TiVo Joins Growing Army of iPod Applications

With the iPod phenomenon creeping into each corner of Mother Earth, TiVo has jumped into the mix with their own Desktop application for Windows. The new application allows TiVo users to transfer their favorite TV programs directly to computer, and then onto portable devices.

Like most software of this kind, a premium version exists that allows users to transfer shows to a host of different portable gadgets, including the iPod, Sony Playstation Portable (PSP), and phones from Treo and Nokia. As you might expect, the premium edition, called TiVo Desktop Plus, is available for a fee of $24.95 USD. (Source: betanews.com)

Plans to launch a TiVo-to-Portable network were first announced in November of last year. Criticisms of the system abounded in its difficult-to-use interface. Users must first transfer the program from the TiVo set to a PC, then use TiVo software to convert the selected show into a format compatible with the iPod itself. After all of these steps are complete, the user can finally download the show onto their portable device. (Source: tvpredictions.com)

More legitimate criticisms surround the length of the transfer process, which can reportedly take up to two hours. There is no word yet on whether this has been changed since tech analysts first cried wolf after the project's initial announcement last year.

Clearly, the TiVo Desktop Plus will only appeal to the most hardcore television tech users. The existence of the basic TiVo program (currently free for download), will probably garner far more attention than the $24.95 Plus edition; nonetheless, the release of the application itself is further evidence of the technological might of the iPod.