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.

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]

Dave Zatz points to a letter received by someone at the TiVo Community Forums that confirms there is no target release date on the horizon for TiVoToGo. Forum member pdxkevin wrote a self-described angry letter last week and emailed it off to TiVo. Much to his surprise, the letter found its way to Tom Rogers (TiVo Pres.) and then got passed along for the VP of Marketing to respond.

Here's the reply from Jim Denney, VP of Retail Marketing (bold added for emphasis):

My name is Jim Denney, I am in Vice President of Product Marketing for TiVo's retail products. Tom Rogers forwarded your message to me. I wanted to thank you for your email and apologize for the delay in TiVoToGo for the Mac. I am sorry that you feel we have not paid attention to the Mac community. That is certainly not our intention. We are aware of our subscriber's desire to get TiVoToGo on the Mac. Believe it or not, we are actively working on the project and have been for the past year in various forms. Unfortunately, developing on the Mac platform has been a little more difficult because of its closed nature. We are working through the issues we have encountered. They are not simple to solve given the needs that we balance in TiVoToGo. We don't have a release date for the feature yet.

We have gotten ourselves in trouble in the past when we estimated it would be out by mid year this year, we obviously missed that date. In the interest of setting the right expectations this time we want to wait until the feature is actually ready. We are not ready to make that announcement yet. That is why our customer care representatives have been instructed to give the answer they gave you.

We can let you know when the feature is ready for launch. We are listening to you. Until it is ready, we appreciate your patience.

As a long-time TiVo owner and one who has been longing for TiVoToGo for Mac for quite some time, I appreciate TiVo's frank response, although it's admittedly almost too little, too late. Their communication on this issue has been pretty poor and only served to set us all up for a fall time after time. I know most people want companies to commit to release dates early and often, but I'm of the camp that believes "We really don't know" is better than "Maybe next year." Until recently I've been using TiVoToGo on a spare Dell laptop that doesn't get used for much else. That being said, since I now own a Series 3 HD TiVo along with my Series 2 w/ DVD Burner, a retired Series 1 and a Sony LocationFree TV system (with Mac Pak), I have limited use for TiVoToGo now - until it's available for the Series 3 at least, when I will, of course, jump on it like a rabid dog.

Remember those TiVoToGo OS X screenshots we came across in early January? Wired's readers do, and they nominated it as the #10 vaporware (a much-hyped product that never appears) of 2005 in Wired's annual Vaporware Awards. TiVo has apparently been promising the software for months, amidst Apple TiVo partnership rumors and rampant speculation about a Mac mini TiVo (or TiVo-like) media center.

Another mentionable 2005 vaporware item, though not necessarily Apple-related, is the perpetually forthcoming Windows Vista, clocking in at number 4. I just have to tip my hat to one reader's comment that Wired printed: "It's been put off so many times, it's been called 'Hasta la Vista.'"


My favorite Apple-related piece of vaporware? The Apple Pippin.