TiVoLovers recently received some information from Lou Jacob (DVRupgrade.com) which indicates that TiVo has plans to discontinue the Series 3 TiVo some time in the near future.

I wanted to give an update on our plans with the TiVo Series3 HD DVR. A successful implementation of the $200 rebate through the holidays has drained supply at a faster rate than anticipated. This has caused a continued component shortage that cannot be rectified for several months (4-6). Due to this parts supply situation, we have made the difficult decision to accelerate the EOL of this SKU and focus all efforts on the recently launched, lower cost TiVo HD DVR (TCD652160). Our sincere apologies for the short notice on this decision. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I’m honestly not that surprised by this news. On a number of occasions I’ve questioned whether or not the Series 3 was worth the higher cost when compared to the TiVo HD. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that the Series 3 isn’t a great DVR (I own one). All I’m saying is that most people don’t care about the added features that the Series 3 has to offer. With that being said, I truly believe that it’s in TiVo’s best interest to discontinue the product and place more of an emphasis on the TiVo HD.

What do you think? Are you disappointed with TiVo’s decision?

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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!

Just the other day, Stephen Mack (Director of TiVoCast operations) announced that TiVo has added the Alaska Podshow Podcast as a TiVoCast channel. The Alaska podcast looks like a great show especially if you are interested in the outdoors or in what Alaska has to offer.

There is more to Alaska than Eskimos, igloos, and angry rabid grizzlies. The Land of the Midnight Sun enters the digital age with host, Scott Slone.

As always, you can subscribe to the Alaska Podcast via TiVoCentral online or by accessing the following menu item on your TiVo: TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies -> Alaska PodShow Podcast.

Yesterday, TiVo announced that Symantec has bought an advertising spot within CNET’s weekly TiVoCast program. While this isn’t necessarily great news for the consumer (after all, who really likes advertisements?) it definitely is good news for TiVo Inc. Acquiring advertisers for the TiVoCast program should put a little extra cash in TiVo’s wallet. I wonder how many other companies will start advertising using the TiVoCast system?

Gold Star Sponsor to Utilize Interactive Tags, Program Placement during CNET TiVoCast(TM) Interactive Ad Solutions Target Fast-Forwarding, VOD Viewers

ALVISO, Calif., Jan 24, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator and a leader in advertising solutions and television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), announced today that Symantec, the maker of Norton security software, has signed on as the first advertiser to sponsor Interactive Advertising during CNET’s TiVoCast program. As a sponsor, Symantec will utilize TiVo’s Interactive Tags and Program Placements for the Norton product line within CNET’s popular weekly 15-minute TiVoCast program, which provides viewers with the latest news and reviews in technology and consumer electronics.

TiVoCast delivers — with ease and free to TiVo subscribers — broadband video content on the PC directly to the television sets and living rooms of TiVo subscribers through the Showcases area on TiVo Central, the main menu of the TiVo service. TiVoCast provides users with an extensive variety of viewing content via the internet to choose from, including content from: CNET, The Onion, The New York Times and Break.com among others.

CNET viewers can click on a “thumbs-up” during the program to obtain more information about Norton products while being able to easily return to the exact place in the program they paused viewing. These tags provide advertisers with an efficient way to reach a live, time-shifted or fast-forwarding audience and to offer viewers further engagement through opt-in requests for more product information.

“These are exciting times for TiVo as we witness our interactive ad solutions gain momentum throughout the media industry and expand beyond linear television to include nontraditional distribution channels such as TiVoCast and Video on Demand,” said Karen Bressner, Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales at TiVo. “It seems apropos that the first TiVoCast Interactive Tags are appearing during a program that highlights how technology is evolving and impacting consumers. Symantec utilizing TiVo’s ad solutions during a ‘downloadable program’ enabling them to reach interactive viewers who prefer to control their own content.”

“TiVo has presented us with a new way of reaching consumers in an ‘on demand’ world,” said Sally Jenkins, Senior Director of Consumer Marketing for Symantec. “By embedding engaging interactive tags into the popular CNET program we will drive qualified traffic to our site and enable consumers to learn more about how to stay secure on the Internet by using Norton products.”

The Interactive Tags and Program Placement will direct consumers to a branded Norton Showcase on TiVo which includes long-form content and a special offer. Additionally, Symantec will promote their Norton products including the award-winning Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008, in Gold Star Sponsorship’s and Program Placement within TiVo.

Originally spotted on TiVoLovers.

A user on TiVoCommunity.com recently announced that they’ve published a software developers kit (SDK) for the .NET framework. If you’d like, you can download this SDK directly from Google Code.

It really is great to see that people are still working with the HME SDK. I’ve said on number of occasions that TiVo should update the official SDK in hopes that it might generate even more software development from third party developers. After all, what’s better than “free” software development?

CrunchGear.com has published a video of the Comcast TiVo interface which “officially” launched in the Boston area yesterday. Unfortunately, CurnchGear doesn’t provide an “embed” option so you are going to have to head on of to their site if you want to watch the video…

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As a side note, I would like to thank Bob 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 Bob! I hope you enjoy your new TiVo!

Jaman and TiVo have formed a partnership whereby TiVo users will be able to watch Jaman’s catalog of independent and international films directly on their TiVo. According to the press release, TiVo subscribers will be able to rent and purchase Jaman films starting at just $1.99!

Jaman Internet Movie Service to be Available on the TiVo(R) Service

ALVISO, Calif., and SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan 17, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — Jaman.com, a leading Internet movie service, and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced that TiVo subscribers will soon be able to access thousands of American independent and international film titles directly from the TV screen via their TiVo DVR. The service will be available in the coming months to broadband-connected TiVo Series2(TM) and Series3(TM) subscribers. Viewers will be able to browse and select from Jaman’s premier library, featuring internationally-acclaimed titles such as Oscar-nominated “Paheli,” “Loverboy” (Sundance) with Kyra Sedgwick, “All About Lily Chou-Chou” (Berlin International Film Festival) and Dardennes Brothers’ “La Promesse” (Cannes/Toronto), helping to open up a new world of content to TiVo subscribers.

