TiVo (pronounced /ˈtiːvoʊ/ ) is a brand and model of digital video recorder (DVR). TiVo was introduced in the United States and is now available in New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Taiwan, and the UK. TiVo DVRs provide an electronic television programming schedule, whose features include Season Pass recordings which record every episode of a series, and WishList searches which allow the user to find and record shows that match their interests by title, actor, director, category, or keyword. TiVo also provides a range of features when the TiVo DVR is connected to a home network, including film and TV show downloads, advanced search, personal photo viewing, music offerings, and online scheduling.
History and development
TiVo was developed by Jim Barton and Mike Ramsay through a corporation they named Teleworld which was later renamed to Tivo, Inc. Though they originally intended to create a home network device, it morphed into a device that records digitised video onto a hard disk. They began the first public trials of the TiVo device and service in late 1998 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
After exhibiting at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 1999, Mike Ramsay announced to the company that the first version of the TiVo digital video recorder would ship on March 31, 1999, despite an estimated four to five months of work remaining to complete the device. Because March 31, 1999 was a blue moon, the engineering staff code named this first version of the TiVo DVR "Blue Moon".
The original TiVo DVR digitized and compressed analog video from any source (antenna, cable or direct broadcast satellite). TiVo also integrates its DVR service into the set-top boxes of satellite and cable providers. In late 2000, Philips Electronics introduced the DSR6000, the first DirecTV receiver with an integrated TiVo DVR. This new device, nicknamed the "DirecTiVo," stored digital signals sent from DirecTV directly onto a hard disk.
In early 2000, TiVo partnered with electronics manufacturer Thomson Multimedia and broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting to deliver the TiVo service in the UK market. This partnership resulted in the Thomson PVR10UK, a stand-alone receiver released in October 2000 that was based on the original reference design used in the United States by both Philips and Sony. TiVo ended UK unit sales in January 2003, though it continues to sell subscriptions and supply guide data to existing subscribed units. TiVo branded products will return to the UK during 2010 under an exclusive partnership with cable television provider Virgin Media.
TiVo was launched in Australia in July 2008 by Hybrid Television Services, a company owned by Australia's Seven Media Group and New Zealand's TVNZ. TiVo also launched a special 2009 Christmas TiVo DVR that has a 320Gb hard Drive and comes with the HNP free. TiVo Australia also launched Blockbuster on demand and as of early December launched a novel service called Caspa on Demand. TiVo also went on sale in New Zealand on the 6 November 2009.
TiVo Digital Video Recorder
A TiVo DVR serves a function similar to a videocassette recorder, in that both allow a television viewer to record programming for viewing at a later time. Unlike a VCR, which uses removable magnetic tape cartridges, a TiVo DVR stores television programs onto non-removable hard disk storage.
What distinguishes TiVo from other DVRs is the sophisticated software written by TiVo Inc. that automatically records programs—not only those the user specifically requests, but also other material the user is likely to be interested in. TiVo DVRs also implement a patented feature TiVo calls "trick play," which allows the viewer to pause live television, and rewind and replay up to a half hour of recently viewed television. More recent TiVo DVRs can be connected to a computer local area network, which allows the TiVo device to download information and even video programs, music and movies from the Internet.
Functions
TiVo polls its network, receiving program information including description, regular and guest actors, directors, genres, whether programs are new or repeats, and whether broadcast is in HD. Information is updated daily from Tribune Media Services.
Users can select individual programs to record or a "Season Pass" to record an entire season (or more). There are options to record First Run Only, First Run & Repeats, or All Episodes. An episode is considered "First Run" if aired in two weeks of the original air date.
When user's requests for multiple programs are conflicting, the lower priority program in the Season Pass Manager is either not recorded or clipped where times overlap. The lower priority program will be recorded if it is aired later. TiVo DVRs with two tuners record the top two priority programs.
TiVo pioneered recording programs based on household viewing habits; this is called TiVo Suggestions. Users can rate programs from three "thumbs up" to three "thumbs down." TiVo user ratings are combined to create a recommendation, based on what TiVo users with similar viewing habits watch. For example, if a user likes American Idol , America's Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars , then another TiVo user who watched just the American Idol might get a recommendation for the other two shows.
A limited amount of space is available to store programs. When the space is full, the oldest programs are deleted to make space for the newer ones; programs that users flag to not be deleted are kept and TiVo Suggestions are always lowest priority. The recording capacity of a TiVo HD DVR can be expanded with an external hard drive, which can add 65 additional hours of HD recording space or up to 600 hours of standard definition recording capacity.
When not recording specific user requests, the current channel is recorded for up to 30 minutes. (Dual tuner models keep two channels.) This allows users to rewind or pause anything that has been shown in the last thirty minutes: useful when viewing is interrupted. Shows already in progress can be entirely recorded if less than 30 minutes have been shown. Unlike VCRs, TiVo can record and play at the same time. A program can be watched from the beginning even if it's in the middle of being recorded, which is something that VCRs cannot do. Some users take advantage of this by waiting 10–15 minutes after a program starts (or is replayed from a recording), so that they can fast forward through commercials. In this way, by the end of the recording viewers are caught up with live TV.
Unlike most DVRs, TiVo DVRs are easily connected to home networks, allowing users to schedule recordings on TiVo's website (via TiVo Central Online), transfer recordings between TiVo units (Multi-Room Viewing (MRV)) or to/from a home computer (TiVoToGo transfers), play music and view photos over the network, and access third-party applications written for TiVo's Home Media Engine (HME) API.
TiVo has added a number of broadband features, including integration with Amazon Video on Demand, Jaman.com and Netflix Watch Instantly, offering users access to thousands of movie titles & TV shows right from the comfort of their couch. Additionally, broadband connected to TiVo boxes can access digital photos from Picasa Web Albums or Photobucket. Another popular feature is access to Rhapsody music through TiVo, allowing users to listen to virtually any song from their living room. TiVo also teamed up with One True Media to give subscribers a private channel for sharing photos and video with family and friends. They can also access weather, traffic, Fandango movie listings (including ticket purchases), and music through Live365. In the summer of 2008 TiVo announced the availability of YouTube videos on TiVo.
On June 7, 2006, TiVo began offering TiVoCast, a broadband download service which initially offered content from places such as Rocketboom or, The New York Times—now there are over 70 TivoCast channels available for TiVo subscribers.
TiVo is expanding media convergence. In January 2005, TiVoToGo, a feature allowing transfer of recorded shows from TiVo boxes to PCs, was added. TiVo partnered with Sonic in the release of MyDVD 6.1, software for editing and converting TiVoToGo files. In January, 2007, TiVoToGo was extended to the Macintosh with Toast Titanium 8, Roxio software for assembly and burning digital media on CD and DVD media. Other means of manipulating files are described at the TiVoToGo Unleashed tutorial. In August 2005, TiVo rolled out "TiVo Desktop" allowing moving MPEG2 video files from PCs to TiVo for playback by DVR.
Parental Features
TiVo KidZone is designed to give parents greater control over what their children see on TV. This feature allows parents to choose which shows their children can watch and record. It also helps kids discover new shows through recommendations from leading national children's organizations. TiVo KidZone provides a customized Now Playing List for children that displays only pre-approved shows, keeping TV as
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