Comments on: TiVo officially launches eSATA support – as well as MRV, TTG, and progressive downloads for the S3 & HD

By: megazone

megazone — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 21:10:59 +0000

Kevin – I got on Ruder Finn’s press contact list so they sent me the release directly just like they do for the ‘mainstream press’.

Weaktwos – it isn’t clear, but based on initial reports on TiVoCommunity.com people getting 9.2 don’t lose functionality with existing drives. We’ll see if that changes.

By: Morac

Morac — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:57:10 +0000

TiVoPony has confirmed that only the HD will only support official TiVo external drives (currently only the WD MyDVR). The S3 will support any eSATA drive because it is being "grandfathered" for those who used the backdoor eSATA activation.So the HD is "locked down", but the S3 is not. That said, TiVoPony recommends using the official drive on the S3 since using an unofficial drive is not supported at all and if you have any problems after hooking up an unsupported drive, you are on your own.

By: weaktwos

weaktwos — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:54:47 +0000

Reading the FAQ on the Tivo community site gives me the impression that I might have to renable my eSata drive.
Of course, I may have read it wrong. I hope I’ve read it wrong.
Furthermore, doesn’t that imply a risk that the recordings already on the drive would not be inaccessible?

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:01:26 +0000

megazone, where did you see the Tivo PR? I can’t find it anywhere on their site or searching the web. It amazes me that this huge release is out in the public, and no official peep out of Tivo save for on the TCF site.

By the way, the new features are huge for Tivo’s future stand alone biz, and I hope they figure out how to market it.

By: HDTiVo

HDTiVo — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:49:30 +0000

I wonder why TiVo has chosen to limit starting progressive download viewing in the way they have instead of letting it go like MRV, where you start right away and pauses be damned. I prefer the later legacy technique.

Having multiple UI experiences for similar functions can’t possibly benefit anyone, can it?

By: HDTiVo

HDTiVo — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:43:01 +0000

I got the impression from TiVo that the progressive download on S3 platforms only situation will at least last for some time. I didn’t get a sense whether they intend to bring it to the S2.

I think it is useful to divide the eSata support subject into two categories: 1. PnP eSata 2. General eSata use.

1. PnP : It looks like TiVo HD will be locked down to “verified” drives for now, while the S3 supports some or all of the ones it supported during development (when folks used KS62.)

2. General: It looks likely that most eSata drives will work the “old fashioned way” on both the S3 and TiVo HD, doing the dirty work with MFS.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:41:39 +0000

I Ordered my hard drive today!! whooo hooo!

By: HDTiVo

HDTiVo — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:33:28 +0000

Congratulations to TiVo and to us subscribers!

The addition of transfers to the cableCARD platforms marks an important moment in TiVo history.

It not only is a significant feature addition, but will have measurable impact on TiVo’s business.

By: MickeS

MickeS — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:49:55 +0000

The http://www.tivo.com/expand page is up now, but doesn’t have much more than some basic info and a link to the FAQ and the TiVo store on it. The FAQ isn’t that useful – doesn’t answer the questions you posed above.