So Echostar has decided that it will in fact be handing TiVo a check for $104 million plus interest, though TiVo is looking for further damages apparently, due to "EchoStar’s continued infringement of our Time Warp patent." More importantly, their victory here opens the door for TiVo to start hunting down everyone else selling a DVR, so the real ugly might still be on the way. [Zatz Not Funny]

As you can see, there's also separate viewer profiles, presumably so you won't be bombarded with content from your kid's Hannah Montana obsession. The movies and Amazon Unbox section is cleaned up and presented grid-style, so it's much easier to navigate as well. No indication on when we might see this roll out, but since it's just focus testing, it's possible we never will. Still, we know that TiVo's at least looking at refreshing their UI to keep up with the times. [Infinite Abyss - Thanks Dave!]

Jeff recorded one of his favorite episodes of Star Trek at 1PM and got the message above, giving him a whole 2 1/2 hours to watch it. Last time, the flag was a gltich—it's probably the case here, too, since the TiVo Copy Protection site doesn't even exist. Still, it's a nice reminder your magic box really only has as much as power as the broadcasters generously decide grant it. [PVR Blog]

Note: For the record, Star Trek > Star Wars – Jason Chen
Note: No it's not - Matt Buchanan

Microsoft's had this ability in Media Center to prevent specific shows from being recorded for a while, and the last time there was an error was a few years back during an episode of the Simpsons. It's not something broadcasters usually do. This also isn't a unique thing to Microsoft—TiVo has something similar but not quite as severe—it does illustrate the fact that if the providers wanted to, they could shut down your Media Center DVR right now and you couldn't do much about it. [JustinJas via Ars Technica]

After battling through a gauntlet of appeals and patent re-certifications, earlier today, a US Appeals Court denied Echostar's appeal to overturn an earlier verdict that it infringed on Tivo's patent with its own DVR setup. The ruling gives Tivo ammo to go after pretty much everyone hawking their own DVR, so things could get kind of interesting, in a protracted legal slugfest kind of way. 'Course going around and suing and everyone would probably put a damper on their plans to expand by licensing (think Tivo on Comcast, but bigger). [Thomas Hawk via CNET]

You can rewind and pause TV, record two shows at once (but none while you're actually playing games on it), and stream live TV to your PSP, all from the little box that receives digital terrestrial signals. It's true that this can record a HD signal, but most of us in the States watch our HDTV via our cable or satellite, which this doesn't work with. We'll see what Sony plans to do to address that before they bring PlayTV here. [BBC]

We're not certain just how much 7,200RPM storage comes bundled in this setup (if any), but at $520, it's not a bad looking media hub. [Product via Crave and GadgetGrid]

TiVo and the cable industry have come to an agreement on a blueprint for a retail TiVo DVR using the cable industry's OpenCable Application Platform that will have full two-way cable service functionality. While the technical specifications are still being worked out, such a set-top box will mean TiVo subscribers will be able to get full access to cable VOD and other two-way cable services. This could also mean that a standalone TiVo offering could fully substitute for a cable operator set-top box.

While we have no specifics on encoding bitrates, we do know that the Shinco uses MPEG4 hardware that can not only record and play back single tuner programming, but play back your own MPEG4 movies downloaded from your PC's torrent tracker of choice. At only $805 we're not sure what standard of picture quality or English support you'll get from the television, but we love the open platform for third party media and storage. [product via everythingusb]

Still no support for Series 3 TiVos, showing that the fraidy-cat studios still indirectly control what TiVo programmers can do, and ultimately what we can do with content we've recorded. Does anybody remember that Betamax decision, long, long ago? Some of these crybabies must not have even been born yet when the hammer came down on that one, giving consumers the right to record video in their homes and do whatever they wanted with it. Well, within reason. But then, reason isn't part of this greed-infested equation, now is it? [Zatz Not Funny]

Do you go with a cheap $9 a month rental from Comcast and put up with all its flaws to save money? Do you plunk down a couple hundred bucks and a monthly fee for a TiVo Series 3 because it just works the way you want it? Do you go all out and spend a couple grand for a Vista Media Center that has every single extra feature you could possibly want in a PC? Or do you go to the other extreme and build your own MythTV/SageTV/XP Media Center machine out of spare parts?

Here are the ten things you should know before you decide.

