I'm pretty much a technophobe, meaning I'm not only completely inept and ignorant when it comes to any kind of electronic or mechanical gadget, but I actually collapse to the kitchen floor sobbing whenever I make toast. Being who I am, I never would have figured out what our sister site PVR Wire discovered via the Tivo blog, which is that you can use your Tivo (or any DVR with a USB port, I suppose) to charge your iPod or mobile phone. Just plug the USB cord into the USB port on your Tivo, connect your handheld device to the other end, and there you go. I haven't actually tried this yet, but apparently it works. If you folks have any other fancy uses for the Tivo, let me know in the comments.Use your Tivo to charge your iPod
I'm pretty much a technophobe, meaning I'm not only completely inept and ignorant when it comes to any kind of electronic or mechanical gadget, but I actually collapse to the kitchen floor sobbing whenever I make toast. Being who I am, I never would have figured out what our sister site PVR Wire discovered via the Tivo blog, which is that you can use your Tivo (or any DVR with a USB port, I suppose) to charge your iPod or mobile phone. Just plug the USB cord into the USB port on your Tivo, connect your handheld device to the other end, and there you go. I haven't actually tried this yet, but apparently it works. If you folks have any other fancy uses for the Tivo, let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-03-2006 @ 1:24PM
Joey Geraci said...
Uhm, yeah, you can do this with any powered usb port. I use my little 4 port usb hub to charge my ipod all the time, even when the computer isn't on. Works great.
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10-03-2006 @ 1:30PM
erroneous_nick said...
Pin 1 on a USB connector provides 5v power. I've been charging my cell phone via my PC's usb connector for a while. It's really handy at work since I have a dearth of outlets in my "officette" and my power strip's filled.
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10-03-2006 @ 3:22PM
CygnusTM said...
I plugged my iPod into my DirecTivo, and it mounted, and I got the "Do not disconnect" message on the iPod screen. I was unable to find any way through the Tivo interface to unmount the iPod, so I had to power down the Tivo so I could disconnect. Needless to say, I didn't find this convenient so I won't be doing that again.
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10-03-2006 @ 3:46PM
Ruiz said...
I actually use my PS2 to charge my iPod as well.
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10-04-2006 @ 1:24AM
Eric Philbin said...
TiVo can act as an alarm clock for a quick nap. If you want to grab 15 minutes of shuteye on the couch, just hit the TiVo button, and turn the volume up. 15 minutes later, the TiVo screen will revert back to live TV and loud volume, waking you. For thirty minutes, simply pause a live broadcast (that is NOT recording - important) and after thirty minutes, it will run out of lead time and start playing again, waking you.
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10-03-2006 @ 8:45PM
Joey Geraci said...
Unless you are actually syncing your ipod with your computer at the time, it won't hurt it to take it out if that message is on the screen.
Don't Worry. Be Happy. Beeeee Happy now.
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