By Richard Corzo
In March I brought in my TiVo to demonstrate how to watch YouTube videos on your TV as described in my newsletter article. I had the TiVo connected to a display monitor with an HDMI cable to simulate the connection to an HDTV. The TiVo is just one example of a device (in this case a DVR) connected to your TV that may have a YouTube app running on it. You might have a streaming video box (like a Roku), a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, or a smart TV (meaning Internet-connected), that has a YouTube app on it.
It’s possible to search for videos using your remote control and selecting letters from an on-screen keyboard, but my purpose was to show an easier way using your smartphone or tablet. Your TV YouTube app may have the ability to pair itself with your mobile device’s YouTube app, so that you can select videos from the mobile device, and choose to play them on your TV.
A lot of questions came up about the TiVo itself. It requires a CableCARD from your cable company—the first one is normally free. You have to subscribe to the TiVo programming guide, but then you don’t have to pay to rent your DVR from the cable company. You still have to pay for the cable service to receive the channels you want. In addition to being a better way to record TV programs, the TiVo has a few popular apps including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, and the Pandora music service.