Todd Spangler of Multichannel News wrote a thoughtful piece summarizing TiVo’s challenge in reaching a critical mass:

It’s easier to get a DVR from your cable company. And most people prefer to rent, not own, a set-top. Indeed, most DVRs in use today are already supplied by cable companies, according to a Carmel Group study. TiVo’s survival depends on cable. Cable has limited incentives to see it succeed. Does TiVo have a way out?

For quite awhile I really felt like the Comcast deal would “save” TiVo by exposing them to millions of households and filling their coffers with software licensing royalties. But that was before the NY Times started writing about CableCARDs, before the new lower cost HD model was released (spotted for $258 at Circuit City), and before peace was made with DirecTV. With the change in DirecTV leadership, it looks like TiVo will even be providing software updates once again:

Launching in early 2008, the new software download will provide these customers with DVR enhancements offered with the TiVo service, including a Recently Deleted Folder and Overlap Protection(TM), as well as DIRECTV’s Remote Booking feature. In addition, DIRECTV and TiVo will continue to explore ways to bring future enhancements to DIRECTV customers with TiVo receivers.

Who knows where this renewed chumminess might lead? Todd is right in that TiVo needs partners (they’re fighting an unfair battle with companies entrenched in homes), but cable isn’t the only game in town… (and there’s more to the world than just the US).

PS All signs point towards a launch of Comcast’s TiVo software in New England this month. Stay tuned.

I think we’ll be starting a new column: If Money Grew On Trees. There’s quite a bit of interesting and useful tech out there… if only I had unlimited sources.

First up is the innovative DirecTV Sat-Go which bundles a DTV tuner, antenna, remote, and a 17″ LCD into a large briefcase for $1499. Without a doubt, this appeals to the geek in me but that price tag stings.

Since money doesn’t grow on trees (and I don’t live in a forest), here’s what the Sat-Go needs to command that fee. Instead of a 17″ LCD, I’ll need a 19″ - or at least give me high-definition! Second, I want to be able to subscribe to DTV without needing an existing in-home plan. While this is being marketed to tail-gaiting sports fans and campers, I think DTV has an opportunity to reach out to apartment/condo dwellers who may not be able to install external antennas or may not want to if they frequently move. So, as a member of that demographic, the current 27lb weight isn’t an issue but I’ll need some basic DVR functionality.

More info:

• DirecTV Sat-Go
• USA Today
• Digital Trends

It’s pretty amazing when you stop to think that the TiVo interface has been around since the 90s, yet the ease of use coupled with some powerful functionality still hasn’t been matched in a set-top box. So I’m always interested in seeing what others are planning…

Gemstar intends to release an updated personalizable My TV Guide next year:

designed to let TV fans track their favorite shows, channel or celebrities — and get personalized recommendations — from their set-top boxes, PCs or mobile phones. One of the concepts is to provide a more Internet-like experience for interactive program guides that let viewers more easily research what’s on TV, Gemstar-TV Guide vice president of product management Peter Kellogg-Smith said.

Additionally, Gemstar plans to beef up their online offerings and have signed deals to provide Verizon, EchoStar, and DirecTV web-based scheduling services.

Meanwhile, it looks like a Moxi usability study is being conducted to solicit interface feedback - perhaps in preparation for their upcoming retail DVR models:

There’s a paid study going on in Los Angeles for Moxi users with a broadband connection, between the ages of 18 and 55, especially those currently dissatisfied with the user interface. The study pays $150 cash for a home visitation that lasts just an hour and a half, Our client for this project is Ziba design. They are designing a new type of DVR/PVR and need feedback from existing users.

Comcast recently commissioned a study that concluded their HD picture quality is superior to DirecTV and Dish, following it up with full page ads in 15 newspapers and radio spots planned.

The study was conducted in March, with 309 subjects showed side-by-side images from DirecTV, Dish and Comcast on identical TV sets. To eliminate set bias, the HD signals were rotated among the sets. Subjects were shown various genres of programming from different networks. 66 percent preferred Comcast to DirecTV, and 70 percent preferred Comcast to Dish.

