After my post earlier this week about transmitting Mac audio, readers contacted me about extending this solution. Although they liked the idea of direct audio while working out on a treadmill or exercise bike, several stated that they also wanted to watch from the sofa once the spouse or the kid go to sleep. The idea was the same: audio transmission to an iPhone or iPod touch. The source was different. They wanted to watch live cable TV or their TiVo. And for the punchline, their media center Mac lacks a tuner. Was there a similar quiet Mac-based solution that would let them transmit the TV audio from these non-Mac sources?

If your Mac has a microphone jack, internal or even through an external USB solution, the answer is yes. You can easily connect your TV audio to your Mac just like you would connect it to a pair of speakers. Run a cable between a spare audio output (modern TVs usually offer more than one, if not, you can use a splitter) to the microphone jack on the Macintosh. On my low-end TV, this means an RCA stereo cable that feeds to a standard stereo minijack plug.

Setting up the Mac host is simple. Instead of feeding audio via Soundflower, as described in the earlier post, choose your microphone audio input in the Skype settings. Start a call to your iPhone or iPod touch, switch the TV source (usually via a "Source" button that picks which signal to watch, such as Composite 1, Component 2, etc.) to your normal cable or TiVo input. Set the external speaker volume to zero. The signal arrives at the Mac microphone independently of those speakers.

You may find that the audio out signal tends to be on the low side. Many TV speakers provide their own amplification. If this is a problem for you, you can hook in an inline amplifier. (I use an old Radio Shack 277-1008C.) Alternatively, you can boost the audio via a third party program like Rogue Amoeba's Audio Hijack Pro.

This solution takes a few more cables, components, and connections than the Mac Audio-to-iPhone through Skype set-up discussed in the earlier post. But if you have the cables on-hand already, it offers an inexpensive solution compared to many other wireless TV headsets on the market right now.

Stutsman Software has released version 2 of DVR Remote, an app we covered a while back that lets you use your iPhone or iPod touch as a remote control for your TiVo Series 3 via WiFi.

One user, however, is reporting an issue with a Now Playing list that never ends -- that is, its contents are repeated over and over again -- but Derek Stutsman, the developer, is working on it. On the product's page in iTunes (link opens iTunes), Stutsman suggests you may want to wait until he releases a fix before upgrading from 1.x.

New in this version is improved keyboard support, rewritten networking support to handle transfer interruptions, and a faster "Now Playing" list. Also included is support for skins. You can select from one of many attractive themes for your remote, or create one yourself. Pictured here is the "Starry Night" theme.

DVR Remote is available in the App Store for $2.99.

Thanks, Derek!

If you have a TiVo, there are several apps in the App Store that can make recording and playing your favorite shows just a little easier. While none of them allow playback on the iPhone or iPod touch themselves, they're still useful tools for TiVo-holics.

For those with TiVo Series 3 boxes, DVR Remote turns your iPhone or iPod touch into not only a remote control for your TiVo, but also a much easier way to enter text, compared to using the remote. There is a little bit of setup that you have to do on your TiVo before DVR Remote works, but once all the devices are talking to one another, you can view Now Playing information and select favorite channels straight from this app. DVR Remote (App Store link) is $2.99.

Also, If you're looking for a less-polished, less-expensive app that has much of the same functionality as DVR Remote, RemoteT might be for you. RemoteT (App Store link) is 99 cents.

For those with Series 2 DVRs (like me), DVR Shows behaves much like the NowPlaying dashboard widget (sans downloading capability). DVR Shows lets you browse the contents of your Now Playing list and view program details. DVR Shows (App Store link) is 99 cents.

If you want to take advantage of the TiVo's remote programming option while browsing your media guide and program schedules, the current version of i.TV supports that function. Some testers have had mixed luck with the capability but your mileage may vary. i.TV (App Store link) is free.

Last but not least is DVRPics, a utility that lets you show a picture from your iPhone or iPod touch's Photo repository on your TiVo Series 2 or newer. (Right now, you can only show one photo at a time, but the developer promises a free update to create slideshows.) You can also take pictures using your iPhone, and immediately display them on your TV. DVRPics (App Store link) is 99 cents.

A lot of people may know about this, and a lot may not. Here's the straight skinny. Last year DirecTV rolled out the ability to go to a web page and give instructions to your DVR to record a program. TiVo and Replay TV also had this ability for quite some time. Meanwhile Dish Network just announced integration of Slingbox technology into some of their new DVRs.

DirecTV has a mobile web page that makes this easy on web enabled devices like the iPhone. It should also work on the iPod touch. Using Safari you go to m.directv.com. That will put you on a page called "DVR Scheduler." Then you log in and search for the show by name or by channel. You can also search by actor names or host name. Any eligible DVRs will show up and you can ask for the recording to be made. In my experience this can be done very closely to the scheduled air time of the show. Shortly after, you'll get a confirmation that DirecTV has your request. It is not a guarantee that the recording will work, however, but it always has for me. DirecTV then sends your request from the website to your DVR and all should be well.

