TiVo

RCN TiVo DVRs Receive AOL On & New Games

While we missed out on timely TiVo Premiere Fall Update coverage, the fact that TiVo platforms are not updated in lockstep gives us an opportunity to circle back as RCN TiVo Premieres have just received AOL On and some new casual games… as the cable provider had requested. The four new games (displayed above, without icons) are powered … Read more

A Tale Of Two Spotifys: TiVo v Roku

Within a few days of each other, Roku and TiVo launched Spotify music streaming apps a month or so ago. While both apps appear to be missing Spotify Radio, the difference in launch speed is dramatic… yet representative of their respective architectures. As you can see from the video above, the TiVo Spotify app takes … Read more

TiVo Sets The Stage For Next Gen Digital DVR

In a recent filing, TiVo has once again has petitioned the FCC for an analog waiver. Unlike their prior request, which paved the way for the digital cable-only TiVo Premiere Elite/XL4/Q, this time around the company intends to restore over-the-air capabilities to at least one new DVR: This petition requests an extension of that waiver … Read more

Suddenlink Launches TiVo Mini

When we’d talked TiVo Mini at CES the company informed us that while retail launch may be a few months off, cable partner Suddenlink was in the process of rolling out the new TiVo extender. Now, just few weeks later, Suddenlink has refreshed their TiVo promotional pages to highlight the Mini as a core component of their “any-room” DVR. Of course, customers will also require the four tuner TiVo Premiere Elite/XL4/Q, as the hub for the Mini to receive both recorded content and hijack a tuner for live television. From the TiVo Mini Quick Guide embedded above:

Thank you for choosing the high-definition TiVo® Mini DVR companion from Suddenlink. With the TiVo Mini, you can watch live TV, search and browse for shows, watch shows saved on TiVoPremiere DVRs in your home network, enjoy Suddenlink Video onDemand, and more!

In terms of pricing, Suddenlink tells me that TiVo Mini rentals run $6 – $11/month, dependent on region… and perhaps package or bundle. As TiVo would be wise to avoid undercutting their MSO partners, I’d say this should give us an indication of where TiVo might price the retail variant of the “DVR companion.”

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TiVo Desktop To Receive Imminent Refresh?

After years of neglect, will TiVo Desktop computer software finally see a refresh? If TiVo’s new homepage graphic is any indication, it does indeed appear their whole home solution may shortly expand beyond the television and iPad. In addition to its existing TiVoToGo download capabilities, one might assume an updated TiVo Desktop would stream DVR recordings from Premiere to … Read more

One Bazillion TiVo Deals. And Counting.

TiVo’s launched a veritable smorgasbord of promos this month. Perhaps it’s simply a matter of increasing their bottom line and subscriber count during a traditionally soft post-holiday retail season. And additional customers would surely bolster their burgeoning analytics business (and look good for the February earnings call). Or maybe the goal is to reduce inventory … Read more

CNET Votes DISH Hopper with Sling Best Of CES

dish-ces-booth

As they do each year, CNET convened to determine the Best of CES. From Editor-in-Chief Lindsey Turrentine:

Last week, about 40 members of the CNET editorial staff met in the CNET trailer in the parking lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center to vote on our official Best of CES winner. […] Ultimately, we chose the Dish Hopper for our Best of CES award because of innovative features that push shows recorded on DVR to iPads.

Of course there’s tons of compelling new technology at CES and whittling it down to a single show representative is quite challenging. Yet, having spent time with the DISH Hopper, we too came away impressed… as it’s quite possibly the most powerful and most versatile DVR ever produced. And it’ll surely end up in more homes than our CES favorite, the Lenovo Table PC.

The new DISH Hopper with Sling builds upon the success of their highly regarded first gen Hopper, retaining consumer-friendly features of automagically recording prime time network programming and then skipping commercials during playback — it’s got the studio’s panties in a wad and may cost DISH dearly when it’s time to renegotiate those carriage contracts. But they seem to relish a good fight. And perhaps that’s why they’re showing no fear in further risking the wrath of content providers by incorporating Slingbox technology…

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TiVo iPad App Tells You “What To Watch”

UPDATE: The TiVo 3.0 iOS app is now live. The second screen invasion is upon us. And TiVo continues to iterate on their very fine companion app. Next up is a reformulation of content discovery. While both the TiVo Premiere and current iPad app provide curated Collections, TiVo tells me the engagement hasn’t been as significant … Read more