# EnterWebz.tv apps on your TiVo



## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

Today marks the official release of *Enter Webz*, the Internet Apps server for your TiVo DVR.

The website *EnterWebz.tv* has simple instructions to show it on your DVR with your "Add an App" (or "Manually Add a Server") feature.
I'm directing you to the website to ensure you've read cautions and notices before using it

If you remember apps.tv (R.I.P. 2012), http://EnterWebz.tv is similar.
Enter Webz (EWz) provides a variety of "thumztaks" (Internet-based services and custom apps) just a few remote control clicks away.

Once you've added EWz you'll get 4 app entries under "Music & Photos" and 6 app entries under "Showcases & Apps" plus an entry to change which apps show up and a help page.
These include thumztaks for Video On Demand, News & Weather, Social Networking, Internet Radio & MP3s, Pictures, Comics, Games, and even this very forum!
It features a *quick-loading YouTube* alternate interface, and a first-of-its-kind *multi-TiVo game*.
*The full list of thumztaks is below.*​
A unique feature of these apps is they support the Picture-in-Picture Live TV mode like TiVo's latest user interface (or alternatively, custom PIP content).

_EWz also works with older TiVo models (which may not support video streaming and/or may show all entries under "Music, Photos, & Showcases")_

You can change which thumztaks or groups show up as apps or under which group, what order they're in, or just remove the ones you're not interested in.
On occasion, new thumztaks will show up and broken thumztaks will be removed/replaced.

_NOTE: EWz uses TiVo's HME app technology to create a simplistic interpreter for web pages and tries to present them to you with *no support for JavaScript, Flash, large images, or many media and image formats*. The provided list of pages are reasonably compatible, but clicking links to other pages is likely to display something too complicated or incompatible resulting in an app crash or even a DVR reboot due to a bug in TiVo's HME technology._​
If you are concerned about privacy or security while using EWz, you can download a version to run on your home computer, instead.

If you have a custom app or website you would like to feature to TiVo users, I can display an ad to help pay for my costs and further development.

(FYI, EWz has been operating in a "beta" status on another server for the past year. *If you added it before, you will have to add the new server now*, but your thumztaks and configuration were saved)

Here are the apps and thumztaks that you'll start with currently... (live list is at http://EnterWebz.tv/default_links.html)

Under "Music & Photos":

 Radio Auricle - my *custom app* like a free cross between Rhapsody and Live365 with a little Pandora. Powered by UberStations.
 More Music & Recordings/ (group which includes...)

 Internet Radio - a directory of tons of Internet radio stations. The MP3 format stations (PLS/M3U links) should work.
 last.fm - the mobile version of the Last.FM website.
 Live Concert recordings - RSS feed of the latest freely available concerts from archive.org
 Audio Books - RSS feed of the latest freely available audio books from archive.org
 Old Time Radio - RSS feed of the latest freely available old time radio shows from archive.org
 78rpm records and cylinder recordings - RSS feed of the latest freely available old recordings from archive.org
 MP3Tunes.com mobile - although mp3tunes.com has gone bankrupt, you can access your account's MP3 files from here
 Flickr slideshow to go with your music - random interesting Flickr image slideshow to show after your start one of the above options

 Flickr Slideshow and music - random interesting Flickr image slideshow with a nice ambience radio station
 More Pictures & Comics/ (group which includes...)

 Popular Photos @ 500px - Flickr alternative (since Flickr's mobile page is not compatible with EWz)
 Comics & LOLz/ (group which includes...)

 I Can Has Cheezburger? LOLcats - The RSS feed of the latest LOLcats from ICanHasCheezburger.com
 GoComics - Home of most of your favorite print comics
 Peanuts - comics from GoComics
 Calvin & Hobbes - comics from GoComics
 Ziggy - comics from GoComics
 Dilbert Classics - comics from GoComics
 xkcd.com comics - a popular Internet comic with technical/geeky content
 XKCD Explained - explains that technical/geeky content



Under "Showcases & Apps":

 YouTube.com - YouTube's mobile site
 More Video & TV/ (group which includes...)

 PBS Episodes/ (group which includes: Featured Programs, Popular, Expiring Soon, Antiques Roadshow, American Experience, Frontline, Great Performances, Live at Lincoln Center, Masterpiece, Nature, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, POV, Washington Week) - PBS's on-demand content
 Yahoo! Screen/ (group which includes: Yahoo! Screen, Y!Screen: Comedy, Y!Screen: Music, Y!Screen: Sports, Y!Screen: Cute & Inspiring, Y!Screen: TV Highlights, Y!Screen: My Channels, and Y!Screen: Watch Later) - Yahoo!'s on-demand content
 Internet Movie Database (IMDb) - Search for information on that movie or show you're watching
 Late night lineups - RSS feed of who the guests will be on upcoming late night shows.
 podcast.tv - an organized collection of video podcasts
 Feature Films @ archive.org - RSS feed of the latest freely available videos in this category from archive.org
 Classic TV @ archive.org - RSS feed of the latest freely available videos in this category from archive.org
 35mm Stock Footage @ archive.org - RSS feed of the latest freely available videos in this category from archive.org

 News, Sports, & Weather/ (group which includes...)

