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TiVo releases big new DVR… ho hum

March 3rd, 2010, 2:14 pm by

Noted: Pioneering DVR company TiVo has updated its devices but many in the industry are saying Ho Hum.

The new TiVo Premiere adds a wider-screen menu to fit HDTVs better and also offers shortcuts and a powerful search function that hunts down videos on YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand or Blockbuster On Demand. And there’s a nifty remote with a QWERTY keyboard inside.

But other then that, there aren’t too many changes from the last upgrade. Technologizer laments the lack of video-on-demand, access to online TV site Hulu.com, and a TiVo that works with all TV services, including satellite.

While over at Zatz Not Funny, Dave Zatz writes, “The TiVo Premiere isn’t the home run I was hoping for. In it’s current form, and for potential upgraders, the Premiere basically offers the same core features of a TiVo Series 3 or HD.”

Two versions are available beginning April: the TiVo Premiere, with 320 gigabytes for $299.99; and the $499.99 TiVo Premiere XL,  with 1 terabyte, a backlit remote and THX-certified audio and video technology. As before, the box supports cable TV and Verizon FiOS users, but not satellite TV or AT&T U-verse.

Other key features: It supports E-SATA technology to users can add an external hard drive if they run out of storage space. It also uses the faster Wireless N Wi-Fi connection.

As more consumers ponder about cutting down their monthly TV bill by looking for cheap TV viewing online, TiVo won’t help much with that. Besides the upfront cost, there’s a monthly $12.95 fee for service even if you opt for basic broadcast TV service. If you want regular cable channels, you’ll need a limited cable TV subscription and a CableCARD. Plus you’ll still need broadband Internet, which can be another $30 to $50 a month. Netflix, Amazon and Blockbuster also charge for online rentals.

Read more about the new boxes and see more photos at TiVo’s site: TiVo Premiere, press release, official video

More reviews:

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Microsoft sues TiVo on behalf of AT&T U-verse

January 20th, 2010, 2:45 pm by

TiVo logoNoted: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that TiVo just got slapped with a lawsuit of its own. By Microsoft, no less.

Microsoft, which provides the software that runs AT&T U-verse set-top boxes, intervened on a dispute between AT&T and TiVo. Microsoft is willing to settle the dispute with licensing agreements and has attempted to talk with TiVo, says the paper.

UPDATED: TiVo just issued its statement on the Microsoft suite: “”Microsoft’s recent legal actions, including its decision to seek to intervene on behalf of its customer, AT&T, and its recent complaint against TiVo in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California do not bear on whether the AT&T products and services that are the subject of TiVo’s complaint infringe the patents asserted by TiVo. Rather these actions are part of a legal strategy to defend AT&T. We remain confident in our position that AT&T will be found to infringe on the TiVo patents asserted.”

As some consumers know, TiVo has been suing companies that have a DVR that offers users the ability to pause, rewind and record live TV. Dish Networks has been in a long patent dispute with TiVo, sometimes losing, sometimes winning.

TiVo went on to file infringement suits against AT&T and has said it would go after anyone who may be violating its patents.

Read more: Microsoft Sues TiVo in Attempt to Defend Partner AT&T (Wall Street Journal)

Older stories:

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Cox’s special TiVo adapters now available in O.C.

November 27th, 2009, 8:10 am by

Cox working with Motorola on TiVo adapter.UPDATE, 11/30/09: Cox confirms the tuning adapters are now available at Cox stores in Rancho Santa Margarita, Quail Hill and Laguna Niguel.
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After what was an apparently successful test run, Cox Communications has begun rolling out a special adapter for customers who prefer to record cable TV using a TiVo rather than a Cox recorder.

Thanks to reader Roger Elliott who spotted the message on the TiVo forums, Cox notified users this week that “Tuning Adapters are now available and are being offered to Cox Orange County and Palos Verdes / San Pedro Digital Cable customers with a CableCARD in a TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL digital video recorders at no charge.”

I’m still waiting to hear officially from Cox. I’ll post any update here.

