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TiVo quietly updated their Mac Desktop software from version 1.9.2 to 1.9.3 as a Universal binary. While this isn’t huge news, it does indicate TiVo hasn’t entirely forsaken Mac users and that development is ongoing. Perhaps we’ll still see OS X TiVoToGo support this year.

UPDATE: Dennis Wilkinson has discovered and documented how to enable an unsupported feature of the new Desktop software… Macs can now send MPEG2 video to TiVo! How cool is that?

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Alex over at TiVoBlog discovered the TiVo-branded wireless adapter selling at Buy.com for $44.99 with free shipping. Dell is coming in at a low 39.95, but they’re charging shipping (this week) for orders under $50. Amazon and TiVo.com have the adapter in stock at the $49.99 list price. If you have an impulse control problem and need the adapter now, your local Best Buy and CompUSA should have inventory. Yes, this will work with your new dual tuning TiVo!

Dave’s adapter review
Alex’s adapter review

Another week, another study…

RINGWOOD, N.J., April 26 /PRNewswire/ — According to the Total TV Audience Monitor (T-TAM), an annual syndicated report which measures total TV viewing, about one-fourth (24%) of DVR owners actually watch time-shifted TV in the average week. Furthermore, only 6% of DVR owner’s total weekly viewing time is shifted. DVR owners watch an average of 29.25 hours of TV in a week, and only 1.7 of those hours are shifted.

The T-TAM study reports that DVR owners watch 2 more hours of TV in an average week compared to non-owners. Those who watch any time-shifted content consume the most TV — 30 hours per week. Syndicated programs (8%) are amongst the most popular genres time-shifted by men. Sports events and news are the least likely types of programming to be viewed as shifted. Daytime soaps account for 26% of quarter hours viewed as time-shifted by women.

According to Barbara Leflein, with Total TV Audience Monitor, “there’s an incremental audience lift of as much as 9% among 35-49 year olds for select broadcast networks during primetime, when time shifted viewing is included. This is a significant finding, because when combined with out-of-home viewing, traditional measures can miss over one-fifth of time shifter’s viewing in the average week.”

The T-TAM 2005 study, also uncovered these key DVR facts:

• 17% of adults 18+ (36 million) report owning a DVR, an increase of 55% from the 11% reported in the 2004 study.
• The recent growth in DVR ownership can be attributed to upgrading to set-top boxes with built-in DVRs (4% of adults in 2004 to 8% in 2005). The penetration of TiVo and Replay units remained unchanged from 2004 (3% TiVo & 4% Replay).
• The West Central and South East territories have the highest DVR penetration levels (20% and 19% respectively). Penetration levels in these regions doubled since 2004.
• DVR owners are more likely than the average adult TV viewer to be: college educated (41%), employed in a professional occupation (36%) or self-employed (11%)
• DVR owners are also more likely to visit restaurants (24%), bars (9%), hotels (6%) or airports (3%)
• The average DVR owner has 3.3 working TVs compared to 2.9 among non- owners and is more likely to subscribe to premium pay channels and VOD.

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Remember those dual tuner units I broke the news on a few weeks ago? They’re here and Engadget had some hand’s on time with one…

Engadget says: So what’d we think? Well, it worked exactly as advertised, and that second tuner was totally seamless. So the question isn’t how good was the Series2 DT — it’s really no better than any other TiVo on the market right now, this isn’t like a tossup between a Series2 and a Series3 or Media Center PC. The question you is: how much is that second tuner worth to you?

TiVo says: The TiVo Series2 DT DVR is optimized for cable households, allowing you to record two shows at once, so now you never have to miss any of your favorite shows — even if they’re on at the same time. The TiVo Series2 DT DVR also incorporates built-in Ethernet and USB ports, making it easier than ever to add the TiVo box to the home network. “We’ve been hearing from our subscribers that they wanted a TiVo DVR that could record two shows at once,” said Jim Denney , Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo. “With the TiVo Series2 DT DVR, we’ve delivered that capability to our customers at a very affordable price.” The TiVo Series2 DT DVR will join the existing TiVo product line, and is available in an 80-hour model priced at just $99.99, after rebate and service activation.

All in all good news for those with standard def and analog cable, but these units are about a year or so too late for me. Let me know when the Series 3 arrives. For those of you who are in the market, the 80 hour model can be ordered now and the 180 hour will be available next month — presumably once they’ve cleared the S2 single tuner stock. He who buys first, pays the most…
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Never enough time…

• TiVo cofounder Jim Barton broadcasts the revolution. (ACM Queue)
• Netflix quarterly conference call doesn’t mention TiVo. (Internet Stock Blog)
• Save fifty bucks on a Slingbox and get 2000 United Airlines miles. (Sling)
• Details on Clear Channel’s digital radio plans (aka HD) to compete with satellite. (MarketWatch, Business Week)
• Sony releases PSP firmware 2.7 (in Japan) providing Flash and AAC support. (Engadget)
• NHL scores and standings plugin released for BeyondTV. (SnapStream)
• Pay for a year of service and get a free refurb TiVo offer still available. (TiVo)

I may doubt the necessity of 1080p and HD DVD at these prices and with limited content, but the fact is I’m down to a lone standard definition setup (the 9″ kitchen TV doesn’t count) holed up in the bedroom.

TV
I picked up this 32″ JVC about 6 years ago when Consumer Reports recommended a similar model. The picture quality can’t compare to current technology, but I’m having a hard time letting go of a fully functional TV. Maybe I’ll take it off the surge protector and hope for an electrical storm.

TiVo
The 80 hour DVD-burning Humax model replaced my Toshiba SD-H400 DVD-playing unit a few months ago. As the guy who wrote the book on TiVoToGo, I can tell you burning DVDs directly from the TiVo is a more efficient and joyful experience. (Assuming you can live with commercials. If you can’t, see this.) The TiVo is fed directly by analog cable which I output to the TV via S-Video and analog audio cables.

Slingbox
I’m not traveling much these days, so I don’t use the Slingbox regularly. However, my mom doesn’t have a cable drop in her computer room (formerly known as the ‘dining room’) and has been enjoying TLC and Discovery fed to her PC over the Internet. I use TiVo’s video pass-thru to provide the entire range of channels to the internal Slingbox tuner — essentially splitting the cable feed so Mom can’t change my channels or control the TiVo. Occasionally I fire up the laptop SlingPlayer in bed when my fiancé must watch Skating with the Next Top Celebrity American Idol Stars.

Buffalo Wireless Bridge
The Slingbox only provides an Ethernet jack and TiVo still doesn’t support WPA which led to this wireless bridge and Linksys USB -> Ethernet adapter. Incidentally, TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing transfers are quicker than using a typical wireless adapter such as the Netgear WG111 I replaced.