This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TiVo. All opinions are 100% mine.

There are so many options available when it comes to finding a perfect holiday gift. How the heck do you know for sure people will actually enjoy what you end up buying for them? I’ve found something that you can grab for pretty much anyone on your list – and it’s something they will enjoy all year long! Buying a  TiVo Premiere has never been easier or more affordable than it is right now.

Thanks to a special holiday offer, the TiVo Premiere box is only about a hundred bucks when you sign up for a one-year service plan of $19.99 per month. If you think TiVo is only a DVR, then you have much to learn. Not only does it record your favorite shows, it offers you many other services. Access movies and TV through the world’s largest on-demand video store. TiVo has partnered with  Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, BLOCKBUSTER On Demand, and more.

The device itself is simple to use and looks fabulous. You won’t have to worry about whether it will fit in with someone’s room decor – it’s made to work well with all color schemes and decorating styles. Your gift recipient won’t need to switch inputs and remotes or clutter up their house with multiple devices, either!

At this price, I’m thinking you’ll probably want to treat yourself, as well.

The best news of all is that you now have a chance to win a TiVo Premiere and one year of free service right here! Simply leave a comment on this blog post between now and December 23rd, and you’re automatically entered to win. Please see the official  sweepstakes rules  to make sure you meet all requirements.

What are you planning to buy for your loved ones this year?

Is TiVo Premiere the Best Holiday Gift?

When Apple first announced their Apple TV product, I was interested but not excited. Years later, that interest has completely warn off – largely because of the lack of updates and killer features. Admittedly, I do already have a TiVo (and a few Comcast DVRs to boot).

Still, why has Apple seemingly abandoned the Apple TV? There’s a new report suggesting that Apple is working on a connected television. I’m not so sure that’s even interesting to me. Who knows? Maybe they’ll knock that one out of the park.

Do you have an Apple TV, or do you feel like you’re missing out because you don’t have one? I asked my Twitter followers, and some of them responded:

Vividlydrawn: what's an AppleTV?

about 47 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:37:58 +0000 2009

jmccullough108: I agree. I am perfectly fine without one.

about 46 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:38:19 +0000 2009

Condawg: I feel the same way. Hooking up my iMac to my TV gives me basically the same thing… It just seems worthless, IMO.

about 46 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:38:39 +0000 2009

Schlomo: AppleTV is not nearly as interesting as my xbox!

about 46 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:38:40 +0000 2009

robertrosenfeld: I agree. I like Apple, but I don't need them handing my entire media experience.

about 46 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:38:41 +0000 2009

ericpratum: Agreed. Honestly, I don't sit in front of the TV enough to make it worth it. If I did, I don't know that I'd choose AppleTV

about 46 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:38:51 +0000 2009

MikeMathia: I don't own one, and I don't wish that I had one. It's a good idea, just not for me.

about 46 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:39:05 +0000 2009

dVoka: AppleTV rocks! You can connect a Terrabyte drive to it where your backed up DVDs reside, run Boxee (hulu), and much more.

about 45 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:39:23 +0000 2009

unclespeedo: i don't believe you're in the target audience for apple tv….. you shouldn't feel like you're missing anything, you're not

about 45 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:39:40 +0000 2009

gregskidmore: Yes I do too. I keep wanting to get an AppleTV. I don't know why I haven't bought one yet. Maybe it's lacking something?

about 45 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:39:45 +0000 2009

roehmholdt: iTMS + 30in Cinema Display > AppleTV… now to go get that Cinema display…

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:40:12 +0000 2009

Outsanity: It's just more Apple crap that's more likely not worth the money unless you're that into Apple swag

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:40:19 +0000 2009

xKevinx: I'm with you on that

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:40:34 +0000 2009

maddogdom: you said that about the iPhone and you loved that!

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:40:36 +0000 2009

andrewmundy: you're totally not the only one. I promise

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:40:37 +0000 2009

AppleNerd: I don't see anything in the AppleTV. Seems boring…

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:40:41 +0000 2009

JessePB: Considering you can accomplish the same thing by buying directly in iTunes and streaming with any number of other devices, no.

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:40:47 +0000 2009

yenra: AppleTV is excellent at displaying photos on a big HDTV – smooth & great quality; also Flickr, Podcasts, YouTube.

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:40:56 +0000 2009

shedtroll: I don't feel I'm missing out. Boxee is a better alternative.

about 44 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:41:07 +0000 2009

cpedraza: I'm an Apple fan but in the world of DVRs AppleTV doesn't make sense for me.

about 43 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:41:22 +0000 2009

findingnewo: Yeah, I don't get the appeal. I think WinMCE extenders are much more worth it.

about 43 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:41:22 +0000 2009

jbone66: My ATV was humdrum until XBMC/Boxee was available for it. It's our main method to accessing video content now…

about 43 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:41:43 +0000 2009

VxJasonxV: It's very interesting. It's just that the most of us have computers to do everything the AppleTV does, and more.

