TiVo’s Best Holiday Deal Rewards Cord Cutters

TiVo’s out with their annual Thanksgiving / Black Friday deals… and they’re way more compelling than what we’ve seen in recent years, despite TiVo’s usual poor presentation. For example, their refurbished $200 TiVo Roamio OTA represents a stellar value. Although you might not realize it because they don’t clearly communicate it includes Lifetime All-In service. We’re … Read more

TiVo Mavrik is an OTA Cloud DVR!

Along with the TiVo Mavrik leaks comes word that a new Android app is also en route… and, with it, the refreshed interface and confirmation of cloud storage for your local antenna television recordings! From the Amazon app description: This is a TiVo App that works as user interface for OTA Streaming, Diskless Cloud DVR TiVo Device … Read more

TiVo Mavrik Takes On Tablo For Television Streaming

tivo-mavrik

By way of TVPredictions we learn that TiVo recently passed a “Mavrik” trademark filing through the USPTO. Fortunately, a quick Google search turns up all sorts of goodies… including the photo above and the Mavrik configurator. Based on these supporting materials, including the smoking gun URL, it’s fairly clear that the unannounced, unreleased TiVo Mantis has gone through something of a rebrand. Perhaps they had an easier time picking up mavrik.tv (not yet live) or they just didn’t want us praying for a better solution. In any event, Sarah Palin’s sure-to-be favorite streamer looks to be something of a Tablo TV clone.

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TiVo Scales Back Retail Ambitions With Bolt Plus

From TiVo CMO Ira Bahr, 10/2015: We probably could’ve delivered a BOLT with two more tuners and a larger HDD and called it a family, but we knew that the market–and especially our loyalists–deserved much more. Look for something new next year, right on our normal three year cycle. From TiVo press release, 9/2016: TiVo … Read more

TiVo Unveils New Interface (before completing existing)

new-tivo-ui1

From a European tradeshow, TiVo has dropped a brand-spanking-new user interface. And personalization features prominently in this dramatic, dual-axis, re-envisioning of the TiVo experience. From a user-customizable quick menu in the upper left to an expanded Discovery Bar that surfaces relevant content, TiVo “designed this UX so the viewer spends less time searching channel guides and opening apps and more time enjoying their favorite shows.”

Some highlights:

  • Predictions – Beyond traditional recommendations, TiVo’s innovative new Prediction technology takes a user’s actual viewing habits and predicts the shows they most likely want to watch at that moment.
  • Customizable shortcuts – Users now have more control over their viewing experience with customizable shortcuts on the Home screen and the ability to favorite the apps they most frequently visit, giving them quick access to their content across platforms and providers.

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TiVo 3.0 Arrives

With Rovi’s acquisition, TiVo 3.0 has arrived. In the short term, we know there will be hundreds of (unfortunate) layoffs in the name of “corporate synergy” and shareholder value. Yet, while the current iteration of TiVo begins today, we won’t entirely know what this newly merged company is all about for another 12-18 months. Sadly, for ZNF … Read more

TiVo Mantis OTA DVR Slated for a CES Reveal

tivo-mantis-ota

While TiVo has seemingly given up on Aereo branding and an OTA-only Bolt, they’ve clearly still got eyes on the cord cutting contingent… as a TiVo Mantis has just passed thru the FCC:

TThe TiVO Inc. model TCD84A000 (Mantis) is a network DVR that is designed to receive OTA broadcast video and transcodes and send it out as a network stream either wired or wireless. The EUT incorporates an 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac transceiver.

Based on the description and limited ports (of Ethernet and USB) in its 5″ x 5″ x 1.5″ enclosure, the Mantis is more a headless Tablo or HDHomeRun-esque solution than a traditional DVR… as it lacks video output. Given the “transcode” I’ll go ahead and assume TiVo is working on Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV clients vs forcing folks into a TiVo Mini. Whether or not DVR storage is integrated, vs the competition’s bring-your-own-drive, remains to be seen. As does tuner count (I’d guess dual) along with pricing and associated fees.

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There will be no Wireless TiVo Mini, but 4K slated for 2017

I’ve long been a proponent of hub and spoke video distribution model and the 2013 TiVo Mini single-handily kept me in the fold. Dropping the TiVo extender’s service fee only sweetened the deal. However, I’ve long pined for a wireless iteration having been blessed with solid coverage – now cranked to 11 with eero.

Yet, it wasn’t meant to be as TiVo CMO Ira Bahr implies consistent performance and support could be an issue:

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