TiVo posts
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.
DISH / EchoStar DVR injunction temporarily put on hold by court
It's the case that never ends -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued a temporary delay of of the injunction and fine handed down yesterday in the EchoStar / TiVo lawsuit while it considers an appeal, meaning that DISH owners with older DVRs won't have to worry about losing their pause-and-rewind functionality at least for now. That pretty much means we're back in stasis with this one, with even more delay to come if the appeal is granted. That's cool, we needed a nap anyway.DISH / EchoStar ordered to pay TiVo $190 million in patent infringement case
We're a bit hesitant to call this one done given the history involved, but a federal judge in Texas has dealt DISH / EchoStar yet another serious blow in its long-standing dispute with TiVo, and this time he's taken a number of other measures that could cause EchoStar to finally rethink its workaround-litigate strategy. The big setback for EchoStar, however, is the one-two punch of $190 million in damages it's been ordered to pay TiVo and an order to disable the "infringing function" on all but 193,000 DVRs now in the hands of subscribers. The judge also found that EchoStar's recently-implemented workaround technology still violated the patent in question and, as a result, he's ordered EchoStar to inform the court before it decides to try its hand at another "design-around" of the infringing patent. For its part, TiVo says that it is "extremely gratified by the Court's well reasoned and thorough decision," while DISH / EchoStar would only say that it plans to appeal the court's decision and file a motion to stay the order with a federal appeals court.Read - The New York Times, "Court Awards TiVo $190 Million in EchoStar Patent Case"
Read - TiVo Statement on U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Decision
Engadget Podcast 144 - 05.01.2009

Bogged down and confused with the latest spate of wild mobile speculations? Relationship troubles clouding your judgment? Lonely? Well Josh, Nilay and Paul -- your jovial (yet often enraged) Engadget Podcast crew -- are back for another installment to help you sort all that out. In a week heavy on rumors (Palm Eos, Microsoft "Pink" and the not-so-nano "iPhone lite") and laden with opinion (Windows 7 RC1, TiVo's sad state of affairs), join the boys as they delve deep into the abyss that is gadgetry. Sure, there might never be a Zunephone, but remember: the beauty is in the journey... or something.
Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: All That She Wants
00:01:13 - Palm Eos: super-thin, 3G, and headed to AT&T?
00:27:20 - Microsoft's "Pink" smartphone could rival iPhone on Verizon
00:29:00 - Microsoft reiterates what we knew: no first-party handset, no Zunephone
00:36:40 - Apple prototyping "iPhone lite" and MacBook Mini / media pad for Verizon?
00:46:30 - Samsung I7500 with OLED touchscreen powered by Android, dreams
00:57:42 - Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 impressions, insights, and expectations
01:10:05 - Ten years of TiVo: how far we haven't come
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Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
TiVo's Jim Denney responds to Engadget!
We can't say we were expecting any sort of response to our state-of-TiVo piece yesterday, but we just got a note from VP of Product Marketing Jim Denney. It's not long, but he says that TiVo takes comments like ours "very seriously," and that TiVo's always looking to build on customer feedback. Sure, uh, we're glad to help, but we'll be even happier to write about a new TiVo that actually changes the game -- let us know, won't you? Full letter after the break.Ten years of TiVo: how far we haven't come
We'll be totally honest here: we love TiVo. TiVo DVRs of every vintage are scattered throughout the Engadget editorial ranks, and Series3 units are our preferred hardware for HD Netflix streaming and Amazon's nascent HD Video on Demand service. And, well, using a TiVo is just fun in a way that no other DVR ever is -- those booping noises still provoke smiles all around.
But here's the thing: it's been ten years since TiVo first introduced the Philips-built HDR110 at NAB, and while the company's name has since become synonymous with time-shifted digital video recording, it's not because its products have achieved runaway success. In fact, it's the exact opposite: most consumers choose to get by with awful cable- or satellite-company DVRs, and TiVo's only just barely pulled a full year of profitability, two factors that have kept it firmly on deathwatch since 2005. Not only that, but while TiVo might have pushed the DVR into the mainstream, it hasn't meaningfully innovated since -- apart from HD output and the aforementioned streaming services, you'd be hard-pressed to tell a brand-new TiVo HD from an original unit by using it for five minutes. Worse, the entire DVR category's essentially remained stagnant as well -- one study found that the average DVR-enabled family records just 15-20 percent of the TV they watch, a startlingly low number by any measure.
So look -- it's not working, guys. We're happy that Comcast is now offering the TiVo interface in certain markets as a paid option, and we'll be pleased as punch when those long-promised new DirecTiVo units ship out, but the simple fact of the matter is TiVo can't continue to rely on the same strategies and ideas that haven't worked for the past ten years. What TiVo needs is a new plan -- and we've got five simple ideas that might help kickstart the company and the DVR market for the next ten years. Read on for more.
But here's the thing: it's been ten years since TiVo first introduced the Philips-built HDR110 at NAB, and while the company's name has since become synonymous with time-shifted digital video recording, it's not because its products have achieved runaway success. In fact, it's the exact opposite: most consumers choose to get by with awful cable- or satellite-company DVRs, and TiVo's only just barely pulled a full year of profitability, two factors that have kept it firmly on deathwatch since 2005. Not only that, but while TiVo might have pushed the DVR into the mainstream, it hasn't meaningfully innovated since -- apart from HD output and the aforementioned streaming services, you'd be hard-pressed to tell a brand-new TiVo HD from an original unit by using it for five minutes. Worse, the entire DVR category's essentially remained stagnant as well -- one study found that the average DVR-enabled family records just 15-20 percent of the TV they watch, a startlingly low number by any measure.
So look -- it's not working, guys. We're happy that Comcast is now offering the TiVo interface in certain markets as a paid option, and we'll be pleased as punch when those long-promised new DirecTiVo units ship out, but the simple fact of the matter is TiVo can't continue to rely on the same strategies and ideas that haven't worked for the past ten years. What TiVo needs is a new plan -- and we've got five simple ideas that might help kickstart the company and the DVR market for the next ten years. Read on for more.
Amazon Video on Demand supports 5.1 surround on TiVo (plus hands-on)