 Air Quality Map - a *custom app* to browse the current and historical air quality around the US.
 Blitzortung.org Lightning Map - a *custom app* to browse the current lightning strikes around the world.
 Weather Underground - Enter your Zip Code and save the resulting page for current conditions and animated radar
 Rainfall totals by CoCoRaHS - Select your State and get a map of rainfall or snow totals
 Y! Weather - Yahoo! mobile's forecast for your area
 Weather Channel - mobile site
 Y! Sports Scores - Yahoo! mobile's latest sports scores
 ESPN - mobile site
 Y! Finance - Yahoo! mobile's latest stock information
 E*Trade - mobile site
 CNN - mobile site
 MSN - mobile site

 Social, Email, & Shopping/ (group which includes...)

 Facebook - update your status! Facebook Mobile (which doesn't provide links to videos, sadly)
 Twitter - tweet!
 Google+ - mobile site (currently doesn't show well)
 eBay - mobile auction browsing
 Amazon.com - mobile shopping site
 Public Surplus auctions - mobile auction browsing
 Gmail - mobile email
 AOL Mail - mobile email
 Y! Mail - mobile email
 Google Voice - mobile interface to your voice number and texts (voicemails are too secure to play)
 MapQuest - get directions on your tv.

 Games & More/ (group which includes...)

 Enter Webz suggested links - a wiki page of more "candidate" thumztaks
 TiVo news at Zatz Not Funny! - Tech Blog entries tagged "TiVo"
 @TiVo - TiVo's Twitter Feed
 TiVo Community Forums - mobile version of TCF
 TiVo's (hidden) Apps - special page listing all apps TiVo serves to your DVR, including the hidden ones.
 Solitaire - older *custom app* single-player card game
 Freecell - older *custom app* single-player card game
 Mahjongg - older *custom app* single-player tile game originally by Gene Wadleigh
 Minesweeper - simple Minesweeper *custom app* game especially to replace the removed "Kaboom" flash game.
 Jems game by R. Van Iwaarden - Rockswap or Bejeweled type of *custom app* game.
 Skull & Bones - Early version of TiVo's game that they removed.
 Samegame - Early version of TiVo's game that they removed.
 Reversi game by wmcbrine - you probably already have his *custom app* server added, but here is a shortcut to his server
 Tic Tac Toe - a simple Tic Tac Toe website game

 Cribbage with TV people - *custom app* two-player card game against other TiVos or a computer if nobody is around.
 WordSmythe with TV - *custom app* game replacement for TiVo's removed "WordSmith" - this one keeps global and personal high scores, plays Live TV, and lists the words you've played, and you can watch somebody's game in progress.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

The Flickr Slideshows were broken in transition to the new server.
Fixed now.

_Not listed in the original post:_
in addition to the "XKCD comic" in the photos area (group: More Pictures & Comics/Comics & LOLz/), there is also "XKCD Explained" which shows the comic with details when the joke is in a scientific or cultural area you're not familiar with.

​Post here and let us know how you customized EWz or what you'd like added! 
Many simple/mobile websites or RSS feeds are easy additions.

*Series 2 and 3 owners* these apps are designed to work for you, too. Please say something if it doesn't work! 
(Series 2 should work with Live TV Picture-in-Picture, but no other video streaming)


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

(part of a series of EWz feature highlight posts)

EnterWebz.tv includes several Video On Demand sources.

Archive.org has public domain content including video. EWz features their latest uploads of Feature Films, Classic TV, and Stock Footage. You can stream the ones available in the correct format variation under types MPEG, MPEG2, H.264, or MP4.
PBS is specifically supported by EWz such that launching one of their many shows includes its complete title, subtitle, and description. Popular, Featured, Expiring Soon, and a selection of specific shows are all listed. Let me know if there are other specific shows you want included! (unfortunately, PBS's list page is not directly compatible with EWz)
YouTube's mobile site is featured in EWz as an alternative interface to TiVo's Flash app. This is quick, can show playlists, and supports logins.
Podcast.tv is a directory of a wide variety of video podcasts you can stream.
Any site that uses the VIDEO tag or includes a downloadable mp4 or mpeg video can be supported in EWz, just let me know about it! _Vimeo locked down their interface and will require significant effort to get working again. Vines unfortunately are not currently compatible because they require a direct HTTPS connection that TiVo doesn't support, therefore EWz doesn't._

EWz plays videos using TiVo's own HME Video Player app and HME YouTube app. This makes it highly capable, but also suffers from their limitations.

