I had to blog something about the Tivo Home Media Engine SDK which allows developers to write applications which run on version 2's of the TIVO software. Its a very good move by TIVO but as Jon Udell points out, its not as open as it will/could be. Anyhow, highlights of the blog post and podcast by Jon Udell
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Tivo uses MDNS to find applications on the local network, All the applications are written in Java using the SDK, the applications dont actually run on the TIVO box – the TIVO just plays it or displays it (as such), It always runs from a networked machine. I have to say its quite something, and would allow for some serious applications like shopping, home entertainment and home automation. The limitations include not being able to access the metadata from the recorded shows or the recorded shows themselves. I under legally why they cant do this but there has to be some kind of legal loop whole which could be exploited? I'm wondering if Xbox media center could make use of the SDK to provide cross platform fuctionality? Hoff touches on IP delivery of Content which is an obvious move for TIVO and could be a killer when you think about the problems people have with managing/storing content on there local machine. For example, Itunes allows you to add playlists and the like but TIVO would go one step beyond by suggesting content you may like based on your previous content.