0) Do you have HDTV cable and an HDTV set? The pre-requisite to even getting an HD DVR is actually having high def cable and an HDTV. Make sure you're signed up for high definition cable from your cable provider (it's usually $5-$15 more a month) and have an HDTV to watch it on. The super-cheap EDTV sets you find at Costco won't support up to the 1080i resolution that HD cable brings, which means all those extra pixels are going to waste. Make sure you have the necessary equipment before you go and spend the money on an HD recorder.

1) Are you cheap? This is the biggest and most important question. Admit it, you're cheap. Hell, I'm pretty cheap too. Do you really need to spend $500 or $2000 for a system only to have to keep on paying rental or subscription fees of nearly $100 a month? Do you really want to watch that much TV? If not, then renting a HD DVR from your cable company or building your own Myth TV or XP Media Center Edition box with an over the air (OTA) HD recorder could be for you.

2) Are you familiar with Linux/PCs? If you are cheap (see #1), then you're probably contemplating salvaging an old PC and building a media center out of that. The only problem is that MythTV requires anywhere from slight Linux knowledge (installing some packages) to uber haxor Linux knowledge (recompiling kernels, fiddling with code and compiling), depending on what PC components you already have and which ones you can get your hands on. Even if you're going for a Windows XP MCE-based box, you might still have to go out and look for drivers and download updates to your current software. It's not nearly as easy as buying a TiVo or a pre-built Vista Media Center box.

3) Does someone nontechnical need to use it? If you or your wife/husband/roommates don't know the first thing about computers, you're going to want to go with TiVo. Although Vista's CableCARD HTPC is pretty easy to use (as we saw in our TiVo head-to-head), it's still a PC and still suffers from the same old PC problems like freezing or crashing. If you want the absolute simplest interface while still keeping features intact, you'll want a TiVo Series 3. Also, if you've already owned a TiVo before, you're going to want to stick with TiVo. Learning another system, even if it is easy like Vista's Media Center, is unnecessary if you're already an expert at one.

4) Do you need DivX/XviD playback? If you're often downloading TV shows and movies off of BitTorrent, you're going to want a way to watch them on your TV. And if you don't have an upscaling DVD player that supports DivX, a Vista CableCARD HTPC or a do-it-yourself Myth/XP machine can do the trick. However, most of the time HDTV encodes you find on BitTorrent are of poorer quality than the feeds you get from your cable provider—because they've been re-encoded, naturally. You'll want to watch most of your TV programming from your DVR instead of from BitTorrent if you can help it.

5) Do you have Satellite TV? If you have Dish or DirecTV, your own provider has a box made just to cram down your throat, so you're usually stuck with those. The DIY solutions like MythTV or XP MCE won't work with satellite, but Microsoft and DirecTV said they're going to integrate an app/plug-in into Vista Media Centers that allow reception of DirecTV. In this case, the receiver is your Vista HTPC, which brings with it all the benefits that HTPC systems have.

6) Do you need photos and music? Gaming? Internet browsing? Vista Media Centers trounce TiVo when it comes to viewing photos and playing back your music. To a slightly lesser extent, so do MythTV and XP MCE boxes. If you're going to want to play games or browse the Internet from your couch like some kind of non-shitty WebTV, a PC is the way to go.

7) Do you need On Demand? HD cable in general? This one's a little tricky. For On Demand, the only HD DVR that supports this is the one from your cable company. Both TiVos and Vista machines don't. Also, if you want HD cable, that totally rules out home-made machines like MythTV, which don't have CableCARD support and can only get cable over the air using an ATSC card. Depending on where you live, how big an antenna you use (yeah, you'll have to use an antenna), and what channels your local stations broadcast in HD, you may or may not have the same experience as HD cable.

8) Do you watch a lot of TV? If you record a lot of TV, you're going to need a lot of space. The DVRs from your cable company only have 120GB of space (the Comcast Motorola box), TiVo only has 250GB unless you upgrade it with an external hard drive, but Vista Media Centers and do-it-yourself solutions are almost infinitely expandable thanks to the fact that they're PCs. In fact, you could even store the recordings on another server over the network, or burn them to DVDs if you want to archive them.

9) Can you stand a PC in the living room? We're fine with it, but many people hate the sight of a PC in their home entertainment setups. This is a huge win for TiVo, since it looks like it belongs in your media center. However, you can technically get an extender like an Xbox 360 and get the exact same experience as if you had the Vista Media Center in your living room. This way, you can house your machine in another room and have a (relatively) quiet front-end. The same is true for MythTV systems, which can also be extended with smaller front ends and have larger servers in the back room.

