43 Facts About TiVo

1.

TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "OnePass" schedules which record every new 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.

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2.

TiVo 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.

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3.

Since its launch in its home market of the United States, TiVo has been made available in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Taiwan, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

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4.

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 was redesigned as a device that records digitized video onto a hard disk.

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5.

Original TiVo DVR digitized and compressed analog video from any source.

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6.

In early 2000, TiVo partnered with electronics manufacturer Thomson Multimedia and broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting to deliver the TiVo service in the UK market.

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7.

TiVo ended UK unit sales in January 2003, though it continued to sell subscriptions and supply guide data to existing subscribed units until June 2011.

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8.

TiVo branded products returned to the UK during 2010 under an exclusive partnership with cable TV provider Virgin Media.

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9.

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.

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10.

TiVo Australia launched a TiVo with a 320Gb hard Drive in 2009.

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11.

TiVo DVR serves a function similar to that of a videocassette recorder, in that both allow a TV viewer to record programming for viewing at a later time, known as time shifting.

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12.

TiVo DVRs implement a patented feature that TiVo calls "trick play", allowing the viewer to pause live television and rewind and replay up to 30 minutes of recently viewed TV.

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13.

TiVo pioneered recording programs based on household viewing habits; this is called TiVo Suggestions.

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14.

TiVo has added a number of broadband features, including integration with Amazon Video on Demand, Jaman.

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15.

TiVo teamed up with One True Media to give subscribers a private channel for sharing photos and video with family and friends.

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16.

TiVo KidZone was designed to give parents greater control over what their children see on television.

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17.

TiVo KidZone provides a customized Now Playing List for children that displays only pre-approved shows, keeping television as safe as possible.

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18.

Toshiba and Pioneer TiVo DVD recording equipped units include a "Basic Lifetime Subscription", which is very similar to Full Lifetime, except only three days of the program guide are viewable; and search and Internet capabilities are not available, or at least limited.

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19.

TiVo makes no warranties or representations as to the expected lifetime of the TiVo DVR.

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20.

TiVo service is available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan at present.

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21.

TiVo went on sale in New Zealand in the first week of November 2009.

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22.

TiVo Service came to an end in Australia on 31 October 2017.

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23.

The electronic programming guide and TiVo recording features are no longer available, thus making all TiVo machines in Australia virtually useless.

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24.

TiVo service was launched in the United Kingdom in the autumn of 2000.

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25.

Thomson, makers of the only UK TiVo box, abandoned it in early 2002 after BSkyB launched its Sky+ integrated "set-top" decoder and DVR, which dominated the market for DVRs in homes subscribing to BSkyB's paid-for satellite television service.

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26.

Under the mutually exclusive agreement, TiVo developed a converged television and broadband interactive interface to power Virgin Media's next generation, high definition set top boxes.

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27.

TiVo will become the exclusive provider of middleware and user interface software for Virgin Media's next generation set top boxes.

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28.

TiVo has partnered with Western Digital to create an external hard drive, the My DVR Expander, for TiVo HD and Series3 Boxes.

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29.

TiVo therefore had to choose between adding ATSC support, or removing NTSC support.

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30.

In 2005, DirecTV stopped marketing recorders powered by TiVo and focused on its own DVR line developed by its business units.

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31.

In September 2008, DirecTV and TiVo announced that they have extended their current agreement, which includes the development, marketing and distribution of a new HD DIRECTV DVR featuring the TiVo service, as well as the extension of mutual intellectual property arrangements.

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32.

TiVo Inc worked with cable operators on a tuning-adapter with USB connection to the TiVo to enable SDV.

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33.

TiVo has partnered with Western Digital to create an external hard drive, the My DVR Expander eSATA Edition, for TiVo HD and Series3 systems.

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34.

TiVo was not designed to have an external drive disconnected once it has been added, because data for each recording is spread across both the internal and external disk drives.

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35.

On January 4, 2018, TiVo announced its next-gen platform, a catch-all product for providers like cable companies.

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36.

TiVo expects its user interface could provide an advantage over competitors such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video "in a world where cord-cutting is increasingly popular.

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37.

However, TiVo is compatible with the FiOS TV service because when the TV programming arrives at the home via FiOS Fiber to the Home network, it is converted to CableLabs specification QAM channels exactly as those used by cable TV companies.

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38.

TiVo collects detailed usage data from units via broadband Internet.

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39.

Many users were surprised when TiVo released data on how many users rewatched the exposure of Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl.

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40.

Nielsen and TiVo have previously collaborated to track viewing habits.

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41.

TiVo holds several patents that have been asserted against cable TV operators and competing DVR box makers.

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42.

In 2007, TiVo made changes to its pop-up ad system to show pop-up ads only if the user fast-forwards through a commercial that has a corresponding pop-up ad.

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43.

Kernel of the operating system of TiVo-branded hardware, the Linux kernel, is distributed under the terms of the GNU GPLv2.

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