Amazon Instant Video Arrives On iPad

At long last, Amazon has brought their digital video service to the iPad. And, presumably, iPhone access isn’t far behind. Amazon Instant actually consists of two distinct tiers, and both are available via the new iPad app. Perhaps the most familiar these days is Prime Instant Streaming, which is similar to Netflix or Hulu Plus in … Read more

The TiVo Lunchbox Giveaway

I was recently reminded of a fun souvenir TiVo gave out to employees in honor of “Blue Moon” a few months back. This Friday, March 30, 2012, will be a vacation day for TiVo employees. Why? Because it’s Blue Moon Day! The fourteenth Blue Moon day, in fact: Thirteen years since March 26, 1999, when the world’s … Read more

RCN Pressures TiVo For More Apps Spotify, Twitter, Facebook?

TiVo partner RCN posted a fairly meaty state of the union on DSLReports today. Not only does the cable TV provider cover plans to possibly support the upcoming TiVo Stream and IP-STB along with the release of a refreshed VOD experience featuring a sleeker HDUI look and video previews, RCN talks apps: We have pushed VERY hard … Read more

DISH Modifies Prime Time Anytime & Auto-Hop (To Defuse Broadcaster Wrath)

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DISH Network has rolled out an update to their well received Hopper DVR that, among other things, seems to respond directly to broadcaster concerns of an unlicensed on demand service that has led to a multitude of lawsuits.

If you recall, the Hopper incorporates a consumer friendly Prime Time Anytime feature to automate the recording of prime time network programming, with shows retained 8 days. Building upon that functionality, DISH then introduced Auto Hop commercial skip functionality… which, of course, the broadcasters did not respond well to.

To possibly head off or limit the pending legal action, DISH has tweaked both these services to require a bit more user interaction and to enable more granular control.

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Logitech To Introduce Skype TV Cam HD

If the FCC and this promo video are any indication, Logitech is poised to unveil a new television-based video conferencing solution. However, unlike their previous entrants into this field, the TV Cam HD doesn’t rely on Logitech’s video conferencing software (like Google TV) or a tricked out television and offers a stand-alone Skype solution — something … Read more

Roku Locks Out Third Party International Channels

One of the most compelling features of Roku, and why they’ve been relatively successful as a scrappy startup, has been their open platform — enabling just about any person or group to produce a video streaming app. Well, fun time’s over. And, apparently, DISH offered Roku enough cash to lock out third party International and … Read more

TiVo Expands Advertising & Analytics Initiatives

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While TiVo rarely generates positive cash flow via DVR subscribers, they’re sitting on a healthy war chest via patent litigation victories. So why not drop $20 million cash on New York-based TRA to expand their media research services (and patent portfolio)? From the announcement:

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), a leader in the advanced television entertainment market, today announced that it has agreed to acquire TRA, Inc., maker of the first and leading platform with the world’s largest database that directly links information from the same households as to what viewers watch with what they buy. TRA matches television exposures from 1.5 million TV homes with specific purchase transactions. The acquisition is expected to create a powerful combination of insights that will offer the TV advertising industry Internet-level measurement and accountability accelerating TiVo’s position in the billion dollar television analytics business.

According to the New York Times, TRA has had “27 cable and broadcast networks and 45 different advertising brands” on their roster during its five year existence (yet it’s not clear how many are still in play). T.R.A. originally resolved into “The Right Audience” … but will conveniently morph into “TiVo Research and Analytics” when the deal closes later this month. Interestingly, the Times pegs TiVo as a “television analytics company” — which is a bit like calling Apple an iPod company. Yet ,TiVo had been an investor in TRA and presumably the company will find synergies among the new and existing audience measurement tools (like Stop|Watch) along with their respective client rosters.

Meanwhile, across the pond,

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Ceton Q DVR Pushed To 2013?

It’s been some time since TiVo’s had some competition in the retail DVR appliance space. And Ceton looked poised to join the fray this year. The Ceton Q DVR was expected to arrive in 2012 containing a whopping six tuners, powered by a single CableCARD, two terabytes of storage, and a Blu-ray drive. Ceton has announced upcoming Holiday … Read more