"Wouldn’t it be nice if your TiVo could display caller id information so that when the phone rings, you know whether it’s worth getting up and interrupting 24 or the Daily Show?

It’s possible. There are two basic approaches:

1. Here’s how I got caller id on my TiVo using a Windows caller id program called YAC (you must have a caller-id capable modem in your Windows machine). There are “listeners” available for TiVo Series 1 and 2, so that your TiVo(s) get notified about calls over TCP/IP over your network.
2. Alternatively if you want to do the caller id with the TiVo modem instead of using a YAC (Windows) server, check out Elseed.

Personally, I took approach #1, because I also wanted to be able to see caller id on all of my various PC’s and YAC’s listener model is flexible enough to handle that (you can configure up to 10 listeners on your network)."  |  Source: TiVoBlog.com

Copeland and Brosnan, in fact, are entering their creation in TiVo's HME (Home Media Engine) Developer Challenge, a contest that calls on Java developers to create applications for broadband-connected TiVo recorders. Home Media Engine is the code name for TiVo's strategy to boost development of its DVR service to include broader capabilities.

With more than 5,000 users since its March launch, iSeeiTunes has become a relative hit among the TiVo developer community, garnering high ratings in forums dedicated to TiVo applications. The program's popularity speaks both to its usefulness and the creative potential of developers, which TiVo hopes to harness as it attempts to transform its service into more than for just digital video recording.   [ more... ]

According to a piece appearing in the Mac Observer, the "Digital video recorder maker TiVo, Inc. has no plans to develope its technology to integrate with the Macintosh, chief financial officer David Courtney told the The Daily Pensylvanian Wednesday.

While speaking at the University of Pennsylvania Wednesday, Mr. Courtney said that the company had no immediate plans to offer a version of its TiVoToGo software for Mac OS X.

"We haven't committed to any plans (for integration) to it because of the cost," Courtney said. "Unless we find a way to record it under the current platform, and I don't think that will happen in the next few years.""  [ more... ]

Tivo Inc. shares rose Tuesday after a major brokerage increased its rating on the maker of digital video recorders, citing its potential to strike more deals with major U.S. cable operators.

The Alviso, Calif.-based company last month agreed to adapt its technology for Comcast Corp.'s 21.5 million subscribers, and Smith Barney contends this could be just the first of many partnerships in store for Tivo. The brokerage upgraded Tivo's rating and raised its stock target price to $7.75 from $7.25 to reflect the expectation that more agreements will increase advertising revenue.

Tivo shares rose 38 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $6.03 in midday trading on the Nasdaq after receiving the upgrade. Smith Barney raised Tivo to a "Buy, Speculative Risk" from a "Hold, Speculative Risk."

"We believe the more recent sell-off of Tivo's stock subsequent to the Comcast deal overlooks the implications of the watershed event and presents a compelling risk reward proposition for investors," Smith Barney analyst Tony Wible said in a report. "We have increased confidence that Tivo could enter into additional cable deals over the next two years."  [ more... ]

Digital video recorder company TiVo has increased its stake in television intellectual property by purchasing six patents from IBM.

The Alviso, Calif.-based company on Tuesday filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing its purchase of six U.S. patents from IBM on March 31. The patents relate to audience research and measurement, integration of television signals with Internet access, automatic rescheduling of recordings, content screening, enhanced program information search and electronic program guide interface enhancements. Expiration dates for the patents range from December 2015 to February 2020.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The DVR pioneer has been amassing a patent portfolio to boost its licensing business and fend off new entrants to the DVR market. However, TiVo hasn't yet been able to turn its intellectual property into significant financial success.  [ more... ]

Richard Shim, a writer for CNET News.com writes that, "TiVo subscribers are heatedly debating the ads the company began testing this past weekend.

Considered low-hanging fruit for TiVo and revolutionary at the same time--helping to make the 30-second television commercial spot more engaging and effective to advertisers--users were quick to voice opinions in our TalkBack area and on TiVo community forums. Some weren't offended by the ads and said others were making mountains out of mole hills. Some of those displeased with the pop-up tags claimed they would be canceling their service.

Keep your eyes peeled; used TiVo DVRs may be hitting online auctions soon."

Richard Shim, a staff writer for CNET News.com reports that, "TiVo began testing interactive advertising tools during the weekend as it looks to appease companies wary of users' ability to skip over ads.

