The Ultimate Manual Mashup - TiVo, SlingBox and EVDO

Talk about convergence... I just got a PPC-6700 phone with EVDO data service. I also just got a Slingbox several weeks ago at VON from Jeff Pulver and Sling Media. Add to that my TiVo from circa 1999 (which is still going strong with lifetime service) and mash them all up into probably one of the coolest things around these days. Think about it, you can carry your TiVo around with you in your pocket!

Old school TiVo


+ Slingbox


+ EVDO Phone =TiVo in your pocket

Full size picture.

Of course I had to try this out, so I upgraded my phone from a Treo 650 to the PPC-6700 and downloaded the player from Sling Media. Wonder of wonders, it worked the first time I fired it up! That was simple...

There are a few things I hate about Windows CE (not for religious reasons, mind you) but you have to admit, TiVo in your pocket is compelling! Add to that the fact that I can connect my MacBook Pro to the Internet through Bluetooth at EVDO speeds (400 - 700 kbit with up to 2 mbit burst) and you have a solid offering. That is not to mention the most important feature of a mobile phone for people like me, ssh via the slide-out keyboard from just about anywhere. It's nearly impossible to explain others how infinitely valuable it is to have ssh and a ready Internet connection on a mobile device, so I'll just leave it at that. (If you know what that is, you know it's far more usefull than TiVo in your pocket. Enough said.)

I got my TiVo a while ago. Ever since then, it has been getting more and more useful to me. First I hacked it and added an Ethernet connection as well as some extra hard drive space. Then I was able to download content for backup and make Video Podcasts out of my season passes. Next, the Slingbox enabled me to access my TiVo from other computers on the Internet, and now I can do it right from my pocket! I can confidently say that I have gotten my money out of my TiVo.

Probably the most useful thing I will do with this newfound capability is use it to schedule shows. Unless I'm stuck in an airport with nothing better to do, I don't think I'll be watching much TiVo on my phone. It's cool that you can do it, but it's more for the hack value than anything practical. Where it becomes useful is when you want to schedule a recording and you don't want to go through the trouble of using the web interface. The far more familiar TiVo interface is so much better.

I'm not, however, immune to trying things out just for the sake of it. Now I'm generally a risk taker, so I figured I had to do this just once. Last night when I was driving home, I started up my TiVo on the phone and put it on the dashboard so I could watch while driving. Yeah, don't try that one at home. Very dangerous and distracting, but it was cool for about 2 seconds. I ended up shutting it down fairly quickly.

Don't you just wish the music industry would let people innovate interesting ways to access their content the way you can with TV? Somehow they haven't learned their lesson and continue to punish the people who legitimatly purchase with various mutually incompatible DRM schemes. But I digress...

Comments (5)

Chi from RTP, NC

All I can say is awesome. Freaking A-w-e-some. Is there anything you can't do?

Anders from RTP

Well, I'd say that I'll probably never watch TV on this thing even though I can. I'll probably only use it to schedule shows now and again. It's really just a cool hack. What would be more usefull is a solid web browser so I can drive Google Maps, but WinCE Internet Explorer just doesn't cut it. I think the Blackberry is probably a much better interface experience as well, so I'd say there is alot this can't do. What would you do with a 1 megabit always on connection and a great interface? It would change your world, wouldn't it? You'd probably use a whole lot more hosted applications to begin with, and then there is the whole location aware thing. This has a long way to go. BUT... it is still fun to play around with.

Anders from RTP

Watching shows on your cellphone is a novelty. Sure, you might fire it up if you have nothing else to do in an airport somewhere, but you're not going to watch TV on this thing regularly. However, the ability to pull this thing out of your pocket on a moment's notice and schedule a recording through the familiar TiVo interface is unmatched. It pretty much means you place shift your scheduling so you can watch whatever you want when you're at home.

Mike from Tampa

Please post directions for sharing internet via bluetooth. I have had trouble getting my ppc6700 and MacBook to share internet over ev-do.

Anders from RTP

MacBook Pro to Sprint EVDO via Bluetooth is done similar to the way the old CDMA phones did it. You must first initiate a pairing request from the Mac to the phone via Bluetooth. Make sure you make the "modem" device available during the pairing. Next you would create a configuration in Internet Connect under Bluetooth that uses the modem type "Sprint PCS Vision" and the phone number "#777". Everything else such as user / pass can be left blank as is. Then just click connect. No further config is necessary on the EVDO phone. Click "Connect" and you should be good.

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