The TiVo box, which sat on the innovative of television’s early 2000s time-shifting viewer revolution, isn’t any more. The corporate confirmed to Variety that it officially got out of the hardware business on Oct. 1, when it stopped selling its physical DVR products. Which means the TiVo hardware and accessories, which still had been sold each online and thru agents until this fall, is officially off the market.
“TiVo not manufactures hardware, and our remaining inventory is now depleted, though we’ll proceed to supply support for the products going forward,” the corporate told Variety. “We’re very pleased with the TiVo DVR legacy, and the good experience TiVo has at all times provided lives on in our TiVo OS for Connected Televisions, which is on the market on televisions from Sharp within the US and multiple brands throughout Europe.”
The proven fact that TiVo will still offer support for these now obsolete boxes probably come as somewhat of a relief for users who bought “lifetime plans” for the service.
TiVo’s most up-to-date digital video recorder, dubbed “TiVo Edge,” was unveiled in October 2019. That device included 4K Dolby Vision HDR video playback capabilities with Dolby Atmos sound, and could possibly be used to each record live TV and access a variety of streaming apps. Versions included one for cable users (with six tuners and a 2TB hard disk) and twine cutters (with 4 tuners and a 2TB hard disk).
The TiVo Edge was the seventh generation TiVo DVR, and was manufactured by Arris. The unique Series 1 TiVo, launched in March 1999, was manufactured by Philips.
TV industry execs were initially concerned in regards to the commercial-zapping capabilities of the then-nascent TiVo technology: “We’re in trouble, and we shouldn’t ignore the proven fact that it’s right across the corner,” then-Fox Entertainment prexy Gail Berman said at a 2003 Hollywood Radio & TV Society luncheon in regards to the threat of DVRs. “This business goes to vary, and it’s as much as us to work out the right way to do it.”
Ultimately, networks embraced TiVo and its rival DVRs as they saw how the devices actually helped increase regular series viewing. The Television Academy even awarded TiVo an Interactive TV Emmy in 2006 for “seamlessly connecting consumers to the digital entertainment they need, where and after they want it.”
But as cable operators began incorporating DVRs into their very own set top boxes, TiVo struggled to sell its devices in the patron market. It focused more of its efforts on licensing TiVo-branded software and tech to cable operators and other third-party devices. Later, the streaming revolution modified the best way people consumed TV — as audiences turned to cloud-based on-demand options fairly than recording and storing their very own libraries.
The top of the TiVo Edge had been on the horizon for some time: TiVo stopped selling the antenna (“cord cutter”) version of the device on its website in February 2024. In keeping with users, that was followed by the TiVo Mini LUX and the TiVo Stream 4K, until the last product — the TiVo Edge DVR for cable — ended its sales at the tip of September.
The web site Cord Cutters News was the first to notice last week that TiVo’s official website had taken down references to its hardware DVR products, including the TiVo Edge. The web site noted how streaming modified the sport, while cable corporations focused more on proprietary cloud DVRs — after which “regulatory changes, including the phased-out support for CableCARD technology—essential for TiVo’s cable compatibility—further squeezed the viability of consumer hardware.”
TiVo’s website now gears users to 2 options: A pitch for smart TVs that license TiVo technology, and one for its DTS AutoStage video service for autos.