TiVo we've all heard of it. You can record, pause and fast-forward your TV programming. If the phone rings, no problem, just hit the pause button even grab a snack, when you come back you haven't missed a thing. Neat, but since the device runs on the open source OS Linux, there's quite a community that think they know a few other features that ought to be included. Such as file transfers to a PC and DVD burning capability. But, TiVo doesn't dare rock the boat with such touchy innovations. Interestingly, they also don't do much of anything to stop anyone from adding such features either.
In fact, this article over at C|Net even suggests that part of the enormous popularity of TiVo is the fact that people can pry the thing open and go to work on it's innards. Even others are going so far as to say that these hackers are being watched to see what becomes popular in order to know what features to add next! But the best part is nobody seems to care, in fact they are turning a blind eye to this underground development work.
| TiVo hacks available for download let those inclined to tinker do a range of things: add a Web interface to the TiVo unit, convert programs to DVD and other formats, alter TiVo native features, expand the unit's hard drive, transfer files back and forth from the unit to the PC, or archive shows at smaller file sizes. "TiVo is missing some tremendous opportunities," said Riley Cassel, a programmer who last year released a popular, unauthorized extension called MFS_FTP. "There's no technical reason you couldn't watch TV across the Net...Of course, the problem is that the same software can be used to broadcast HBO or Discovery HD, so Hollywood would go nuts." Among hard-core, high-tech TiVo users, customization is king. The risks of voiding the warranty, provoking Hollywood or even getting electrocuted aren't enough to keep some fans from prying open their units and hacking them.
"I think it's great for TiVo and the industry," said Mark Cuban, who sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion and is now president of HDNet, a provider of high-definition TV programming. "You aren't going to switch from TiVo after you have customized it." |
Make sure to visit over at C|Net and check out this article, it has quite a bit of interesting information and some awesome links. What a great way to get practice in Linux and having some benefits to show for your toil! Not that I would condone such activity, (looks around) but I guess nobody is getting too upset just yet. Does anyone here have a TiVo, if so have you tried any of these modifications, what's your favorite?
Source: C|Net
