So the title above is my bold prediction. Given the missing kickstart backdoor on the TiVo HD and the recent software update requiring external drives be pre-formatted with TiVo’s file system, I believe it’s a lock that we’ll see eSATA TiVo-branded drives for Series3 and TiVo HD units… And I believe we’ll see them populating … Read more
Bob Pony of TiVo Product Marketing dropped by the TCF last night with news that many of us had been hoping to hear: I wanted to let you know that development has been progressing smoothly, and all is well. You can expect TTG & MRV to be available for Series3 and TiVoHD this November. These … Read more
TiVo co-founder and former CEO Michael Ramsay has moved on according to the SEC paperwork filed yesterday: On August 30, 2007, we accepted the resignation of Michael Ramsay as a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Ramsay has been named to the post of Venture Partner at New Enterprises Associates, a leading Silicon Valley … Read more
Philips has announced it’s getting into the DVR software game. Apparently undeterred by the presence of TiVo, Microsoft, Verizon and Comcast/Gemstar, not to mention PC players like ReplayTV, the CE company has developed the Personal TV Channel. The software includes a program guide and recommendation engine for building a personal channel of favorite TV content. … Read more
Mom’s 32″ Vizio LCD
On the financial end, TiVo’s quarterly call yesterday was largely depressing. USA Today summarizes:
The digital video recorder pioneer said late Wednesday that it took an $11.2 million write-down in the quarter ended in July for leftover standard DVRs. […] The 18-cents-per-share loss far exceeded the 5-cent loss expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. […] TiVo added just 623,000 subscriptions in the last two years as the number of homes with DVRs grew 161% to 23.5 million, according to Leichtman Research Group.
Not much good news there… However, Megazone listened in and reports on the Comcast front:
one of the first things I noticed is that Comcast has agreed to fund further development of the OCAP software to bring it to additional platforms beyond the Motorola DVRs, including Scientific Atlanta DVRs. […] TiVo on Comcast is continuing to progress well and Comcast stated: “we will commence the TiVo rollout process shortly, which will continue rolling out throughout the fall in Comcast’s New England Division including metro Boston, Southeast Massachusetts and New Hampshire.”
After all this time, I wouldn’t have used the word “well” to describe their (slooow) progress. But I’m happy to hear a specific launch time frame and locale, though they neglected to mention pricing. Comcast needs to rapidly expand beyond the New England division if TiVo is going to capitalize on this arrangement. (And they need to.) Given Comcast’s extended development bankrolling (now SciAtl boxes!), that’s exactly what they must intend. (I wonder if Cox is paying for the same thing. It’s been a year… When will they roll out TiVo software?)
Megazone also picked up on forthcoming Amazon Unbox “progressive downloads” that can be watched as they are received. An interesting tidbit, but what they really need is HD content. Which TiVo must know… CEO Tom Rogers said yesterday that HDTV growth “progressed at a pace that surprised many in the industry, including us.”
DirecTV’s Internet-connected pay-per-view service is now in beta. Like Amazon Unbox on TiVo, a networked set-top box (HR20 in this case) can pull from a library of content via the Internet. Download speed is variable (obviously) but media can be played back while coming in, and some content does expire. Hit this DBSTalk thread for … Read more
WeaKnees (a ZNF sponsor) has acquired a bunch of refurb Humax DVD burning TiVo units (DRT400). They can be had with the stock hard drive for $49 after rebate. $100 more gets you up to 350 hours of SD recording (versus 40). We’ve been very happy with the larger-capacity DRT800 (now in the bedroom) for … Read more