TiVo Archives - Page 112 of 149

Details on Digeo’s Upcoming Moxi DVRs

At CES, I sat down with Digeo CEO Mike Fidler for a briefing on their new retail strategy. In the second half of 2007, they plan to release two Moxi dual tuning HD DVR models. The units on display (shown above) were enclosure prototypes, with no actual working hardware.

The first Moxi box will tune digital cable programming via a multistream CableCARD (“M-Card”). Unlike the two CableCARDs (1.0) used by the TiVo Series3, the Moxi box will require just one M-Card for dual tuning. (I’m told the S3 is physically capable of M-Card support with a software upgrade.)

The second Moxi box forgoes the M-Card, in favor of clear QAM and over-the-air (OTA) dual tuning. This higher-end unit will incorporate a 5.1 audio receiver and is built on the “AMD LIVE! Home Cinema reference design.”

Solved: Mystery Of Missing Mac TTG DVD Theme

Roxio’s Mac TiVoToGo shipped last week… without the promised custom TiVo DVD menu theme. I pinged both TiVo and Roxio last week, but it took a little time to hear back with all the ongoing CES and Macworld nuttiness: Toast 8 ships worldwide with a single multi-lingual build and the menu styles are several MB … Read more

Lycos Sues TiVo, Netflix & Blockbuster Over Personalized Search

The Mercury News is reporting that on January 3rd, Lycos filed a patent lawsuit against TiVo, Netflix and Blockbuster over their use of recommendation technology. The article doesn’t give the exact patents that are alleged to be violated, but a quick scan of Lycos’ patent filings shows patents 6775664 and 6308175 as the most likely candidates.

Patent 6775664 was originally filed on Oct. 22, 2001 and describes a search method that uses a user feedback system to provide “collaborative feedback data for integration with content profile data in the operation of the collaborative/content-based filter.”

Patent 6308175 was filed on Nov. 19th, 1998 and according to the patent, it covers technology whose “filter system compares received informons to the individual user’s query profile data, combined with collaborative data, and ranks, in order of value, informons found to be relevant. The system maintains the ranked informons in a stored list from which the individual user can select any listed informon for consideration.”

In a relationship announced nearly two years ago, the Comcast TiVo is just about here and on public display at CES. (Rumor has it, they showed back-room demos for VIPs at the 2006 CES.) There were at least three Motorola 6412 units running TiVo software in the booth. Not only did I poke around on them, I had the chance to sit down privately with David Sanford, VP of Product Management in the Service Provider group — one of the guys behind this custom build. In addition to the obvious functionality questions, I was particularly interested in learning of the deployment mechanics and the technologies in play.

Deployment

The Comcast-Moto-TiVo is already in trials, and deployment is slated to begin this Spring. The roll-out will be managed by Comcast — they set the schedule within their various markets. (As in: not all regions are likely to get the TiVo option simultaneously.) While there are no details on monthly pricing yet (which I assume could vary by market), David tells me Comcast really wants to get this product out there and is planning to charge only a “modest fee.” (I’ll take a stab and guess a $5 – $10 increase over current DVR rental fees would cover licensing and allow Comcast to make a few bucks without sticker shocking customers.)

So here’s how it works… You let Comcast know you want to upgrade your DVR to TiVo, they flip a switch, and your current Motorola box (6412 or 3412) downloads the software. Reboot, and voilà you have TiVo — with prior settings and recordings preserved and no truck roll required. Your current crappy Comcast remote will control the TiVo software, but as part of the upgrade Comcast will mail you a custom Comcast TiVo remote (with new OnDemand, A, B, C, and D buttons).

Showstoppers

The Showstoppers event was held last night (Wynn), where a variety of (mostly) smaller companies set up shop. Not much caught my eye, though I ran into the Engadget, Gizmodo, and CrunchGear teams. (That’s Peter Rojas above, with Randall Bennett handling film duties on the right.) The food wasn’t as good as Digital Experience the … Read more

Mac TiVoToGo Is Here… By Roxio?!

Mac TiVoToGo is finally here, and it’s not at all what we expected. Mac TiVoToGo does not require the TiVo Desktop and has been entirely built into Roxio Toast 8 Titanium as a collaboration between TiVo and Sonic. Product Directors Amir Gharaat (TiVo) and Adam Fingerman (Roxio) got me up to speed last week during a conference call.

As we know, Mac TiVoToGo is looooong overdue so my first question was: “What happened?” If you recall, we saw an alpha version at CES last year which looks nothing like what they’ve just devliered. As I suspected, the main sticking point was TiVo’s inability to keep the media locked down (as they do using Microsoft DirectShow on Windows). After spinning their wheels with “content security issues” for awhile, they turned to partner Sonic for technical assistance last spring… and here we are!

Mac TiVoToGo (via Toast) is composed for four distinct functions: TiVo Transfer, Video Playback, DVD Burning, and Portable Conversions.

2007 In Preview: All Digital, All The Time

Yesterday, we took a look back at 2006 and concluded high definition reaching a critical mass was the story of the year. For 2007, instead of forecasting the obvious (everyone gets HDTV – for less, digital media is everywhere) or making a bunch of wild predictions (Comcast buys TiVo), Mari and I wanted to focus on two notable dates.

March 1

Come March 1, all televisions and “TV receiver equipment” produced must include a digital (ATSC) tuner. The reason this date is more significant (and more intriguing) than last years deadline to include digital tuners in large TVs is because it encompasses DVRs and placeshifting devices. In 2002 the FCC first proposed staggered tuner deadlines as we transition to DTV and published the final order (PDF) in 2005:

By this action, the Commission is modifying its rules to advance the date on which new television receivers with screen sizes 13-24″ and certain other TV receiving devices such as VCRs and digital video recorders must include the capability to receive broadcast digital television signals from the current date of July 1, 2007 to March 1, 2007. The Commission is also amending its rules to apply the digital television reception capability requirement to new receivers with screen sizes smaller than 13″ on this same schedule. The DTV reception requirement, which also often is termed the “DTV tuner requirement,” is being implemented under an approach that applies it first to large screen receivers and then progressively to smaller screen receivers and other devices over a period of several years. The modifications made herein affect the final step of this phase-in plan. With these changes, the scheduled implementation plan will provide for all new TV receiver equipment to include digital reception capability as of March 1, 2007.

Now there may be some wiggle room in this mandate…

2006 In Review: Higher Definition

Obviously the consumer electronics industry is huge and quickly evolving, so there are numerous products, services, and trends to reflect upon for 2006. Sure we could talk about Apple adding movie downloads from iTunes, the various mergers and acquisitions, PDA phones for the masses, etc… But for me, the real momentum was in the realm of high definition. (And “You” are not the person of the year.)

The major development was the plummeting cost of large screen HDTVs. Plasmas, LCDs, and DLP rear-projection sets all dropped while we simultaneously grew more comfortable with higher price points. When non-geeks have larger, better units than I do (as observed in 2006), it’s safe to say this technology has gone mainstream. (Although, not everyone knows how to get HD programming.)

Also in 2006, the next generation of optical disc technology was released in the form of Blu-ray and HD-DVD. However, neither supplanted DVD last year and it isn’t likely they will in 2007 — due to high prices and a fragmented market. Perhaps hybrid disc technology, such as Warner’s Total HD or LG’s offering, will change the landscape… but not last year and probably not this year.