TiVo’s New TivoToGo Feature Leaves Out Mac Users (2005)

TiVo, the company that pioneered digital video recording and changed the way we watch television, now wants to help their customers take their TV content with them on the go. TiVo’s new portable video service called TiVoToGo will give users the ability to transfer their recorded shows to PCs or laptops and take them on the road. Unfortunately for Mac users, TiVoToGo is not currently compatible with Apple computers.

Compatible TiVo Models And Computers

TiVoToGo will be an automatic, free service upgrade for subscribers who own standalone Series2 TiVo DVRs. It will not work for subscribers owning DirecTV-TiVo satellite boxes. Also, the technology will work only with computers based on Microsoft Corp.’s Windows XP or 2000 operating systems, although a version for Macintosh computers is planned, TiVo officials said.

No Mac Support? Absolutely Unacceptable.

Unbelievable! Have the development team take a field trip to an Apple retail store and then tell me why the finest most powerful Media platform in the computer business is basically being ignored by Tivo. There’s no timeline or even a suggestion of a release date. Working hard doesn’t cut it.

AAC file support was supposedly being worked on hard for over a year now.

Look, the Cable companies are now offering set-top boxes for $9.95. Tivo needs all the users it can get and they basically are abandoning the Mac community. All this build-up, and it’s…. sorry Apple. Windows Media 10? Have a nice day? We’re working hard on that…someday. What!!!!

Broadcast networks are using Quicktime as a media standard for delivery to multiple platforms. Hello! You’ve got to come up with something better than market share BS. Try telling that to BMW & iPod owners.

TiVoToGo Content Restrictions

Any video content except pay-per-view, on-demand movies, premium paid programming or content that contains copy restrictions, is compatible with TiVoToGo.