Microsoft Devices Get TiVo Playback

Portable Media Centers have yet to take off in the marketplace, but Microsoft is hoping a new partnership with TiVo will change all that. Microsoft's Windows Mobile devices, including Media Centers, Smartphones and Pocket PCs, will now support TiVoToGo for playback of recorded TV content while away from home.

To kick off the TiVoToGo extension to Microsoft devices, a chartered American Airlines flight will usher in the "Summer of Mobility" contest, in which TiVo will give one person a Portable Media Center and TiVo set-top box every day from June 21 through Labor Day.

"For the first time, travelers will have the ability to transfer their favorite shows stored on their TiVo Series2 digital video recorders to a Windows XP PC for playback on Windows Mobile devices," a Microsoft spokesperson told BetaNews.

"This extension of the TiVoToGo service enhancement will provide travelers with the flexibility to watch their favorite shows whenever and wherever they want."

TiVoToGo was launched early this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, and is free for subscribers of TiVo's $12.95 per month service. Initially, TiVoToGo worked with Windows 2000 and Windows XP machines; mobile users must still transfer television content from their desktop or laptop PC.

Supported mobile devices are currently offered by the likes of iRiver, Dell and Hewlett-Packard.

Along with TiVoToGo going portable, TiVo announced a new software package from Sonic -- called MyDVD Studio 6.1 -- that enables customers to burn recorded TV shows to DVD, for playback on any DVD player. A new Humax 40-hour DVD recorder is also supported by the TiVo service.