# HME: Falling Behind the Curve



## bhoch99 (Jan 21, 2003)

Why is Tivo not doing more to develop centrally server based HME applications? The games provided by apps.tv and PlayTeeVee are great, but it would really be nice to see more. News stories, sports scores.

I purposely purchased a Toshiba 52lx177 HDTV which contains a built in email client just so I won't have to turn on another PC when I want to check email in the morning. It would be so cool to have an email client like this in Tivo as an HME app.

Yes, I know Galleon can do most of these things, but my electric bill is already high enough,and I don't want to have another PC sitting on all the time, plus the hassle of keeping it maintained with virus updates, patches, etc. 

Another rant: The late night guide is great to see lineups for Lettermen, Conan, etc., but why not add the ability to select an individual show and add it to the To Do list.


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## s2kdave (Jan 28, 2005)

Just a thought, but why does tivo have to do more to develop centrally hosted apps? Anyone can do that if they want to. Tivo already has a couple, the main one being swivel search.


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## bhoch99 (Jan 21, 2003)

Because the average user doesn't want to have to have a PC running in the background to run the app, plus the maintenance of downloading the app, keeping it patched, etc.

I would probably love your Netflix application, but unless it's served up by apps.tv or some other central source, I just don't have the time or the hardware to dedicate to setting it up.

It's too bad Tivo (or some third party, maybe the folks who run this forum) couldn't set up a server where folks could upload popular HME applications for serving to the public. With the number of HME apps available, I would guess it wouldn't take a ridiculously expensive server configuration. If a particular app becomes too successful (bogging down the server with traffic), migrate it to a pay one price subscription model where the author gets a taste of the profits. By then, Tivo might just buy the app author out anyway and make it part of their own. Isn't that how open source development is supposed to work?

Just curious, does anyone know what are the hardware specs for the apps.tv server?


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## apps-tv (Sep 8, 2005)

bhoch99 said:


> Just curious, does anyone know what are the hardware specs for the apps.tv server?


apps.tv runs on a VPS from rackforce.com. I have a plan they don't carry anymore (dds100) which is probably about 1/2 of the resources of the lowest server they have now (except for bandwidth which I think I have a 1.5 mb pipe rather than the 10 mb pipe they provide now.

I'm paying about 40 bucks a month, I'd upgrade but its running just fine as it is now and since its coming out of my pocket, I don't see the need to spend any more.

The biggest problem an hme server has is memory as java eats up quite a bit. Otherwise an hme app can run on old slow hardware without much bandwidth because it is pretty efficient and other than images, doesn't send much data over the wire.

If memory wasn't an issue, I'd volunteer to house more apps but I'm pretty much maxed out on the memory I have now.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Apps.tv will redirect to apps hosted on other servers, will it not? People can set up their apps anywhere (even, perhaps, on their home machines), and just use apps.tv as a central directory.


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## apps-tv (Sep 8, 2005)

That's correct...And even better, apps.tv doesn't redirect to the app, it just tells the tivo box where to find the app and the tivo box connects directly with the app without having to go through the apps.tv server. 

Other than the apps I wrote (or Bob Pony wrote) all the apps listed are hosted on 3rd party servers. 

Any server that is publicly accessible by an IP address can host apps.


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## bhoch99 (Jan 21, 2003)

Ok. Using the low end virtual server recommended by apps.tv ($59/month), let's do some math & scaling.

Let's assume that there are 6 HME applications that are of interest to the casual Tivo user and are worth hosting via a central server. Let's assume that each server can host 2 apps, so that we would need three servers.

$59/month x 3 servers x 12 months = $2124 per year = not that much for a large company like Tivo.

You would think that Tivo would want to be proactive and interested in encouraging developers to host applications by funding a handful of centrally based HME apps servers. The cost would probably be even less if Tivo hosted these apps on their own (though I understand why they might choose not to). But if HME applications increase overall value to the Tivo subscription (thus increasing the _quantity_ of subscriptions), Tivo wins in the long run. Developers also win because they now have a viable platform to develop to the masses. Depending on the application, Tivo might even pay some sort of small royalty to the developer if it becomes uber-popular.

Tivo could have a competition to decide which apps are worth central hosting, then publicize these winning apps in the Tivo Newsletter, Tivo Central menu ad, etc.


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## Roger Schneider (Feb 28, 2008)

Folks,

I've been a Tivo customer for years... have my box hooked up on broadband, etc. BUT, I've fallen badly behind apparently on this HME stuff.

Following this thread, its safe to say we'd be delighted to host some Tivo apps... we've got large numbers of servers and lots of bandwidth... we even have some technology that might contribute to great apps.

But I'm woefully ignorant of HME and third-party apps... we'd love to get involved in this

LiveOnTheNet.com and Talkr.com are two of our sites... we've done a LOT of live online media, webcast live sports, etc.

If anyone wants to email me directly at [email protected] to catch me up on this topic and see if we can cooperate to the good of all, please feel free to. Be sure to mention Tivo in the subject line...

THX
Roger Schneider, CEO
LiveOnTheNet.com/Talkr.com


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