Nero LiquidTV / TiVo PC brings TiVo interface to the PC

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 29th 2008 at 1:54AM

Rejoice, HTPC fans -- that partnership between Nero and TiVo has finally borne fruit in the form of Nero's new LiquidTV / TiVo PC DVR package, which brings the TiVo interface and featureset to Windows. The $199 package comes with a year of TiVo service, a Hauppage USB ATSC tuner, an IR receiver, and a Nero-branded TiVo remote, and does exactly as you'd expect -- it's TiVo on your PC. There are some interesting PC-specific features bolted on the usual kit -- you can navigate using the keyboard and mouse (there are even some nifty contextual menus) and you can export directly to iPod and PSP-compatible .mp4 from within the interface -- but for the most part it's the same TiVo experience you're used to, including streaming shows to and from other TiVos and TiVo PCs. If you're already running an HTPC setup, you can get the TiVo PC software and a year of service for $99, but your Media Center remote might be a little wonky without a remap, and Nero reps didn't make any promises about CableCARD compatibility apart from "it should work if Windows recognizes it." Obviously we'd like to see that firmed up a bit -- and maybe get some tru2way support in the deal -- but it's definitely a start. Should be available now.

Filed under: DVRs, Media PCs

Tags: dvr, htpc, liquid tv, liquid tv tivo pc, LiquidTv, LiquidTvTivoPc, nero, tivo, tivo pc, TivoPc

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Felix @ Sep 29th 2008 2:44AM

That's a great all-in-one solution!

Neutral

cpompee @ Sep 29th 2008 8:18AM

Wait, so I will still have to pay the monthly fee? AND have the pain of an HTPC to deal with?

No thanks. I mean, I'm an avid HTPC enthusiast, but the appeal to me is that I don't have to pay a monthly fee (bogus) and of course the added functionality. So why would I want TiVo on my PC when MCE, VMW, SageTV all work very well. If I want a TiVo I'll just buy one, although I never would. I could see this as being cheaper in the short term if you already have a spare computer lying around but the hassle of setting it up and maintaining it don't seem to be worth it to me. At least, not until they get CableCard support without the Draconian DRM.

Neutral

0megapart!cle @ Sep 29th 2008 8:52AM

What is VMW?

As far as Sage, BeyondTV is so much better, it is not even funny. I was having some problems with BeyondTV recently (BeyondTV is not as compatible with the Plextor DVR as it should), so I switched to Sage for the three weeks trial period, and it so sucks compared to BeyondTV. About a 60% chance of the recording completing successfully, extremely resource intensive interface that takes seconds (sometimes many seconds) just to go between different screens in the menus. I am not running the fastest PC (1.7 GHz P-M, 1.5 GB Ram) but BeyondTV ran beautifully on this computer, and almost never messed up recordings. I have happily returned to BeyondTV and am not looking back.

Neutral

cpompee @ Sep 29th 2008 8:56AM

Oops,

I meant VMC... Vista Media Center

Anyway I tried BeyondTV but I couldn;t get into it. Also at the time I ahd just purchased the Hauppauge Hd PVR and BeyondTV was still in Beta and didn't support it yet. I find SageTV works much better with the SageMC front end. Looks more like XP MCE. Now if only someone would make a Vista Media Center crossbar-type theme for Sage...

Neutral

Joe Maki @ Sep 29th 2008 11:15AM

will this qualify for the multi-unit discount :)

Neutral

JeffDM @ Sep 29th 2008 12:45PM

I thought a huge part of the justification for the annual or monthly fee was that they were providing the hardware at a subsidized price. I don't see anything there that justifies the service cost. The other part of the justification is the cost of managing the listings, but I have a different PVR system and it gets a TitanTV account for free.

I imagine there are people that will buy this, but I don't see the value. A hardware-complete dual tuner TiVo is $150, and they want $200 for this unit that still needs a computer to work? It doesn't say if it's a single or dual tuner device.

Neutral

TheRedMonkey @ Oct 3rd 2008 6:37PM

I really hope they cut the price for the PC users. They could get a ton more buyers if True2Way makes it to the PC.

Neutral

John @ Oct 9th 2008 8:18PM

WIthout HD support, it's crap. If TiVo wanted a "game changer" they would support HD.

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