Dave Zatz

TiVo Web Portal Nears Launch. RCN Up First?

tivo-video-portal

Thanks to TiVo’s recent site refresh, a few interesting items have been surfaced, including an Operator-Branded Web Portal PDF. Of course, we’ve long known TiVo has been prepping this cable company “TV Everywhere” offering and even shot some video of it in action (embedded below) at the Cable Show. And given that particular development site appears to have been redirected to a RCN URL, we can’t help but wonder if launch is imminent. From TiVo’s pitch, the web portal offers:

  • What to Watch (recommended shows)
  • Search across TV, operator VOD and OTT content – and get integrated results on what you’re looking for
  • Schedule and manage recordings and ongoing
  • Season Pass recordings on your TiVo DVR even away from home
  • Grid Guide with up to 14 days of programming

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Outdated CableCARDs Limit TiVo Roamio Tuning Capabilities

cablecard-pixelation

Considering a brand-spanking-new TiVo Roamio Plus or Pro DVR? You might want to hold off a few months. Cable providers who haven’t provided updated firmware for their CableCARDs essentially limit 6-tuner DVRs to 4 streams or pixelate video beyond recognition. Out of the box, beyond the obvious viewing issues, customers in this situation may also end up with a certain percent of unusable recordings and will be unable to fully flex their TiVo Mini whole-home muscles. Yet, for those who find themselves in this predicament, TiVo has provided a method to limit the number of tuners in use until the issue can be corrected. At the moment, the dysfunctional 4/6 CableCARDs appear limited to certain Comcast regions running Cisco/Scientific Atlanta gear with the MSO anticipating upgrade completion in October. Further, FiOS TV subscribers with pixelated content and Motorola cards numbered ######-002 should contact Verizon for replacement.

motorola-cablecard

More detail from the support note quoted below and, if nothing else, this should provide good fodder for TiVo’s FCC CableCARD complaint.

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Meet The TiVo Mini Me DTA

The Roamio isn’t TiVo’s only summer set-top launch, as Evolution Digital DTAs featuring the TiVo UI are now being made available to cable partners. This particular, diminutive DTA is HD-capable and the lower cost hardware can obviously be loaded up with TiVo — enabling operators to deliver a consistent experience to secondary televisions. Features of this … Read more

TiVo Roamio QWERTY Remote… Coming Soon?

Thanks to WSJ Live, via AOL ON, it looks like an upcoming TiVo Roamio Slide Remote has just been outed. The new IR/RF remote currently shipping with Roamio is getting something of mixed reviews, due to the exclusion of a learning function, as provided by prior TiVo remotes, and reduced range compared to the discontinued … Read more

WeaKnees Has The TiVo Roamio Antidote

After a mere 24 hours on the market, WeaKnees has delivered TiVo Roamio hard drive expansion. It may not come cheap, but the additional recording capacity certainly enhances the value of a new TiVo. And, perhaps amusingly, the TiVo Roamio Plus with 3TB of storage now clocks in at less than the stock TiVo Roamio … Read more

Opt Out Of TiVo Arbitration

After hearing from a couple of agitated TiVo customers regarding a change in terms, I fired up my Premiere Elite to the above message. In conjunction with Roamio’s launch, TiVo took the opportunity to update their Privacy Policy and User Agreement. And the sticking point, for some, is the new “class action/jury trial waiver” clause. … Read more

Three TiVo Roamio Surprises

Thanks to a stellar network of sources and community sleuthing, we pretty much nailed the TiVo Roamio ahead of launch. However, TiVo did manage to surprise us with one very significant upcoming feature and two other interesting points. Your TiVo Is Your Slingbox! The higher-end 6-tuner TiVo Roamio Plus and Pro models will take their integrated Stream capabilities on … Read more