You don't need an iPhone to do this. It works from a laptop or desktop computer, and DirecTV provides a list of mobile phones that work. Here's the FAQ that tells you all about it. (You'll need to be a DirecTV customer to see this.) This page should give you information if your are not logged in or a DirecTV customer.

So if you haven't tried this, give it a go. It has saved me a few times when I forget to record something while I was away from home. It might save you too.

Earlier this week, TiVo announced their new mobile site, m.tivo.com, and it's OK. Definitely not the solution I've been wanting from TiVo, but good at what it does.

I tested it out on my iPhone and was able to find and schedule a recording easily. In fact, the process should be very familiar to anyone who has used TiVo's online scheduling service. You can also browse popular shows, recommendations based on your preferences and browse the help section. The whole thing was put together by Mobui Corporation.

TiVo's lackluster Mac support has been a thorn in our side for years. Heck, you've got spend $80US on Toast 9 Titanium to transfer shows from your TiVo to your Mac (something Windows users can do for free). While m.tivo.com is convenient and easy to use, it still seems like a consolation prize.

Thanks, Anne!

We posted about SuperSync last year, and we just posted about another iTunes library syncing app, Syncopation. But just in case you've been waiting to sync your music libraries not just across iTunes but also to your TiVo, the wait is over -- SuperSync version 2.3 now does just that. You can connect to a shared library with any series 2 or series 3 TiVo, and even use the remote to browse and play music.

And of course, SuperSync will still let you do all the other stuff other sync tools will let you do -- browse multiple libraries and copy music between each, transfer whole playlists, and even browse and play music over the 'net. A two-machine license (the app has to be running on both computers you use the transfer the music to and from) costs $29.

TiVo support is all well and good, but I can haz Xbox 360 support, too? Connect360 is great, and Rivet seems interesting, but if we could roll up the sync tool and the sharing tool into one app, all the better.

[Via Macworld]

While we wait for Apple to cram a TV tuner or cable card into the Apple TV (don't hold your breath-- seriously), El Gato continues to pump out some nice hardware/software tools for watching the tube on your Mac. One thing that caught my eye: you can start distributing recorded live video around your house 30 seconds or so after the EyeTV starts recording a show. I remember when we had to rig some VLC nonsense together to get livestreaming on a remote machine with the old EyeTV. Oh, and they've apparently added something very similar to the Season Pass feature on Tivo, which is quite cool.

Check out a nice demo after the jump.

Unfortunately, an HD TiVo was too expensive for me in 2007, and none of my friends or relatives ponied up the cash to get me one as a gift this holiday season, so I'm forced to settle with the extremely inferior Comcast HD DVR box. But for you TiVo owners, here's an awesome plugin to easily and stylishly connect your TiVo with your Mac. Showcase is a dashboard widget that, given your TiVo's IP and MAK, will not only show you what your TiVo is up to, but also let you download and decode shows directly from there on to your Mac.

TiVoToGo was shipped almost exactly a year ago for Mac, but Showcase seemingly does almost everything TTG does, and is available in simple widget form for the low, low price of free. A few users say it's a little slow (not surprising, given that it's doing all of this stuff from a widget interface, not a full application), but if, unlike me, you did have people who loved you enough to get you a TiVo HD this year, it's definitely worth a download.

Thanks, Dave!

I have a TiVo that's on my wireless network. Occasionally, I use it to listen to the music that lives on my iMac as I cook or what have you. It's known that music purchased from the iTunes store won't play via TiVo, and I was hoping that the DRM-free iTunes Plus upgrade would change that.

Wrong.

TiVo still sees them as "format Purchased AAC audio file not mp3 or convertible to mp3." Luckily, The Apple Blog has a workaround. Simply convert your iTunes Plus tracks to either AAC or Mp3, and the file type in iTunes will be changed to "AAC audio file" or "MPEG audio file" respectively. TiVo likes that.

Yes, this will result in quality loss, but my television speakers hardly do the music justice in the first place, so who cares?

I spoke with the folks at the Roxio booth here at Macworld Expo 2007 about that slight complaint many of us have over the much-anticipated new TiVo To Go client being bundled into Toast for the not-so-low price of $99. Obviously, if you're looking for the power of Toast and TiVo To Go, this is a killer deal since the inclusion of this hot new software didn't increase Toast's price at all. For everyone else just looking to score a TiVo fix, Roxio did say the don't have any immediate plans for a stand-alone TiVo client, but they *would* consider it if enough (potential) customers expressed interest.

Michael posted that Roxio has released a new version of Toast, complete with a highly-anticipated bundled version of TiVoToGo for Mac OS X. While this is certainly a joyous day for those anxiously awaiting the ability to Macify their TiVo content, I can't help but have a severely bitter taste in my mouth from the fact that TiVo and Roxio are essentially charging $100 for what Windows users get to do for free.

