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TiVo loses subscribers but adds small profit

TiVo's midyear report card is in, and the numbers are better than most analysts expected.

The results aren't fabulous, but anything's better than the $17.7 million loss a year ago. In the second quarter of this year, the maker of digital video recorders earned revenues of $65.2 million, eking out a profit of $2.9 million, good for 3 cents per share for investors. Analysts had been anticipating revenues between $54 million and 59.3 million, a loss of 2 cents per share.

TiVo recorded lower services revenues this quarter than a year ago, but … Read more

TiVo, 'Entertainment Weekly' team up for favorite programs

TiVo announced Wednesday that it's hooking up with Entertainment Weekly to automatically record the TV programs highlighted on the publication's recommended viewing list.

Under the partnership, TiVo will record for its subscribers the programs on Entertainment Weekly's "What to Watch" listing. The service is slated to begin this fall.

TiVo subscribers will also be able to download Entertainment Weekly's EW.com original programming, such as Just a Minute, Ausiello TV, and Idolatry.

"This partnership creates an exciting new service for our fans, closing the loop between the entertainment choices we spotlight and our … Read more

Low-tech TV recording secrets of 'The Daily Show'

You might not think about it, but putting together The Daily Show requires sifting through a lot of television, then breaking it up into bite-size clips of funny. If you're like us, you probably figured The Daily Show had some professional-grade digital recording suite that put your rent-a-DVR from the cable company to shame--and you'd be completely wrong.

Instead, try 15 rack-mounted TiVos, many of which predate the Series2 era.

Thanks to a former Daily Show employee who commented on PVRBlog, we get an inside look at the technology that powers the show. Here are some choice snippets:

Nope, it's literally 15 rack-mounted TiVos of various models, many from the pre-Series 2 era. Some Philips boxes, some Sonys. And because there's a limited number of remote codes, when a staffer operates one, he has to hold the remote directly against that box's IR receiver so that the beam doesn't hit any of the other boxes (i.e., so he's not inadvertently controlling multiple boxes at once). No joke! It's pretty primitive.… Read more

TiVo summer update adds helpful search, management tweaks

TiVo had a very busy July. First, it teamed up with Comcast to make section editor Matt Elliott miss the Wimbledon final. Next, it announced the rollout of streaming YouTube videos through the boxes. Then, its partnership with Amazon.com evolved to include the eventual ability to buy products from advertisers using your remote.

The fun apparently didn't end with July though, as Friday morning at 2 a.m. EDT TiVo pushed out a sizable service update with six new features.

Play or delete an entire folder This'll let you, um, play or delete an entire folder. Particularly … Read more

Watching the watchers: TiVo tracks ad viewing

Remember TiVo's reporting of Janet Jackson at the 2004 Super Bowl, when thousands of people replayed her "wardrobe malfunction" over and over on their digital video recorder?

Years later, major advertisers are even more rapt about people's TiVo behavior, particularly as it pertains to the commercials they watch.

Starcom USA, a Chicago advertising agency with such clients as Walt Disney, Coke and Kraft, has teamed with TiVo to be the first to use its so-called PowerWatch Ratings Service, a Nielsen Ratings-like service that reports--based on input from a panel--which television shows and ads people fast-forward, watch, … Read more

Indian entrepreneurs focus on energy efficiency

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--To cut greenhouse gas emissions, the United States has to invest equally as much in energy efficiency as in renewable energy technologies, and set a price on carbon dioxide emissions.

That was the message from California Energy Commissioner Arthur Rosenfeld, at a meeting Monday with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) about energy efficiency.

In a keynote speech, Rosenfeld--widely recognized for his contribution to California's aggressive energy-efficiency policies--cited a McKinsey report showing that the potential for greenhouse gas abatement in the U.S. between now and 2030 is evenly divided between investments in energy efficiency and renewable … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 771: A Monster episode of Iron butt proportions

Oh man. Molly is out for one day and look what happens. Well the Monster story comes form the cable makers attempting to sue the makers of a deer salt lick. Seriously. And Iron Butt refers to a character from X-Men after we got schooled on Magneto by Craig from Omaha. And we talked about porn too. Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 771

Episode 771

TiVo and Amazon team up http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/technology/22tivo.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

What is Apple’s mystery product? http://blogs.eweek.com/applewatch/content/rumors/what_is_apples_mystery_product.html… Read more

Is TiVo and Amazon's new ad system crazy? Or will it get you to lose the plot?

Oh, the things that people will do in the name of progress.

TiVo and Amazon are introducing a new system that allows you to buy a product featured in a TV show while it is still airing.

So you're watching Oprah. She's interviewing James Frey. He's telling her about his amazing new book in which he is strung out on smack, wrestling with Siegfried and Roy's lions, while making love to Arianna Stassinopoulos. Yes, he says, it all really happened. You grab your remote. You click. And the book will arrive at your house well before … Read more

Report: TiVo, Amazon team up on sales pitches

TiVo--a company well-known for helping TV viewers skip commercials--is teaming up with Amazon.com to make it easier for consumers to purchase products they see on television commercials and talk shows, according to a report Monday on The New York Times Web site.

A "product purchase" feature on onscreen menus will provide TiVo customers with links to buy products like books, compact discs, and DVDs featured on programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Late Show With David Letterman, and The Daily Show, the newspaper reported. Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo plans to offer the feature to advertisers … Read more

CNET News Daily Podcast: Web video, TV linkup gets closer

Reporter Caroline McCarthy gives us a rundown of two YouTube partnerships announced Thursday--one with TiVo and one with film studio Lionsgate, which Caroline expects won't be as big a deal as many people hope.

Also in this podcast: Google Apps gets hundreds of new templates for making specific types of content; Gmail and Google Calendar could be available offline as soon as six weeks from now; Amazon tries its hand at movie and TV downloads; and the man going after the tech vote in November. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Offline access soon for Gmail, Google Calendar?… Read more

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