10) Do you love Macs? Although we prefer to go with a TiVo 3 or Vista Media Center, we know of a couple people that are so tied into the Apple ecosystem of iTunes music and movies that they really want that experience in the living room as well. Using something like a Miglia TVMini HD+, you can turn your Mac Mini into a DVR that even records in DivX. Add to that the fact that you have a Mac with Front Row attached to your TV—so you can easily watch iTunes movies or listen to iTunes music—and you have the perfect setup for a Mac head who wants DVR features. The only caveat, like the issues MythTV systems run into on #7, is that you can only record over the air HD and not stuff from cable. (Of course, TiVo's desktop app is well supported on the Mac, so you can stream music and photos from your Apple, and a MCE PC can still run iTunes.)

With all these options, it's probably tough to decide which one is right for you. There's no perfect solution right now (neither TiVo nor Vista HTPCs are great for everyone), so you should pick the features you really, really need to have and choose the DVR that meets most of them. – Jason Chen

For people like Dave Zatz, the choice is clear—TiVo all the way. It's cheaper, has an easier-to-use interface, doesn't require a PC in the living room and people just like it more than a Windows machine.

But for others who want DivX playback, gaming, more than two TV tuners, larger storage and all the benefits of a PC, they'll definitely go with a Vista system.

But what do you think? The ease of use and lower price of the TiVo or the better customizability but higher cost of the Vista HTPCs? – Jason Chen

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

I do have to compliment Debbie on the outstanding work. Each cake is 18-inches tall and I would assume they were laid down to be cut into. To the couple that received these cakes: I would think about re-evaluating the marriage. Pardon my Sex and the City reference, but it is pretty easy to fall in love with a TiVo (ask Miranda) and possibly fall out of love with another, we should know. –Travis Hudson

Picture of the Day: Holy Matrimony [ZNF]

Head over to the forums to find out which drives and enclosures have been confirmed to work—which should be updated frequently—and various other gotchas you should look out for when doing your own upgrade. Brian will get right on it as soon as he's done cleaning the bodily fluids off. – Jason Chen

Series 3 Upgrade FAQ [TiVo Community]

Combine this with a vague quote we found from TiVo's CEO back in March, and we've possibly got something brewing. The quote: "We will be highly focused this year on launching a lower-priced, mass appeal High Definition product." – Jason Chen

Product Page [Via Dealhack]

With Microsoft now including Media Center in just just about all versions of Vista, the average person will become familiar with the Media Center software because it's just there. And with a cheap tuner card—which costs tens of dollars at this point—any old workstation can be a DVR.

But will this be enough to overthrow TiVo?

Maybe.

If Vista's adoption is anything like XP's, within two years most people will have upgraded—whether it's through manual installation or just buying a new computer with Vista built in. And for the people who are purchasing new machines, it's easy to tick that checkbox and grab one with a tuner card for a few extra bucks.

As we saw with the IE vs. Netscape wars, if you've already got a free browser (or in this case, DVR) that comes with your computer, why would you pay for something else (in this case, TiVo)? The Media Center interface is good enough to use even for normal folks, and there's nothing that sells a product better than being free.

But the problem comes from the fact that a lot of folks don't have PCs in their living rooms, hooked up to their TVs. They may be too loud, too ugly, or too clumsy to fit in with the rest of the entertainment setup. Plus, unless they want to make their main machine the DVR, people will have to buy a second PC just to fill that role, which kind of eliminates the cost benefits of using what you've already got.

So where does that leave us? Somewhere in no man's land, to be honest. It's hard to say whether people will want to place a PC in their living rooms or give up their TiVo systems, but if possible HD CableCARD media centers and the fact that there's no monthly fee have any affect, then Vista's Media Center could just be the TiVo killer Microsoft's looking for. – Jason Chen

Today, a Gizmodo reader heard directly from a TiVo customer service rep that the mega expensive Series 3 DVR would receive a significant price drop by end of Q1. As always, we'll take it with a grain of salt, but the reader's wrote from a work email of a well known mega corp, so it weighs a bit more in my mind than the average random hotmail.

This could be good news for TiVo's sales of the series 3 boxes, and good news for the TiVo fanboys. (That's us.) Now, just get those Comcast TiVo boxes out into the marketplace, and DVR nerds will be gulping down the TiVo coolaid like it's 2001 all over again.

Tivo [Gizmodo]