HP MediaSmart Home Server Can Store TiVo Recordings

Running out of storage space on your TiVo? Now HP's MediaSmart Home Server can store TiVo recordings...and share them out to any PC in the house.

Folks who are heavy TiVo users have, at one point, likely faced a painful dilemma: how to free up enough space to continue recording their favorite programming without forever losing their favorite saved content. Sure, TiVo users have ways to get content off the TiVo, over to a Mac or PC, and perhaps burn the content out to DVD for archival purposes…but it’s not exactly point-and-click. How, HP is offering a solution—at least for owners of it its MediaSmart Servers: a new free MediaSmart Expander for TiVo application enables users to shuffle TiVo content over to a MediaSmart server for storage, freeing up space on the TiVo device itself. And once the content is on the MediaSmart server, users can share it out with any compatible PC, Mac, or TV in the house.

“With the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo, consumers can record more high-definition programs and not worry about filling their DVR since they can transfer their movies and shows on the HP MediaSmart Server and watch them on their PC,” said HP VP Personal Systems Group VP Jason Zajac, in a statement. “Plus, consumers will benefit from all of the additional features the HP MediaSmart Server provides, such as backing up all Windows and Mac computers.”

The application is available as a free add-on available from the Windows Home Server Console. With the software, users can transfer TiVo recording to the MediaSmart home server, as well as manage saved shows.

HP’s MediaSmart servers are based on Windows Home Server, and are designed to serve as a central storage resource for media, music, photos, and movies, as well as a network backup point for PCs and Macs on a home network. The servers can also stream media to compatible PCs, Macs, and TV via the home network or the Internet, and automatically push photos to social media and sharing sites. A MediaSmart Server EX940 with 1 TB of storage starts at $549; a version with 1.5 TB of storage runs $699.