Gallery: Amazon Video on Demand HD on TiVo
Western Digital finally releases the 1TB My DVR Expander, TiVo owners rejoice
Finally! We've been waiting for Western Digital to put out the 1TB My DVR Expander for so long we almost thought that Amazon listing a couple weeks ago was a mistake. The external eSATA drive allows any number of HD DVRs to record an extra 120 hours of HD content, but the real noise is that it's certified to work with the TiVo HD and TiVo XL, which have locked-down eSATA ports that prevent you from using just any drive. (The original Series3 doesn't have this restriction.) Stupid, we know, but at $199 list and $167 at Amazon, the markup on this thing doesn't seem overly ridiculous, so we won't complain too loudly. Just ship 'em already, okay?
TiVo survey hints at new name, direction for Series4 boxes

Gallery: TiVo Naming Survey
Western Digital 1TB DVR Expander pre-orders up at Amazon, Apricorn add-ons get a face lift

Read - Apricorn Unveils New Look for the DVR Expander
Read - Western Digital WDG1S10000N My DVR Expander 1TB eSATA (Black)
TiVo update brings pause menu ads to Series3 & TiVo HD owners

Read - TiVo's Pause Menu Spam Hits S3/HD Units
Read - TivoHD Overview, Q&A, Setup, Tips
Blockbuster OnDemand coming to TiVo

Amazon HD VOD still on the way for TiVo, at some point
Months after Amazon Video on Demand HD began "testing" on TiVo, we're being told that, um, testing is still ongoing. After Sir Dave Zatz openly questioned where this long awaited addition was, he received confirmation from multiple undisclosed sources that TiVo's implementation was still being honed. He also suspects that the real hang-up may be with Amazon, though we are told that image quality is nothing short of spectacular. Sadly, there are no clues as to when this will all go live, but we're totally kosher on waiting for something to be perfected. Just not for long, is all.
TiVo and DISH / Echostar head back to Texas for another patent duel
Well, just when it was starting to look like TiVo and DISH / Echostar may finally have put their seemingly never-ending patent dispute behind them, the two companies now look to be rekindling things in Texas this week, where they've landed in court once more to sort out that pesky patent involving TiVo's Time Warp software. As patent dispute junkies may recall, TiVo first wound up being awarded some damages in the matter way back in 2006, after which Echostar was forced to develop some workaround software that it claims no longer infringed on TiVo's Time Warp patent, which allows for recording of one channel while the user watches another. In the meantime, Echostar / DISH continued to fight back against TiVo, with things finally, apparently coming to an end when the Supreme Court ultimately denied DISH's appeal and awarded TiVo those aforementioned damages (plus interest) for real. Now, TiVo is alleging that the DISH's "workaround" software does still violate its patent after all, and it's asking a U.S. District Court Judge in Texarcana, Texas to sort it out. If this latest round plays out as TiVo hopes, DISH could be forced to disable most, if not all, of its DVRs, and potentially buy new DVRs that don't infringe on TiVo's patents.Engadget's Netflix HD streaming shootout
Netflix seems to be doing things right when it comes to the streaming game, partnering with several hardware companies in an attempt to make its service more or less ubiquitous -- a pretty sharp break from the proprietary hardware approach taken by most of its competitors. That means Netflix subscribers have quite a few choices when it comes to streaming, and we thought we'd put the ones available now head-to-head and try to crown a winner. The good news? There isn't a mediocre choice out there. The bad? Well, read on.
Update: We shot another video to answer some lingering questions about the Roku player, check it below.
Update: We shot another video to answer some lingering questions about the Roku player, check it below.























