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Apple stops renting TV shows in iTunes, could be working on a new kind of video service
Apple has pulled the plug on TV episode rentals via iTunes, abruptly leaving customers with only the option of purchasing per episode -- good thing you can watch those on your Apple TV streamed from the cloud -- or a Season Pass where available. AllThingsD has a quote from spokesman Tom Neumayr indicating this was in response to customers that "overwhelmingly prefer buying TV shows." Making the timing of the move particularly curious are once-again renewed rumors of an Apple HDTV and a WSJ profile of new CEO Tim Cook that indicates the company is "working on new technology to deliver video to televisions, and has been discussing whether to try to launch a subscription TV service." Like Google, any move depends on its success in negotiating a new delivery model from the networks, who so far have been averse to anything that threatens their existing relationship with pay-TV providers. It appears 99-cent rentals didn't move the needle, so we'll wait and see what the folks from Cupertino have up their sleeve next. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
TiVo Android and iPhone apps in the works, Season Passes soon at your fingertips
Sure, it's technically been possible to manage one's TiVo via the mobile web for a half-decade now, but earlier methods were neither intuitive nor enthralling. Earlier this year, the company released its iPad app -- a diddy that showcases functions like remote control features, ToDo List prioritizing and Season Pass management. After hinting at a number of apps for smaller-screen devices (boasting all manners of operating systems), the latest print edition of CEPro has delivered solid intel that the aforesaid whispers are becoming reality. With Honeycomb slates dropping left, right and center, we're wondering if the Android build will target tablets first and smartphones later -- perhaps even a merged edition once Ice Cream Sandwich crawls from the freezer. Either way, it'll soon make recording season-long reruns of The Hills even easier for those living within iOS or Android ecosystems, including updates from the places you're too embarrassed to mention in public.
TiVo launches online Season Pass Manager
All together now: finally. TiVo's just announced a new online Season Pass Manager, allowing users to manage their season passes from the comfort of a browser -- you can add, edit, and delete passes, as well as transfer them between TiVo boxes on your account. (That ought to make upgrading to a new TiVo a million times easier, which has been one of our longstanding complaints.) The best part? Editing the priority list online means you don't have to sit and wait while your TiVo figures it all out -- you can move things around at will in the browser and it'll all get sorted out before the changes get sent to your box. Nice. Of course, TiVo is still way behind FiOS and Comcast when it comes to remote and mobile DVR management, but it's nice to see the company address one of the biggest pain points with the device. Now just hit us with a serious Premiere performance update, alright? PR after the break.
Entelligence: Two DVR features I'm waiting for
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. I love DVRs. I have been using them for over a decade, and my original model is still in use. Whether it's a PC-based solution, something that comes from your cable provider or the granddaddy of all DVRs, TiVo, a DVR totally changes the way you watch TV, especially if you don't like watching a lot of TV but care a lot about the TV that you do watch. Last week TiVo sent out word of an event coming in March with a mysterious tagline. Even as good as my current TiVo Series 3 is, it could even be better, and while we speculate about what TiVo will announce, there's two features I'd like to see.
TiVo granted patent on recording Season Pass subscriptions by priority
It's been a ten year process, but TiVo just won a patent on managing DVR recording schedules and resolving schedule conflicts using a list of shows ordered by priority. US Patent #7,665,111 covers "recording, storing, and deleting of television and/or web page program material" by generating a prioritized list of shows that contains both shows chosen and ranked by users and shows the DVR think you'll like, matching that list against the program guide and available recording space, and resolving conflicts based on priority. Yeah, that's what essentially every DVR on the market does now -- but before you run off screaming into the woods, remember that this was all basically uncharted territory when TiVo applied for this patent way back in 1999, the same year it launched one of the first DVRs. Now, TiVo has been anything but shy when it comes to suing over its other hard-fought DVR patents, so we'll have to see how the company decides to use this new bit of IP leverage; patents that have been pending for this long aren't exactly secrets to anyone, and we're sure TiVo's competitors have been thinking of clever ways to design around it. (One bit that jumps out: the priority list has to contain both "a viewer's explicit preferred program selections for recording" and "inferred preferred program selections for recording," so DVRs that don't auto-record like TiVos could potentially be excluded.) Of course, we'd rather just see TiVo retake the lead in the DVR space with some entirely new ideas -- we'll see what happens next month.
Forthcoming TiVo software update promises faster operations
If you've been doing a decent job of restraining yourself from hurling all sorts of foreign objects around the house due to the sluggishness in your TiVo's operations, you should certainly reward yourself with a baked good. Moving forward, you'll likely be tested a lot less, as a forthcoming software update (version .8) promises to "significantly" speed up common tasks. More specifically, getting to TiVo Central, navigating around your Now Playing list, channel changing, starting a recording, and setting up a Season Pass have all been tweaked to react faster (exact improvements shown above). Additionally, TiVo users will soon have access to a so-called Priority Page on the firm's website where they can "sign up for this service update sooner than the scheduled rollout," which should occur naturally in "the next few weeks."
Big Brother Season 7 available in iTunes
CBS and Apple have just made added Big Brother All-Stars, the seventh season of the reality show, available in the iTunes Music Store. I must admit that I am a faithful Big Brother watcher, I even watched the first season when the contestants got along and there were no challenges for them to do, they just sat around the house all day.The per episode price is the standard $1.99 but the season pass price of $29.99 is where things get interesting. CBS airs Big Brother three times a week over the summer which means that if you spring for the season pass you'll get 50 episodes (or so) for 30 bucks. Not too shabby.I should also point out that CBS is offering these episodes for free on Innertube, their online video service.[via Variety.com]
Scrubs, more South Park in iTunes
Season five of NBC's Scrubs has been added to the iTunes music store this morning [iTunes link]. No season pass, however. South Park fans will be glad to know that a season pass is now available for that show [iTunes link], as well as seasons 3 and 10, starting off with the infamous "The Return of Chef!" episode. Have at it.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Avatar: The Last Airbender in iTunes
This afternoon, we noticed that Nick's Avatar: The Last Airbender (which I had never heard of) has been added to the iTunes Music Store [iTunes link]. Nineteen episodes from season 1 are available for $1.99US each. Season 2 follows the same subscription model that Apple is using to distribute The Daily Show and The Colbert Report: For $29.99US, you can purchase a season pass to Avatar and receive each episode automatically as they're added to the iTMS. Before you do the math, note that season 1 is listed as a "partial season," so it isn't certain how many season 2 episodes you'll get for your thirty bucks.
