Nero announces LiquidTV: PC-based version of TiVo
Users get all the basic features that come with TiVo, including the abililty to watch live and recorded TV, pause live programs, and record programs for viewing later. You can also burn videos to a DVD or compress them to save space using the H.264 codec. There are preconfigured settings for saving videos for an iPod or PSP or you can choose custom compression options.
LiquidTV plays well with other TiVo boxes you may have in your house, as long as they're hooked up to your home network. You can watch programs recorded on your TiVo box on a computer running LiquidTV and vice versa. You can also schedule recordings on the go using a web interface.
There's no Mac or Linux version yet. And while you do get TiVo goodies like WishLists and KidZone, the software doesn't support some of the more advanced TiVo options like TiVoCast or TiVo HME applications.
You'll need a TV tuner card in order to us LiquidTV. The software can handle up to 4 tuners for recording multiple shows simultaneously. Starting in October, Nero will be selling a $199 bundle package that comes with LiquidTV software, a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950 USB HDTV tuner, a digital antenna, an IR blaster for controlling your cable box, and a year of service. Or for $99 you can download a copy of LiquidTV from the Nero web site. The download only version comes with a year of service, but no hardware.
Once your year is up, you will have to pay a subscription fee, which puts LiquidTV a few steps behind alternative PC DVR solutions like BeyondTV and SageTV which charge you for the software, but not for the program guide updates. Still, if you're a fan of the TiVo interface, LiquidTV is the best way to bring the same experience to your PC.
