Free Software Turns Your Computer into a DVR

The merger of computers and home entertainment continues on at an almost furious pace. The newest event is the release of free software by Yahoo that can turn your computer into a digital video recorder (DVR), along the line of a Sony Tivo and others.

The software, called Yahoo Go for TV, is free to download. After the software is installed, people plug their computer into their television's video and audio input connections. The computer can then record and play back shows on the TV just like with a standalone DVR. Consumers can also play DVDs, music, photos or other downloaded content.

All that is required is a few additional cables and TV tuner card (recommended that you buy one with a remote control). This is substantially less dollars than it takes to buy a commercial DVR like Tivo. It also requires your computer have 20GB of disk space to store recorded programs, 512MB of RAM and a 1GHz or better processor.

Like all DVR's you need to get TV listings so you can program your DVR for automatic recordings. With Yahoo, television listings are provided via a Yahoo Go for TV interface. Users are prompted to give their ZIP code during setup, so that the proper service provider can be chosen. Yahoo Go for TV updates the listings daily. Yahoo TV listings are free, while TIVO listings cost $12.95 per month. The DVR's sold by DirectTV and DishTV also have monthly fees associated with them.

The Yahoo Go for TV software works in conjunction with many of Yahoo's other Yahoo Go media products, such as Yahoo Launchcast, a radio and music subscription service, and Flickr, Yahoo's photo-sharing site. In addition, Go for TV lets people view photos from any online service and to listen to music from CDs or digital-music libraries already stored on the linked computer.

I wish I had the time to try this out as I have an extra computer to play with, but my art season is about to begin, so I probably won't get to play with this product until late autumn. If any of you do try it out, send me an e-mail and let me know how it works.