EWz does have an advanced feature to use a home-installed video converting app as your Video Player which would add support for more formats and HTTPS, but the app doesn't exist yet.

​*Post your favorite PBS or Archive.org video and what other video on demand content you would like to see in Enter Webz!*​


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

​(part of a series of EWz feature highlight posts)
​
EnterWebz.tv includes a growing list of casual games. Most are custom HME apps that EWz just launches for you.
​
 Cribbage with TV people - my first _multi-player_ game - card game for 2 people or 1 against the computer - *Picture-in-Picture Live TV* is available while you're playing or waiting your turn.
 Reversi - in case you haven't already added wmcbrine's fine server, this is just a link to his muli-player Reversi game.
 Minesweeper - simple adaptation which sort of makes TiVo's "Kaboom" available to Series 2 & 3 owners.
 Solitaire and Freecell - some 1 player card games I made years ago
 Mahjonng - solitaire style originally by Gene Wadleigh which I updated years ago so it worked again
 Tic Tac Toe - Enter Webz presenting a simple web site implementation of the game.
​
​
I plan to create more multi-player games using the environment I created for Cribbage.

​*Post which game is your favorite and what new games you would like to play on your TiVo in the future! ...with Live TV in the corner  *​


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

​​(part of a series of EWz feature highlight posts)
When you add the server at *EnterWebz.tv*, these can be found in the "Music & Photos" area on your TiVo:

Radio Auricle - a *custom app* for Internet radio stations powered by UberStations​ - it finds the radio stations that are currently playing your favorite song, artist, genre, or radio show right now. It will also be tied into EWz as an option to run on start (like current options: Live TV or specific media link).
Internet Radio - a simple categorized directory of streaming Internet Radio stations.
Archive.org has public domain content including audio. EWz features their latest uploads of Live Concerts, Audio Books, and Old fashioned recordings and radio. You can play the ones available in the MP3 format.
Use the still-operating MP3Tunes.com mobile site of the otherwise defunct service (still attached to the DAR.fm service)
and sometimes you'll see a "featured" thumztak for remixes of old 8-bit computer music.
Since music just sits in the upper right corner of EWz, there is also a Flickr Slideshow link included to give you something to watch while you're listening. 
Alternatively, while you listen you could browse comics, news, sports scores, or even this forum.​

The Last.FM mobile site is also available for you "scrobblers."

​*Post your favorite stations or other music pages you would like to see on EWz!* Would you like to see the "Net Labels" category from Archive.org? I'm also considering trying to get SoundCloud to work. Any site that has a shoutcast-like stream or MP3 download links can potentially work with EWz.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

​​(part of a series of EWz feature highlight posts)
EnterWebz.tv includes a number of photo and comic sites for you to enjoy while you wait for the next episode to buffer.

I Can Has Cheezburger? the original LOLcats feed!
Flickr Slideshow (with or without music) - a random slideshow of images tagged "interesting"
Popular at 500px - a bit like Flickr
GoComics - a collection of almost all your favorite comics. Find your favorite and press Thumbs Up to save it!
GoComics classics to get you started: Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, Ziggy, and Dilbert
XKCD - a hilarious nerdy, sciency Internet comic, and XKCD Explained for when the jokes go over your head (it'll happen).
Unfortunately, Flickr's full mobile site is no longer EWz compatible, and Photobucket would be redundant.

*Post and let us know what other photo and comic sources you want to see on your TiVo!*


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

​(part of a series of EWz feature highlight posts)
EnterWebz.tv lets you live your digital life from your comfortable chair.

Twitter - tweet from your couch! Virgin Media DVRs get this as a built-in, now we can catch up. A separate thumztak (in _Games & More_) takes you direct to @TiVo for the latest tweets from your favorite DVR!
Facebook - get caught up with your friends, or post your status. (Their mobile content doesn't currently include videos, sadly)
Google+ - It works, but Google's basic mobile social site is really badly done and hard to understand.
The EWz YouTube page also provides access to video comments.

Obviously _posting _a status update could be tedious from your TiVo, but if you have a Slide Remote or have a USB keyboard plugged in, you can type more easily.

