Earlier today I was browsing through my TiVo RSS feeds when I stumbled upon this post. In the post, the author talks about an experience he had with a DirecTV customer service rep. Essentially the rep told him that he was going to be shipped a new TiVo however, when the “TiVo” arrived it was actually a DirecTV DVR. According to another customer service reps, DirecTV actually uses the term “TiVo” as a generic term for a DVR.

After twenty or thirty minutes I had successfully ordered the unit and waited patiently for the unit to arrive. I talked to the installer and asked how long it would take to install the TIVO and he said it would only take ten minutes or so. This evening I arrived at home to check out the new install only to learn it was a DirectTV branded DVR.

Has TiVo lost their brand name? In fact, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard somebody use TiVo as a generic term for a DVR. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest issues facing TiVo today. Without a brand name, you’re just another box of Kleenex. Back in 2004, TiVo had tried to defend their trademark however, I’m not sure how successful the campaign really was. After all, how do you prevent somebody from using your company name in a generic way?

In no way am I trying to say that other DVRs are equivalent to TiVo. Without a doubt, I think TiVo is the best DVR on the market. In fact, I always correct somebody when they use the term TiVo incorrectly. All I’m trying to say is that TiVo needs to be aware of the risk they face and how this could ultimately hurt the companies’ image.

DVRPlayground alerted me to a new TiVo HME App (?) which allows you to control HomeSeer devices from the comfort of your couch. According to the HomeSeer website, this plugin provides the following features:

The opening screen has Locations (devices), Events, and Favorites. Use the configuration screen provided with the plug-in to filter which locations and groups can be used, and which devices and events appear on the Favorites screen. Using the familiar TiVo® remote control buttons, navigate to a location or group, select a device or event, and then control the device or run the event - all from the convenience of your favorite DVR watching chair! The system uses the new HomeSeer Device Control API so there are almost no limits on what devices can be controlled - thermostats, remote controls, devices with buttons, devices using status/value pairs, it does it all!

It’s great to see that others companies are developing TiVo HME Apps. Now if only we could get an update on HME so that other third party developers would feel as though the platform isn’t dead and that TiVo plans on supporting it in the future.

It’s unfortunate however, AOL (the parent company for Weblogsinc) has decided to retire some of their niche blogs to include PVRWire.com. In a little over a year and a half PVRWire has truly become one of best PVR/DVR news related websites.

I wish all of the bloggers from PVRWire the best of luck and I look forward to reading what they have to say on this site as well as some of the other TiVo/PVR websites that are out there…

We all remember the tragic death of James Kim and all that his family has endured.  Well, Dave Zatz and TiVo’s Director of TiVoCast (Stephen Mack) have come up with a great idea to help support the Kim family.

Here’s how it will work…  For every $10 that you send to Dave’s PayPal account (davezatz AT yahoo DOT com), Dave will include you in a drawing for a limited edition TiVo toaster (donated by TiVo). Along with the money that Dave gathers in his PayPal account, Dave has also said that he will donate his December Google Adsense income to the cause.

This is a great idea and I wish I came up with it. If you haven’t already, send Dave some money. Not only will it be for a good cause but you also get a chance to win a limited edition TiVo toaster.

Apparently this is the week of TiVo videos. In this video, Jim Denney (TiVo Vice President, Product Marketing) talks about a couple of things including the recent Rhapsody partnership as well as the TiVo Comcast partnership.

Taken from Technology Evangelist, spotted on TiVoLovers.

CNET has posted a wonderful video on their website where they give a rather complete demo of the upcoming Comcast/TiVo DVR. I’m really impressed with how this DVR appears to work. I especially like how you can tell if a show is broadcast in HD directly from the “Find Program” menu.

If you’re a Comcast customer, are you planing on upgrading to the TiVo DVR option once it is available in your area?

Spotted on Gizmodo.

Hat Tip: GearLive.

Tonight (Sunday) is one of the best nights to watch TV in high definition.  Two of my most favorite shows (Desperate Housewives & 24) are both broadcast in HD.  In order for me to watch both of these shows in HD I have to forgo the benefits of my Series 2 TiVo and watch both shows live.  Unfortunately tonight, 24 is on from 8 -10PM and Desperate Housewives is on from 9 -10PM.  As you can see, it’s kind of difficult to watch both shows at once.

A keen reader would suggest that I pick up my cable company’s DVR so that I could record both of these shows at the same time in HD.  The problem with this solution is that my cable company (Time Warner) doesn’t offer Fox or ABC in HD.  In fact, I’m currently only able to get CBS and ESPN in HD (how sad is that). In order for me to get the most HD possible, I’ve gone through the hassle of putting up an antenna so that I can get both Fox and ABC in HD for free. As far as I know, the DVR that Time Warner has to offer isn’t capable of recording over the air (OTA) HD (my assumption is correct, right?).

This dilemma has made me start to think that the $800 Series 3 TiVoisn’t such a bad deal.  If I had a Series 3 TiVo, I could record both shows at once using my antenna.  Without the Series 3 TiVo I am forced to watch one show live and record the other one using my somewhat antiquated Series 2 TiVo.  I know that this isn’t that big of a deal for most people but, for a geek like me who is totally obsessed with HD it is a big deal. 

Has anybody else encountered a situation similar to mine?  How well does the Series 3 TiVo handle OTA HD content?

My good buddy Dave Zatz just put up a post about the Comcast TiVo DVR. Dave was one of several bloggers who was lucky enough to go to CES and cover the show directly from the floor of the event. Dave’s posts turned me onto a number of interesting things about the Comcast TiVo DVR.
Here’s what I think is most interesting:

…deployment is slated to begin this Spring

So here’s how it works… You let Comcast know you want to upgrade your DVR to TiVo, they flip a switch, and your current Motorola box (6412 or 3412) downloads the software. Reboot, and voilà you have TiVo

So here’s how it works… You let Comcast know you want to upgrade your DVR to TiVo, they flip a switch, and your current Motorola box (6412 or 3412) downloads the software. Reboot, and voilà you have TiVo

The new TiVo software is written entirely in Java and runs on TV Navigator middleware, a precursor/subset of OCAP

….the new color-coded grid guide looks great and includes picture-in-picture (PIP can be paused!), plus the software includes advanced search functionality not yet available on the stand alone TiVo models. Further, both search and Wishlist scan OnDemand programming which will be quite useful.

….networking is not active in the initial release: No Home Media Options (as in no sharing photos & music from computer, no multi-room viewing) and no Internet-based services such as TiVoCast or Yahoo Weather

Check out Dave’s post (which includes screenshots) if you are interested in finding out more about the Comcast TiVo partnership. It really is a great read for anybody who is interested in this partnership.