# Mini TiVo



## refried (Dec 22, 2005)

I was thinking this morning about how a friend has a 13" TV in their linen closet so they can watch TV while they soak in the tub. I thought this was a great idea except that I'm too addicted to my TiVo to watch live TV. I thought it would be cool to have a small form factor TiVo that could be paired with or embedded into a 13" TV.

Here's what I'm thinking. The system would be used for watching live TV w/ the 30 minute buffer or watching programs transferred from another TiVo in the home. So the user could record what they are watching, but no season passes or wish lists. Do that on another TiVo and transfer it. TiVo Basic service would be included so there would be a few days of programming guide. Allow for an upgrade option to full TiVo service. Since this is targetted at small TV's, it probably doesn't need all of the outputs that the regular TiVo has. Just coax in and a network jack.

Thoughts?


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## chip_r (Apr 27, 2006)

How about just getting something like this just to extend the video output of the Tivo to the small TV set? http://www.smarthome.com/76540.html

Other video sources like a DVD player can also be used. It's basically just a long set of wires to a remote TV without the wires. It's gotta be easier than running a network cable and coax into the bathroom or where ever.


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## mulscully (May 31, 2003)

I see his point on the mini tivo... to use the media extender thing say to extend the living rooom tivo, then if anyone is in the living room they would have to watch what the other person was watching...


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## refried (Dec 22, 2005)

Exactly. The point is not to extend the living room TV to the bathroom. The point is to access the TiVo in the living room to anywhere else in the house. Perhaps it could be the kitchen or exercise room or garage. Heck, put it in your kid's room then they upgrade it to a full TiVo when they take it to college. 

I think it comes down to how cheaply can you build the hardware for. You still need the decoder and encoder. Perhaps you could go with flash instead of a spinning hard drive. The capacity doesn't need to be large. Perhaps allow for eSATA after the system is upgraded to full service.


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## chip_r (Apr 27, 2006)

refried said:


> I think it comes down to how cheaply can you build the hardware for. You still need the decoder and encoder. Perhaps you could go with flash instead of a spinning hard drive. The capacity doesn't need to be large. Perhaps allow for eSATA after the system is upgraded to full service.


I agree. The limiting factor is the hardware. Right now Tivo basically gives away the hardware in a relatively small package suitable for your living room. It's probably a safe bet it's as cheap as possible (i.e. commodity drives, not a super compact mother board that's inexpensive to manufacture, small power supply, etc). If you do a big shrink all at once on the package then the hardware cost will go up.

I think over time you'll get a smaller Tivo as you've described just due the general shrinkage from component integration. I haven't looked that closely, but is there a general shrinkage trend from Series 1 to the TivoHD? There may already be a Tivolution towards your Mini.

chip_r


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

I have been thinking similar, although I realize it is not practical from a business standpoint.

I am thinking something as big as a Mac-Mini or so. It would have one analog tuner/encoder, and a second analog A/V input, Analog/SD A/V RF out, and USB/Network connections. (which would support a simple USB controlled ATSC tuner)

Here is the kicker:
A lower dock that would have an additional analog tuner and digital OTA/cable tuners, and an upper dock that would have a battery supply and a 9" LCD display.


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## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

A Slingbox on the TiVo and a SlingCatcher on the 'client' TV - as soon as the SlingCatcher ships -which is probably soon.


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