*Post here and let us know if you like being Social from your couch! Any other Social Networks you'd like to see on EWz?*


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

​(part of a series of EWz feature highlight posts)
DOW, NFL, NASDAQ, MLB, and many other acronyms are available with their latest numbers when you add the Enter Webz service at EnterWebz.tv


 Yahoo! Sports Scores - easy summaries of the latest games
 ESPN mobile - detail and variety you could only get from ESPN
 Yahoo! Finance - easy summaries of the latest stock prices
 E*Trade - their entire mobile web offering from your TiVo

*Whatever you do, don't post a response to any of this!*


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

(part of a series of EWz feature highlight posts)
​Need to do a quick check of the news or weather but don't want to wait for Live TV to get there? Enter Webz can help.​


 ​Air Quality Map - a simple custom app to browse the US Air Quality Index map provided by airnow.gov, and also browse different times (current, FF to forecast, or RW to past dates)
 Blitzortung.org Lightning Map - a simple custom app to browse the maps from blitzortung.org of the latest lightning strikes around the world.
 Weather Underground - Enter your zip code, then press Thumbs Up to save the resulting page for next time - detailed current conditions, radar map and radar loop, and forecast description.
 Rainfall totals by CoCoRaHS - select your state and get rainfall totals (or snow, etc), then select your city or region and get rainfall totals in your neighborhood!
 Y! Weather - Yahoo!'s simple mobile weather page - a replacement for the Yahoo! Weather app that used to be available from TiVo.
 Weather Channel - the Weather Channel's mobile site - search for your location and press Thumbs Up on the resulting page to save it for next time.​
 CNN - CNN's mobile news site
 MSN - Microsoft's mobile news site
​
​
*Suggestion:* My local news station has a simple web page of weather closures and delays, so I wrote down the URL for it and added it to Enter Webz by selecting "Enter a new URL." I saved the page it showed by clicking :up: THUMBS UP . (Be sure to edit the new thumztak with the name, group, and order you want it listed). Now I don't have to watch the long scrolling message during the broadcast.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

I see the mobile Internet Radio thumztak page had a dramatic update a while back - it's not quite so simple anymore, but it's prettier.​
Ignore the "Flash Required" messages and just select either the "pls" or "m3u" link to play your station.
Categories are near the bottom of the page (Just hit the ADVANCE ( -->| ) button to jump to the bottom).

In related news, I have moved that Internet Radio thumztak to the "More Music & Recordings/" group, and in its place in your Music & Photos listing I added my new custom radio app "Radio Auricle" powered by UberStations. Please see details in the new post I made about it elsewhere in this forum. http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=525797

_If you want "Internet Radio" up front again, just select the Edit Apps entry, highlight "Internet Radio" (after finding it in the "music/" group, then the "More Music & Recordings/" group), and click ENTER (or click INFO and click the "Edit" button). From there you can change the Group back to "music/" and it will be back where it was._


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

(part of a series of EWz feature highlight posts)
Do you want to see less (or more) listings on your TiVo from EWz?
Do you want your local weather only one click away? Maybe as the first listing instead of the last?
EWz is easily changed to show just what you want.

If you select the last app in the list ("*Edit Enter Webz App List*") you'll see a list of all the groups and apps that EWz added.

If you just want to change the *order* of thumztaks in a group, you can rearrange them similar to how you rearrange your wishlist. 
Type the position NUMBER you want to move the highlighted thumztak to. Press ENTER or SELECT to complete the move.

Each thumztak can be *moved* so it reduces or eliminates the number of apps you see on the TiVo:
Highlight one and click ENTER (or click INFO and select the "Edit" button). From there you can move it to a group that doesn't start with "Apps/" and it won't show up any more. Or you could move them each to a single new "Apps/Enter Webz/" group so only one group shows up on your TiVo.

You can also move them up from a deep folder (like Apps/photos/More Pictures & Comics/Comics & LOLz/) to the TiVo's main app page by placing them in "Apps/" (or "Apps/photos" or "Apps/music" or "Apps/video" which are the main app page, but with a particular genre to let the TiVo place them on the right page). 
This positions that thumztak only one click away from the TiVo's Apps or Music & Photos page.

Also from that thumztak edit page you can change the name of the thumztak to something more meaningful to you.

Alternatively, you can use THUMBS DOWN :down: to permanently *delete* each undesired app. (A group is deleted by moving or deleting all of the apps from it.)
_If you delete absolutely everything EWz will restore all the defaults._
If you change your mind and want one default thumztak back that you deleted, use EWz to go to EnterWebz.tv/default_links.html and press RECORD to save the highlighted links you want to save as thumztaks.
These changes may take some time to show on the TiVo's app list because your TiVo doesn't always refresh the list immediately.

