Archives For TiVo

TiVo Desktop To Receive Imminent Refresh?

Dave Zatz —  February 6, 2013 — 22 Comments

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After years of neglect, will TiVo Desktop computer software finally see a refresh? If TiVo’s new homepage graphic is any indication, it does indeed appear their whole home solution may shortly expand beyond the television and iPad. In addition to its existing TiVoToGo download capabilities, one might assume an updated TiVo Desktop would stream DVR recordings from Premiere to PC via the TiVo Stream ($129). Although I imagine many of us would prefer TiVo Stream Android capabilities ahead of Windows.

Also divined from the company’s update web imagery, Tim Tebow’s contract as the face of TIVo obviously extends beyond the 2012 holiday sales season… despite feeling the need to launch a support page disavowing his religious views:

TiVo employees, partners, and associates are made up of a diverse array of personal views. TiVo does not endorse the personal views of any individual.

(Thanks Philip!)

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One Bazillion TiVo Deals. And Counting.

Dave Zatz —  January 23, 2013 — 35 Comments

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TiVo’s launched a veritable smorgasbord of promos this month. Perhaps it’s simply a matter of increasing their bottom line and subscriber count during a traditionally soft post-holiday retail season. And additional customers would surely bolster their burgeoning analytics business (and look good for the February earnings call). Or maybe the goal is to reduce inventory ahead of potentially new DVR hardware. Regardless, we can’t recall a time that we’ve seen such a large number of simultaneous deals out of TiVo.

New customers can pick up any Premiere DVR model for $50 off, with service clocking in at $15 a month. Alternatively, one could pick up a refurb 500GB TiVo Premiere for $0 down, with a two year subscription requirement running $20/month. Former subscribers, or those with inactive DVRs, are being encouraged to breathe new life into those mothballed units with Lifetime Service:

As a former TiVo customer, you’re eligible for an exclusive offer: For just $49 you can sign up for a special One-Time Service Extension plan and never pay another cent for TiVo service. Take advantage of this amazing, limited-time offer today!

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Existing Series 2 and Series 3 patrons who haven’t yet made the jump to Premiere can also get in on some action via a number of “upgrade” offers (1, 2, 3), including a 4-tuner TiVo Premiere with Lifetime Service for $550 or dual tuner TiVo Premiere with Lifetime that runs $400. Additionally, as part of the upgrade process, it seems some are still given the opportunity to keep their older unit in service via a $99 PLS.

Nothing catch your fancy? Or maybe you don’t qualify? You should probably ring TiVo up and ask what they can do for you, as one forum member was offered a free accessory of his choosing along with his DVR purchase.

Whether or not any of these deals are compelling is for you to decide. As, frankly, the number of mathematical permutations in play make my head hurt. And who knows when TiVo’s next platform will arrive. Having said that, my knee jerk recommendation would be to instantly grab any Lifetime Service plans offered at $49 or $99.

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CNET Votes DISH Hopper with Sling Best Of CES

Dave Zatz —  January 16, 2013 — 25 Comments

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As they do each year, CNET convened to determine the Best of CES. From Editor-in-Chief Lindsey Turrentine:

Last week, about 40 members of the CNET editorial staff met in the CNET trailer in the parking lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center to vote on our official Best of CES winner. [...] Ultimately, we chose the Dish Hopper for our Best of CES award because of innovative features that push shows recorded on DVR to iPads.

Of course there’s tons of compelling new technology at CES and whittling it down to a single show representative is quite challenging. Yet, having spent time with the DISH Hopper, we too came away impressed… as it’s quite possibly the most powerful and most versatile DVR ever produced. And it’ll surely end up in more homes than our CES favorite, the Lenovo Table PC.

The new DISH Hopper with Sling builds upon the success of their highly regarded first gen Hopper, retaining consumer-friendly features of automagically recording prime time network programming and then skipping commercials during playback — it’s got the studio’s panties in a wad and may cost DISH dearly when it’s time to renegotiate those carriage contracts. But they seem to relish a good fight. And perhaps that’s why they’re showing no fear in further risking the wrath of content providers by incorporating Slingbox technology… Continue Reading…

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TiVo iPad App Tells You "What To Watch"

Dave Zatz —  January 11, 2013 — 12 Comments

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UPDATE: The TiVo 3.0 iOS app is now live.

The second screen invasion is upon us. And TiVo continues to iterate on their very fine companion app. Next up is a reformulation of content discovery. While both the TiVo Premiere and current iPad app provide curated Collections, TiVo tells me the engagement hasn’t been as significant as hoped. Yet they still see great value in providing this sort of intel to subscribers and intends to move suggestions front and center this spring. The 6 “What To Watch” columns will appear when opening the app and consist of both linear and over-the-top content, as you can see from the two included screengrabs. And, like Verizon’s “What’s Hot” app feature for those seeking inspiration, the TiVo app update presents trending live programming culled from subscribers.

From the press release:

TiVo users are immediately presented with the programming they would most enjoy without surfing channels or browsing a guide. “What to Watch Now” combines the viewer’s preferences based on viewing history and assesses live programs airing within the next 30 minutes against real-time, regional viewing trends and user-defined preferences, to offer tailored entertainment recommendations categorized by genre, in an easy to use format.

It’s probably safe to assume “What To Watch” will hit iPad and iPhone mobiles ahead of Android. But TiVo did indicate Android support will be arriving for TiVo Stream this year. And the hold up may have partially been related to effectively securing content on that platform, with TiVo now in a better place given current levels Android 4.0+ penetration.

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TiVo Mini Set For Spring Launch, Service Fee In Tow

Dave Zatz —  January 8, 2013 — 103 Comments

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TiVo’s been talking up their DVR extender about a year, since it was first introduced last February as the IP-STB. And while we didn’t get the 2012 retail launch we were hoping for, TiVo tells me we’re on track for a spring launch. The Mini I groped at CES doesn’t look all that different from the product we perused last May at The Cable Show, but it presumably offers a much more polished experience streaming live television and recordings from a 4-tuner TiVo Premiere DVR. In fact, TiVo cable partner Suddenlink has already begun to deploy the Mini to customers.

tivo-mini-portsI’m told the Mini contains 2GB of local storage dedicated to hosting the TiVo OS/experience and handling whatever caching may be necessary. Performance seemed pretty sprightly over their in-suite MoCA connection, but I’d expect at least a little lag when changing channels or queuing up content. Interestingly, I get the sense that the apps available to TiVo Premiere DVRs may not be fully duplicated onto the Mini. Assuming I’m reading the tea leaves correctly, I wonder if that’d be a contractual or technical issue. The remote mated with the Mini looked a whole lot like the discontinued TiVo Slide, but I’m not sure we can draw any conclusions from that and would expect a traditional peanut to ship. Continue Reading…

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