Finally. We finally have new TiVo models. The TiVo HD XL launched a long year and half ago and the UI is even older. But that’s behind us now, the TiVo Premier is here and it’s (nearly) everything we need in a DVR. Everything is different: the hardware, the interface, even the remote. (QWERTY!) → Read More
Well done, AP. Thanks for giving us the very first look at what TiVo has in store for us later tonight. Too bad you had to go plaster your watermark all over it. But from what we can gather, it seems like the interface got an HD makeover while maintain the classic TiVo look and feel. Plus the image description confirms the TiVo Premiere name that leaked back in December. ** HOLD FOR RELEASE TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 7:01 P.M., E.S.T ** A TiVo Premiere box, foreground, is displayed with an HD television, Monday, March 1, 2010, in New York. TiVo Premiere combines access to cable programming, movies, web videos, and music all in one box. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) [thanks for the tip, Nate!] Stay tuned for more info. Nicholas and Jimin are live at the event right now, no doubt enjoying a bit of tasty appetizers and drinks instead of sneaking around for some early shots. → Read More
I don’t want to alarm any of you, but today is TiVo Day! Yes, a little later on today TiVo will unveil something that’s sure to please Matt Burns, if no one else. There have been plenty of rumors as to what the company has up its sleeves, but I’m sworn to secrecy. That, and it’s been several months since they actually told me What’s Up, and I simply do not remember what I was shown behind closed doors. → Read More
<A tipster writes in with knowledge of some of the improvements TiVo may be making to its devices. The most important: a move to full HD menus, improved search, and the phasing out of Series 2 hardware. Because the company stopped making improvements to the current software as of the middle of last year, our source believes that aside from minor add-ons like Blockbuster support the old UI and OS will be replaced by a fully HD version, available at first on Series 3 hardware.
He describes the move as something akin to Microsoft’s redesign of the Xbox Dashboard – a surface refresh that plays better with larger, HD TVs. This could also include new methods for adding apps and content to existing boxes. → Read More
We’ve known that TiVo was cooking up something tasty for a bit now. It could be the Premiere that leaked a few weeks back or something entirely different. We really don’t know at this point. But what we do know is that we’ll be at TiVo’s March 2nd event to get a good look at TiVo’s latest creation. → Read More
Thanks to TiVo, we have a pretty good idea of what the most popular commercials from last night’s Super Bow. Survey says: that Doritos commercial with the little kid telling his mom’s date to keep his hands off his mother (fat chance!) and off his Doritos. America is a peculiar little country, isn’t it, cheese-flavored chips and light beer as far as the eye can see. → Read More
Let’s say you want to buy a TiVo HD right now from TiVo.com. After all, it’s a great DVR with Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, and local networking streaming support. The only thing is you that can’t. It’s listed as out of stock. The only option available is the 1TB $499 TiVo HD XL. Does this hint that there’s a new TiVo model launching soon? Maybe the TiVo Premiere we heard about in December? Let’s hope so. [thanks for the tip, Nate] → Read More
Do you have a Comcast DVR? I do. I also have a TiVo, which has had remote scheduling since 2005. I can almost schedule recordings remotely to my Comcast DVR. Not yet, but almost – it’s not available in Boston yet, apparently. If you have a Comcast DVR, check out www.comcast.net/mydvr/ to see if the service has been switched on in your area. → Read More
It’s about time that TiVo outs some new hardware and it looks like it might be sooner than later. The TiVo HD and HD XL have been sitting atop the companies mast unchanged for sometime now, while other DVRs like the Moxi keeps the updates rolling. But a little manual mix-up might show what TiVo is prepping to launch.
The story goes that Patrick McCarron upgraded to a TiVo HD and discovered that his box included a TiVo Premiere and Premiere XL setup guide. Now that’s a little interesting because as far as anyone knows, those products don’t exist. But from what we can make it, the info on the unannounced products seem to follow a evolutionary path from the current models. → Read More
And… it’s… outta here. TiVo is down to less than three million subscribers and they sold about 500 DVRs a day last quarter, giving it 8% of the 38 million US DVR market. That’s not much.