If you’re among those affected, another reader Michael Taube encourages you to get your adapter today. In an e-mail, Taube said this after getting his adapter:

“Well, I reviewed every single blessed HD channel Cox offers, now that I have my free, trusty Motorola Tuning Resolver (MTS). The picture quality on ALL HD channels is simply amazing! It makes my previous HD reception look positively awful. Please urge your TiVo audience to run, don’t walk, to their nearest Cox store to obtain their MTS. It makes a HUGE difference!”

Without such a device, TiVo users who rely on CableCARDs are unable to get several channels.

Since cable companies have limited space in the cable pipes to a customer’s home, they are trying to find new ways to squeeze more channels in the available space. Cox is using “switched digital video” technology to free up its broadcast stream for new HD channels. But it means some channels turn to on-demand status, making it impossible for CableCARD users to tune in.

The majority of customers probably won’t notice the change to switched digital. There could be a slight delay when selecting a switched channel, but just like an on-demand movie, the channel should tune in quickly. To see the channels affected, read the earlier story, “Cox moving 100 channels to on-demand format.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | 10 Comments »

11 things a DVR should do

November 19th, 2009, 3:25 am by

DVR with Broadcom inside can do 12 things that others can't.Not all digital video recorders are created equal. But there’s no question these DVRs, or TiVo’s, or new fangled VCRs or whatever you want to call them have changed the way many of us watch TV.  If you have such a device, do you even remember what it was like when you couldn’t pause and rewind live TV?

But being consumers, we want more. More storage space, more content, more options. Thing is, more is out there but many of us have no access to these DVRs. But what is more?

I posed the question to Broadcom Corp., the Irvine designer of DVR silicon chips. What should a DVR be able to do these days? Plenty, the company tells me. Here’s a list of what Broadcom DVR chips can do. Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean that DVRs with Broadcom chips have all these features enabled. But this is just a list of what is available today.

11 things a Broadcom DVR can do:

Number 1 stock artUse home Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth or MoCA to connect to other devices in the house. You probably know what wireless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and wired Ethernet are. The newcomer is MoCA, which uses existing coaxial cable running through the house to send high-definition video signals between devices. It’s one way to avoid ripping up walls and installing fiber-optic cables.

Number 2 stock art Enable a Multi-room DVR so households can skip a second DVR at home. All shows are stored on one box, which can be accessed from any room with TV and receiver (i.e., a standard set-top box for most users). Multiple people can watch the same show at the same time on different TVs and pause or rewind without affecting anyone else’s playback. Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse offer one and Cox Communications plans to offer one before the end of the year.

Number 3 stock art Stream content from your cell phone. Record a video on your phone that you want to watch on the big-screen TV? It’s been possible for a few years. Thanks to Digital Living Network Alliance technology, such DLNA-enabled cell phones or computers can stream digital content from one device to another. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | 8 Comments »

Cox moving 100 channels to on-demand format

November 13th, 2009, 1:28 pm by

Cox CableBeginning Nov. 25, Cox Communications in Orange County will roll out a new technology that will change how viewers watch 100 channels. Most won’t notice a difference but a small number — less than 1 percent — won’t be able to see the channels at all. (Thanks to reader TiVoGirl for the tip.)

In a letter mailed to customers this week,  Cox said it is migrating to the Switched Digital Video platform, which is one way cable companies can offer customers more channels. This opens up space for Cox to offer more HD channels. I’ll get to those new channels in my next post. UPDATE: And here’s that post: “Cox adding 15 HD channels in December.”

Cox, like other cable providers, is operating at maximum channel capacity. It can only air a certain number of channels 24 hours a day. But some channels take up more room than others — one analog channel occupies the same space as about 12 to 15 digital channels. Switching those analog channels to digital is one way for cable companies to free up space. This is what Time Warner is doing (see story: Time Warner makes room for 100 HD channels, kicks out others“).

