Audio Video News

TiVo and ReplayTV haven't won vast numbers of converts, but those they have won swear by their digital video recorders (DVRs). Also known as personal video recorders (PVRs), these hard-disk–based devices are revolutionizing TV viewing as we've come to know it, allowing users to skip commercials, play "catch –up" with programs as they are recorded, perform seamless fast-forward and review, and free them from the tyranny of network scheduling.

Despite opposition from broadcasters who perceive an economic threat in DVR's ability to skip commercials, DVRs are winning begrudging acceptance from cable and satellite services, which see leverage in promoting the recorders' "view on demand" feature as an alternative to renting movies. Cable converter boxes and satellite receivers will increasingly be offered with inboard hard-disk recorders with TiVo-like capabilities.

Although only about 1.5 million homes have the machines at present, within three years they could be in as many as 25 million homes, according to a recently published analysis by research firm researcher IDC. There will also be many variations on the theme. TiVo is in a joint development deal with the cable industry to create a video server called Mystro TV that will allow programs to be archived at cable industry facilities rather than in consumers' homes. Some companies, like Cox Cable, are designing integrated digital communications terminals that combine television, telephone and Internet capabilities. "You get synergies applying services together," former CEO of Charter Communications Jerry Kent told Lycos Finance.

One unanticipated application for DVRs is accessing content on a user's personal computer On April 8, CNET News reported that TiVo has announced a software upgrade that will allow its Series2 digital video recorders to tap content stored on a home PC. The $99 upgrade to Home Media Option allows TiVo boxes to access and distribute content such as music files or digital photos stored on computer hard drives—both Macintosh and Windows PCs—and send them to video displays or audio systems through wired or wireless home networks. Your PC could become an audio or video jukebox or an archive of photographic art to be displayed anywhere in your home. In a properly networked system, the computer's hard drive could also be used as the storage medium for TiVo-accessed programming, making the two devices' functions somewhat interchangeable.