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What does HMO really get you?
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Posted by: adavis474

I looked for a faq, but couldn't find one. I have a series 1 tivo, and am trying to find out whether I want to get a series 2. Information is hard to come by though.

What can you do with a series 2, and what more can you do with the HMO? The advertising tells you the features that you can get with HMO, but I'm wondering if I can do what I want without purchasing the option. For instance, Do I need to have HMO in order to move data from the tivo to the computer?

If this info is already out there, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks,

Ann

Posted by: VinceA

Even the HMO won't let you move programs from your TiVo to a computer. It will allow you to move programs from one TiVo in your house to another in your house (if both have the HMO).

Posted by: adavis474

Okay, But do you have to have the home media option to put your tivo on a home network? Series 2 comes with a network card, doesn't it?

--Ann

Posted by: hawkamer

quote:
Originally posted by adavis474
Okay, But do you have to have the home media option to put your tivo on a home network? Series 2 comes with a network card, doesn't it?

--Ann

You don't need HMO to hook your TiVo up to a home network. Series 2 units with 4.0 software officially supports broadband connection to retrieve guide data. But that's all you'll get, without HMO, in other words, no MP3s, photos, multi-room viewing, or remote scheduling.

Series 2 do not include a network card. You need a USB Ethernet adapter (wired or wireless).

Here are the HMO details:

http://www.tivo.com/4.9.asp

Posted by: fz1162

How do I tell if I have version 4.0 I have the Hughes Direct TV Series 2. In System Info it says 3.01.01....... It has two USB ports.

Posted by: mdscott

quote:
Originally posted by fz1162
How do I tell if I have version 4.0 I have the Hughes Direct TV Series 2. In System Info it says 3.01.01....... It has two USB ports.

There are no announced plans to provide 4.0 software to D-TiVo boxes. Any HMO discussions relate only to the Series 2 SA units.

mds

Posted by: Convert

quote:
Originally posted by hawkamer
You don't need HMO to hook your TiVo up to a home network. Series 2 units with 4.0 software officially supports broadband connection to retrieve guide data. But that's all you'll get, without HMO, in other words, no MP3s, photos, multi-room viewing, or remote scheduling.

And why would I want MP3, digital photos on my TV, and mult-TiVo viewing?

Posted by: 2324070933

And why would I want MP3, digital photos on my TV, and mult-TiVo viewing?

Ever have some photos that you took and want to show a bunch of people? Instead everyone huddling around your desktop, they can all sit back on the couch in the living room (or where ever your tivo is) and look at the photos.

MP3's, if you have your tivo hooked up to your entertainment center like I do, then instead of burning CD's to play in the CD player, you can just stream it through your tivo from your entire MP3 collection through your stereo.

I don't have multiple tivo's so the multi-veiwing doesn't appeal to me.

The remote scheduling is really cool. If you are out of town and have an internet connection and see something that you want to record, just login into tivo and schedule it.

I am really pumped up about this free trial and will more than likely get the package for $59 at the end of the period. I just ordered my wireless adapter and can't wait.

Posted by: mdscott

Sharing photos is not limited to your local network -- enter the IP address of your serving PC in the photos window of any HMO activated TiVo and you can share your pictures with TiVo equipped family & friends wherever they may be.

mds

Posted by: ufo4sale

Does anyone know when the new software version comes out for HMO, will we have to pay for that if we already have HMO?

Posted by: mdscott

There have not been any announcements about any new version of HMO -- let alone how or if there would be a charge for existing users.

Posted by: Convert

quote:
Originally posted by 2324070933
Ever have some photos that you took and want to show a bunch of people? Instead everyone huddling around your desktop, they can all sit back on the couch in the living room (or where ever your tivo is) and look at the photos.

MP3's, if you have your tivo hooked up to your entertainment center like I do, then instead of burning CD's to play in the CD player, you can just stream it through your tivo from your entire MP3 collection through your stereo.

Nope, sorry, I wouldn't pay extra for BOTH of these together. And I really can't figure out why anyone but a gadget-junkie would!

Posted by: NoirTech

quote:
Originally posted by Convert
Nope, sorry, I wouldn't pay extra for BOTH of these together. And I really can't figure out why anyone but a agdget-junkie would!

