HP Brings TiVo Integration to Windows Home Server

HP have announced a brand new add-in which allows you to store, view and manage TV Shows recorded with TiVo on the HP MediaSmart Server.

The add-in, HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo®, is a free download available today for owners of HP’s latest generation of home servers – the EX490 Series and X510 Data Vault. Those of you who have upgraded your previous generation MediaSmart Servers to HP’s v3.0 software should also be able to use the add-in, but HP tell us they have not tested this scenario and it’s therefore unsupported.

HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo® allows users to perform similar tasks with TiVo that Microsoft enabled in Windows Media Center following the release of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 (which I find essential on a daily basis), including:

• transferring shows from TiVo to a HP MediaSmart Server and back to TiVo
• viewing TiVo recordings stored on a HP MediaSmart Server
• watching TiVo recordings that are stored on the HP MediaSmart Server on any PC in the home using Windows Media Player

To watch TiVo content stored on the MediaSmart Server on other computers in the home you’ll need TiVo Desktop for PC/Mac to sort out any DRM issues or alternatively Roxio Toast 10 for the Mac.

“The HP MediaSmart Server is the ideal companion to TiVo. With the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo, consumers don’t have to worry about running out of high-definition storage space since they can save their movies and shows on the HP MediaSmart Server and watch them on any computer in the home,” said Jason Zajac, vice president of Attach, HP Personal Systems Group. “Plus, consumers will benefit from all of the additional features the HP MediaSmart Server provides, such as backing up all Windows and Mac computers.”

The add-in is compatible with TiVo DVR Series II, Series III, TiVo Premiere and TiVo desktop software.

Once again, it’s great to HP continue to develop new add-ins for the MediaSmart Server to keep the product right at the heart of the digital home. HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo®  is a must have add-in for TiVo users in the US and Australasia, and let’s hope the add-in works in the UK with Virgin Media’s forthcoming TiVo Service too.

At this point, the add-in unfortunately does not allow other content (music, photos etc) to be played from the MediaSmart Server on the TiVo. This is something that HP see as an obvious feature for the add-in but would not comment on whether it will be enabled in the future.

To download the add-in, head over to HP’s Add Software site where you’ll be able to get hold of the application. To find out more about HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo®, make sure you check out our visual walkthrough of the add-ins’s features.

More Info: HP.com | Download