Gadgetopolis » home theater

Does the TiVo Premier Really Make the Invention of the DVR Look Like a Warmup?

George Thiruva — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:49 +0000

It’s been a long time in the making. Three and a half years after TiVo’s last major hardware introduction, TiVo finally announced something new today at their New York City unveiling. For much of the last month, TiVo watchers have been waiting to see what was coming after images of the press event invitation was [...]

The Sad History and (maybe) Bright Future of TiVo

George Thiruva — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:01:10 +0000

For a company that hasn't announced a new hardware platform in years, TiVo seems to be all abuzz in recent weeks.

It's been a long time since TiVo released a major new hardware product - about 3 1/2 years since the last major DVR release, the high definition Series3. Sure, they also released the TiVo HD and HD XL, but those were just variations on the Series3 with no significant new features.

Investors need something to cheer about. For pretty much the last three years, TiVo has been losing subscribers every quarter.

Fans like me were waiting for something new. I speculated on (or rather dreamed about) what might be coming prior to the start of CES. But TiVo disappointed us and announced nothing new at the big show.

But now TiVo looks like it's waking up from its hibernation and is ready to do something. Oh, but what? ...

Is Apple Leaving Money on the Table? Part One

George Thiruva — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:23:22 +0000

Given that Apple makes a fortune, am I serious about that headline? Yes! Really!

And I'm not talking about the Apple Tablet, iSlate, iPad or whatever is coming out on the 27th? I'm talking about tweaks Apple could make to its existing Mac product lines that could very easily juice profits up a little more. And Apple can do it with minimal additional R&D just by doing a couple of rather simple things.

In this part we'll take a lost profits with their Apple TV and Mac Mini products.

Let's check it out ...

It’s Showtime TiVo!

George Thiruva — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:49:58 +0000

By George Thiruva

It's CES week! And as a TiVo addict my first duty (as in past years) will be to check out TiVo's new Digital Video Recorder offerings for 2010. (2009 was a major disappointment) In the past few days, we've seen rumors of a new TiVo called the TiVo Premier. Sadly, this doesn't look like anything new - just a slimmed down version of the TiVo HD - which itself was a slimmed down version of the first TiVo Series3 HD (which yours truly has been using at home for about *three* years now). But could it surprise us with some unexpectedly great new features? Will it be enough to help turn around TiVo's fortunes?

Couda’ Shoulda’: Bluetooth Home Theater Remote Controls

George Thiruva — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:57:49 +0000

By George Thiruva

I just realized this: Bluetooth is 10 years young this year. The special interest group (Bluetooth SIG) was formed and the Bluetooth 1.0 specification was published in 1999. And in 2001, printers, laptops and hands free cellphone kits started to appear. From there, the sky seemed to be the limit: mice, keyboards, headphones, digital cameras, ... - the list goes on. But one application that seemed obvious never quite emerged - the home theater Bluetooth remote control. Traditional infrared remote controls require line-of-sight between the remote and the receiver on the device you are trying to control - leading to all sorts of couch potato acrobatics when something or someone gets in the way. And, oh the frustration if you try to hide your home theater components inside a cabinet.