The most drastic option is to completely *disconnect* from EnterWebz.tv: 
From the TiVo's Apps or Music & Photos list, highlight one of them (e.g. Radio Auricle) and press CLEAR. This will remove all the EWz apps at the same time.
To get them back you must follow the instructions at http://EnterWebz.tv/connect.html (your settings will still be there when you reconnect).


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

Will EnterWebz stream from Yahoo! Screen?


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

robojerk said:


> Will EnterWebz stream from Yahoo! Screen?


Not currently. Although the first page shows up OK (except Yahoo! has broken images in its mobile site, even when I try it from a regular browser), the individual video pages don't currently do anything because they heavily rely on JavaScript, which Enter Webz doesn't do.

However, looking at the contents of the page, I'm reasonably confident I could add a custom video handler for Yahoo! Screen to start streaming the correct video instead of showing that mostly blank page.

I'll make that next on my list to do and will post here when I get it working!


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

Enter Webz now supports "Yahoo! Screen" videos. 
These can be found at screen.yahoo.com or embedded on other sites.
_I created a custom handler to launch the video with its title and description and if the list of streams has one the same size as your TV display, that one is picked over other choices._

I have added the Yahoo! Screen video/ group to the More Video & TV/ group. 
It contains Yahoo! Screen, Y!Screen: Comedy, Y!Screen: Music, Y!Screen: Sports, Y!Screen: Cute & Inspiring, and Y!Screen: TV Highlights as well as Y!Screen: My Channels and Y!Screen: Watch Later if you've logged in.

Thanks for the idea, "robojerk!"

Unfortunately, not all of Yahoo's mobile pages are EWz-friendly. 
The main content is a page down, some of their information requires JavaScript (not supported by EWz) and many of the images are just broken on the mobile version of the site.

Choose a video title to play it!

You can also use the search box to find more Yahoo! Screen videos. 
_A bug in EWz table rendering has the search button off the right edge of the screen. Scroll to the right after typing in the search box, and you can click the button._

Note, this feature will break if Yahoo! changes the format of their video pages. *LET ME KNOW if it breaks* and I'll fix it.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

davidblackledge said:


> Enter Webz now supports "Yahoo! Screen" videos.


Super cool, cant wait to try it out when Community airs this Tuesday.


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## jaronclay (Aug 25, 2014)

Any chance this could be made to work with NHL GameCenter or BTN2Go? I know those are pretty niche but still...


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

jaronclay said:


> Any chance this could be made to work with NHL GameCenter or BTN2Go? I know those are pretty niche but still...


I took a look at both, and neither looks like an option for EWz. NHL GameCenter looks too complex, although the end result could be a streamable URL judging from how the demonstration video was. BTN2Go looks like a heavily Flash-based video system like YouTube (which required a custom proprietary player app from TiVo).

Sorry those ones didn't work out.

Let me know if you have any other sites you'd like to see!


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

On St. Patrick's Day, three new DVRs subscribed to EnterWebz.tv, pushing the total subscribers to over 500!

Thank you for your support!














Although about 100 of those haven't been active in the past year, things have grown quickly since the official launch when the server was changed. At the end of the original year-long beta, EnterWebz.tv had 375 subscribed DVRs, and less than 3 months later there are 125 more!

The original beta server was turned off a week or two ago, and based on impressions, not everybody made the switchover by then, so tell all your TiVo friends to add EnterWebz.tv again!







Those who remember Apps.tv (launched October 2005) may know it had over 14,000 service subscribers by the time it was shut down in 2012. 
EWz can use web content to replicate most of what Apps.tv had, and continues to grow in new and interesting web content and custom built app offerings.

Let me know what other things you'd like to see in your TiVo's apps menus!
Thank you again!
- David.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

You may have noticed the previous post's pictures update live, and EWz has passed 600 users, but since TiVo Inc removed so many of their apps in the past month, interest in the Enter Webz apps has jumped dramatically.

In support of this, I have added R. Van Iwaarden's 2007 "Jems" game (like Rockswap) to the EnterWebz.tv "Games & More" repertoire.

Unfortunately, for the same reasons, I removed YouTube's mobile page and disable launching YouTube videos from anywhere because TiVo Inc removed the player EWz needs. 
If I am able to get a good workaround, I'll update things, but it will require you folks download and install a program on your home computer that can talk directly to your TiVo (Premiere and later. I can't do anything to help Series 3 with YouTube, unfortunately)

I've also included a link to the Fandango mobile site under the More Video group.

Finally, I made the remote control hints across the top of all my apps look clearer and more professional.

Enjoy! 
Let me know what you want to see for games on Enter Webz and I'll try to create them ASAP!


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

There's a version of Skull & Bones included in the HME Java SDK. It doesn't have the same background graphics (but you can change those easily enough); I'm not sure if it plays the same.

