Portable TiVo

This week, TiVo debuted its TiVoToGo portable service. So now you can not only watch your favorite shows when you want, but where you want.

The service allows TiVo users to transfer their recorded programs to their laptops. The software is available on the TiVo website, and currently supports only Windows XP or Windows 2000. TiVo will push other necessary components to Series 2 set-top boxes.

Planned enhancements include Macintosh support, support for other video-enabled mobile devices, and allowing users to record their programs to DVD. Eventually, TiVo envisions recorded content being made available through the Internet, making the TiVo recorder a personal server of sorts.

In addition to making TiVo a lot more useful to its customers, TiVoToGo opens up a host of possibilities for mobile entertainment and -- as much as content producers may not like it -- program sharing. It also further divorces TV programming from scheduling, empowering users to fit TV viewing around their schedules, instead of the other way around.

Sources: MIT Tech Review, Lockergnome, Extremetech