Dave Zatz alerted me to the fact that TiVo seems to have taken down the “official” TiVo blog (http://blog.tivo.com). In my opinion, this is a lost opportunity for TiVo Inc. Corporate blogs are great way for a company to communicate with their users. The official TiVo blog could have been a big success if TiVo Inc. would have put some time into the blog. I’m kind of surprised that TiVo has shutdown the blog considering the fact that I’ll beat there are TiVo employees who would have been willing to take part in the blog. Also, wasn’t the TiVo ambassador supposed to contribute to the blog? In any case, it probably is better that TiVo shutdown the blog if their not going to maintain it. R.I.P official TiVo blog. It was fun while it lasted…..

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As a side note, I would like to thank Jason 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 Jason. It really is appreciated!

When TiVo KidZone was first released I thought it was a great feature however, at the time of its release I really didn’t have a use for it. A year and a couple months later I now find TiVo KidZone extremely helpful. My 2 1/2 year old son now knows how to turn on the TV and I’m pretty sure he even knows how to use the remote. We don’t allow him to watch TV whenever he wants to but, being a 2 1/2 year old he sometimes turns on the TV without our permission. That being said, I decided to enable TiVo KidZone on both my Series 2 and Series 3. As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s a lot of junk on TV that isn’t appropriate for a 2 1/2 year old. If possible, I’d like to prevent my son from seeing something that he shouldn’t. Thanks to TiVo, I no longer have a TV in my house that isn’t “protected”.

I especially like how KidZone groups all of my son’s shows together and how he only has access to the programs that are appropriate for his age group. I also like how it blocks “Live TV” that isn’t appropriate for him to see. Another nice thing about KidZone is that it is easy to deactivate whenever I want to watch TV.

If you have small children, I highly recommend that you give TiVo KidZone a try. TiVo has done a nice job developing this feature. Check it out if you have a child in your house. I’m sure you’ll be pleased….

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As a side note, I would like to thank Brian 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 Brian!

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference. Such is the case with TiVo Desktop 2.5. Version 2.5 introduced a new feature that allows you to automatically import transferred and transcoded files directly into iTunes. For me, this feature is more important than being able to playback DivX files or Vista compatibility (I don’t currently own a Vista box).

Auto importing TiVoToGo files has me excited mainly because it has greatly improved my experience with TiVoToGo. Prior to Tivo Desktop 2.5, I use to have to periodically tell iTunes to scan the directory where TiVoDesktop saves my TiVoToGo files (Files –>Add Folder to Library…). This was a hassle and often times I would end up not having a show on my iPod simply because I forgot to tell iTunes to re-import the directory. Now with 2.5, I don’t have to worry about re-importing my TiVoToGo directory on a periodic basis. TiVo Desktop 2.5 transfers, transcodes and imports into iTunes all of my favorite shows. All I have to do is simply plug my iPod in so that I get the latest videos.

Nice job TiVo Inc! Maybe you do read this blog (I mentioned that TiVoToGo files should be automatically imported into iTunes in a review of TiVo Desktop Plus version 2.4).

Todd Spangler has posted an interesting analysis of the catch-22 that TiVo has found itself in. In his article, Todd has come up with a couple of ways that TiVo can survive this dilema. Read on for more information.

Ever since the start of this blog I’ve been saying that TiVo needs to partner with a cable company. Hopefully the upcoming Comcast & Cox partnerships will help bolster TiVo’s position as the number one DVR on the market.

Chris Pew of webtvhub.com has posted an interesting poll in which he asks the question: “What do you dislike about Amazon Unbox On TiVo?”. Chris has also posted another poll on TiVoCommunity in which he found out that ~44% of the respondents where unhappy with Amazon Unbox on TiVo.

Personally, I’m rather happy with Unbox on my TiVo. I watched a show the other night and the quality was pretty good. The only thing I don’t like is the fact it sometimes take a while for the shows to download. What do you think about Unbox on the TiVo? Head on over to webtvhub.com and let Chris know.

Here’s a link to a NYTimes podcast in which David Pogue grades many of the internet features which are available on the Series 2 & Series 3 TiVo.

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.

Stephen Mack (Director of Service operations at TiVo) has put together an interesting post on his blog in which he talks about the TiVoToGo Mac slipup. It’s worth a read if your interested in TiVoToGo on the Mac.

Scheduling and estimating for any project is an inexact science. Issues come up, things happen, people underestimate, bugs occur. TiVo has seen its share of missed deadlines. (Although we never seem to get any credit for the countless software and hardware and service releases that occur on time.)

Recently, Wired Magazine included us on their “vaporware” list for TiVoToGo for the Mac. There are a lot of TiVo employees who love and use Macs, and all of us want to see this released soon. It’s fair to say this is late, since we announced it for mid-Summer of 2006.

I’m not close to the project, so I don’t know when it’ll be ready. But Jim Denney, a VP I work with, wrote a good explanation of what’s going on. I agree with the philosophy that we should never announce a release date until we’re 100% sure that we can hit that release date. And given the lessons of the esteemed Fred Brooks, usually the only time you’re 100% sure is when it’s ready to be released.

Thanks Steve for taking part in the conversation and for providing us with this information. It’s great to see that TiVo knows there is a problem….

I’m personally interested in the whole TiVoToGo Mac thing since I’m probably going to buy a MacBook sometime in the near future. Please keep us updated if you/when you find out more.

The other day I noticed that the “TiVo Showcase” section is almost entirely made up of ads. Is it just me or does it seem like the TiVo interface has become inundated with advertisements? For example, TiVo now has advertisements throughout the interface including ads incorporated into TiVo Showcase and ads when you delete a program (did I forget any other places?).  I remember the days when you would see one or two ads throughout the entire interface! When do the ads take away from the experience and has TiVo already crossed the line?

In TiVo’s defense, they’re definitely not the only company doing this. In fact, it’s almost impossible to visit a website or use a product that hasn’t incorporated some type of advertisement. Hell, this site has its fair share of ads so I guess I shouldn’t say anything. There definetly is a place for advertising I just have a tough time dealing with it when I’m already paying for TiVo service on a monthly basis.

What do you think? Are you happy with the ads or do you want TiVo to stop adding new advertisement “features”?

I know I’ve blogged about this before but I can’t help mention the fact that the “official” TiVo blog hasn’t been updated since August! In my opinion, the only thing worse then not having a blog is having one that isn’t updated regularly. Come on TiVo, update the blog and let us know what your plan is for the future…