Sure, it was probably a painstaking and grueling process to build a Mac OS X client, and it's even likely that many Bothans died to bring us this software. But *bundling* it with a $100 disc burning app and no alternative for a stand-alone purchase? Even accepting the fact that they (for some odd reason) *have* to charge for a Mac client, I call foul - and so do plenty of our readers. I'm sure many of Toast's users will welcome the new 'feature' in this version upgrade, but Roxio and TiVo really need to offer a separate purchase (or free!) option for those who, like me, would rather use burning software that won't break the bank.

With complaints in hand, I'll be sure to bug Roxio about this during our Macworld 07 coverage this week.

Engadget and Zatz Not Funny! are reporting that Roxio -- yes, Popcorn, Toast with Jam, that Roxio -- has partnered with TiVo to deliver the long-awaited TiVotoGo for Mac client, built in to Toast Titanium 8. All together, everyone: "Wha?!?"

The new Toast will allow you to browse your TiVo content, play back TV shows, burn to DVD (of course) and also transcode for iPod or PSP. Zatz notes that the included video player appears to have come over from Elgato's EyeTV 2 package, which already features tight integration with Toast. The new version also includes non-TiVo goodness like BluRay support, new audio mastering and conversion utilities, and cross-platform support for spanned disk backups. Toast is normally $99 but there's a $20 rebate in play now if ordered direct from Roxio. I'm sure that some of my colleagues will be running over to the Roxio booth at Macworld to check it out.

It's nice for TUAW when Laurie is proven prescient, although it does tend to give her a slight air of haughty competence. Just five days ago she and Dave Zatz figured "a GUI wrapper can't be far behind" for the TiVoDecode tool... and now there are two. David Benesch's TiVoDecode Manager is a full-featured beastie -- it automates discovery, download and decoding of TiVo video to the desktop of your friendly neighborhood Macintosh. It's already at version 1.1, which bodes well for a rapid development schedule. Note also that for now you may need superplayer VLC to watch the MPEG-2 files that result.

There's also Nik Friedman's droplet TiVo Decoder, which wraps the same behind-the-scenes code in a basic drag-and-drop utility. It doesn't include a way to get the original files off your TiVo, but if you turn on Bonjour bookmarks in Safari you should see your DVR listed and you can grab the files via the browser.

Now, if I can get Laurie to post something predicting a financial windfall for me, or even "Rumor: Mike's post-holiday-party headache should be gone within a day or so," that'd be just great.

Update, Sunday evening: Reader Samuel McConnell has let us know about his Automator action, also called TiVo Decoder, which provides a wrapper for the utility -- you can check it out on his site.

[via engadget & PVRblog]

The latest in pre-Macworld rumors is another case of wishful thinking with no shred of credible evidence to back it up.

An anonymous tipster told PVRWire yesterday that "Apple will be licensing TiVo patented technology for iTV. Also, the name iTV has changed to Mac Media Capsule."

Wow! Really? Um... no.

Haven't we been here before? Oh wait, it was debunked then, too.

If Apple and TiVo ever do hook up, I'll be ecstatic since they are two of my favorite brands, but there's nothing to indicate that's happening anytime soon. It was a better bet two years ago when I hinted at it.

Mac-using TiVo lovers rejoice - but proceed with caution. It seems the TiVoToGo DRM encryption has finally been cracked, effectively giving non-Windows users a way to enjoy TiVoToGo for a change. The TiVo File Decoder is a Portable C program that converts a .TiVo file from TiVoToGo to a normal MPEG file with the Media Access Key for the TiVo which generated the file. The decoder is an open source BSD license, and it's just a command-line solution right now, although a GUI wrapper can't be far behind.

As Dave Zatz points out, this development may have been inevitable, as all DRM just begs to be cracked, and TiVo hasn't helped matters by dragging their feet for so long when it came to making TTG accessible to anyone but Windows users. But by circumventing TiVo on this, it may only make things worse for us in the end. Dave rightly suggests that this "could dissuade potential content providers from partnering and/or dissuade CableLabs from supporting multi-room viewing and TiVoToGo features on the Series3, despite protected media (TiVoCast, Macrovision flagged stuff) not being available for TTG transfers."

There are already reports from Mac users who have successfully compiled gotten it working this morning. Anonymous says "I am successfully watching downloaded content on my Mac, without using any sort of Windows solution at all. Downloaded from the TiVo via the web interface (though I'll probably start using Galleon), decrypted it via tivodecode, and I'm able to watch it in VLC. QT doesn't like the files though. I was able to use iSquint to convert it to an MPEG4, and now my iPod is playing Robot Chicken :-)"

My initial reaction to this was "WOO HOO!!!", but now I'm not convinced that it's worth it. Let's face it, TiVo will probably change the DRM to defeat this crack and the more time they spend on that, the less time they will spend on bringing Multi-room viewing (MRV) and TTG to the HD Series 3 and TTG to Mac users in general.

For more details, you can follow developments on the TiVoToGo wiki. Although I'm conflicted, I'll still be keeping a close eye on things. Let's hope TiVo rises to the challenge by making it irrelevant and shows a little more love to non-Windows using TiVo lovers.

[via Zatz Not Funny]