It's time to catch up on a few PVR-related news items from the past week or so that I didn't get to until now.
So here they are:- Engadget reports that the patent-infringement battle between TiVo and Echostar is hardly over. Rather, it predicts, the legal proceedings over TiVo's recent $74 million judgment that Echostar has been using some of TiVo's technology will continue for a long time. EchoStar has called the jury's verdict "the first step in a very long process" and suggested that "the decision will be reversed either through post-trial motions or on appeal." Many believe that Echostar should leave the judgment alone and instead incorporate TiVo's technology into its existing set-top boxes. As someone who has used both the Dish and TiVo boxes, I can attest to the fact that Echostar would be doing itself -- and its PVR customers -- a favor by following that advice.
- TiVo sent out a message to subscribers alerting them to changes in the company's privacy policy. The changes are mostly to acccommodate two new services: KidZone and Guru Guides. We knew about KidZone, but the Guru Guides was a mystery until TiVo explained it on a support page: It's a "feature that allows you to receive and record recommended viewing programs from another brand, celebrity, entity, or individual that you trust." Hmm. Could be interesting, though I like to pick my own programming, thank you. Still, exchanging recommendations with friends and relatives would be interesting. I really don't need a celebrity to tell me what to watch, though. TiVo explained why the privacy policy changes were needed: "Some collection of your Personally Identifiable Viewing Information is necessary for you to use these services, so that TiVo can synchronize your viewer choices with the settings on your DVR. In addition, for these services to work effectively, TiVo needs to coordinate your expressed preferences with any decision to offer you further material and recommendations on a customized basis. TiVo will not use or disclose your Personally Identifiable Viewing Information to Third Parties without your consent."
- In another patent-related news item, it seems Royal Philips Electronics has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that give the company control over a new technology that would let broadcasters force viewers to watch commercials by not allowing them to fast-forward through them. The technology could be contained in a set-top box or a TV set and could be deployed on a program-by-program basis. Philips acknowledged in the application that consumers might not find this appealing and that they instead could require consumers to pay a fee to avoid the feature. How nice of them to include this opt-out option. Philips later proclaimed that it didn't intend to use the technology in any of its products. And, it said, the technology could be used in the opposite way: To allow consumers to watch programming without ads. "It is up to the viewer to take this decision, and up to the broadcaster to offer the various services," Philips was quoted by the AP as saying.
