Now, my TiVo is trying to record shows using the OTA map in my old area. Even when I chose the channel in my new area, and select the show from the guide for that particular channel. On tivo.com, I now magically have channels I can’t even receive anymore.

And yes, I typed in my new ZIP code in guided setup. Worse, some recordings are recording on simply the wrong channel. For example, a CBS show instead records Telemundo (it even says it recorded the show from my CBS affiliate on the Telemundo channel). Right time, completely wrong channel.

Anyone have any suggestions, aside from returning the TiVo to factory condition? Having to transfer all my TiVo recordings off the device would be quite a pain at this point.

A perfect example of this is X-Files. There’s a new X-Files movie in theaters, and you may have noticed your TiVo suggesting the show a lot more now than in the past. Of course, you still need to have some affinity to sci-fi shows, so if you don’t like science fiction… you probably won’t see the X-Files.

TiVo has said that they do not take money in exchange for increased rates of suggestion. So, what’s going on here? Simple, really. Re-runs of TV shows always naturally increase when a show’s movie is in theaters.

The movie’s production company encourages TV networks to increase re-runs of a syndicated program during the theater campaign. They want people watching the show so that they will get more excited about the movie. Likewise, the network benefits from the promotion of the movie… people are then more likely to watch the TV show in syndication.

So, as a result, the TiVo’s algorithm is skewed naturally. There are more showings of X-Files during free slots where your TiVo would be idle. Since it knows you like sci-fi shows, your TiVo adds X-Files more often to its To Do List. And, thus, your TiVo is filled with episodes of X-Files much more than when there isn’t an X-Files movie in theaters.

As I’ve covered in-depth on my blog, again and again, it made absolutely zero sense that TiVo HD is allowed to placeshift content all around the world via TiVoToGo, whereas the same CableCARD couldn’t do that when inserted directly into a PC. Worse, the gum-and-paperclip fix of physically pulling out the CableCARD to record local channels and analog cable just made CableCARD look pathetic.

Now the timer starts on when Microsoft will actually fix this. Rumor has it, they may have slipped it into the elusive TV Pack 2008 update for Windows Media Center. Microsoft is still checking on if it will be offered to end-users, I have been personally promised an update on that.

However, others report that the OCUR Tuners themselves will need a firmware update as well to unlock the DRM restriction.

All of this would be great… except I’m now locked in a contract with TiVo until April of next year. Who knows though? Maybe they’ll be doing away the the you-must-buy-a-new-PC requirement as well by then. Either way, I can definitely see myself replacing my Core 2 Duo HTPC with a Nehalem-based PC come April.

With DirecTV coming to Media Center as well… and QAM in the TV Pack 2008 update… Microsoft may finally be fixing the main objections to Windows Media Center.

This update does the usual bug-fix-and-such, but there are three main new features. One, you can now use any folder as a play folder (where recordings play back-to-back without stopping). Two, closed captioning gets a few improvements (easier to access). And three… ready? You can now access the channel guide from inside of any video playback. That’s right, no need to exit watching a recorded video to load Live TV… to wait for the channel guide to show up.

That last feature is a big one, because the lack of an always-accessible channel guide was something that Windows Media Center does with the greatest of ease. It was a real letdown when I found my TiVo HD couldn’t do something so basic.

I’ll hold off on stability, as I saw a few issues… but TiVo has said that they’re fixed in the final push. Want the TiVo software first? The priority push list isn’t online yet, but I strongly suspect that it will be loaded on this page once they’re ready.

Unfortuantely, I knew this was coming at some point… which is partly why I derived past posts to make mention of the Apple TV DVR… so that when this day came, you’d already know where it came from.

But, it has been awhile… so I’ll get right to where this all started. Back when Apple TV was in development, it originally was designed to work as a DVR. But, instead of having a dependency on cable operators, Apple turned to its roots and found a technology it could leverage… FireWire.

Originally, Apple TV had a FireWire port, which the user would plug in to a cable box. As you may know, cable operators are required to issue digital boxes with 1394-enabled (FireWire-enabled) upon a user’s request. It’s a little-known good deed the FCC implemented, and few consumers have taken on (mostly because HDMI replaced the need for FireWire as a display port for HDTV units).

