It's been a long, messy road, but now that TiVo's beaten a victory out of EchoStar in that seemingly-endless DVR patent lawsuit it sounds like the company is trying to exert some muscle -- it's already in talks to bring its service to Time Warner Cable, and sources have told Bloomberg the ultimate plan is to eventually collect royalties from every pay-TV provider in the US. That might sound bullying and even a little trollish, but keep in mind these patents have withstood pretty much every legal challenge EchoStar could throw at them, so TiVo's operating from a position of some certainty here -- especially since it's got license agreements with huge players like Comcast and DirecTV to use as leverage in negotiations as well. Of course, none of this solves any of TiVo's actual problems with its products, and the company's topsy-turvy balance sheet has some analysts thinking its ripe for a buyout by one of the bigs, so things could change dramatically at any minute, but for right now it sounds like your chances of getting the TiVo interface on your cable or satellite company DVR just went up, and that's almost certainly a good thing.

Hmm, now isn't this interesting? Just months after Liberty Media reached out at the eleventh hour and rescued Sirius XM from imminent bankruptcy, it's now spinning off its entertainment division (Liberty Entertainment) and combining it with DirecTV (which Liberty already controls). We're told that the new Liberty Entertainment will hold 54 percent of DirecTV Group shares and 65 percent interest in the Game Show Network, not to mention three regional sports networks and a few other things not worth mentioning. The move is being made as the "John Malone-controlled vehicle looks to simplify its capital structure," and if all goes well, the paperwork should be completed by the end of the year. Oh, and so far as we can tell, DirecTV consumers won't even notice the shuffling going on behind the scenes.

We heard that the cable industry (or at least TWC and Comcast) could begin offering up a lot of pay-TV content to subscribers via the web by this summer, but frankly, we didn't believe it. But thanks to new quotes from Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes and DirecTV CEO Chase Carey, you can safely put us in the "believer" camp. Reportedly, TWC is looking to provide pay-TV content via the internet and even on mobile devices for no extra charge. Bewkes even noted that "everything on television should become available to [customers] on broadband for free," which is pretty amazing for a cable guy to say. DirecTV also seems kosher with the idea of giving in before customers simply jump ship, with its head honcho intelligently stating that "in the past, when a company tries to stop or block something from happening, it's usually failed." Oh, and this whole regime could totally be the shot in the arm mobile TV providers have been yearning for.

Read - TWC names TV-by-internet offering
Read - DirecTV following suit

Safe to say that satellite radio is far down the list of priorities for Uncle Sam's bailout bucks, so Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin pounded some pavement today, hitting up DirecTV and its parent company Liberty Media to try and save his bankrupted radio hydra. Apparently Smelly Melly isn't as hot for EchoStar owner Charles Ergan to buy Sirius XM out as was previously rumored, but there's a showdown brewing: Ergan's been busy taking control of Sirius XM's debt, so any deal with Liberty / DirecTV would result in feuding ownership interests. Making things even more interesting, it sounds like Ergan and Karmazin don't really get along, so this deal with DirecTV is basically his last shot at keeping his job. Desperate men do desperate things -- we'll see how this one shakes out.

Read - Reuters
Read - NYT

File this one in the category of "Oh, no they didn't!" Sadly, it seems they really have. DirecTV has sent out an email stating the following: "DirecTV has suspended the development of the HDPC-20 tuner project that was designed to integrate DirecTV service into Windows Media Center after assessing the impact of missing the August 2008 release of Windows Media Center update and considering timing of the next release." The note goes on to say that both the satcaster and Microsoft understand that folks are clamoring for an easy way to get DirecTV content on the PC, and that both companies are "continuing to explore ways to integrate DirecTV service with Windows-based PCs in the future." And to think, that hands-on we got late last month just might be the last you ever see of this promising little box. Why... just, why?

[Via Gearlog, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

The crew over at Engadget HD was part of a tour of the Microsoft eHome lab and was lucky enough to catch the un-announced DirecTV HDPC-20 in testing. Unfortunately Microsoft wasn't ready to announce any new products and even reminded everyone that things in the lab don't always make it to market. But despite this, we still have our hopes up that we'll one day soon be able to watch DirecTV HD on Windows Media Center.