The company confirmed late Monday that it released the first in a series of advertising features to a random and limited number of subscribers to the digital-video recorder service. The first test feature--a tag--pops up on the screen when a viewer is fast-forwarding through an advertisement.

If viewers press the thumbs-up or select button during the half second the tag is displayed, they will be redirected to a menu that leads to more information about the advertised product. The tag takes up about 25 percent of the screen, according to the company. TiVo said it is working with only one advertiser, a movie studio, on the trial balloon.

Richard must have had his V8 this morning, he also writes "This begs the question: If I'm fast-forwarding through an advertisement, isn't that a clear indication I'm not interested in the product and therefore unlikely to press a button asking for more information?"

It looks like Zatz has updated his TiVo to Go Unleashed! FAQ again, this time he answers the question, "How can I get shows onto my Sony PSP?"

The HD TiVo was recently rated by ZDNet as the best high-definition DVR of 2004, however several users have provided feedback expressing their disappointment that the product was only available for DirecTV subscribers.  Read the full review here.

“The DirecTV HD TiVo is one of only a handful of devices that can record high-definition TV. Like all high-end first-generation gadgets, the HD TiVo, also known as the Hughes HR10-250, comes with a high price tag ($999) and some notable caveats. It's for DirecTV subscribers only, and it lacks all of the impressive networking features--digital music, remote programming, video sharing and DVD burning--found in standalone TiVos. However, until the second-generation HD DVRs (and first-generation HD-DVD and Blu-ray recorders) arrive in 2005, the DirecTV HD TiVo stands alone as the best and easiest-to-use product for recording HDTV.”

A recent arstechnica article by Ken Fisher reports that on “the mobility front, TiVo is still talking up TiVoToGo. Ramsay said that the company is currently developing technology that will allow users to transfer shows recorded by TiVo to Microsoft's nascent Portable Media Centers, although one may question the wisdom of getting into bed with Microsoft. Microsoft does, after all, having a competing PVR product in Media Center Edition 2005, and their Portable Media Centers are designed to operate with that product. TiVoToGo video being used in a miniature Media Center interface may prove a pyrrhic victory for TiVo, in the long run. On another battlefront, Ramsay expressed hope that TiVo would remain the sole HDTV PVR provided for DirecTV for the near future, but he was not specific on dates. As of yet, there have been no reports on when DirecTV will be launching their own recorder, although it is known that one is in the works.”

Richard Shim, a Staff Writer for CNET News.com writes that, “TiVo and cable giant Comcast have reached a distribution deal, easing some investor concerns over the digital video recorder pioneer's future.  The companies announced the agreement Tuesday, saying they are working to make TiVo's DVR service and interactive advertising capability available over Comcast's cable network. The first of their co-developed products will be available in mid- to late-2006 and will use the TiVo brand. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the alliance is long term and nonexclusive. The two companies have flirted before without consummating a deal. The agreement opens up a much larger audience for TiVo to address. The Comcast deal is considered a win for TiVo, which has long faced the looming threat of battling bigger rivals alone. Though TiVo subscribers rave about the company's digital video recorder service, distribution partners--namely cable companies--have been harder for the company to win over. TiVo's digital video recorder service lets customers pause live broadcasts and program systems to record future shows. The company charges between $99 and $299 for its hardware, and $6.99 to $12.99 a month to access its service. A majority of TiVo's some 3 million subscribers come through satellite TV service provider DirecTV. However, DirecTV recently started using a second company, NDS, to provide DVR service, sparking investor concerns over TiVo's future. A deal with Comcast puts to rest some of those concerns by opening up a large new potential audience for TiVo's service.”

In a recent article for CNET News.com, Richard Ship writes, “Jury selection in the TiVo, EchoStar Communications patent infringement lawsuit will begin on Oct. 4 giving observers some sense of the time frame for the case. TiVo brought the suit against EchoStar in January of last year. The digital video recording company said Wednesday the federal district court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, denied EchoStar's motion to transfer the case outside Texas.  TiVo alleges that EchoStar and its affiliated companies are violating TiVo's time-warping patent. The lawsuit figures prominently in TiVo's efforts to enforce its patent portfolio.”

Phillip Swann writes: “TiVo's stock has jumped approximately 20 percent over the last two days on rumors that Apple Computer will buy the Digital Video Recording service.

By late Thursday, however, the rumors appeared to be fading, which is good news for TiVo fans. Apple is one of the last companies that TiVo should consider as a prospective owner.”