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TiVo update adds iPlayer search, proper typing and iPad app

Virgin Media is automatically updating TiVo boxes tonight and over the next week to bring you a raft of new features.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

TiVo is teeing up a tasty update. Virgin Media is automatically updating TiVo boxes tonight and over the next week to bring you a raft of new features.

The update to Virgin Media's clever set-top telly recorder lets you search iPlayer, type more easily and record programmes with your iPad through a new TiVo iPad app.

When you get the update, you'll be able to search BBC iPlayer using TiVo's search, catch-up and On Demand menus.

Express Series Link let you record an entire series with one click from the guide, discovery bar or programme information. Recordings will now begin one minute before a show is scheduled to start, and won't stop until four minutes after it's finished.

New parental controls lock shows after the watershed, so crafty kids can't enter the PIN and watch contraband telly.

It's now easier to type on the TiVo remote with multi-tap text entry, so you can search TiVo by typing the same way you would text on a mobile phone keypad, instead of fiddly scrolling and picking out each individual letter.

You'll also start to see the first wave of red button-style interactive services, from BBC, ITV, Sky Sports and other partners. Music On Demand, YouTube and apps have also been improved, with YouTube now in high definition and apps including Spotify.

The update will happen at 2am one day this week. You won't know which night it'll happen, so leave your TiVo box on standby overnight between now and 24 November. The update can take up to an hour, during which time you'd best not use the box.

Are you a TiVo addict? Tell us your thoughts on the new features in the comments, on our Facebook page, or at Google+.