[Thanks to Chris for the pic & everyone who sent this in]

So it's true -- hordes of DirecTV users weren't just dreaming about a glitch that required a painstaking reboot to start the week off. DirecTV has sent out e-mails to loads of affected users which were unexpectedly forced to mash the red "Reset" button located within a door on the front panel of their HD DVR / receiver in order to get things going again. Of course, even the mighty satcaster can't replace any missed recordings that were scheduled, but it is "sincerely" sorry for the inconvenience. You'll still be paying your full bill, though, so it's not that sorry.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Generally, we'd pass something like this off as just coincidence, but when over 95% of 1,000+ respondents confess to sharing the same issue, we simply can't turn the other cheek. It's assumed that DirecTV botched up a software update early this morning that affected a number of HR2X set-tops. Over at DBSTalk, the vast majority of readers who voluntarily took part in a poll affirmed that at least one of their HR2X units required a restart / reboot this morning. We know there's no real point in asking if you too were affected, but that aside, what was DirecTV attempting to send down? The world may never know.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We had to pinch ourselves and check to see if it was April 1st, because after three years of hearing TiVo fans complain that DirecTV killed off the HD DirecTV TiVo on its move to MPEG4, the satellite company has finally listened. TiVo and DirecTV announced today that sometime during the second half of 2009, a new HD DirecTV TiVo will be available and will include "the latest TiVo and DirecTV features and services" -- there is however no word if this will include favorites such as TiVoToGo or Multi-Room veiwing. Like the previous TiVo models made specifically to work with DirecTV, it will be sold and marketed through DirecTV -- at a yet to be announced price -- and as we've seen in other recent TiVo deals, DirecTV will continue to market and support its own DVR as a "primary offering" which is just fine with us, just so long as we have a choice in the matter, we're cool.

[Thanks, Brad]

DirecTV and DISH Network trying to get together again? That's the idea according to the Wall Street Journal, apparently in response to DISH making "a major strategic shift" after losing 25,000 subscribers in Q2. Of course the last time these two tried U + me = Us back in 2001, regulators put the smackdown on the idea, but apparently DISH CEO Charlie Ergen thinks things may be different now. We can see how a 90% drop in subscriber growth (and a blown satellite or two) could cause anyone to reevaluate things, but as our extensive experience watching daytime TV proves, running into a new relationship to escape ones problems never works out long term, but it is interesting to see if either is really willing to stop the constant one-upmanship and concentrate on taking on the cable (& telco) companies together.

[Thanks, Adam]

Engadget HD has gotten the latest on the highly anticipated update for Vista Media Center and it doesn't look good. The first release candidate made it into testers hands recently and they weren't happy to see that the most anticipated features -- support for a DirecTV HD tuner and native H.264 support -- got pushed to Windows 7. So head over to Engadget HD for more details (screen shots included).

Remember that gorgeous new DirecTV HD DVR that stirred the pot at CEDIA last September? Sure enough, said box is finally available to the masses. Of course, it will run you $599 to own, but that's where DBSTalk's first look comes in -- to help you decide, not help you finance it. Those lucky buggers managed to snag one of their very own and test it out, and noted that it came stocked with a 500GB Seagate drive and the same software set as the HR21-200. Also of note, the HDMI socket is v1.2 (with HDCP 1.1), and there's more ports 'round back than you can shake a stick at. Anxious for more? Head on down to the read link for a bevy of snapshots and the full blown review.

[Thanks, Earl]

You want to know -- nay, you deserve to know -- which service provides the most HD content. Engadget HD's got the answer, see how your HD provider stacks up.

We can't count the number of times we've gotten to work and remembered we forgot to schedule that night's American Idol football game to record on DirecTV, and wished we could do it using just our cell phone. Well, the satellite provider is adding the capability to do just that: with the DVR Scheduler (previously known as Remote Booking), you can log onto the mobile site at m.directv.com, and bounce a record signal from DirecTV's satellite down to your DVR in minutes. The soft launch has HR20-700 DVR models going live right about now, with more models and an official rollout scheduled for February. Even the venerable TiVo HR10-250 is scheduled to get this feature, and it's sure to be a big hit with commuters, travelers -- and the rest of us who don't properly set up our season pass recordings.