The other method is by moving to switched digital video, which converts channels to a type of on-demand-only service. Customers still use their remotes as normal, turning to the channel they want. The majority of customers won’t notice the change — only, I’m told, a slight delay when they turn to a switched channel. But customers who don’t have a set-top box and rely on CableCARDs won’t be able to access the channels. Alternatives for these users are below.

“Switched Digital will allow us to maximize our network capacity, enable increased HD channels and entertainment options in the future. For example, now we have over 400 HD programming options [hours] and we continue to launch more HD channels,” said Cox spokeswoman Lana Ong. (Corrected at 4:45 p.m. Ong says she meant to say 400 HD hours of programming is available.)

Here are the affected channels — 100 in all: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 21 Comments »

Cox to begin testing TiVo adapter this week — only in O.C.

October 28th, 2009, 2:31 pm by

Cox working with Motorola on TiVo adapter.Cox Cable will begin testing this week a brand new Motorola device to help TiVo users access all the TV channels Cox offers.

A small handful of customers have been clamoring for such a device for months after realizing that they couldn’t get all the channels and video-on-demand options other customers do.

This only affects customers who use TiVos and CableCARDs, a small device that slides into a TiVo (or some computers and TVs) so the customer can skip the bulky set-top box. Customers with TiVos and set-top boxes are not affected.

According to Cox spokeswoman Lana Ong, TiVo has already pre-selected 50 Orange County customers to participate in the test. If all goes well, Cox will offer the free adapter to any customer sometime in late November.

I mentioned this Motorola test in early September (see “Cox O.C. will be first to test TiVo adapters from Motorola“). The test was scheduled to start in September but was postponed when Cox rolled out new video-on-demand software instead (see earlier story, “Cox fix for TiVo users delayed” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • | 8 Comments »

Cox finally coming out with multi-room DVR

October 23rd, 2009, 3:11 am by

Cox CableUpdate, 1:11 p.m.: Added a few more details about Cox’s upcoming service.

Cox Communications has confirmed that the elusive multi-room DVR is on target for an end-of-the-year launch. That’s right, in two months, Cox cable TV subscribers should have the option of a DVR that can be accessed from other rooms in your house.

“At this time we can’t talk about specifics yet, but our plans are still on target,” said Lana Ong, the local Cox spokeswoman who told me about the DVR’s 2009 launch.

I first heard about this device from Cox in March 2007 during a visit to its Rancho Santa Margarita headquarters. At the time, Cox officials were just exploring new cable TV technologies. See my earlier story, “New TV tricks from your cable company.”

EXTRA: Got a question for Time Warner Cable? Get it answered. Click HERE

Now, 2.5 years later, Cox could be the first Orange County cable company to offer the multi-room DVR. (Sorry, Time Warner customers — no updates are available on when we will get ours although the company had said it plans to have one this year.) Nationwide, Cox did announce earlier this year that it will offer a multi-room DVR, but no updates have been offered. The news today is specifically for customers in Orange County. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cox fix for TiVo users delayed

September 25th, 2009, 12:02 pm by

TiVo logoThe local Cox Communication delayed plans this week to be the first company wide to roll out the first Motorola- TiVo adapters. Cox was busy unveiling new software for its video-on-demand service. Cox now hopes to offer the TiVo device in Orange County before the end of the year.

That leaves some TiVo users without access to on-demand movies and shows, plus any channel that has been turned into an on-demand channel.

Because of a change in technology, TiVo users who rely on CableCARDs are unable to request on-demand shows without this adapter. This change doesn’t affect TiVo users who have a set-top box from the cable provider.

Cable companies are moving to the new switched digital video technology in order to use the pipe to a customer’s home more efficiently. By reducing the number of nominal channels streamed 24/7, a cable company can add new high-definition channels to the stream. The other channels are still there, but only broadcast when requested by the subscriber. To watch those, a TiVo user with a CableCARD will need this new adapter.

“We’ve maxed out on bandwidth,” said Lana Ong, spokeswoman for the Rancho Santa Margarita cable provider.

Earlier stories on TiVo and switched digital technology:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • | 16 Comments »

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