As TiVo does, they fire off feel-good news (for investors) along most quarterly earnings calls – to possibly soften the blow of continued subscriber defections. Today, they’ve announced a deal in which Google will be mining our TiVo commercial viewing (er, skipping) behavior to enhance their television advertising initiative. Yawn. Much more interesting, via a release late to the wire, is news that TiVo will be re-entering the UK television market in a big way, by partnering with Virgin:

TiVo will become the exclusive provider of middleware and user interface software for Virgin Media’s next generation set top boxes. Virgin Media will become the exclusive distributor of TiVo services and technology in the United Kingdom. Virgin Media currently anticipates its first TiVo co-branded product in 2010.

In other partner news from the call… The fabled, new DirecTV TiVo hardware will indeed launch next year. And, in my opinion, surely juice TiVo’s subscribers numbers. Although no specific timeline has been provided. The Comcast and Cox TiVo initiatives continue to sputter along. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if either, or both, cable providers pull the plug at some point.

Lastly, something perhaps previously alluded to by a TiVo employee on Twitter and something I’ve been scouring the FCC records for, “a new keyboard remote control” is under development. Which could be related to the re-upping and expansion in 2009 of their 2005 RFID remote patent application for personalized viewing experiences. But we remain in the dark regarding the mysterous wireless access point.

Over at EngadgetHD, Ben Drawbaugh lays out a case (and wishlist) for the imminent release of new stand-alone TiVo DVR hardware. Given the recent TiVo price drops, upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, and long gestation period since the last hardware refresh (Summer, 2007), it’s not an unreasonable proposition.

However, when it comes to tru2way, the cable industry as a whole isn’t quite there yet. CableCARD separable security was federally mandated, whereas the vision of a universal tru2way infrastructure is merely an unenforceable memorandum of understanding amongst many industry players. Who blew right on past their self-imposed deadline. So any new (imminent) stand-alone TiVo box would either need to forgo tru2way capabilities or remain operable in non-tru2way cable environments.

As far as CES is concerned, I get the sense that TiVo fears any big product announcement would be overshadowed amongst thousands of other companies vying for attention. In the years I’ve been attending, TiVo’s CES presence is usually understated — they’re tucked away off the show floor, in a back room conducting mostly invite-only briefings/meetings. Also, if TiVo isn’t prepared to begin shipping new hardware within a few weeks of a show product announcement, they’d potentially cannibalize TiVo HD sales while customers wait it out. And given timing of the new, super-powered Broadcom chip announcement, I don’t foresee it being implemented anytime soon. (Not that this is/was known to be a TiVo Series 4 component.)

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Looks like Roku and the Xbox 360 won’t be the only set-top boxes making the jump from 802.11g to the faster, further 802.11n spec this fall. While I’ve been scanning FCC filings lately, trolling for something specific, a new TiVo wireless adapter wasn’t on my radar. Fortunately, the Engadget team is  a more thorough and frequent FCC visitor, digging up TiVo’s upcoming 802.11n wireless access point (AN0100). Most of the good stuff, such as external photos and the user manual, are held back under a short term confidentiality request, so we find ourselves with more questions than answers. But that’s never stopped me from speculating…

My TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD each communicate with my home network via TiVo’s very own 802.11g USB wireless adapter. And the solution just isn’t fast enough to copy HD content from one TiVo to another for real-time progressive download playback. So, I assume one goal of this product is to improve the situation by pushing video faster over 802.11n. Which would also enhance Amazon VOD and Netflix HD playback for many.

Additionally, TiVo’s multi-room viewing (MRV) copying has got to go as the cable-cos are locking down their television programming with a CCI byte value designed to limit the number of digital copies. (I’m dead in the water for transferring anything other than local broadcasters on Cox Communications, as is Alex of TiVoBlog.com with Time Warner.) Given the increased bandwidth of a 802.11n solution, TiVo should feel more comfortable pulling the trigger on a software update which enables true MRV streaming, like Windows Media Center or Moxi, thus bypassing the cable restriction — no additional copies would be produced. (And this may be a bit more than idle speculation on my part… I recently came across a comment on the TiVo Community suggesting streaming is in the works. The author is not a TiVo employee, but he’s extremely knowledgeable in these things. What made the post memorable was the fact that it was quickly deleted for reasons unknown.)

Lastly, by going with an access point over a simple wireless adapter, TiVo would be able to eek out better network performance using an Ethernet connection rather than USB — due to their current hardware design. Additionally, access points should allow customers to effectively extend the range of their wireless infrastructure by building out a TiVo mesh network. Pairs (or more) of pre-configured wireless access points (aka bridges), can also easily communicate with themselves, requiring minimal user intervention as seen with Vudu and Sonos. I’d like to see a pair of these going for about $100, with additional units running say $60. And I’d like to see them this year. Make it so, TiVo.

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Announced in March, Blockbuster video on demand service has just landed on Series 2 and Series 3/HD TiVo units. It’s a good move for Blockbuster as they struggle to find relevance beyond their declining brick & mortar existence. (And their prior, somewhat solo foray into this space didn’t turn out so well.)

Typical digital movie pricing and rental terms apply to Blockbuster VOD on TiVo. However their content selection is somewhat limited (see the “New Releases” above) and “quality [is] on par with DVD.” Although I’m told both the library and video quality options will see improvements “in the short-term.” Until then, there’s little reason to give up TiVo’s superior (HD-capable) Amazon VOD offering.

