The only problem I had with Tivo's to go system -- and it's actually the same complaint that PC users have had with the service -- is that downloading from the Tivo takes a very long time. If you have one of the original Series 2 systems with the home media option, you are working from a USB 1.0 device and the download will be excruciatingly slow. Options for increasing download speed are to get a Series 3 Tivo with Ethernet or get the special Tivo 802.11g USB 2.0 adapter, which provides, in Tivo's words "Optimized wireless performance with your Tivo DVR."

As I understand it, this adapter outputs burst data as it is read from the drive and was designed to work in sync with the Tivo for that purpose only rather than operate as a standard network device. I have not tested it, so I can't confirm or deny that claim, but it's a potential solution for some users.

Other TV formats

On the video side, Toast 8 also delivers support for the other two TV formats a Mac user will most likely encounter besides Tivo. Toast 8 recognizes the multiplexed format that ElGato's EyeTV uses and can import directly without re-encoding. Plus, it can mount DVD-VR discs directly to the desktop. DVD-VR is the format that DVD set-top boxes record. Support for these two formats, plus Tivo, is what Adam Fingerman, director of product management at Roxio, calls the TV trifecta.

What else is new?