Tivo fanatics of the world have been scheduling television shows remotely to their Tivos for over two years. Actually, even more if you were into paying them for the Home Media option (that is now free). I signed up and had it working in a few minutes a couple of years ago. I did it for those times when “someone” asks me to schedule a show and I forgot to. All you need is a computer that is connected to the internet and you can schedule a show to record.

Well, today, Yahoo! announced that they have teamed up with the folks at Tivo to provide remote Tivo recording via Yahoo! TV. You will need a Tivo Series2 DVR, a Yahoo! account, and a Tivo account. I believe you will have to have one of the updated OS versions running on your DVR as well, I know I had to wait for them to send down an update when I signed up on Tivo a couple of years ago. The biggest difference I can see on the surface, is that remote scheduling was only enabled for geeks like me, who had connected their Tivo to their local network via a USB WiFi adapter. The Yahoo! / Tivo service says you can use it if your Tivo is connected via broadband (1hr lead time on scheduling) or phone line (36 hour lead time).

Signing Up

I signed up for this new service in less than a minute (I know my Yahoo! ID login and Tivo login by heart…YMMV). I setup my zip code and cable/satellite dish provider preferences and I was on my way. The interface looks just like MSN’s TV interface which really came as no surprise. For whatever reason, I had to log out and log back in to Yahoo in order to get the “Record to my Tivo box” link to show when I clicked a television show on the grid. The system then loads a Tivo schedling box, the same one you are used to seeing on Tivo.com if you have used remote scheduling before.

Using Yahoo! Remote Scheduling

The system is easy enough to use. Using the time zone preferences you set earlier, it will show you a grid of shows currently playing as well as up to 3 hours in advance. You can simply scroll ahead using the arrows on the screen to see what shows will be playing later in the day or you can use the search box at the bottom of the screen. The search actually appears to work better than the one over at MSN’s TV system. MSN’s times out on my more often than not and it doesn’t seem too adept at finding what I am looking for. Doesn’t seem like too tall of an order to ask for to me.

To schedule a recording, simply find the show you would like to record, click on it, and then click the, “Add to my Tivo box” link. Set the recording preferences and you are all good.

Thoughts

To be honest, I don’t really see why anyone will use this system, when it is and has been available on the Tivo website for over 2 years. I am not a huge fan of the layout on Yahoo! (a little bulky for me). I think that Tivo’s days are numbered unfortunately. I have been a loyal Tivo user for over 5 years and I have turned on many new users over the years. However, Microsoft is making serious inroads, and will be even more, with their Media Center Edition of Windows. I am running it on a computer and it is really everything that Tivo dreamt their boxes would be, but couldn’t seem to get them to be. MCE 2005 is not a perfect animal right now, not even close, but you can easily see that it will be something that every home can use, geek filled or not.

So, I am not really sure that this partnership with Yahoo! will do much if anything to help Tivo’s quest to be the best DVR service on the market. I for one, don’t see it happening.