Gizmodo: Digital Video Recorder

TiVo Series2: They're Giving Them Away

Charlie White — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 09:18:09 EDT

Here's a great deal if you're not averse to rebates: Buy.com is offering the TiVo R54080 Series2 Digital Video Recorder for a price of $0.00. Free? Well, almost. The site is selling this 80-hour TiVo, which includes the latest KidZone parental censorship capabilities, for $150, and then there's a $150 rebate.

Of course, to get this deal you are required to subscribe to TiVo service, which will run you $19.95/month with a one-year plan. Buy.com will offer this deal until July 29. – Charlie White

TiVo R54080 Series2 Digital Video Recorder [buy.com]

TiVo Beats EchoStar's Butt

Charlie White — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 10:35:45 EDT

TiVo went up against EchoStar in a patent infrigement lawsuit and won, with a jury awarding TiVo $73 million in damages. Why the lawsuit? When EchoStar put together its own digital video recorder for its Dish Network, TiVo cried foul, saying that its patent for a "multimedia time warping system" was violated by EchoStar's DVR.

It's a good thing for that other satellite TV provider, DirecTV, that it cut a deal with TiVo the other day, where DirecTV extended the TiVo contract in exchange for patent protection. Other DVR purveyors might need that kind of waiver, too, since TiVo's patent is quite broad, basically stating that it enables viewers to digitally record a TV show while watching another. This could mean that TiVo could collect licensing fees for any DVR, driving up costs to the consumer. Either that, or we could all just get TiVos. Yeah. Big victory for TiVo.

TiVo Scores a Significant Patent Win. Higher DVR Prices? [eHomeUpgrade]

TiVo victorious in major DVR patent suit [ars technica]

Sony Introduces MSVR-A10 Memory Stick Video Recorder

Charlie White — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 11:15:25 EST

Sony introduced its MSVR-A10, a digital video recorder that records video from a TV or DVD player via composite or S-video and analog audio inputs, recording the signal directly onto a Memory Stick Pro Duo for playback on the Playstation Portable (PSP). That gives you two to four hours of video on a 2GB Pro Duo memory stick. Available in mid-April, it will sell for $215.

Sony MSVR-A10 Memory Stick video recorder [newlaunches]