P.S. I feel like I've seen the source for "SameGame" (and I mean the HME version) somewhere, too, but I can't quite remember where. Maybe it was in that HME book?


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

wmcbrine said:


> There's a version of Skull & Bones included in the HME Java SDK. It doesn't have the same background graphics (but you can change those easily enough); I'm not sure if it plays the same.
> 
> P.S. I feel like I've seen the source for "SameGame" (and I mean the HME version) somewhere, too, but I can't quite remember where. Maybe it was in that HME book?


Good point! I was thinking they just had the tic-tac-toe or something, but it was more than that. It's in the Quickstart jar.

I need to mess around a bit to get it running the way I need it to on my server, but there is skull & bones with different graphics, samegame, and a bunch of stuff that's not so interesting like tic tac toe, and a partially functional weather app.

I guess if they don't like me running it publicly, they'll let me know, right?

Both games should be up soon, probably by the end of the day.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

davidblackledge said:


> Both games should be up soon, probably by the end of the day.


Ok, the _(early demo versions of)_ Samegame and Skull & Bones are now available in "Games & More" at EnterWebz.tv!

Rejoice!


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Crackle?


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

UCLABB said:


> Crackle?


Snap!
Pop.

Looks like crackle.com uses similar obscuring technology to YouTube with their special Flash video player, etc. Much too complex for EWz, sorry.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

Ok, I built a replacement for WordSmith in the past couple of days. Enjoy it.

It uses the same framework as Cribbage, but I don't (yet) have it set up to be multiplayer.

I think it's close, but better (except the graphics aren't good) - you can watch *Live TV* while you play, and it uses the "chat area" to list all the *words you've made so far*.

Most importantly, it keeps a *High Scores list *so you can compete with other users!

I had to guess on the distribution of letters in the grid.  If this isn't quite working, LET ME KNOW and I'll change it. 
(it's currently 84 letters randomly chosen from 36 letters: the alphabet plus two extra of each vowel, not including y)


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

davidblackledge said:


> I had to guess on the distribution of letters in the grid.


Way too many X's, not enough E's... I'm not sure what it's supposed to be, but maybe the same as a real Scrabble set? Which is described here. (Adjust for the size of the grid.)

Also, here's the relevant bit from the Word Up Word Nerd Wordly source that was linked in the other thread:


```
@staticmethod
    def get_random_tiles():
        tiles = map(Tile, list(
            1 * 'KJXQZ' + 2 * 'BCMPFHVWY' + 3 * 'G' + 4 * 'LSUD' +
            6 * 'NRT' + 8 * 'O' + 9 * 'AI' + 12 * 'E'))
        random.shuffle(tiles)
        return tiles


_letter_point_values = (
    (1, 'EAIONRTLSU'),
    (2, 'DG'),
    (3, 'BCMP'),
    (4, 'FHVWY'),
    (5, 'K'),
    (8, 'JX'),
    (10, 'QZ'))
```


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## CoxInPHX (Jan 14, 2011)

I there a way to link to Yahoo Games via EnterWebz.tv and allow the sign-in function to work?

That would be great and add a ton of games.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

CoxInPHX said:


> I there a way to link to Yahoo Games via EnterWebz.tv and allow the sign-in function to work?
> 
> That would be great and add a ton of games.


The only hope for that is if I could tell the TiVo to launch apps like Hulu when they're not even registered with the TiVo. But from what I saw when the community was working on a Plex app before the official one, the TiVo doesn't work that way. 
EWz can show simple web pages, but none of that dynamic HTML5 or JavaScript or Flash stuff that these games require.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

wmcbrine said:


> Way too many X's, not enough E's... I'm not sure what it's supposed to be, but maybe the same as a real Scrabble set? Which is described here. (Adjust for the size of the grid.)


Excellent point, thank you. I'll launch an update before long that includes that and a few other tweaks.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

Letter distributions now match pulling tiles from a scrabble bag.
Tile images created by my son (using a different metallic image for each tile value. What do you think?).
Changed Quit to a selectable "button" so a) you don't accidentally quit your game as easily and b) so PAUSE works on Live TV.
Movement skips empty columns.
High scores will now mention your best word.
Simple Spectator mode set up. Watch somebody else play their game. This game is popular enough that I actually saw somebody online and my "watch" button showed up, but it would just break the game before because I didn't set up that feature.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

In a little over a month, another 100 TiVo DVRs have subscribed to EnterWebz.tv - thanks for your support! Let me know how it's going!