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As I mentioned yesterday, the cessation of TiVo multi-room viewing (MRV) and ongoing SDV tuning adapter resync annoyances has me playing the field. Over the years, I’ve known a few people running Scientific Atlanta’s 8300HD line of DVRs. I haven’t used one in a couple years, but the issues that bothered me then are still in play on the unit I’ve rented from Cox. (Something like $26/mo including an additional outlet fee).

In many ways, SA’s SARA software sort of feels like a pre-TiVo, pre-ReplayTV DVR. Except those were the first. And you’d think the DVR experience would have evolved in some way over the last ten years. Yet the pixelated graphics, aliased text, and an inability to pause/play without an interstitial black screen sure seems like an alternate history unit from the mid 90s. Also, maybe it’s an option I just couldn’t track down on AVS, but I found the 4:3 UI on a 16:9 screen somewhat jarring and wasteful – I’ve got the space, use it.

Having said that, the 8300HD (actually, it’s an 82*0) does what it should. It’s not as polished as most other DVR experiences, but the retro visuals belie some fairly sophisticated recording options. Perhaps more importantly, it opened our household to the world of OnDemand programming – which is inaccessible from retail one-way CableCARD devices like TiVo. Content may be king… and we enjoyed most of HBO’s True Blood, Season 2 over a few days without needing a Season Pass.

Stay tuned for additional coverage as my experimentation continues… I’ve got a drill and an RF remote. I’ve also got a Slingcatcher. And Ceton’s upcoming Windows Media Center M-Card tuner, coupled with extender hardware, looks promising.

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As some of you may recall, I recently moved across the Potomac from Maryland into Virginia. In addition to picking up a new stand for our plasma, we also inherited a new cable provider. With a new set of challenges. I’ve mostly come to terms with that multi-hour CableCARD install ($30 per set) and general, ongoing switched digital video (SDV) tuning adapter flakiness in making the transition from Comcast to Cox Communications. The real frustration the last few weeks has been the near total loss of TiVo Multi-Room Viewing (MRV) and TiVoToGo due to my cable company’s misguided attempt at copy protection and TiVo’s technical implementation.

This isn’t a new issue. Just new to me. We’ve seen all sorts of blogosphere copy protection flareups and Alex over at TiVo Blog provided an even-handed description of the situation earlier this year. Basically, cable providers have the ability to selectively flag digital content to restrict DVR copying. It’s not THE broadcast flag, but it’s A broadcast flag. The “CCI Byte” value embedded within a broadcast determines what DVRs, such as TiVo, are permitted to do with the content. Anything other than a “Copy Freely” value will be prohibited from TiVoToGo or MRV copying, as you can see from TiVo’s support note on the topic:

0×00 – Copy freely – Content is not copy protected. This is the only CCI value that allows content to be transferred via multi-room viewing (MRV) or TiVoToGo™ transfers

0×01 – Copy No More – Internally, TiVo DVRs treat this the same as 0×02

0×02 – Copy Once – The DVR can make a recording, but can’t transfer it via MRV or TiVotoGo transfers.

0×03 – Copy Never – the content can be recorded and viewed for 90 minutes after transmission, and is not transferable. Content disappears from the Now Playing list after 90 minutes.

Where I, and many Time Warner Cable and Bright House customers, find themselves is a “Copy Once” purgatory. Pretty much anything beyond basic cable, think OTAs, can be recorded onto a TiVo but is prohibited from being transferred beyond that one unit. (This will also restrict Windows Media Center new-found DRM “freedom.”) TiVoToGo was an expendable service for me at this point – I rarely used it, other than periodically loading up on shows prior to a flight. But MRV has been a huge loss. The value of my TiVos has been greatly diminished. (Stay tuned for a followup post on that point).

As I see some inconsistencies in how the CCI Byte is being applied by Cox, I reached out to both TiVo and the cable industry (NCTA) for some backdoor assistance. However, both were dead ends. At least they knew what I was talking about. I seriously doubt the first tier phone agents would have any knowledge of this digital copy protection scheme (and supposedly there are only a few dozen CableCARD TiVos active in this Cox franchise.)

A better implementation for TiVo’s MRV, and what we see with Windows Media Center and Moxi in the retail space, is an extender model in which shows are streamed to another node in the home rather than copied to another device. Similar to what Verizon (FiOS TV) and AT&T (U-Verse) have also implemented within their whole-home DVR initiatives. End users get to watch what they’ve paid for, and the content owners need not worry about piracy. I’ve got no idea if the overly secretive TiVo, Inc. is retooling MRV to address this copy protection issue their end-users are struggling with. But, as a frustrated subscriber of both TiVo and Cox, I sure hope so.

I’ve always held a somewhat skeptical view of the industry’s bold OCAP and tru2way proclamations. Which is why I find Glenn’s recent comment notable:

Given how poorly this worked, I’d be starting to tone the death knell for OCAP/tru2way at this point. The cable industry missed the self-imposed July 1 deadline, and by quite a bit at this point. Given that I don’t see any more tru2way ready TVs coming out this Christmas do you? I assume the electronics giants are going to start renegging on their end as well. And with that tru2way will die a well deserved death. The bad news is that this will also mean the rumored Tivo Series 4 won’t be coming to a retailer near you any time soon either, and we’ll all be stuck with these stupid rebooting tuning adapters for the forseeable future. I think the whole cable industry is going to be overwhelmed by the coming “Over the Top” video revolution myself.