It's not only for gadget-junkies. People who have friends and family that also own Tivo with HMO benefit from this feature by being able to share mp3s and pictures from their different locations. Sure, this might not be for you specifically, but that's ok. The world will still be here tomorrow.
I hope. ;-)

Posted by: Zathrus

quote:
Nope, sorry, I wouldn't pay extra for BOTH of these together. And I really can't figure out why anyone but a agdget-junkie would!

Then it's not for you.

Why do I get the feeling we're being trolled?

Posted by: Convert

quote:
Originally posted by Zathrus
Why do I get the feeling we're being trolled?

Nope, not trolling. I'm a confirmed TiVo zealot. I'm wanting someone to show me a good reason for HMO. I haven't seen one yet.

Oh, and sorry about the nimble-fingered typo.

Posted by: NoirTech

quote:
Originally posted by Convert
Nope, not trolling. I'm a confirmed TiVo zealot. I'm wanting someone to show me a good reason for HMO. I haven't seen one yet.

Oh, and sorry about the nimble-fingered typo.

It's all good Convert. Definately not for everyone. I wouldn't look too hard to find a reason. If you don't see a good use for it right away (like I, my family, and friends noticed), then it probably isn't for you. I don't think you should look for people to convince you, if that is what you were looking for.

In case you are curious though, here at the reason I decided to get HMO, ...i no particular order:

1. I take a lot of pictures with my digital camera. I like going to clubs, concerts, and other events and taking pictures. My friends are pretty animated, so I end taking some pretty,...uhm...interesting pictures. hehehe. Every other weekend, I have friends over to watch movies. One of my living rooms is set up as a home theatre. So, before we get situated to watch a movie, I have a slide show of the pictures I've taken going. Good conversation pieces there. Sometimes, someone will see one they want, and I'll go over to the computer and make them a hard copy of the picture. This is also the case when I have family members over. For example, on 2/15/03, I finally got married. My father came to visit last weekend. We showed him the pictures on TiVo, and he picked and choosed which ones he wanted right off from the 65" widescreen TV. Yes, we could have done it from my den, but it wouldn't have been as comfortable. We just sat back in the nice (and expensive) couches, and talked about life and the pictures.

2. Music listening. Sometimes I end up doing a lot of work around the house. The living room is in an open space where I can hear the surround system from pretty much anywhere I am in the house. So, I usually have an internet radio station (from shoutcast) playing through TiVo while I work on various projects. Other times, I want to show whoever might be visiting some new artist I might have ready to listen. So I turn on the TiVo and stream the music right off of it.

3. I have family, friends and co-workers who also have a Series 2 Tivo, with HMO. We log unto each others IP address and stream each others MP3s, and pictures. Every once in a while I'll get a phone call from one of them saying something to the effect of: "Hey Erick! Have you heard the new <enter band name here>?" I'll in turn say "No". Friend: "Log unto my IP with your TiVo and check it out.". And so I'll do that. Same things with pictures. They'll tell me about a cool concert they went to that I missed, but they are able to share the pictures, all of this, without having to see each other. Just gotta log unto their IP address.

4. Scheduling shows from work. Can't help it. At work, we talk a lot about tv shows. Part of our business sometimes. I'll hear about a new show I had no idea about, and I tell TiVo to schedule it, right from work. For example, "American Chopper". Someone was talking about it here at work. I checked the tvguide schedule, and I was going to miss it because I was at work and unable to record it. Woo! I have HMO. Logged unto Tivo.com and scheduled it right from the site. Got email back stating it was ready to record, and it was ready for me to watch when I got home.

Ok....those are just 4 examples of what I am doing with HMO. I understand that you might not care about any of those reasons, and that is totally cool. Just wanted to let you know what I was doing with it, in case anything interests you.

Ok...I think this post is long enough. Later

Posted by: shady

quote:
Originally posted by Convert
Nope, sorry, I wouldn't pay extra for BOTH of these together. And I really can't figure out why anyone but a gadget-junkie would!

I've ripped all my CDs for the sole purpose of being able to play albums in my collection without having to find the physical CD (sometimes in the car). So call me lazy, but it's so much easier selecting an album from a menu than searching for it in numerous drawers.

I also listen to Virgin Radio a lot. I can now do this in my lounge, rather than my computer room.

I didn't think I'd use the picture viewing capabilities, but I've since found that I'm much more apt to watch a slide show on the TV then pick up a photo album, so this was a bonus for me.

