Earlier today, Stephen Mack (Director of TiVoCast operations) announced that Quilters TV has been added to TiVo’s growing list of TiVoCast content. You can subscribe to this program either by heading on over to TiVo Central Online or by accessing the following menu item on your TiVo: TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies (we still need a better way to organize all of the TiVoCast programs).

Even though Quilters TV isn’t my kind of program, I’m happy to see that TiVo continues to add new content. Now if only we could get some Videocasts from Revision3. How about Tekzilla?

Earlier today, TiVo released their results for the third quarter which ended on Oct. 31st. The results contains a lot of news that we already knew about (Comcast TiVo, TiVo Canada, SDV dongle, NBC advertising deal & Nero partnership…) as well as one piece of news which Is completely new to me. According to the results, TiVo has plans to release a TiVo which will utilize CableLabs‘ OCAP standard.

“In addition, as a result of our constructive conversations, TiVo and the cable industry have come to an agreement on a blue-print for a retail TiVo DVR using the cable industry’s OpenCable Application Platform that will have full two-way cable service functionality. While the technical specifications are still being worked out, such a set-top box will mean TiVo subscribers will be able to get full access to cable VOD and other two-way cable services. This could also mean that a standalone TiVo offering could fully substitute for a cable operator set-top box. This understanding was communicated yesterday to the FCC through an ex parte filing by TiVo. We believe that this dialogue with the cable industry has been very constructive, and demonstrates the cable industry’s genuine desire to work with TiVo, not to mention the clear recognition that TiVo is an important offering for cable subscribers.

Does this mean that we will see a Series 4 TiVo? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. In any case, this is great news for the consumer. The inability to get VOD content has always been one of the biggest limitations of the Series 3 and TiVo HD. I’d love to see TiVo overcome this will an OCAP solution….

TiVo has announced that they’ve formed a partnership with Nero to release a PC based software DVR solution. The press release doesn’t provide a lot of information on when the software will be released or how much it will cost. My guess is that we might see something at CES.

“The partnership with TiVo extends the TV experience for the connected digital home, enabling easy access anytime, anywhere to the most extensive TV content,” said Richard Lesser, CEO, Nero AG. “Our core technology enables the creation of new categories in consumer electronics, changing the way that users interact with both hardware and software. Our proven technology adds media functionality to the world’s leading consumer electronics, personal computing and software products.”

Under the agreement, Nero will develop a software solution that will bring TiVo features to the personal computer. Capitalizing on the growing PC TV tuner market, it will answer the consumer demand for a trusted PC-based DVR experience for use with the estimated 50.8 million PC TV tuners that will be sold worldwide by 2011, according to In-Stat research report published in April 2007.

“This agreement provides TiVo with an opportunity to deliver its interface and differentiated feature set globally via the PC, enabling TiVo to use all avenues of mass distribution — from consumer electronics, to cable and satellite boxes and soon, the PC,” said Tom Rogers, President and CEO, TiVo. “We are thrilled to work with Nero, a highly successful leader in software solutions for the PC who has the ability to develop a state-of-the-art program centered on the TiVo platform that will bring the same personalized entertainment experience to domestic and international consumers on their personal computers.”

In my opinion, this is great news for TiVo. The software based DVR market is growing rapidly and it would be foolish for TiVo not to get their hands in on it.

What do you think? Would you be interested in a software based TiVo DVR?

Spotted on ZatzNotFunny.

A lot has changed since 2006 when I last posted a diagram of my network. Here’s how my network is currently setup. As you can see from the diagram, I have two TiVos (S3 & S2DT) which are directly wired into the network.

Earlier today, TiVo announced that the Series 2 DT TiVo will be available in Canada just in time for the Holiday season. Along with this announcement, TiVo has also published a new section on their website where you can find out more information about this launch.

“We’ve received overwhelming demand from Canadian consumers who want access to TiVo’s innovative products and services and we are extremely excited to be able to deliver our highly-successful TiVo Series2 Dual Tuner DVR to this key strategic marketplace — just in time for the holidays,” said Joshua Danovitz, Vice President and GM of International at TiVo. “TiVo’s move into Canada represents a natural, important progression for our business as we continue to make sustained progress across international markets.”