So what happened? Well, the cable operators got wise to Apple’s plans, and worked to lock them out. Essentially, they disabled the FireWire port on their receivers, via firmware. I personally got involved in this, and worked with the 1394 Trade Association to put an end to this (by going to the FCC and demanding action… as well as going to the cable operators and reminding them of that). About six months before Apple TV came out, we were successful, and firmware updates were quietly pushed out to the wounded units.

Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. Apple, faced with consumer frustration over this (had they added the feature), scrapped the DVR functionality completely from the device… along with the FireWire port. That was a key mistake, in my view, since Apple TV Take 2 firmware could have added DVR once the problems with cable operators were resolved.

So, could Apple pick this functionality back up? They could, but I don’t know if they will. First, Apple has pretty much become stale to the notion of using FireWire as a consumer application. To them, FireWire is dead to the consumer. Notice, it’s even missing from the MacBook Air.

Now, the software is still ready to go. The DVR.framework is stable. Apple could unleash that on the consumer in various ways… a cable-operator-branded version of Apple TV for example. Or, releasing a low-cost array of QAM, CableCARD, and Satellite receivers to enable Mac (and Apple TV, via that USB 2.0 port) to function as a DVR as well.

The possibility is still there, but the drive to follow-through is what isn’t.

But, perpetual delay is not the problem with Xbox 360 IPTV (for me, at least). The problem is that Xbox 360′s IPTV implementation just doesn’t play nicely with all of Microsoft’s other offerings. The Xbox 360 IPTV stack is essentially a PowerPC-ported version of the MS IPTV client which runs on a variety of embedded set-top boxes (STB’s). Like Windows Media Center Extender in Xbox 360, the code inside is relatively unchanged, but because it’s Microsoft hardware, Microsoft can plug in added optimizations to bolster the platform. For historical example, Xbox 360 was the first Media Center Extender to support HDTV, the rest were instantly obsoleted.

The problem with Xbox 360′s IPTV software, is that unlike Xbox 360 Media Center Extender, you can’t connect with any other PC. The software can’t store TV shows on your PC or on your Windows Home Server, or on anything other than an Xbox Hard Drive. So, once your initial 20 GB (120 if you have an Xbox 360 Elite) is full (which will happen quickly, especially with HD recordings), your only option is to purchase a second Xbox hard drive. And, unlike eSATA drives, Microsoft gets to crank up the cost to astronomical figures (the 120 GB hard drive retails for over $100).

And, to add insult to injury, Microsoft’s Xbox Hard Drive is in-fact just an eSATA drive in a special box with a special connector. Oh, and there’s no way to buy just the box, in fact, Microsoft may ban your Xbox 360 from online use for crafting your own hard drive. Don’t even think about using a USB 2.0 hard drive, Microsoft has neutered that ability since day one for anything other than playing back stored content (in other words, you can bring in content from a PC, you just can’t save content from your Xbox to the very same external hard drive).

To put it bluntly, if you say to your IPTV-provider “no thanks, I’ll pass on your free HD-DVR, my Xbox does that for free”, you’re going to burn more money on spare hard drives to record content. That’s a losing proposition for the Xbox 360 owner, and thus, is a losing proposition for IPTV-on-Xbox.

There are a couple of resolutions to this, in my opinion. One is to add network storage, something Microsoft should have done a long time ago for the entire Xbox platform (the XDE’s (Xbox 360 applications and content) are encrypted, and it’s not like folks can’t get at them if they really want to already). The other, is to add transcoding support, so that users can plug in Windows Mobile devices and Zunes into the Xbox 360, and copy the TV shows over to those devices. That will at least give folks a place to store them other than the device (and back them up on their computers).

Until that happens though, my only advice would be to add IPTV Xbox 360 in addition to your existing IPTV receiver. And, that’s assuming your IPTV provider doesn’t tack on some whacky monthly charge to give you the permission of using Xbox 360 with their IPTV service.

AT&T, which offers its U-Verse IPTV service under the Mediaroom platform, has yet to announce support for Xbox 360 as a U-Verse device.