WordSmythe just got updated:

Detects when there are no more moves and ends the game with a little flourish
New custom background to go with the custom tiles - all rendered by my son
Submits high score correctly if you exit the game abruptly with e.g. the TiVo button.
Single Tile color (the multiple colors weren't working)
improved visibility for tile values (bold and black) _- let me know if it's still not enough... I can make the font larger on HD displays._
Spectator mode completed with improved display
_Hidden feature - enter the Konami code and you will see how many words are possible and the highest score possible for this move (hint: there is no "start" button on the TiVo remote)_


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

:up:


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

davidblackledge said:


> In a little over a month, another 100 TiVo DVRs have subscribed to EnterWebz.tv - thanks for your support! Let me know how it's going!
> 
> WordSmythe just got updated:
> 
> ...


One more quick update

Fixed spectator mode to be able to control Live TV still.
Added Personal high scores list alongside the game high scores... for people like me that can't hope to get one of those exceptionally high scores


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## clapdad (Dec 9, 2007)

Thanks for the work on WordSmythe. My son and I play often and really enjoy the game. You asked for feedback so ...

I just tried to use the word "culmination" and it wasn't recognized as valid. I've noticed this on many other words, particularly words with common prefixes and suffixes.

It looks like you can have a word with unlimited number of letters which scroll off the side of the screen. The number of letters was limited in the original version.


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

clapdad said:


> Thanks for the work on WordSmythe. My son and I play often and really enjoy the game. You asked for feedback so ...


I'm so glad to hear that, and to get the feedback, thank you! 



> I just tried to use the word "culmination" and it wasn't recognized as valid. I've noticed this on many other words, particularly words with common prefixes and suffixes.


Interesting. I use the two "Moby" files that claim to contain everything from the first and second editions of the official Scrabble dictionary.
Looking at the file, they have:

```
culm
culmed
culminatation
culminatations
culminate
culminated
culminates
culminating
culming
culms
```
As far as I can tell, "culminatation" is not a real word and those two should be "culmination(s)." I checked several other sources of the Moby list and they all have the same mistake.

But it gets weirder.
http://www.hasbro.com/scrabble-2/en_US/search.cfm#dictionary
the official scrabble website dictionary doesn't have ANY form of "culminate." I have no clue why that would be. From their word builder, the closest they have is "culmina." 
Actually it looks like that website tool is pretty bad for a lot more words.

This supposedly official checker has all of the culminate words, but not culminatation: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/word-games/scrabble-checker/



> It looks like you can have a word with unlimited number of letters which scroll off the side of the screen. The number of letters was limited in the original version.


I thought of that as a feature (except that it doesn't scroll). I suppose a real scrabble game is limited by the board size, so I could do that, too, but I don't see the need (although I don't know if my dictionary contains words longer than a game board).
The second website above limits you to the 15 character length of the board.

I'll probably add my own "corrections" dictionary and add culmination(s) to it (that won't remove "culminatation(s)" though). 
I'll also think about scrolling the board when the word is too long, but it might be more effort than it's worth at the moment.

Thanks again!


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

davidblackledge said:


> I'll probably add my own "corrections" dictionary and add culmination(s) to it (that won't remove "culminatation(s)" though).
> I'll also think about scrolling the board when the word is too long, but it might be more effort than it's worth at the moment.


I just updated WordSmythe:

 longest word is limited to 15 chars per scrabble (and scrabble dictionary)
 scrolls word when longer than display
 added addendum dictionary *let me know if you discover any other valid Scrabble corrections to add*
 fixed "available words" stats in spectator mode
 shows "word score" when spectating


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

FYI, I made a poll to see what, if any, games I should add next. In case you didn't see it, please go vote:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=531698



davidblackledge said:


> I enjoy creating games for EnterWebz.tv users, but I want them to actually be played. *What would you like to play on your TiVo?*


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## davidblackledge (Sep 9, 2008)

1,000th Subscription and counting
In December 2015, the 1,000th TiVo DVR subscribed to EnterWebz.tv - still a long way from the 14,000 that apps.tv had by the time it was shut down, but an important milestone, just short of one year since the official launch! Thank you all for your interest! 
FYI, just for fun, I bought the old PlayTeeVee.com domain name and pointed it at EnterWebz.tv ;]

No access still for Bolt, others were broken December-February
About that same time, TiVo moved some features of the Bolt to the Roamio, Mini, and Premiere in an update. One of those "features" included the *Bolt's broken "Add an App" feature*, so most of you lost access to EnterWebz.tv after that update. 
A patch started getting delivered in February which has restored access. Bolts still don't work, but I'm hopeful TiVo will fix that in the next Bolt update.

