TiVo, the television recorder that has revolutionised TV viewing has come under scrutiny, as two of the United States heavy weights try to block expansion plans which could let TiVo’s 1.6 million subscribers copy shows and movies to devices outside of their home.
In filings made by Hollywood Studios and the National Football League to the Federal Communications Commission, the giants say that TiVo’s new technology could compromise the copyrights of shows that broadcasters send over the airwaves in digital form, which offers much higher sound and video quality than what viewers typically get.
The organisations fear that computer enthusiasts would capture those programmes and begin trading them online in the same way that millions of music files are shared daily, which record companies have said has cut into their profits. However, TiVo Inc insists its system will not allow such mass distribution.
TiVo wants to make copies more portable and by autumn hopes to roll out a system that will allow programmes to be transferred from the TiVo box to a computer via a small device attached to a PC. The programme could then be sent to other devices, such as laptops or computer, within the home and viewed.
Personal video recorder (PVR), TiVo was pulled from the UK market after failing to build sales. It is expected the growth of PVR’s in the US will reach 25 million homes by 2008 (see Integrated PVRs To Boom In The US As The UK Market Takes Off).
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