If you want to run your own programs on it most of the work has already been done for you. The cross compilation tools are available so that you can port anything that doesnt require a gui.

With networking enabled it is pretty easy to take a video file and insert it into the Tivo. This is a great thing for the kids/girlfriend/wife since they usually don’t want to watch the latest Greys Anatomy on the computer.

to comment 49…

“it looks like the Tivo
isn’t an ideal platform for much at all”

but, it is still an interesting, relatively compact piece of hardware that is pretty flexible and has a large and knowledgeable enthusiast community

more importantly, the old ones are becoming obsolete fast, so if you have one already (i don’t though), you might be able to do some cool projects with it instead of just tossing it in the trash

if your goal in doing a project is only the end result, you might be better off getting exactly the hardware that your project requires. however, theres definitely something to be said for implementing a project using scrap components that weren’t meant for what you’re doing.

minimize cost by maximizing creativity… and plus, its fun to tinker even to no practical end

However, the Tivo’s case could be used to house a hard drive and
motherboard with on-bord networking, video, and USB.

I’m all for extending the capabilites of hardware that you currently
use and own, but the Tivo doesn’t seem like something worth the time
and effort to do anything more than its originally intended purpose.

1. Universal remote. Choose the remote you actually like and program the TIVO to translate the IR codes to control your other devices. (No more universal remotes) Complete with on-screen-display.

2. Automated home control.

3. Automated antenna switching. I use four antenna sources for my OTA signals. The Tivo could automatically switch to different antenna sources based on the channel you are on on the TV. (it will listen to your TV remote – see above)

4. Audio monitor. Mute loud commercials.

5. Favorite program switcher. – Put your TV on the right channel based on your “favorites” schedule.

You could download and sort the “official” music videos to play during a party. Or port one the visualization packages to just add trippy video to your MP3s.

Actually, what I’d really like to see are “tweaked” visualizations. Before-hand you help the visualization package “learn” a song, by indicating beats and cresendos and such. That way during the party you know the visualizations are going to be dead on with the music.

Who, me? Use drugs?

You can get old Tivos for round $30 – $50 for modding, and Xbox cost an average of $50 – 90 plus the cost of a mod chip. The Tivo doesn’t require a lot of modding to get to a shell as the xbox does and has USB plugs on the series 2 tivos. Although you are very right about the networking as that was missing from Tivo for a while. Plus the idea of the post is to come up with ideas for Tivo, not the Xbox.

I like that with respect to the home automation idea. I mean, assume it can be set up for home automation; lights are a given, but I’d also home for some thermostat control. If we add in weather checking capabilities, be it a local weather station attached to the house or an online resource, and ideally, some controls over the windows (open/close type of thing) we could control the thermostat in a far more intellegently way. Combined with time based settings we could program some brilliant enviromental controls.

To describe a scenario, say you want your home at roughly 76 degrees farenhiet. If it’s 80 degrees out but it’s the middle of the day and you are expected to be at work, it turns off the A/C and opens up the windows and maybe enables an exhaust fan in the attic. Around 4:30 it shuts the windows and turns on the A/C to dry out the air if it’s humid so you come home to a nice cool home. Around 10~11 it drops the temperature a few degrees for when you go to bed and around 6AM it starts warming up the home for when you wake. If it’s adequetly warm out it opens windows so you are awaking to the fresh air.

Again, nothing that requires all that much in the way of processessing power and shouldn’t need more then some basic communication added into the Tvio if what’s there won’t work well enough.

I wonder how much motors and sensors to control the opening of my windows would cost….

As for the mame idea, why not just use a modded xbox with a couple of emulators and xbmc? It comes with (nice) controllers, its cheaper, its got a well supported Ethernet interface, the softwares as good or better, and it can store and play xbox games to boot.