Tivo App Store - Like apple store but for TV

[bschuler2007]

Does anyone use the Mp3 playing app, it looks like it was made for a high school programming competition and lost. HME is dead. With that said,


How about making future Tivos allow you to purchase applications and embed them in your Tivo. Outside programmers could write something, say, an MP3 player w/coverflow, visuals, etc.. and upload it to a Tivo server and set the price. Tivo would test the app before releasing.

On the Tivo, you'd select Tivo store from the menu, go to applications and then browse for a music player. Pick it, pay the price via Tivo stored Credit Card info, and then the software would download to your Tivo. After downloading, it would be stored locally (I know, eats up some storage space, but alas). The application would then be available in the Tivo menus (wich by the way, let us customize a little as they are getting too busy to be functional) and would run off the Hard drive.

I see this as the only way to get legacy stuff, like a music player, up to current standards. And I also see this opening up new much needed cash revenue for Tivo as well.

[mathwhiz]

I know there are programmers out there who like building apps for TiVo, but without TiVo releasing updated APIs, they don't have the information they need to properly build the apps.

[wmcbrine]

Does anyone use the Mp3 playing app, it looks like it was made for a high school programming competition and lost. HME is dead.If you're talking about the built-in player, that uses HMO, not HME. If you really do mean HME, there are a bunch of HME MP3 players -- which one do you mean?

[windracer]

How about making future Tivos allow you to purchase applications and embed them in your Tivo. Outside programmers could write something, say, an MP3 player w/coverflow, visuals, etc.. and upload it to a Tivo server and set the price. Tivo would test the app before releasing.
Well, there's apps.tv (http://www.apps.tv/). There was also playteevee.com but there just wasn't enough interest to support a viable business model I guess.

[wmcbrine]

I think that PlayTeeVee's problems were very specific to them; I wouldn't draw any conclusions from their experience.

HME is far from dead -- it's the basis for everything new that TiVo is doing: YouTube, Netflix, the new Search, etc. -- but they haven't updated the released SDK for a while. I find that less of a problem than mathwiz suggests, but it is unfortunate.

HMO may be dead, or at least pining for the fjords. Arguably it's been mostly obsolete since the introduction of HME. But it's still the basis for MRV, TTG and TTCB.

I suspect that bschuler is unaware of the existing HME-based MP3 players: Galleon, AudioFaucet, Harmonium, and others. One or more of these may meet his needs.

[johnny99]

If Tivo doesn't have enough developers in-house, an app-store might be a good way to get more functionality out to the customers. I would love to see new media sources available for Tivo, including Hulu, Pandora, Slacker, even xmradio.com

[mathwhiz]

My main reason a comment was made about things being published, is because I'm sure if TiVo published the specs on how to tell the TiVo to pull a video from your computer automatically - we would have an application now that would do that. Since time could be spent building an application instead of figuring out how to make it work.

[bschuler2007]

What I meant by this post is instead of things like PlayTeeVee.. if Tivo allowed people to develop and SELL applications for on Tivo.. maybe we would have something good. Instead you get some dedicate individuals performing miracles for nothing (pytivo, etc), but imagine if a TIVO store opened up? The hardware is good.. Tivo software is just lacking. Tivo reminds me of cellphones before the IPhone.. They thought they were making cellphones.. but it took the IPhone and it's market stealing to wake them up. Tivo is gonna see someone IPhone them too if they don't turn it around.

I know the Tivo hardware isn't up to snuff to play Half Life 2.. but surely it can integrate an e-mail viewer, calendar viewer, decent Mp3 player, Blockbuster/Netflix que, maybe a dumbed down web viewer, etc..

I guess yes.. I am asking for a better SDK.. but I am also asking for a store to be built. An SDK is fine.. but there are only so many people willing to do something for nothing.. Tivo deserves to be something better than a VCR IMHO.. and it needs help getting there.