TiVO as content hub:

The San Jose, Calif., company on Tuesday made available a new software upgrade that will allow its TiVo Series2 digital video recorders to tap content stored on a home PC.

....the Home Media Option software will let the TiVo boxes access and distribute content such as music files or digital photos stored on the hard drives of Apple Computer's Macs or on Windows PCs, streaming them to a television set or stereo via wired or wireless home networks.

The $99 upgrade, available from TiVo's Web site, will also accommodate online scheduling, allowing Series2 owners to set their machines to record programs via the site, the company said.

The Home Media Option highlights manufacturers' growing interest in the market for sharing content among devices in the home. Products such as the Microsoft Media Center PC, sold by companies such as Hewlett-Packard, position the PC at the center of the home network.

Media Center PC software--a special version of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system--adds a second interface for accessing content such as music, photos and DVDs. Media PC owners can also watch TV and record programs to the PC's hard drive using digital video-recording features similar to TiVo's.

...."Our approach recognizes that the PC or Mac may be the best place to store, organize, manage and protect your digital media, but the living room is the best place to enjoy it," Brodie Keast, senior vice president and general manager of TiVo Service, said in a statement. [CNET]