tivo

Dish Network has been ordered to pay about $200 million to TiVo in an ongoing patent dispute over DVR technology.

The lawsuit goes back to 2004, when TiVo sued EchoStar (now a part of the Dish Network) for violating a patent on a "multimedia time-warping system," which involved recording a program on one channel while watching another.

A jury in 2006 found that Dish's digital video recorders infringed upon a patent held by TiVo and ordered it to pay TiVo $73.9 million in damages. That ruling has been upheld in two separate federal appeals. Dish has … Read more

TiVo said Wednesday that it is suing AT&T and Verizon over three DVR patents. The complaints seek damages and a permanent injunction.

Simply put, TiVo is pursuing the same legal playbook it followed against Dish/EchoStar. The patents in question include 6,233,389, 7,529,465 and 7,493,015.

TiVo recently won another legal victory against EchoStar, which was found in contempt of court in its legal spat. TiVo won $103 million in damages, but the case will have another hearing in November or so. EchoStar … Read more

Roku announced this week that it signed on with Major League Baseball to deliver MLB.tv Premium to its set-top box. It's the first live content that the device, which is best known for its Netflix streaming, will offer.

But like many other set-top boxes on the market, the services the Roku box offers aren't unique to that device. Netflix streaming is available on a large and growing number of devices, including TiVo DVRs, the Xbox 360, and all newer LG and Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems. In addition to the Roku, MLB programming is available on the PC, through Boxee, and through various cable and satellite TV packages.

Indeed, many TVs, Blu-ray players, DVRs, and home theater systems now have a baseline configuration that makes it relatively easy to add streaming services via postpurchase firmware upgrades. At this point, adding content seems almost as simple as calling the content provider and having lawyers work up an agreement between the parties.

The problem is, those partners are not necessarily working together. The hardware providers want those streaming or download services to be exclusive to their boxes. The content providers want their entertainment to be made available on as many devices (STBs or otherwise) as possible. Those very different goals are causing set-top boxes to provide most, but not all, the services that consumers want.… Read more

TiVo announced Wednesday that subscribers will now be able to manually input a video podcast's RSS feed into their TiVo software to watch those shows through their DVRs. That means it's time to find out what your favorite shows' RSS feeds are. It also means you might want to expand what you watch, since another set-top box is bringing Web videos to your television.

But finding those shows isn't always easy. Realizing that, I thought I'd highlight online video podcast directories that will help you find shows you're really interested in. From professional content to amateur shows for niche audiences, these sites will help you find whatever you're looking for.

Before we get into it, I should note that iTunes is another fine way to find video podcasts. Simply click the "Video Podcasts" option in the software and you'll be able to search through shows.

Miro Guide: Miro Guide is a repository for video podcasts. The site is well-designed. It also has a nice listing of both popular shows and niche listings.

When you get to Miro Guide, you can immediately start searching for video podcasts. A show's listing page allows you to subscribe to the RSS feed, add its feed to Miro, so you can watch it on the site, or download it to your computer. If you're only looking for the feed, it provides that too. I was really impressed with Miro Guide. With so many listings, it's worth trying out.

Odeo: Odeo is one of the best podcast directories in this roundup. It allows you to search for both audio and video shows.

I was really impressed with Odeo. The site has one of the biggest listings of shows in this roundup. On topics ranging from technology to politics, you'll find a variety of video podcasts worth watching. When you pick a show you want to try out, you can opt to subscribe on Odeo's site, copy and paste the RSS feed to a service, like the TiVo, or watch it right on the site. You can even subscribe to the show in iTunes. You'll like Odeo. It's an extremely useful directory.… Read more

TiVo announced Wednesday that it has added hundreds of free Web videos to TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL DVRs. Also, subscribers who are interested in watching video podcasts that they can't find through TiVo's listing can enter RSS feeds manually to watch the show on their TiVo box.

