New Nero software turns PC into TiVo TV recorder

TiVo and Nero have announced today that they will be launching a package that turns a Windows PC into a TV recorder, much like the TiVo sitting on top of your living room television, called Nero LiquidTV/TiVo PC.

Like TiVo's existing TiVo Desktop software, LiquidTV will allow you to transfer shows recorded on other TiVo devices in the home to your PC's hard drive or on an iPod or PSP. It also allows you to burn shows onto DVDs if your computer has a DVD burner.

The interface on the computer screen resembles the one on a TV equipped with a TiVo box. The kit will cost $199 when it goes on sale Oct. 15, and includes a remote and a TV tuner that plugs into the PC.

Now before there's a deluge of comments, it's true that this is not the first software that allows TV recording on the PC. However, it will be the first time that the TiVo interface and functions have been replicated on a PC.

The kit will go on sale initially in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, but it may make its way into some markets where TiVo does not yet sell its set-top boxes. Europe will get a launch next year (The U.K. is the only European country where TiVo currently has subscribers).

If you've already got a tuner-equipped PC, Nero will happily sell you the software separately, for $99. Either way, you get a one-year subscription to TiVo's program guide updates, which will set you back $99 per year to renew, a cost that sets it apart from the DVR capabilities of Windows Vista, which comes with a free program guide.

Clearly, Nero and TiVo are counting on brand-name recognition.