Posted by: Convert

Okay, good reasons, NoirTech and shady. But still not worth even the reduced price. You're right, not for everyone.

I take a fair number of digital photos, but seeing them on "the big screen" would only point out the flaws. Since most of them are meant for the internet, a computer screen is good enough.

I don't "get" mp3. If I want music around the house, I can fire up the receiver, dial in the cable music, or put some CDs on. MP3 doesn't do anything for me.

I really don't want anyone coming in to my TiVo. Let 'em record their own stuff.

Okay, remote scheduling might be good. But I usually only change my scheduling twice a year. If I miss a show, it will be back in some form or another.

But you gave good explanations of what to expect, and certainly helped me make up my mind. Thanks.

Posted by: dmp

What do you get with?

Nothing when Tivo inactivates all HMO subscribers and doesn't get it fixed for 24 plus hours. Wait until HMO is more reliable or get ReplayTV.

Posted by: Zathrus

You also get, for free, completely inaccurate statements from users!

The first report of HMO going inactive was at 10:22 am (Eastern) on Saturday. TiVoBill stated the problem was fixed by 1:15 pm and only required a forced daily call. Less than 3 hours... not 24.

And not all TiVos w/ HMO were affected. I have two TiVos on the same account -- one still had HMO active, the other did not.

Was I happy that I had to do a daily call? No. Was I happy that when an issue was found, on a weekend, that TiVo had it fixed in very short order? Yup.

Posted by: d_anders

I love the show sharing between two tivos, and I've really gotten good use out of photo features with family and friends with a recent adoption trip to China to get our daughter.

As for new releases, features, I really hope TiVo packages them under new releases of HMO and they won't cost more.

I bought HMO as an early adopter, expecting that the service would improve in time...just like when I bought my first TiVo in October, 2000.

HMO Release 2 - Wishlist:
======================

1) season pass/schedule conflict resolution,

2) music playing at the same time as viewing photos,

3) More robust music/photo mgmt & playback (WMA, etc., without the need for JRiver, etc.) Or TiVo should just buy JRiver and/or OEM it.

4) Upgraded Show Sharing: Allow Immediate/Begin transfer of shows that are recording in progress from the other TiVo, etc...) I've got a digital settop box on the downstairs TiVo, but not upstairs, etc. so if want to watch a show almost live (I don't want to wait for the recording to complete, etc.).

5) Support for Wireless G products, and any upcoming USB2.0 Wirless G adapters.

Series 2 - Next Release - Wishlist:
==========================

1) User Defined Groups/Folders
2) Deletion of Whole Groups/Folders with one selection
3) Save to VCR of entire groups/folders (yes, same as batch save to VCR, under the aspices of user defined groups/folders).

Posted by: Leggettb

Personally I wish I could stream MPEG1,2 or DIVX to my TIVO. I'd love to be able to watch my home movies on my Tivos.

This would be the selling point for me.

Bruce

Posted by: csallen

I too was a Home Media Option doubter. It finally today was activated and I was playing with it this afternoon. I am an IT junkie but this is pretty darn cool.

I have "published" both pictures and music and it is cool to see the pictures on the "big screen" and hear the music through the sound system.

Now with any luck, I can talk the significant other into getting another Tivo for the bedroom so we can have ineffect "dual tuners"and can transfer shows between room.

I figured that for free I would try HMO. Now that I have played with it for a day I will probably buy it for 60 bucks. Heck it is almost half the "orginal" cost and when I do actually get another Tivo and activate the HMO on it, I will ineffect get two for the price of one - almost.

Just my thoughts,

Scott

Posted by: ddj91

NoirTech,

How do you stream internet radio through HMO? Does that require J River MC?

In testing HMO this week, it definitely provides an easy way to pump mp3's through your stereo, but I'm looking forward to software that provides greater capabilities. Sorting improvements would be helpful. The SLIMP3 has been out longer and has a convenient interface, but you can't beat HMO's $59 price tag (versus $239 for SLIMP3).

Posted by: NoirTech

quote:
Originally posted by ddj91
NoirTech,

How do you stream internet radio through HMO? Does that require J River MC?

In testing HMO this week, it definitely provides an easy way to pump mp3's through your stereo, but I'm looking forward to software that provides greater capabilities. Sorting improvements would be helpful. The SLIMP3 has been out longer and has a convenient interface, but you can't beat HMO's $59 price tag (versus $239 for SLIMP3).

