After having missed the boat for the last 4 years, TiVo has finally integrated one of the most interesting features to their devices in years… subscribing to any video podcast!
While they were one of the early adopters in podcasting with a library of pre-selected audio/video shows from top providers such as Mevio and Revision 3, you could never easily manually add a video podcast subscription (via RSS feed) to the system. That has all changed with the latest updates available for TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL DVRs.
According to CNET News, here are the basics on how users can subscribe to a video podcast on their TiVo:
“TiVo also announced that it will allow users to input video podcast RSS feeds to watch those shows that they can’t find on their TiVo Web Video listing.
To do so, subscribers will need to use the “Custom RSS Feeds” option in the “Browse Web Videos” menu. That option will allow them to input a show’s RSS feed with their remote. If it’s a valid link, they can decide to watch a single episode or subscribe to the feed through Season Pass. They can also watch past episodes.”
How to Prepare to be on TiVo:
TiVo has also published their guidelines on how best to prepare for playing on the TiVo DVR. The guidelines cover everything from video format and compression to how to validate that your podcast is TiVo compatible. For all of the related information, head over the the TiVo published guidelines website.
Finally, there will be additional new popular content available for subscription on the TiVo box as well. Starting Wednesday, subscribers will be able to watch free video podcasts from several providers, including CBS, Fox, Oprah, and more. But to be honest, the real story here is that you can add your own custom RSS feed for subscription to your TiVo… about time!
Below is a screenshot of what you can expect to see when subscribing in the new interface.