Video Player fixed, future improvements
TiVo, Inc. broke EWz's access to their video player on devices other than Series 3 some time ago. *I created my own video player*, and now videos should also work for Roamio and Premiere (instead of launching a random HME app).
This new player also supports "B" to toggle video overscan (if the edges are cut off) and "C" to choose aspect ratio (if your video got squished or stretched).
I plan to add special handling for Minis and Series 2 (which can't play videos this way): _KMTTG (or another tool you install) would download the video if you can't directly play it (including videos in formats that Roamio and Premiere can't play). Once you tell EWz you installed the tool, it could then automatically convert and push the video on to your TiVo's show list. Such tools may also allow EWz to show a YouTube player again._

Archive On Demand
(I plan to add a new thread for this app)
*EnterWebz.tv now includes a new app:* an Archive.org video/audio browser. 
Archive On Demand browses archive.org's video and audio collections. You can play almost anything you find (there are usually several formats available).
Archive.org is a repository of every public domain video (and audio and book and...) they can get hold of. It includes feature films, classic TV, old educational videos, home videos, and a massive archive of television news programs in addition to books on tape, live concerts, and more.
_WARNING: Archive.org contains SOME highly objectionable content. NOT pornography, BUT some nudity, gruesome, or offensive footage._ You can edit the app list and thumbs down to delete this app if you are concerned. (Unfortunately there is no reliable way to filter that content out).
Different thumztaks for this app replace the Archive.org thumztaks (RSS and others) EWz had.
EWz now detects Archive.org embedded or linked videos and redirects to this app.

REPLY if you want AOD to add search, better audio/concert support, support for non-audio/video content, bookmarking, simple parental controls or other features!

Live365 Replacement
*Live365 was recently dropped by TiVo* - Enter Webz can help you with that!
There are two main suggestions for Live365 users that EnterWebz.tv adds to your Music & Photos apps:

"Internet Radio" in the "More Music/" group - a site of Internet Radio listings that includes "pls" and "m3u" links to launch the station in EWz. 
"Radio Auricle" at the top level is a custom app I created that finds talk radio shows, local stations, or a song/artist/genre playing RIGHT NOW somewhere on the Internet and tunes it in.

Listings reduced:
A lot of the thumztaks listed by default in Enter Webz have been changed by the site owners and are no longer compatible. I will try to remove or improve those as I discover them - let me know if you find some.

Most users find thumztak pages are annoying or of only rare value, so I've reduced obtrusive listings a little.
I moved "Enter Webz - Help", "News, Sports, & Weather/" and "Social, Email, & Shopping/" off of the top level (they'll be one more click away under "Games & More/").
If the groups are still there it's because you saved your own thumztaks in them at some point. Edit your remaining thumztak(s) and move it to the new group.

I've also moved "Flickr Slideshow & Music" (with recently fixed radio station) under "More Music & Recordings/"

I find that "PBS Episodes" and "Yahoo! Screen" pages are no longer usable and removed them.
I replaced all Archive.org thumztaks replaced with Archive On Demand thumztaks, and added one for movie trailers.
The hidden Domino's app was taken down by TiVo (the same as most other HME apps).
Added a "Regional" group that contains links suggested by some users: a Canadian Cogeco usage thumztak (Thanks, Shane!) and some California earthquake/etc. thumztaks (Thanks, Sam!) - just Thumbs Down the ones that don't apply to you.
Lately, "podcast.tv" has been down. I'm not yet sure if that's permanent so I didn't remove it.

My Air Quality app's image source changed on me, too, so that has been fixed.

PLEASE POST with any sites you want to use (or broken existing thumztaks!) so I can address them! Sometimes, with a little effort, I can get them to work even if they don't work when you try them.

Remember that you can always move thumztaks from (or to) the top level or any group any time you want.

If you have problems on a Series 2, Series 3 (mine died), or cable company/non-retail models, contact me and we'll get it fixed together!

Finally...
There have been a few long (~24 hour) outages, but I believe I now have systems in place to catch most every outage situation and either automatically fix it in a few minutes, or at least notify me so it will get fixed sooner than before.

Look for a much more attractive website at enterwebz.tv soon, including screenshots!

PLEASE POST with any requests! That's what keeps me going! I am running this server out of my own pocket, currently (though I can accept advertising by featuring your website or image).


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

davidblackledge said:


> About that same time, TiVo moved some features of the Bolt to the Roamio, Mini, and Premiere in an update. One of those "features" included the *Bolt's broken "Add an App" feature*, so most of you lost access to EnterWebz.tv after that update.
> A patch started getting delivered in February which has restored access. Bolts still don't work, but I'm hopeful TiVo will fix that in the next Bolt update.


I missed that this was fixed for Roamio/Mini. Updated wmcbrine.com.


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