Just responded to your private message. I hope it helps.
There is a thread also that explains it in greater detail.
Cheers

Posted by: DancesWithMice

I have to agree, the home media option is really not worth the price for just displaying photo's or playing MP3 from my PC on my TV set. With my PC, I dump the mp3's onto a CD and play them on my stereo at better quality. I also put my photo's on a VCD or DVD and play them on the TV with the DVD player. HMO really doesn't offer any advantage for photo's or mp3's to a PC geek that knows how to work a CD burner. (Arguably you have to be atleast that good to get the Tivo software running on your PC in the first place). I'd pay about $20 for these two features.

The "share program's between TIVO's" feature is a more intersting option, but it requires the pricey investment of two tivo series 2 recorders, and two copies of the home media option upgrade. Why should I need more than one Tivo - especially since the DirecTivo can record two shows at a time.

If tivo offered a very cheap network to TV box (without record functions) for say $49 or so to hook to an alternate tv set that allowed you to pull shows from the primary tivo, then I would be much more interested. Maybe if they made it compatible with a networked DVD player (search Yahoo for "Networked DVD player" and you will find several).

The best value would be if Tivo let you play shows it recorded on your PC.... Yeah, I know, Tivo won't fight the copyright battle on that one.

Posted by: jsmjr

quote:
Originally posted by NoirTech
I have family, friends and co-workers who also have a Series 2 Tivo, with HMO. We log unto each others IP address and stream each others MP3s, and pictures. Every once in a while I'll get a phone call from one of them saying something to the effect of: "Hey Erick! Have you heard the new <enter band name here>?" I'll in turn say "No". Friend: "Log unto my IP with your TiVo and check it out.". And so I'll do that. Same things with pictures. They'll tell me about a cool concert they went to that I missed, but they are able to share the pictures, all of this, without having to see each other. Just gotta log unto their IP address.

Has anyone else accomplished this? Is it really as easy as it sounds? I gave it a quick and dirty trial with a friend but did not achieve the advertised results, so maybe I'm missing something here. FWIW, from the remote location I could access an FTP server running on the same computer as the TiVo Server, so I don't think this could be a firewall issue. (That computer is behind a Linksys router, but it's been DMZ'd.)

Posted by: bedelman

quote:
Originally posted by jsmjr
Has anyone else accomplished this? Is it really as easy as it sounds? I gave it a quick and dirty trial with a friend but did not achieve the advertised results, so maybe I'm missing something here. FWIW, from the remote location I could access an FTP server running on the same computer as the TiVo Server, so I don't think this could be a firewall issue. (That computer is behind a Linksys router, but it's been DMZ'd.)

I've done this (also with the TiVo Desktop computer in the DMZ). The problem you may have run into is that the Windows version of TiVo Desktop can implement an access list so that only certain TiVo units can get the stream. Make sure that it's set to "all TiVo units" or something like that.

I run the Mac client so I can't be more specific.

BTW - I think it's a really bad idea to have a computer perpetually in the router's DMZ. It would be much better to map the appropriate port range over.

Posted by: jsmjr

Good thought about the TiVo server setting, but it was set to "allow all tivo dvrs access to published media files."

All you did was enter your external IP address and it worked?

I take your point about about DMZ, but port forwarding is an area that seems really difficult to master, and I'm intimidated. I do have ZoneAlarm running on the computer, and that gives me some comfort. (TiVo Server and TiVo Beacon are both given full permissions -- access and server, trusted and internet -- under that program.)

Posted by: bedelman

quote:
Originally posted by jsmjr
Good thought about the TiVo server setting, but it was set to "allow all tivo dvrs access to published media files."

All you did was enter your external IP address and it worked?

Yep -- I manually entered the IP address of the other TiVo Desktop machine and it worked. The same was true for others to get to my machine running TiVo Desktop.

quote:
I take your point about about DMZ, but port forwarding is an area that seems really difficult to master, and I'm intimidated. I do have ZoneAlarm running on the computer, and that gives me some comfort. (TiVo Server and TiVo Beacon are both given full permissions -- access and server, trusted and internet -- under that program.)

I don't know if ZoneAlarm introduces any additional "protection" features (for example, limiting access to only the internal network)