about 43 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:07 +0000 2009

biss13: if you don't own an AppleTV how do you know what is it you are missing? ;)

about 43 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:10 +0000 2009

robpickering: And that statement shows everyone you don't have one. Hulu on my TV – 'nuff said

about 42 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:15 +0000 2009

EricCAnderson: Agree: it's basically just another iPod for your TV (even with boxiee on it)…

about 42 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:20 +0000 2009

Knunez: yeah I dont need one.. no point in having one anyways

about 42 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:45 +0000 2009

wolrah: i agree they're not that interesting out of the box, but patchstick them and they're great. XBMC and Boxee ftw

about 42 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:52 +0000 2009

Christyxcore: i agree. I thought it was cool when I saw it at my friends house but now that I think about it, it's also overpriced 4 watitis

about 42 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:51 +0000 2009

tjohansen: AppleTV alone isn't great, but AppleTV + @boxee is great!

about 42 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:59 +0000 2009

johnbarta: just buy it chris! Even if you dont use it it could be a fancy drink holder

about 42 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:42:58 +0000 2009

iGeekW: AppleTV is not worth the money :P

about 42 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:43:05 +0000 2009

jefflundberg: A DELL Studio PC w/ Blu-ray and Windows Media Center Edition is much more interesting.

about 41 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:43:22 +0000 2009

benhigham: I guess that depends on your current setup. I think it appeals to a different audience.

about 41 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:43:28 +0000 2009

easy_way: there a waste of money i got one and its kinda useless

about 41 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:43:55 +0000 2009

LisaBarger: Yes, Chris. Yes you are.

about 41 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:43:57 +0000 2009

yesitsmedoug: I once walked into Apple and asked them Why I would want one. They didn't sell me on the idea so I also don't have or want one

about 40 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:44:14 +0000 2009

chrisutley: #AppleTV with @boxee is great. I rent a lot of movies from #Apple, and watch TV shows over Hulu.

about 40 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:44:16 +0000 2009

themacinjosh: no you're not, I don't feel like I'm missing much. All of the media is available whether you own an apple tv or not.

about 40 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:45:04 +0000 2009

TarasI: I don't think so. One of my friends has one and it's really not that useful, especially if you have Media Center Extensions.

about 39 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:45:34 +0000 2009

idarknight: you might be – between the hacks and the core functions, it is a device whose tipping point may have come

about 37 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:47:33 +0000 2009

anansie: Its cheaper than a mac mini and has boxee going for it , Also it's the only game in town for renting movies in hd on iTunes

about 35 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:49:23 +0000 2009

amarvin: i didn't feel that i was missing out on Apple TV until Boxee popped up. now i want to roll my own Atom-based version w/ boxee.

about 35 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:49:36 +0000 2009

kevinbriody: I bought an early model AppleTV. I'd call it “neat” but definitely not compelling. Cool to show family vids, some DL'd TV.

about 35 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:49:58 +0000 2009

jay1one: we might be the only two, but you are definitely not the only one.

about 34 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:50:18 +0000 2009

ahaslach: Functionality of AppleTV can be replicated/exceeded w/ a laptop and video cable. Not a compelling product.

about 34 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:50:20 +0000 2009

j_holtslander: Nope.

about 34 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:50:23 +0000 2009

ipodtouch15: I agree!:)

about 33 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:51:17 +0000 2009

wmchamberlain: Why would I buy a AppleTV when I can do more with a mac mini? Even the Cult of Mac would have a hard time explaining.

about 32 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:52:16 +0000 2009

calebh: nope I feel the same way

about 32 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:52:24 +0000 2009

schmenzer: Chris, I was a lot more interested before I started using Boxee.

about 31 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:53:22 +0000 2009

seanwolter: The true media hoarder has a mac mini and a drobo hooked up to his big screen

about 30 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:55:08 +0000 2009

mikekochansky: I agree. As much as I love Apple, I have little to no desire/need for AppleTV

about 29 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:55:28 +0000 2009

ricorick: Boxee has made mine more interesting and better.

about 28 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:56:52 +0000 2009

Zanoryt: Running Boxee on Apple TV is a compelling replacement for a cable connection. It's not 100% ideal, but Boxee is really awesome

about 27 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:57:40 +0000 2009

adamkmiec: I love mine – it's a fixture of our house

about 25 minutes ago

Thu Feb 05 23:59:23 +0000 2009

MicrosoftWin7: RT: ByronSmartMicrosoftWin7 Yeah my hacked Xbox1 W Media Center(720p) is far more intresting then Apple TV, + the 360

about 24 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:00:18 +0000 2009

blogbloke: I'm with you Chris

about 24 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:00:57 +0000 2009

JessLoebig: Well maybe it is because you have a TiVo ;)

about 23 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:01:26 +0000 2009

cogwisewill: Well, if you get the atv flash and are able to put hulu on the appletv along with a other things… http://bit.ly/LDL8

about 23 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:02:05 +0000 2009

RobinBoyWonders: I like it a lot

about 22 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:02:25 +0000 2009

color_me_pink: You're not the only one. Until there is DVRcapability, I won't even consider it.

about 21 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:03:35 +0000 2009

gurubrandon: Yes.. but Boxee makes that genre of devices very interesting. ( http://boxee.tv )

about 21 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:03:41 +0000 2009

PassTheBoll: seeing as you can accomplish the same thing using less money, I won't get one. Just take a computer and connect it to the tv.