Starting Wednesday, subscribers will be able to watch free video podcasts from several providers, including CBS, Fox, Oprah, and more. (CNET News is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.) They can watch a single episode or subscribe to all the podcast's shows by opting … Read more

When we last heard from Digeo in April, the company was adding several digital media extras to its flagship Moxi DVR. Flash forward to August, and the company is back with more updates, the biggest of which is a new hardware announcement. The Moxi Mate is an "extender" that adds multiroom capability to any household with a Moxi DVR. The box is basically a thin client (no hard drive) that can access recorded content from the main Moxi, as well as all of the system's online and home networking digital extensions (Rhapsody, PC-based media streaming, PlayOn content such as Netflix and Hulu, and so forth).

Sounds great, but there are some caveats that prospective buyers should know. Most importantly: the Moxi Mate can't currently support the streaming of live TV--only programs that you've previously recorded on the main Moxi DVR. And while you could theoretically have several Moxi Mates in a household, Digeo currently supports only one of them streaming from the main Moxi at a time. (Of course, all of these issues could possibly be addressed in future firmware updates--but those are the product's initial notable limitations.) The other big deal: the Mate doesn't have a built-in Wi-Fi connection, so you'll need to supply an Ethernet network connection.

On the plus side: the video streaming is said to be nearly instantaneous, unlike TiVo's multiroom solution, which requires the video files to be copied to the hard drive in another room first prior to viewing. Also, the Moxi Mate will automatically resume paused programs. So, if you watch half of a movie on the main Moxi, you can retire to the bedroom and easily pick up where you left off on the Moxi Mate.

In addition to the Moxi Mate announcement, Digeo also rolled out new software to existing Moxi DVR owners that adds a variety of small upgrades. Among them: … Read more

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued an "office action" Monday rejecting two claims in TiVo's Multimedia Timewarping System (better known as the DVR) patent, the centerpiece of its legal battle with EchoStar.

According to the PTO, its preliminary finding rejects TiVo's patent Claims 31 and 61.

Claim 31 describes "a process for the simultaneous storage and play back of multimedia data." The claim discusses how TiVo's DVR captures video from a broadcast source, stores it in its hard drive, and allows users to play it back at their convenience.

Claim 61 is similar to Claim 31. It describes "an apparatus for the simultaneous storage and play back of multimedia data." The claim discusses how the TiVo handles stored shows and gives users the ability to control them on the device.

The patent itself, which features more than 60 claims, is a blueprint for how TiVo's DVR works. It discusses an "invention (that) allows the user to store selected television broadcast programs while the user is simultaneously watching or reviewing another program. A preferred embodiment of the invention accepts television (TV) input streams in a multitude of forms, for example, National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) or PAL broadcast, and digital forms such as Digital Satellite System (DSS), Digital Broadcast Services (DBS), or Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC)."

The patent goes on to explain how TiVo streams content through MPEG video. It gives users the option to put the video into "reverse, fast forward, play, pause, index, fast/slow reverse play, and fast/slow play."

The PTO's preliminary finding is important for EchoStar. It gives it some breathing room as it moves forward after a series of missteps.… Read more

The news that Best Buy and TiVo are teaming up to share technology and hopefully pump up each other's sales has led some to conclude that new HDTVs with digital video recording capability are in the offing.

That's highly unlikely.

TiVo, the inventor of the DVR market that has trouble making any profit on it, and Best Buy, the giant of electronics retail, announced Thursday a new partnership. Best Buy will push TiVo DVRs in its stores, and TiVo will create a special set-top box that Best Buy can sell specifically to push its own advertising at TiVo … Read more

Less than 24 hours after a federal judge found EchoStar in contempt in its long-running patent dispute with TiVo, another judge issued a temporary stay Wednesday, according to EchoStar.

"We are pleased that the Federal Appeals Court in Washington temporarily stayed the district court's order in the TiVo litigation. Dish Network customers can continue using their DVRs. We believe that we have strong grounds for appeal," the company said in a statement.

The temporary stay drags out even further a legal contest that is now five years old. It seemed like it had come close to reaching … Read more