TiVo and Jaman’s relationship significantly expands the number of independent and international titles available to TiVo subscribers while providing a perfect complement to TiVo’s popular Amazon Unbox offering, which currently boasts thousands of movies and TV shows. The combination of high-definition content from Jaman, with the convenience and familiarity of TiVo’s intuitive interface, will provide users with the ability to discover and enjoy films from around the world.

“By capitalizing on TiVo’s vast big-screen user experience, we’re making it even easier for people to discover, browse and enjoy our catalog of high definition, edgy and award-winning films on their TVs,” said Jaman’s CEO Gaurav Dhillon. “This venture cements our position as a leading online provider of movies, offering unique and original content that viewers can’t find anywhere else.”

The relationship with TiVo extends Jaman’s broad cross-platform leadership with support for set-top boxes, PCs, Macs, SanDisk’s TakeTV and DivX. It also illustrates the continuing emphasis TiVo is placing on providing unique broadband services to their customers. Whether it’s thousands of movie and TV shows from Amazon Unbox, or millions of songs available through Rhapsody, TiVo lovers have more ways than ever to get great content on their TiVo DVR.

“We’re delighted to introduce the availability of Jaman to our TiVo subscribers and we think it’ll prove to be an exceptionally popular addition to our already robust broadband offerings,” said Tara Maitra, Vice President and GM of Content Services at TiVo Inc. “This joint alliance significantly increases the selection of international and award-winning movies made available to TiVo subscribers, giving them more choices and easy access to premium content not available elsewhere.”

With Jaman on TiVo, viewers will be able to both rent and purchase films starting at $1.99, with a number of shorts and full-length films that are available to download for free. Visit http://www.jaman.com to check out the vast library of movies that will soon be available on TiVo DVR. TiVo boxes are available at leading consumer electronic retailers including Best Buy and Circuit City. See http://www.TiVo.com for details.

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

GearLive has published a video demo of TiVo Desktiop 2.6. Unfortunately, the embedded version of the video is currently not working however, if you’d like to see the video you can download it directly from here. Check it out and let me know what you think of TiVo Desktop 2.6 which is expected to be released in March ‘08.

According to TVPredictions, TiVo’s CEO (Tom Rogers) has said that Comcast plans to rollout the TiVo Comcast DVR service in a “methodical” fashion.

TiVO CEO Tom Rogers today told investors at a Citigroup sponsored conference that Comcast’s plan is to be “methodical.”
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He added that Comcast plans to test market various packages before rolling out the service nationally.

While this obviously isn’t good news for anybody who would like to get their hands on a Comcast TiVo DVR, I completely understand why Comcast and TiVo are taking their time with the rollout. In my opinion, it’s better that they take it slow and get things right as opposed to rolling out the service throughout the entire country and there being problems.

What do you think?

TiVo has added yet another program to their growing lineup of TiVoCast content. Just today, Stephen Mack announced that Garage 419 has been added as a TiVoCast channel.

Taken from Garage 419’s about page:

Garage 419 exists for those car enthusiasts who want more than just the typical car review. Opinion-based commentary: no restraints on what can be said and head to head debates with guys who actually know what they are talking about; all automotive - no fluff. We tell you how it is without letting the politics get in the way.

You can subscribe to Garage 419 via TiVoCentral online or by accessing the following menu item on your TiVo: TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies -> Garage 419.

Update 01/14 @ 4:31 AM (my son’s not sleeping): MZ has updated TiVoLovers with more information about CES.   Check it out if you are interested in what TiVo showed at CES.

Update 1/13 @ 3:00PM: Dave Zatz has published more information about 2.6. According to Dave, 2.6 will allow you to subscribe to video podcasts directly from within the TiVo interface (kind of like what you can already do with TiVoCast). The content will be broken down into categories so that it is easier to find (something I’ve complained about in the past). TiVo Desktop 2.6 is really shaping up to be a nice release. I’m looking forward to March when it will be released so that I can get rid of my current setup.

Update 1/8 @ 12:33 PM: MegaZone has posted several screenshots along with more details about this new feature. I think it is really cool how TiVo is planning on implementing XMPP as their communication protocol. In some ways this is more exciting than the video poodcast feature itself. Great job MegaZone!

Update 1/7 @ 8:47PM: Both Dave Zatz and Engadget have posted some screenshots of this new feature.

PC World is reporting that TiVo is set to announce a new version of TiVo Desktop Plus which will allow you to subscribe to video RSS feeds (ie: video podcasts) directly from within the TiVo Desktop interface (kind of like what I’ve done here). The new version is expected to be released in March ‘08.

Other than that, there really isn’t a lot of details just yet. I’m sure we’ll find out more once MegaZone wakes up :)…

TiVo customers will be able to subscribe to video content from RSS feeds, ranging from network news to “indie” content from web shows like Ask A Ninja. Recorded Web video will appear in the Now Playing List along all recorded TV content. High-res Web videos will remain preserved in their original resolutions when viewed using TiVo Series3 or TiVo HD DVRs. The recorded internet video will be available both for television viewing and also, as an extra option, in a desktop folder.

PC users will need TiVo Desktop Plus 2.6, a new update to the Windows-based TiVo software that converts video for viewing on portable media players. The software update won’t be available until March, and it will cost new users $24.95, but will come as a free upgrade to existing subscribers. Mac users will need Roxio Toast 9 in order to use the new web video functions. Roxio’s new software will be available in March, as well.