tivo

Low-tech TV recording secrets of 'The Daily Show'

You might not think about it, but putting together The Daily Show requires sifting through a lot of television, then breaking it up into bite-size clips of funny. If you're like us, you probably figured The Daily Show had some professional-grade digital recording suite that put your rent-a-DVR from the cable company to shame--and you'd be completely wrong.

Instead, try 15 rack-mounted TiVos, many of which predate the Series2 era.

Thanks to a former Daily Show employee who commented on PVRBlog, we get an inside look at the technology that powers the show. Here are some choice snippets:

Nope, it's literally 15 rack-mounted TiVos of various models, many from the pre-Series 2 era. Some Philips boxes, some Sonys. And because there's a limited number of remote codes, when a staffer operates one, he has to hold the remote directly against that box's IR receiver so that the beam doesn't hit any of the other boxes (i.e., so he's not inadvertently controlling multiple boxes at once). No joke! It's pretty primitive.… Read more

Barriers: Twitter vs. TiVo

Kathy Sierra tweets:

Twitter extreme eg.--many of us non-users couldn't perceive benefits. Low barrier made it OK to say, "just try it..." Not true w/all things

This is a sometimes overlooked advantage of software as a service (SaaS) in its various forms. Even installing free or trial software can be challenging enough that all manner of virtual appliances and application virtualization have been suggested as possible solutions to this "pain point."

Of course, no barrier is truly zero height. Even signing up with a Web site, getting the hang of the basics, and (… Read more

The Real Deal 122: Road Test

Tom and Rafe talk about their experiences living without Google search, installing CableCard in TiVo HD, buying headphones for the iPhone, using iPhone email, and more. Listen now: Download today's podcast

TiVo summer update adds helpful search, management tweaks

TiVo had a very busy July. First, it teamed up with Comcast to make section editor Matt Elliott miss the Wimbledon final. Next, it announced the rollout of streaming YouTube videos through the boxes. Then, its partnership with Amazon.com evolved to include the eventual ability to buy products from advertisers using your remote.

The fun apparently didn't end with July though, as Friday morning at 2 a.m. EDT TiVo pushed out a sizable service update with six new features.

Play or delete an entire folder This'll let you, um, play or delete an entire folder. Particularly … Read more

Watching the watchers: TiVo tracks ad viewing

Remember TiVo's reporting of Janet Jackson at the 2004 Super Bowl, when thousands of people replayed her "wardrobe malfunction" over and over on their digital video recorder?

Years later, major advertisers are even more rapt about people's TiVo behavior, particularly as it pertains to the commercials they watch.

Starcom USA, a Chicago advertising agency with such clients as Walt Disney, Coke and Kraft, has teamed with TiVo to be the first to use its so-called PowerWatch Ratings Service, a Nielsen Ratings-like service that reports--based on input from a panel--which television shows and ads people fast-forward, watch, … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 771: A Monster episode of Iron butt proportions

Oh man. Molly is out for one day and look what happens. Well the Monster story comes form the cable makers attempting to sue the makers of a deer salt lick. Seriously. And Iron Butt refers to a character from X-Men after we got schooled on Magneto by Craig from Omaha. And we talked about porn too. Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 771

Episode 771

TiVo and Amazon team up http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/technology/22tivo.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

What is Apple’s mystery product? http://blogs.eweek.com/applewatch/content/rumors/what_is_apples_mystery_product.html… Read more

Is TiVo and Amazon's new ad system crazy? Or will it get you to lose the plot?

Oh, the things that people will do in the name of progress.

TiVo and Amazon are introducing a new system that allows you to buy a product featured in a TV show while it is still airing.

So you're watching Oprah. She's interviewing James Frey. He's telling her about his amazing new book in which he is strung out on smack, wrestling with Siegfried and Roy's lions, while making love to Arianna Stassinopoulos. Yes, he says, it all really happened. You grab your remote. You click. And the book will arrive at your house well before … Read more

Report: TiVo, Amazon team up on sales pitches

TiVo--a company well-known for helping TV viewers skip commercials--is teaming up with Amazon.com to make it easier for consumers to purchase products they see on television commercials and talk shows, according to a report Monday on The New York Times Web site.

A "product purchase" feature on onscreen menus will provide TiVo customers with links to buy products like books, compact discs, and DVDs featured on programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Late Show With David Letterman, and The Daily Show, the newspaper reported. Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo plans to offer the feature to advertisers … Read more

Replay Solutions on 'TiVo for software'

Replay Solutions launched a new tool for enterprise Java applications in June. I recently discussed the product and concepts around "TiVo for software" with CEO and co-founder Jonathan Lindo.

Q: Where did the "replaying software" concept come from?

Lindo: In 2000, co-founder Jeff Daudel and I were helping to build a company in Silicon Valley with a very complex and ambitious networked application supporting up to millions of users. We had a large group of software testers and an army of beta testers who were great at finding issues. Lots of issues.

As we got closer to our ship date, we found ourselves drowning in a sea of software bugs. We quickly realized that we were spending over half of our time simply trying to reproduce the issues that were being reported. Often, we couldn't even reproduce the bugs that we knew were there. The conditions in which the bugs occurred were simply too random or unique. … Read more