Maybe I got it right back in January… In Friday’s 10-K filing, Yahoo listed TiVo as a partner for their Go software initiative which includes PVR functionality. Thomas Hawk had some hand’s on time with an early version of the software at CES and came away impressed.

Hmmm… Yahoo apps on TiVo, TiVo apps on Yahoo… they’re getting quite cozy don’t you think? Is it too early to resume acquisition speculation?

Yahoo’s 10-K says: Yahoo! Go TV will bring the Internet to the PC-connected television screen. Yahoo! Go Mobile allows consumers to take the Internet services they use on their PC onto their mobile device in one simple, fully synchronized application. Yahoo! is working with companies including AT&T, Microsoft, Intel Corporation, Nokia and TiVo to bring these services to market. Yahoo! Go services are expected to be launched and accessible to our users in 2006 and are intended to provide a seamless connected experience for our users.

Yahoo press release says:

• Full Personal Video Recorder (PVR) functionality, including trick play features and access to the PC for storage of content
• Full TV tuning capabilities to control your TV channels

While it’s not quite the full length feature films I’m looking for, iTunes has been selling the five Academy Award nominated live-action short films at $1.99 each. Ten bucks for about 100 minutes of entertainment may not be a bargain (especially at only 320×240), but it’s an opportunity to see quality films we might otherwise miss out on.

BBC says: Made by some of the world’s most promising new film-makers, they range from 15 to 27 minutes long. The nominated shorts include Our Time is Up, a US film about a therapist who finds out he has six weeks to live, and UK entry Cashback, about a supermarket night shift worker whose imagination runs wild. The other nominees are from Germany, Ireland and Iceland. Carter Pilcher, chief executive of short film company Shorts International, said: “These are the hottest films on the coolest distribution platform.

Sounds like we won’t be seeing an Apple DVR any time soon… Though the mini’s digital audio output, FrontRow software, and upgraded Bonjour with video streaming foreshadow feature length movie downloads via iTunes.

USA Today says: “The Mini is small enough that people will consider adding it to their living room consoles,” Van Baker, an analyst at researcher Gartner, says. “The transition of bringing the computer into the living room won’t happen overnight, but this is a good first step.” Adding video recording functionality would have made the Mac Mini too complicated, says Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president. “We’re not trying to replace the TiVo,” he says. “This is about taking the media from your computer and accessing it via the TV.”

(via MacRumors)

TiVo’s booked the The Museum of Television & Radio to unveil a new initiative of important developments with some special guests tomorrow. In light of TiVo’s upcoming presentation schedule emphasizing VOD, I’m guessing we’ll see some sort of new content download service and partners formally introduced. Given TiVo’s past video trials with IFC and yesterday’s Comcast/IFC announcement to simultaneously release new films in theaters and OnDemand, it’s not much of a stretch to see a similar arrangement presented.

Thomas Hawk says:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA ADVISORY

TiVo TO UNVEIL NEW INITIATIVE
WHAT: TiVo is hosting a press conference to discuss important developments.
WHO: Tom Rogers, President and CEO, TiVo and selected other special guests
WHEN: Thursday, March 2nd at 11:00 a.m. ET
WHERE: The Museum of Television & Radio

Cisco, who recently announced the acquisition of cable set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta, lays out their IPTV strategy for eWeek. It’s not clear how or if their investment in MovieBeam plays into this. Five elements are nice, but will they leverage Scientific Atlanta’s assets into some sort of convergent Cisco-branded appliances — how about a IPTV DVR set-top box with built-in cable modem, wireless router, and VoIP functionality? I’m sure the cableco’s would love marketing that triple play device!

eWeek says: By leveraging the combined expertise of Cisco with IP, home networks with Cisco’s Linksys unit and now video, “we can deliver a better user experience with a platform to support many services to many screens,” said Paul Sanchirico, senior director of video and IP TV Network Systems Group at Cisco in San Jose, Calif.

In Cisco’s vision, there are five architectural elements required to deliver next-generation services that improve the user experience. Those include the connected home, where Cisco can now offer home gateways, routers and now set top boxes with Scientific Atlanta. The second element is the network; the third is the video head end, provided by Scientific Atlanta with satellite receivers, encoders and digital content managers. The fourth is a video control infrastructure and the fifth is Business Support Systems/Operational Support Systems. For BSS/OSS, Cisco intends to partner with systems integrators such IBM Global Services and Accenture.

Looks like Sling Media is trying to partner with cellphone carriers to host or market Slingbox feeds, but they’re not getting anywhere fast. With or without their cooperation, a Microsoft Mobile Slingplayer will be available in the near future. Buried within the article is an interesting stat… 100,000 Slingboxes sold.

Forbes says: “We have no immediate plans to run that service,” says Jeffrey Nelson, spokesman for Verizon Wireless, the country’s second-largest carrier. “What runs on our network are our services.” So why aren’t they rushing to hop on? Likely, because they’ve got their own video services to peddle.

Sling Media’s executives insist that the carriers will come along, soon. “We’re open to finding ways to partner with them,” says Sling Media Chief Executive Blake Krikorian. “This is a fantastic offering for them, it will drive sales of devices and high-speed services.”

I’ve had The 40-Year-Old Virgin at the top of my queue for over two months, during which time Netflix has failed to deliver. I’ve even resorted to cheap tricks in hopes of improving my situation. Either Netflix is throttling the movies I get or they just don’t have enough inventory. I’m not sure which is worse… penalizing an active customer or poor planning. And if it is poor planning, how come they haven’t seen the error of their ways and purchased more stock?

My fiancé thinks I’m throttling her movie selections in favor of mine. She wonders how it’s possible Battlestar Galactica DVDs continually arrive but her DVD selection never does. Seems a little suspicious, don’t you think? So I begged Netflix to restore harmony to my home and this was their response:
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