Dish has no comment, though DirecTV says: “While they’re making claims about their signal clarity, the methodology of the survey seems questionable at best.” Of course, neither Comcast nor the Sat guys have anything to say how their possibly compressed video compares to OTA.

(via Lost Remote)

One TiVo stockholder’s take… 

EchoStar responded to Judge Duffey’s order to show cause with a lengthy set of documents outlining their reasons for believing the various documents in question are immune from discovery. Generally they take the position that the documents are simply internal work product that was never communicated to EchoStar. Without access to the documents in question, we cannot comment on the strength of EchoStar’s position on these documents, however we do find their response regarding Document 88 to be quite curious. Document 88 is a set of handwritten notes taken during a telephonic conference call, about which EchoStar says:

When Merchant & Gould attorneys were retained to provide an opinion
regarding a patent over which litigation was pending, they had a
conference call with litigation counsel from Morrison & Foerster. The only participants in the call were Merchant & Gould attorneys retained to provide advice on legal matters related to the pending litigation, and Morrison & Foerster counsel representing EchoStar in the litigation. [ ... ] Document 88 was never communicated to EchoStar (in this form or orally), and it does not reference, describe, or disclose any communication with EchoStar.

EchoStar, then, appears to be taking the position that direct communication with the law firm they retained to represent them in the litigation is legally distinct from communication with EchoStar itself with respect to the that litigation. We doubt TiVo’s attorneys will see it the same way. We wonder if the judge will.

One stockholder’s take…

In the ongoing legal maneuvering over the disclosure of documents relating to the Merchant & Gould “Opinion Letter” (of non-infringement), Judge William Duffey of the U.S. Circuit Court in northern Georgia issued the following order on 3/22:

ORDER DIRECTING that Echostar and Homer Knearl SHOW CAUSE by 3/30/07, why the following documents should not be produced: MG PRIV 16, 27, 32-35, 37, 55, 68, 69, 72, 73, 75, 85, 88, 95, 105, 177, 179, 180, 271, 274, 276, 287, 291, and 305. Echostar or Knearl must state in detail for each document the privilege asserted, and the grounds for that privilege, including a description of the identity and role of each author, recipient, cc recipient, or bcc recipient of the document. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if any portion of the above documents was submitted to the Court in redacted form, unredacted copies be provided for in camera review by 3/30/07. These documents shall be marked in such a way as to allow the Court to discern easily which portions were previously redacted. Signed by Judge William S. Duffey Jr. on 3/22/07. (kt) (Entered: 03/22/2007)

The clarified rules of discovery issued by a U.S. Court of Appeals last year for this situation require documents to be produced to TiVo only if they were communicated by the law firm to the client (i.e., Echostar), or if they reference a communication with the client.

(more…)

On January 26th, in response to a TiVo motion to enforce his earlier order to deliver certain documents, a frustrated-sounding U.S. District Court Judge Duffey slapped the wrists of Echostar and “non-party witness” Homer Knearl, requiring them to sign pre-prepared affidavits that they had, in fact, complied with his order. Duffey accused Knearl and Echostar of playing “a legal shell game” and called their earlier responses “vague, equivocal, and qualified.”

TiVo has been seeking documents produced by Knearl and his former associates at the Merchant and Gould law firm that relate to a legal opinion of non-infringement that M&G gave Echostar in their patent dispute with TiVo. That opinion was not allowed into evidence at trial (primarily because of Echostar’s failure to deliver related documents under an earlier court order), and has now become a significant factor in Echostar’s appeal and TiVo’s counter-appeal.

(more…)

A periodic roundup of relevant news…

There’s only so much one can see and do at CES. Sadly, I missed out on catching the satellite TV and radio announcements up close and personal.

• Sirius unveils Backseat TV: Orbitcast
• DirecTV announces Sat-Go portable satellite TV system: Engadget
• VIP622 HD DVR introduced at Echostar press conference: LiveDigitally
• XM displays tons of “Mini-Tuner” car stereos: Orbitcast