about 21 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:03:57 +0000 2009

webdrifter: This frugal tech guy is all ATO man! No AppleTV, no DirecTV and no cable TV. Just a cheap Techno who has seen and likes HULU

about 20 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:04:42 +0000 2009

gailelaine: I don't own an Apple TV because I just don't see the need. I own a Mac and I've looked at the Apple TV.

about 19 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:05:11 +0000 2009

LoganPayne: I don't feel that like I'm missing out. But I do want one….to stop buying DVDs and discs…

about 16 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:09:06 +0000 2009

Sebbbb: how isn't it intresting? it comes in a shiny apple box :P

about 15 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:09:18 +0000 2009

sideswipe70: I feel the same way. It just seems like a glorified media server.

about 9 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:15:37 +0000 2009

swichi293: I own everything apple, but I refuse to own the apple tv. It really is quite pointless

about 8 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:16:29 +0000 2009

aaron_bennett: It's just not exciting enough for the price OR the inevitable inoperability with my other devices.. You are not alone.

about 7 minutes ago

Fri Feb 06 00:17:40 +0000 2009

What are your thoughts on Apple TV and the general state of DVRs?

Apple TV vs Every Other DVR

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I recently mentioned the fact that I have a TiVo unit on loan, and I’m enjoying it quite a lot. Once you start using it, it’s difficult to start using any other kind of DVR. With the latest software update to this particular TiVo, I can now watch YouTube videos on my big screen tv.

When you connect your TiVo DVR to your home network and high-speed Internet connection you get so much more than just a basic DVR.

1. Download thousands of movies and TV shows from Amazon Unbox
2. Listen to millions of songs with the Rhapsody music service
3. Share photos and home movies with friends & family, and view them on the TV
4. Transfer your favorite TV shows to your laptop or iPod using your PC or Mac

But don’t worry if you can’t connect your TiVo DVR to the Internet. As long as you have a phone line available, TiVo will still find and record all your favorite shows, keep your TV schedule current, and make sure your TiVo DVR has the latest updates.

Like I already said, there’s just no way that I could ever switch to another DVR service after using TiVo. The experience has been amazing, and I’m definitely happy that I tried it out.

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Are You Watching YouTube on Your TiVo?

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After I blogged recently about wanting to try TiVo, I was sent a unit to review for a few weeks. I’ve been wanting to try it out, so this was a great opportunity. With certain software, you can take programs you record on TiVo and transcode them on your computer. You can then turn them into videos you can watch on pretty much any device. All the DVRs I’ve had are boxes unto themselves, they couldn’t be networked in any way. By networking my TiVo, I can then do as I described, to create videos I can play on my computer, iPhone or any other device I wanted to use. Here are a couple of programs you can use to accomplish this.

TiVo Butler is an application that can track programs from multiple TiVo devices that you have on your home network. It’s free, and allows you to browse the recordings you’ve made on your TiVo. You can download them, encode them and much more. TiVo Butler is only available for Mac OS X.

However…

TiVo Playlist is the Windows equivalent. Everything that you could hope to do with your TiVo, you’ll be able to do with ease using TiVo Playlist.

1. Retrieve TiVo Now Playing lists over an ethernet connection and calculate total recording time and disk space used
2. Support for multiple TiVo units
3. Estimate free space remaining given the capacity of the TiVo hard drive(s)
4. Display either full List View or Folder View
5. Mouseover Title shows description of recorded show along with Year Released/Air Date, Actors, Director, etc.
6. View graphical representation of disk free space and space used by either recording status or recording quality
7. Export of Now Playing lists to CSV files for use in other programs such as Microsoft Excel
8. Batch downloading of recordings to PC (even from multiple machines)
9. Tested to run under Windows 2000 and XP Pro and reported to run under Windows 98/ME, XP Home and Vista
10. Works best at screen sizes 800×600 or larger if running 96dpi, or 1024×768 or larger if running 120dpi
11. Downloads to FAT32 partitions support up to 4Gb filesizes, NTFS partitions support files > 4Gb (Windows 2000/XP/Vista only)
12. Access via HTTP/HTTPS and requires TiVo software version 7.1 or newer

You know how to email me, if you have other DVR or TiVo software or tips to pass along to me! I’ll be glad to check them out and share them with the community.

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Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yc9I2ll-Swc"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yc9I2ll-Swc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a>

What Software do You use with TiVo?

I’ve never really had a TiVo, though I’ve been using DVRs for years. The new TiVo HD looks nice, though – and I should be able to grab shows / convert them after connecting the unit to my home network. Kevin does it all the time, and he also recommended that I get my TiVo through some place that does hard drive upgrades for me. Other friends have told me:

My house is filled with Comcast DVRs – I like what they do, but I can’t stand how they do what they do. I won’t really miss VOD with a TiVo, either. Ponzi likes VOD, but I think she’d appreciate the networkability of a TiVo even more (though she’s using Windows Vista, and I’m primarily on OS X). There’s gotta be good desktop software for TiVo / TiVo data management, I’d only assume.

I Think I Want a TiVo?