With the recent spring TiVo Premiere update we figured it was as good of a time as any to spend some quality time with the newly-renamed TiVo Premiere XL4. The highest model in the TiVo line, the XL4 costs $ 399 plus $ 15 a month, or $ 499 for lifetime service. For the money, it records four HD shows at once with a single CableCARD and offers 2TB of storage. More tuners and space aren’t the only things that have changed since we gave the original TiVo Premiere a once-over just two years ago. No, there have been a few notable releases as well as the release of the TiVo Slide Remote and a number of TiVo companion apps for phones and tablets. How all that comes together is exactly what you’ll find out should you choose to click on through to the other side.

Continue reading TiVo Premiere XL4 review

TiVo Premiere XL4 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As a part of the BBC’s run up to this year’s Olympics, it is bringing new approaches to broadcast technology in a number of ways including 3D, online streaming, multiple HD channels and now, connected TV apps. Today it’s launching a BBC Sports app for connected TVs that bring in new interactive features via the BBC Red Button which will first appear on Virgin Media’s TiVo platform, along with a port of its BBC News app. First up for the interactive treatment? F1 racing, starting with the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. In the app viewers can access live coverage of the race, highlights from previous races, and multifeed coverage of the race including in-car cameras and driver trackers. There’s a video demo and press release embedded after the break (viewable in the UK only), and the Sports app is expected to hit more devices before the Olympics starts, although it’s unclear which ones.

Continue reading BBC Sport connected TV app launches on UK TiVos, brings BBC News along

BBC Sport connected TV app launches on UK TiVos, brings BBC News along originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just one month shy of a year after we first heard it would happen (not counting the icon flub during the original Premiere announcement) TiVo has announced its DVRs will be able to access Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand library. The blog and product page feature several screenshots flashing the Xfinity VOD icon and showing off the TiVo Premiere UI’s universal search pulling from Comcast’s library alongside other sources like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus. Until now, switching to third party DVRs exclusively meant largely foregoing access to Comcast’s VOD, but with this customers who dig the TiVo experience can switch without making compromises. Naturally, to make use of this customers will need to be Comcast TV subscribers, although we hear the video will be delivered via QAM just like on cable company owned boxes instead of IP, which might provide higher video quality than the Xbox 360′s recently launched app. The update will be made available to customers in the San Francisco Bay Area to start, delivered “today and over the next few weeks” — no word yet when we’ll see this roll out elsewhere.

TiVo Premiere DVRs in the Bay Area get Comcast VOD starting today originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Waiting for your TiVo to see the upgraded Netflix and YouTube streaming apps we got a peek at during CES a few months ago? How about the ability to access Comcast’s video on-demand that we’ve been waiting for since last year? According to tweets by Vice President of user experience Margret Schmidt we may see all that and more soon, as she mentioned “expecting” the Spring Update with new video streaming apps and parental controls in HD menus to roll out to Premiere and Elite DVRs this month. As far as Comcast Xfinity On Demand, the rollout is targeted to begin in the San Francisco Bay Area, with an update for DVRs there this week before the feature is turned on later this month. This shaping up to be a very interesting year for the smiley faced DVR company with new hardware still waiting in the wings, add in all these new software capabilities and TiVo looks like a winner in more than just the legal battles.

[Thanks, Joe, Sebs]

TiVo Premiere updates coming with new Netflix and YouTube apps; Bay Area gets Comcast VOD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 01:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Four days ago TiVo abandoned its protracted patent litigation against Microsoft and we sighed in relief at the idea that people were learning to just get along. Our respite was short lived, however, when the company revealed it was lobbing litigation-shaped grenades over the fence toward Motorola Mobility and Time Warner Cable. The lawsuit, filed in the Patent Troll haven of Texas’ Eastern District, concerns patents 6,223,389, 7,529,465 and 6,792,195. The first of that trio is the contentious Time Warping patent that’s been argued over so much we’d like to slice it in two, King Solomon style. Details beyond that are few and far between, but something tells us we’ll be hearing more about the tiff in the future… whether we want to or not.