“We are committed to offering our customers with the most diverse selection of leading, highly-demanded consumer electronics available anywhere,” said Grant McTaggart, Senior Director of Merchandising, Best Buy Canada. “It is with great pleasure that we are teaming up with TiVo to bring their innovative products and services to our Canadian customer base.”

The TiVo Series2 DT DVR will be available in early December at major Canadian retailers including Best Buy, The Brick, London Drug and Future Shop for just $199 CAD MSRP plus standard TiVo subscription fees. TiVo will not be available in Quebec immediately. For more information on TiVo in Canada visit http://www.TiVo.com/canada.

Earlier today, TiVo and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) announced that a USB hardware dongle is in development that will allow both the TiVo HD and Series 3 to receive Switched Digital Video (SDV) content.

ALVISO, CALIFORNIA and WASHINGTON, D.C. — The cable industry and TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced that cable operators will next year introduce a new external adapter that will enable TiVo® digital video recorders that use CableCARDs™ to access switched digital cable channels without a set top box, according to National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) President & CEO Kyle McSlarrow and TiVo President & CEO Tom Rogers.
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The new external adapter will attach to TiVo Series 3 HD DVRs and TiVo HD DVRs to ensure the DVRs can directly access all digital channels including switched digital cable channels. The adapter will work on any Unidirectional Digital Cable Ready Product (UDCP) that has a USB connector and necessary firmware. The cable industry is working with TiVo to ensure that installation of CableCARDs and the adapter will be easy and seamless for the consumer.
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Cable operators will make the new adapters available for TiVo customers in the second quarter of 2008. Cable operators and TiVo will work cooperatively to alert TiVo customers about availability of the new adapter.

This press release is like music to my ears. The SDV issue has had me concerned for some time now. Maybe the most recent lifetime subscription offer isn’t such a bad deal after all :).
Thanks to everybody who sent this news tip in!

Which guide style do you use? I tend to stick with the Grid Guide style since it allows me to see upcoming programming for several different channels all at once. Does anybody out there use the TiVo Live Guide style? If yes, why do you prefer the Live Guide format over Grid Guide format?

OR

For all you newbies out there, you can access the Guide Options by hitting the “Enter” button while the guide is displayed on your screen.

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As a side note, I would like to thank Andrew for sending me two TiVo reward referrals. Andrew recently activated two TiVoHDs and he was kind enough to put me down as his referrer.  If you’d like to put me down as your referrer, all you need to do is enter my email address (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your TiVo. Thanks Andrew. It really is appreciated!

Amazon Unbox and TiVo have partnered up to offer a Thanksgiving movie special. For a limited time, you rent 30+ movies all at a discounted rate. Some of the movies are even available for $.99.

To get started, all you have to do is head on over to the Unbox website or navigate to the following menu item on your TiVo: TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies -> Amazon Unbox -> Thanksgiving Movie Sale.

Spotted on Zeigen.com.

Earlier today, John Kohl released Galleon 2.5.2. According the release notes, 2.5.2 contains two major bug fixes:

Version 2.5.2:
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* Fixed bug with GoBack truncating files after 2GB had been transferred.
* Fixed another CPU-spinning bug in the screen saver

It’s great to see that John continues to work on Galleon. In my opinion, Galleon is the best TiVo HME application out there. Go ahead and download your copy of Galleon if you haven’t already….

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As a side note, I would like to thank Andrew for putting me down as his TiVo rewards referrer. If you’d like to put me down as your referrer, all you need to do is enter my email address (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your TiVo. Thanks Andrew. It really is appreciated!

Thanks to a couple of DVDs that I created back in 2005, my son and I were able to watch Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer last night. I’m really glad that I took the time to create these DVDs since my son and I had a lot of fun watching this show. Tonight, we’re probably going to watch either The Grinch or Frosty….