While the Windows TiVo Desktop is up to version 2.6.2 and it has long had native support for TiVoToGo file playback, and more recently transcoding for TiVo Web Video, and more, the Mac TiVo Desktop has languished at version 1.9.3, lacking most of the newer features. Mac users looking for TTG playback have needed to purchase Roxio products, or use 3rd party applications such as TiVoDecode Manager or TiVo Butler.

However, TiVoCommunity user Dennis Wilkinson spotted a new version. 1.9.4, up for download a couple of weeks ago. It was pulled and the download reverted to 1.9.3, but he did find some interesting additions to the files included in 1.9.4.

/Library/Application Support/TiVo/BindTiVoFileToQTPlayer
/Library/Frameworks/mcac3dec.framework
/Library/Frameworks/mcmpegin.framework
/Library/Frameworks/mcmpgdec.framework
/Library/QuickTime/TiVo File Support.component
/Library/StartupItems/TiVoDesktop/TiVoHDPhotoServer

And the output of “strings /Library/Application\ Support/TiVoDesktop/TiVoDesktop” shows some interesting new strings:

StartHDPhotoServerAtBoot
VideoLibraryName
VideoDirectory

While the features don’t appear to be enabled in 1.9.4, it isn’t uncommon for future additions still in development to find their way, disabled, into releases. These additions seem to indicate the HD Photo Server, which has been part of the Windows TiVo Desktop for a while, will finally find its way into the Mac TiVo Desktop. And the ‘BindTiVoFileToQTPlayer’, QuickTime ‘TiVo File Support.component’ and MPEG encode and decode frameworks certainly seem to point toward native TiVoToGo file playback, and possibly transcoding to support TiVo Web Video and other file transfers to TiVo.

1.9.4 does fix TiVoToComeBack transfers, which was broken in 1.9.3.

On Friday user Lannister80 talked to a TiVo support person who said 1.9.4 was pulled due to a problem and that a new build would be available for download in “1 to 2 weeks”.

Picked up from TiVo Blog.

Roxio sent out an email today with a new set of coupon codes. Since Roxio makes the only officially sanctioned software with TiVoToGo support, they could be useful for TiVo users picking up the software.

Through 9/30/08 save 10% site wide on Roxio.com: SAVE10ROX
Through 8/15/08 save $20 on Roxio Easy Media Creator 10: C10SAVE20
Through 9/30/08 same $20 on MyDVD 10 Premier: MDVDSAVE20

And a couple of non-coupon deals:
While supplies last buy Popcorn 3 and get a free T-shirt.
Through 9/30/08 save $20 when you buy Toast 9 and the HD/Blu-ray Plug-in together.

Roxio Easy Media Creator is only commercial video editing tool for the PC officially listed as compatible with TiVoToGo files. Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 Suite has an MSRP of $99.99, currently $79.99 with a $20 rebate. But Buy.com is selling Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 Deluxe Suite for just $48.99 after a $30 rebate. The Deluxe Suite has an MSRP of $129.99, so that’s over 62% off MSRP! What makes it ‘Deluxe’, and why the higher MSRP? Because the Deluxe Suite is the full standard Suite plus a Dazzle USB video capture device. So you can buy Easy Media Creator 10 Deluxe Suite for $78.99, turn in the $30 rebate, and have it for just $48.99 - less than the standard, non-Deluxe, Suite. Good deal.

And for the Mac users, Roxio Popcorn 3 is one of the two officially endorsed packages for Mac (the other is Roxio Toast 9, of course). The MSRP is $49.99, but Buy.com is selling it for $29.99 with a $10 rebate - just $19.99.

The deals are only good through 7/20.

Remember a couple of months ago when the telnet interface to control HD TiVos was uncovered? As expected, the user development community has been hard at work producing tools to take advantage of this capability. And one of the most polished developments has tivoremote, for jail-broken iPhones. It is still very much a development project, but it has a decent UI - as seen here. And it can auto-detect compatible TiVos on your network. And it uses the TiVoToGo XML interface to download a list of the recordings from your TiVo to display on the iPhone for selection.

I love developments like this, they really show what the user community is capable of doing. At the same time, however, it is extremely frustrating and disappointing. Why? Because it is just a hint of what we could have if TiVo would only open up some APIs and publish them. If we can have interesting tools like this based on reverse engineering efforts of undocumented interfaces just imagine what could be done if TiVo would officially publish more of the APIs and enhance them. For example, the largest problem with the telnet control interface is that there is limited positive feedback of the status of the commands. If the commands returned the screen the unit was on, etc, you could truly remotely navigate the system. Currently developers have to rely on certain patterns being deterministic, which could break any time TiVo updates the software and changes the menus in any way.

TiVo could really engage the development community just by making some simple interfaces on the units more open. While ReplayTV did a number of things wrong, and ended up folding, one of the things they did right was having an extensive network API. This allowed the ReplayTV users to develop DVArchive, a very nice freeware tool. Their API extended to searching the EPG and scheduling new recordings, viewing lists of upcoming recordings, and more. I’d love to see community tools like this for TiVo.

Maybe someday TiVo will embrace the user development community and publish more APIs. In the meantime we still get to enjoy tools like these due to the efforts of the community.

Alex over at TiVo Blog uncovered another nice TiVoToGo application for the Mac, TiVo Butler. I’m not a Mac user so I can’t try it out myself, but it looks like TiVo Butler has a lot of nice features, and TiVo Blog has a number of screen captures of the client.

As the cliche goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Since TiVo’s support for the Mac has lagged (far) behind their Windows clients, and the only official TiVoToGo solution for the Mac is paid-for software from Roxio, now the Mac probably has nicer 3rd party clients than any other platform.

Ever since the Apple iPhone hit the market, people have been asking for a version of SlingPlayer Mobile for the platform. To date Sling has only expressed their desire to support the platform when it is possible to do so. But with the Apple WWDC kicking off this week, they’ve been showing off a bit of what they’ve been up to, and a number of blogs have coverage:
Engadget (video)
Gizmodo (video)
Zatz Not Funny (video)
PVR Wire @ TV Squad
Ars Technica
Macworld
NewTeeVee
Electronista
jkOnTheRun
The Mobile Gadgeteer
Crave
CrunchGear
AppleInsider
Mobility Today
Gizmos for Geeks
9 to 5 Mac
I4U News
Gear Diary
Download Squad
Unwired View
GottaBeMobile
Nerd Beach
Brighthand
Geek.com
SlingCommunity

And I’m sure there others that I haven’t spotted.

Dave Zatz posted this video to YouTube:

Note that this is a proof of concept, a technology demonstrator, and not the SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone that will eventually be released. This was an engineering project written for jail-broken iPhones to characterize the performance of the platform and ensure that Sling could deliver a high quality customer experience on the iPhone & iPod Touch platforms. This allowed Sling to gain experience with the platform while waiting for the SDK to be released. The official SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone will be written using the SDK and sold through the iTunes App store like other official iPhone/iPod Touch applications. At least that is currently the intent.

If you’re attending the Apple WWDC this week you can get a look at the proof of concept application first hand. Sling Media Product Manager Vicky Shum will be at the Starbucks at 120 4th Street, San Francisco (across from the Metreon) between 10:00 and 16:00 (10am and 4pm) on Monday, June 9th running demos.

Disclaimer: I am currently employed by Sling Media.