Michael Robertson: TiVo Becomes A Music Machine Courtesy of MP3tunes


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TiVo Becomes A Music Machine Courtesy of MP3tunes

I recently purchased a second home out in the country so my kids could have a place to throw a football or fly a glider or just run around and be carefree. I'd really like to have my entire music collection available at this house, but I don't want to buy another music server and then have the hassle of keeping it in sync with my music collection and playlists.

Play all of your music through any TiVo

At MP3tunes we're now beta testing an ideal solution to my problem - TiVo support for personal music lockers. TiVo is a digital video recorder (DVR) that you connect to your TV to record programs, which you can watch when you like and play back how you like. What many people don't know is that TiVo is actually a Linux computer and can be programmed to do more than just video. MP3tunes has taken advantage of this expandability to make a TiVo browse and play your personal music library. This means that if you have a TiVo, you can use it to play high-quality digital music through your home entertainment system, which is what I've done with my own music library. I now have my song collection at my second home without the hassle of moving or updating music files - I just turn on my TV.

What makes the TiVo an ideal music device is that it can connect directly to your online locker. You don't have to keep a PC running. There's no special software to buy or install on a PC or the TiVo. All the music flows directly from your net locker to the TiVo to your speakers. It takes just a couple of clicks on the TiVo remote control to make a TiVo aware of MP3tunes.

This is much more than net radio because you're controlling your own music. There are no advertisements, of course, and you can skip songs, pause, repeat songs, etc - all using the buttons on the TiVo remote control. In addition you have access to any playlists in your account or you can shuffle songs from your entire account. It has similar access to the web locker available via your browser, but on your television display. Take a look below.

Music from an Oboe locker streaming
through TiVo

I'm excited about music on a TiVo because it graphically illustrates MP3tunes slogan of "your music everywhere." The TiVo uses our open API (application programming interface), whereby any device can connect to our system with the proper login information and play music from a user's locker. Until now, we've released multiple ways to access your music from a PC (winamp plugin, ajax player, browser, iTunes, etc), but when I demo the TiVo interface, people seem to understand the vision. Ultimately, I believe you'll listen to music from 10 or 20 different devices and places such as your home, car, PDA, phone, etc, which is why all the music needs to be stored online so it can be accessed from all those devices and more. Click here for 10-minute video demo of music on PC, TiVo and even MP3 basketball shoes.

I recently visited the headquarters of a major technology company, and they demoed some future music devices for me (stereo devices, WiFi devices). These devices seemed interesting but ONLY worked with the company's DRM. So either you bought all of their products and nothing else or you couldn't access all of your music. At MP3tunes, we're trying to achieve the exact opposite. We want all devices to work together so you can choose the best MP3 player, phone, PDA or DVR and not be locked into one vendor. The only way this happens is if you have an open system like MP3tunes where we publish information about how any device or service can connect to a personal music locker. In the future, look for car stereos, WiFi players, home stereos, Internet alarm clocks and phones to all connect like the TiVo does and play your music.

All Series 2 TiVo users with an Internet connection (no dial-up) can try out this beta service because we provide a pre-stocked demo account loaded with some great music and playlists. Of course the service works better if you setup your own free or premium MP3tunes locker and then load it with music you like from Sideload.com or sync your own music collection. It takes less than one second for newly added songs to be available for playback via a TiVo.

If you've got a TiVo I hope you'll try this new service. For those without a TiVo, let us know what device you would like to have your music on in the forum.

- Michael The Michael's Minute Meter

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