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Rovi is shutting down its OTA TV guide service without notice
The company with so much love it changed its name to fool its fans is at it again, this time killing the signal that provides guide data directly to many televisions and set-top boxes. You see, before changing its name from Macrovision, Rovi acquired Gemstar-TV guide in 2008 -- which was probably most well known for the integrated program guide common in higher end TVs throughout the last decade. While most people just use the guide offered on their provider's set-top, this guide is for those who actually use the clear-QAM or over-the-air tuner in their TV. The way it worked is that manufacturers baked the software into the TV, which would then tune into a local affiliate's broadcast of a week's worth of guide data. The setup successfully made it through the digital transition -- minus the truckloads of analog-only TVs ceasing to work along the way -- as new TVs featured a digital version of the service, as well as some digital converters, like the DTVpal DVR.
