tivo

TiVo control coming to BlackBerry

TiVo and Research In Motion are teaming up to enable BlackBerry users to remotely schedule recordings of TV shows on their digital video recorder, the companies announced Thursday.

Under the partnership, BlackBerry users will be able to use their smartphones to review television schedules and set their TiVo DVRs to record select television programming.

"TiVo subscribers will soon be able to wirelessly control their TiVo DVRs using a BlackBerry smartphone--anytime, anywhere--and that is a powerful example of how our respective technologies can complement each other to serve our mutual customers," Jim Balsillie, Research In Motion co-CEO, said in … Read more

Invision TV: The Internet version of TV Guide

Invision TV launched at Demo and aims to bring order to the chaos of Internet video. I've been playing with the service for a half hour or so and it's actually quite good. The service lets you watch videos in your browser window and lets you search for other videos at the same time.

This approach may limit the volume of items likely to be returned on YouTube, but it parses everything down to a more consumable set of content. And you don't have to open multiple browser windows like you do with YouTube.

YouTube does have … Read more

Record TV in style with a refurbished TiVo HD, $179.99 shipped

Few people would disagree that TiVo is the ultimate DVR. Here's your chance to scoop up a TiVo HD for just $179.99 shipped (plus service). These are refurbished units, but TiVo gives you the same 30-day money-back guarantee and warranty (one year for parts, 90 days for labor) that they provide with new models. Score!

In case you're unfamiliar with this particular model, it offers up to 20 hours of high-def recording, a pair of HD tuners, and a boatload of cool networking features (like movie downloads from Amazon Unbox and music from Rhapsody). The bummer, of … Read more

TiVo HD XL: TiVo HD with supersized 1TB hard drive

When TiVo discontinued its high-end cable-ready high-def DVR, the TiVo Series3, it was really just making room for a new product in the line: the TiVo HD XL. The new TiVo is a near twin of the existing TiVo HD, but for three changes: it's got a much larger 1 terabyte hard drive (enough capacity for 150 hours of HD programming); it's THX-certified; and it includes the premium TiVo backlit remote. The package costs $600--about the price that the TiVo Series3 was going for, and twice that of the "standard" TiVo HD. As with any TiVo, of course, you'll also need to budget money for a subscription fee: $13 a month, $129 a year, or $399 for the lifetime of the box. True, you can do a DIY upgrade on the standard TiVo HD by adding the improved remote ($50) and a 500GB expansion hard drive ($150), but that will cost nearly as much and still leave you with less recording capacity--and a lot of extra wires. That said, the original TiVo HD is still going to be the better buy for most viewers, while the XL model is more appropriate for die-hard TiVo fans or those who like to load up their box with lots of HD TV shows, movies, and digital downloads. … Read more

DirecTV and TiVo: Together again

Great news from a press release I received today:

EL SEGUNDO and ALVISO, Calif., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DIRECTV, Inc. (Nasdaq: DTV), the nation's leading satellite television service provider, and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR), announced today that they have extended their current agreement, which includes the development, marketing and distribution of a new HD DIRECTV DVR featuring the TiVo(R) service, as well as the extension of mutual intellectual property arrangements. Under the terms of the non-exclusive arrangement, DIRECTV and TiVo will work together to develop a version of the TiVo(R) service for DIRECTV's broadband-enabled HD DVR platform. The product will support the latest TiVo and DIRECTV features and services, including TiVo's Universal Swivel Search and TiVo KidZone. TiVo will develop the new HD DVR for an expected launch in the second half of 2009.

I had a TiVo HD DVR (the Hughes HR10-250) that worked with DirecTV's original HD channel lineup, but when DirecTV adopted the new H.264 technology to provide more channels, the HR10-250 became effectively obsolete.

I've previously explained why I've been so disappointed with the replacement DirecTV HR21-700 DVR and, more generally, with the way DirecTV pushed this product on its customers without offering the superior alternative of a true TiVo DVR.

As I mentioned in my HR21-700 review, I suspect that one of the reasons that DirecTV's DVRs are somewhat feature-deficient compared with TiVo DVRs is that TiVo, as a pioneer in the development of DVR technology, owns… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 801: There's something strange in your USB

In a world where browser tests show all kinds of things but seem to agree that Chrome is fast, where 58 percent of adults don't know what a social network is, and where DVRs are the new marriage counseling, a tiny team of intrepid podcasters stand together to fight back agianst the forces of inaccuracy, rumor, and way-too-serious news. It is we, JaMoToNa. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 801

Speed test: Google Chrome beats Firefox, IE, Safari http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10030888-92.html

Firefox counters Google’s browser-speed test http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10031278-92.html

Chrome suffers … Read more

New TiVo-powered DirecTV DVR coming in 2009

DirecTV will release a new TiVo-powered high-def DVR in the second half of 2009, the company has announced. Unlike the last "DirecTiVo" model that was released in 2004, the new model will be able to receive DirecTV's entire lineup of digital and high-def channels.

DirecTV's original TiVo-powered DVRs were among the first satellite receivers with digital video recorders built in (rather than tethered external units). The HR10-250, in fact, was the first high-def DVR available anywhere. Unfortunately, two things happened that put that model on the fast track to obsolescence. DirecTV began utilizing MPEG-4 broadcasts for most of its HD channels--a format that wasn't compatible with the TiVo units. And secondly, the company introduced its own line of non-TiVo DVRs. … Read more

Survey says: DVR could improve your relationships

More than 80 percent of Americans with a DVR can't live without it, according to a recent survey commissioned by NDS, a provider of technology solutions for digital pay TV.

The survey (PDF) was conducted in July 2008 in the U.S., U.K., Italy, and Australia, with more than 1,000 DVR owners participating. Overall, the device ranked as the third most indispensable household item (62 percent), just after the washing machine (97 percent) and the microwave oven (86 percent). In the U.S., however, a higher number of people (81 percent) cited their DVR as their most … Read more

TiVo loses subscribers but adds small profit

TiVo's midyear report card is in, and the numbers are better than most analysts expected.

The results aren't fabulous, but anything's better than the $17.7 million loss a year ago. In the second quarter of this year, the maker of digital video recorders earned revenues of $65.2 million, eking out a profit of $2.9 million, good for 3 cents per share for investors. Analysts had been anticipating revenues between $54 million and 59.3 million, a loss of 2 cents per share.

TiVo recorded lower services revenues this quarter than a year ago, but … Read more