TiVo sues Time Warner Cable, Motorola Mobility in fresh patent assault originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Learn how TiVo Premiere, the world’s first Smart DVR, delivers truly Brilliant TV.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Are You Watching This?! (RUWT), the sports application that guarantees no sports fan ever misses an Instant Classic with personalized and sophisticated alerts and recommendations, announced today the launch of native Android smartphone, tablet and Google TV applications.

With RUWT, fans always know exactly what channel to watch, when, and why. Whether its overtime, a no-hitter, a close finish, a big upset, a huge rivalry or the playoffs on the line, RUWT watches every game 24/7, making accurate predictions so that fans can plan ahead and immediately alerting fans when they need to tune-in and catch the most important moments.

The core RUWT technology leverages patent-pending predictive algorithms and machine learning to process real-time in-game statistics from around the globe. It then provides personalized recommendations to each user and even alerts them asynchronously when a game is getting hot and deserves your attention.

RUWTs application for Android is built on a single code base across all platforms and uses fans’ personal channel listings so all of the screens in their living room are integrated with no fragmentation issues for a streamlined sports watching experience. Users can receive an alert that a game has gone epic on their smartphone and with one click change the channel on their TV right from the app.

Spring 2012 will be the busiest Q1 in sports history with a compressed NBA season, bowl games, March Madness and more. RUWT is the ultimate sports remote youll never miss a game thats exciting and youll never be teased with a game you cant get, said RUWT Founder Mark Phillip. Its high time we reinvent the way we watch sports, especially for integrated living rooms. Were creating an entirely new entertainment experience for the modern sports fan, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

A pinch and zoom heat-grid shows fans an at-a-glance look of all the games currently airing, color coded based on excitement level. If you see a game that seems more exciting, just click or swipe over to it and your TV switches channels automatically.

RUWT gives each fan a unique and customized watching experience. No longer will fans be teased about a game they cant see anymore — alerts can be set to exclude games airing outside of personal networks, and the My TV feature lists only games on a specific cable/satellite provider. If you just have a few games you care about, you can easily flag your favorite teams for priority notification. For those looking for even more help, the RUWT Dashboard recommends the five cant-miss games on a daily basis.

RUWT makes it possible to pair Android smartphones or tablets with the TV (GoogleTV, DIRECTV or TiVo for now) and change the channel directly from the app with a single click. Want to swipe through multiple games? Just click or swipe to a new game and your TV will follow. Finally, the app goes beyond last channel functionality, giving easy access to the four most recent games.

RUWT is the perfect sports concierge for both die-hard fans and the more casual follower Fans who love sports but dont have the time to be a super fan can rely on the recommendations and alerts to make sure they’re never left out of an exciting game.

You can download the RUWT app for your Android smartphone, tablet or GoogleTV here.

For more information on RUWT, visit http://www.areyouwatchingthis.com.

Supporting materials:

    Watch the screencast: youtube.com/user/RUWTvids
    Read more at the RUWT blog: blog.areyouwatchingthis.com
    Follow RUWT on Facebook: facebook.com/AreYouWatchingThis
    Keep up with RUWT on Twitter: twitter.com/ruwt

About Are You Watching This?!

Are You Watching This?! (RUWT) watches every game on every channel, from football to hockey to NASCAR, and tells you to tune in so you never again miss an instant classic. When RUWT finds a hot game, it sends out an alert via email or text with the score, time left, and reason why the game is good (no-hitter, close finish, big upset, etc.) along with the exact channel to turn to.

RUWT is powered by a patent-pending game-rating engine that objectively analyzes data and rates events using algorithms based on the league, score, time left, rankings, teams involved, user opinion and Internet buzz. Games are categorized as OK to Epic and users can root for games, upping their levels.

For more information, visit http://www.areyouwatchingthis.com, or follow RUWT on Facebook,Twitter and on the blog.

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