Tivo + iPhone = :)

Time is a luxury these days, especially with 2 needy boys. No more time to sit on my couch and watch my HD shows on my Tivo. But now I have a solution - watch my Tivo recorded shows on my iPhone during my weekday commutes to work.

Setup

1. Tivo Series 3 - to record TV shows.


2. Tivo Wireless Adapter - to send shows wirelessly to my computer.


3. Wireless router - to receive shows wirelessly.


4. Tivo Desktop Plus - to manage/transfer and convert shows to compatible iPhone format.


5. iTunes - to sync shows to iPhone.


6. iPhone - to watch shows.

Now you might think this is a big hassle, but I already had most of this set up already. The only new thing I added was the Tivo Desktop Plus Software to make this entire process complete. The software unfortunately is not free ($24.95) but is well worth it as it does practically everything automatically. Believe it or not, the only manual thing I do is sync my iPhone. Dont believe me? Well, let me explain.

First of all, I just configure Tivo Desktop Plus to download to my computer any TV show on my Tivo ie. Heroes, Prison Break, Terminator. These are .TIVO files. Secondly, I tell it to convert the .TIVO files into the iPhone format .mp4. Lastly, it adds the shows into my iTunes library. Keep in mind that all of the above is only a one time set up. So now, whenever a new episode of Heroes has been recorded on my Tivo, it will also be waiting for me in my iTunes library in which I just have to sync my iPhone. Major kudos for Tivo for simplifying such a complex process. The Tivo software doesnt work 100% of the time. Sometimes, it doesnt transfer over the recording automatically. Or it transfered the recording, but didnt convert it to mp4. Had some issues with some Heroes episodes. But maybe its because NBC adds some DRM into its shows. Who knows.

Not only can I transfer my Tivo recorded shows, but I can also transfer Caden's as well. ie. Teletubbies, Wiggles. Now Caden can watch his TV shows when we're on vacation like when we're on an airplane OR in the hotel room. Huh? Yes, Apple sells an iPhone AV cable in which you can hook your iPhone up to a TV. But Im still debating whether or not to spend $49 on it. Yes, Apple is charging $49 for that stinkin' cable! What a ripoff.