivel Search to easily explore and buy products associated with their favorite shows, movies, actors, and directors, directly from the television set

Today Amazon adds multi-platform video streaming (think web browser) to their Unbox arsenal. Initially, the Amazon Unbox movie and TV video service required a Windows player install or Plays for Sure portable device, which was followed by the TiVo playback option. And now they appear to be dabbling in Netflix Watch Instantly and Hulu territory as they begin “Video on Demand” beta testing. Though I wonder, from a branding perspective, if they’re making a mistake… “Video on Demand” is clearly more descriptive than “Unbox,” but it’s also unremarkable.

In regards to Amazon Unbox on TiVo, I don’t see the service going anywhere anytime soon (despite the recent CinemaNow and Disney announcement) - though, I suppose it’s possible video could be served in the newly supported H.264 format. I’m all for that if it gets us to HD quality sooner. Proof positive Amazon won’t be shuttering the video download service:

The video store will [also] be accessible through the Sony Bravia Internet Video link, a $300 tower-shaped device that funnels Web video directly to Sony’s high-definition televisions. Mr. Carr said Amazon would pursue similar deals with other makers of TVs and Internet devices. “We can support both streaming and downloading,” he said.

As I’d suspected, TiVo support for YouTube is indeed hidden within the 9.4 software update. Series 3 and TiVo HD subscribers should start seeing the application show up as early as tomorrow (Thursday), though the rollout will be completed over the next few weeks. And in some form of meta-irony, I’ve shot a brief video of YouTube on TiVo… on YouTube. For good measure, I also brought up the new SDV Tuning Adapter and TCP Remote screens on my Series3.

I’ve confirmed the YouTube content is indeed H.264 - thus marking the first time TiVo is rendering anything other than MPEG-2. (And why Series2 customers are out of luck - sorry, your hardware doesn’t support additional codecs.) In pressing TiVo on the issue of codecs, I also learned the forthcoming CinemaNow movie rentals will be provided (to both Series2 and Series3/TiVoHD units) as MPEG-2.

I can’t say I’m a huge YouTube fan (and I don’t like Mentos), but I’m impressed with the breadth of this app and the seamless playback. However, what I’d really like to see them do with the new H.264 capabilities is provide access to a much larger library of video podcasts without requiring TiVo Desktop Windows PC transcoding or TiVo to broker indivudal content deals before providing server-side transcoding. I know I’m not the only one waiting for Tekzilla…

Expect TiVo’s YouTube press release tomorrow AM, which is also when the tivo.com/youtube informational page will be activated.

As TiVo does, they’ve started rolling out the summer software update ahead of a general release. In fact, the priority page hasn’t been updated yet. Though, I hear all boxes should be upgraded by the end of the month. Of the disclosed new features, two in particular caught my eye.

Stringing together multiple shows has been a long time request of parents and those who “save up” multiple episodes to watch in sequence. So the new Play Folder functionality is a welcome enhancement.

I often continue watching television after Melissa has fallen asleep, so I drop the volume (not completely) and pull up Closed Captioning. Under my current software (9.3), when I hit the CC button I end up in a menu of caption customizations that requires three or four more remote clicks, rather than the new streamlined 9.4 process of simply toggling captions via the show banner.

I assume support for the SDV Tuning Adapter and digital-to-analog converter boxes is also present in this build. But what I’d really like to know is if additional decoding capabilities have been hidden within the Series3/TiVoHD platform… to enable YouTube and more… perhaps Amazon Unbox in HD?

Subject: You have a new service update!
From: The TiVo Team
Date: Tue 7/15

Congrats! You’ve just received the Summer 2008 TiVo Service Update for TiVo HD and Series 3 DVRs, including these new enhancements to your TiVo Experience:

* Play or Delete a Folder
Play or delete an entire folder of programs with a single button press (including kids shows, music videos ext). Highlight a folder and press PLAY to play all the shows in sequence. Pres CLEAR to delete the entire folder.

* Browse the Guide Any Time
Press the GUIDE button to display the program guide over what you’re watching: live TV, a previously recorded program, or even a video download.

* Jump Forward in the Guide
When the Guide is on-screen, press the ADVANCE to jump 24 hours ahead. Press INSTANT REPLAY to go back 24 hours.

* Find a Station in the Guide
Now you can search for a station “call sign” within the Guide, e.g. KQED, WPIX, MSNBC. When viewing the program guide, press ENTER to bring up Guide Options, then SELECT Find by call sign.

* Toggle Closed Captioning On and Off
The Closed Captioning icon in the Channel Banner now toggles closed captioning on and off.

* Review Thumb Ratings
To display a list of all programs that you have rated, select Find Programs, then TiVo Suggestions. Press ENTER to bring up the Review Thumbs screen

Enjoy!
-The TiVo Team