TVByTheNumbers has the numbers. They’re down 314,000 subscribers to 2.76 million and lost 146,000 last quarter. Rough stuff. → Read More
TiVo has finally dropped the price on the HD and HD XL DVRs. These models have been rocking their initial MSRP for years now, but now they can be had for a little bit less. The 160GB HD model is now $249 and the 1TB model, $499 down from $599. Of course you still have to pay a monthly fee to use these DVRs, but I’m not one to snub a modest price drop. → Read More
Here’s a story I first heard on Figure 4 Daily last night while farming for mageweave (no, I’m not lying): not only have DVRs not ruined the TV businesses, as we had been led to believe for so many years, but it turns out that the delayed viewings, and more accurate ratings, have given the networks exactly what they’ve always wanted. That, of course, is the opportunity to squeeze more money out of their advertisers. → Read More
TiVo users have known that Blockbuster On Demand was coming to TiVo for a while, but the service just went live. So, does it have the goods to put up a fight against Netflix or Amazon On Demand that have been streaming content on TiVos for months already? Nope, not at all. → Read More
Don’t look now, but your Series 2, 3, or HD TiVo is probably getting the Blockbuster On Demand update right now. Actually, go look now because while I couldn’t get a picture to show this accurately, the screen above looks slightly different than other TiVo screens. It’s tad higher resolution and there is just something different about it. Maybe a TiVo GUI refresh is just around the corner… → Read More
TiVo users! Rejoice! Soon you’ll have access to Blockbuster On Demand content as if Amazon, Netflix, Walt Disney Studios, and Jaman services weren’t enough. I hear that sometime today, the service will go live on Series 2, 3, HD, and HD XL boxes but so far it isn’t up on either my HD or HD XL units. Not that it matters all that much. I’m not going to use it anyway. → Read More
I’ve heard good things about The Jay Leno Show recently, which might be why he’s improving NBC’s TiVo stats. Previous seasons NBC saw nearly 70% of its viewers timeshift during the 10 p.m. time slot. Leno has managed to improve that to only 46%, with 20% of those people watching the show at 11 p.m. instead. That number is actually great considering CBS and ABC have been running 65% and 63% respectively over the last two weeks Leno has been on the air. Maybe I should watch this show… → Read More
TiVo finally got with the program and released its first BlackBerry app this morning. The good news is that it seems to work as advertised, but let’s just say that it’s a pretty basic app and is just made for scheduling recordings. You can’t remotely control your TiVo or stream any content from it, but this app is a good start. It’s easy to use and gets the job done. → Read More
The battle between Dish and TiVo rages on. As reported by Bloomberg, a judge has ruled that Dish and EchoStar must pay TiVo around $200 million for continuing to provide DVR service to its customers after being told to stop because it was violating TiVo’s patents. Dish and EchoStar plan to appeal the ruling.
The new ruling brings Dish and EchoStar’s total payments to TiVo to around $400 million in damages and other fees after a five year legal battle. In this latest round, Dish and EchoStar say they tried to work around TiVo’s patents, but a judge ruled that they had failed to do so. The $200 million figure is based on a $2.25 per month royalty for every Dish DVR user, extending from April 2008, when an appeals court reaffirmed TiVo’s patent, to July 1 2009. → Read More
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=6827163268088648679&hl=en&fs=true Ah, patent trolling: the last refuge of a dying company. Don’t get me wrong. I love my TiVo. It’s like a friend and a lover. We still have the old DVD-burning Humax model – I didn’t even upgrade to the wonky cable-card HD model – and the fact that I, a fairly plugged in tech nerd didn’t bother to upgrade is a testament to the company’s slow descent. I know there are better things out there and better things coming down the pike and so the current my TiVo is just fine by me. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
