digital video

TiVo and software maker Nero are partnering in the launch of a new platform that will bring TiVo's popular digital video recorder (DVR) experience to PCs. The platform comes with a one-year subscription to the TiVo service, which automatically finds and digitally records a user's favorite TV shows.

Beginning Oct. 15, Nero will offer consumers in the United States and Canada two purchase paths for adding TiVo to PCs -- a complete hardware-software kit retailing in stores for $199 and an online software download priced at $99, said Nero Senior Vice President Kris Barton.

In the popular TV series Sex and the City, one of the single characters described her relationship to her TiVo DVR with the kind of affection that might be used to talk about a boyfriend. A new report Wednesday from NDS Group indicates that many others feel the same way.

The international survey of 1,000 owners of digital video recorders found that the device has already obtained the status of second-most-essential technology in the household, after mobile phones.

Only Washing Machines, Microwaves Better

A U.S. appeals court on Monday ruled that Cablevision's DVR service does not infringe on the rights of content holders.

"We do not believe that an RS-DVR customer is sufficiently distinguishable from a VCR user to impose liability as a direct infringer on a different party for copies that are made automatically upon that customer's command," according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Cablevision's RS-DVR Paradigm

It's time again to pop open the virtual mailbag, which overflows with insightful questions from inquisitive readers.

This week's first query comes from a reader who recently upgraded from an old CRT monitor to an LCD. When connecting the new monitor to his computer, he noticed that there are two output jacks to choose from, labeled VGA and DVI. Although his existing monitor cable -- as well as the cable that came with the LCD monitor -- only fits the VGA jack, he wondered what the difference is, and more importantly, if he's missing out on something.

TiVo and Amazon expanded their digital partnership Monday. The pioneers in digital video recorders and online retail have teamed up to give TiVo subscribers the ability to purchase products from Amazon.com on TV sets, using the TiVo remote control.

With the new Product Purchase feature, television advertisers will be able to market products sold through Amazon.com on any broadcast or cable network, or via any of TiVo's extensive interactive advertising features, the companies said.

TiVo says it has completed the technology to make YouTube videos available on TV sets connected to its digital video recorder (DVR) boxes. As part of an agreement with YouTube announced in March, TiVo expects to roll out a software upgrade over the next few weeks.

Broadband subscribers with TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD DVRs will have access to the YouTube video universe. Viewers will be able to search by keyword or browse for content under categories such as featured, most recent, favorites or most viewed today.

Intel and Micron Technology announced Thursday that they have developed the first under-40-nanometer NAND flash-memory device, which could make possible smaller, higher-capacity solid-state drives.

At 34nm, the 32-gigabit multilevel chip is the smallest NAND available. The companies said the new NAND chip is the only monolithic device of this density that will fit into a standard 48-lead thin, small-outline package (TSOP), which means it could provide higher densities for existing devices.

Smaller Than a Thumbnail

Six cable-TV operators that serve more than 82 percent of U.S. cable households have inked an agreement with Sony Electronics that will soon make it possible for cable subscribers to forego the use of stand-alone set-top boxes. The enabling Tru2way technology, based on Sun Microsystems' Java runtime environment, enables interactive capabilities in TV sets, gaming consoles, portable media players, and even mobile phones.