TiVo Unveils New DVR Design That Supports HDTV 1/09/2003 New Platform Expands TiVo Licensing Portfolio Into Fast Growing, High Demand HDTV Format January 9, 2003 - Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, NV January 9, 2003 -- TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR), today announced it has developed the first DVR platform that supports recording in High Definition Television formats. The reference design will be licensed to leading CE manufacturers who are expected to offer the new DVR to consumers by the end of the year. In a related announcement, today DIRECTV and TiVo announced they would develop a new DIRECTV HDTV Digital Video Recorder with TiVo The new design offers viewers the flexibility of a DVR that is equipped to record todays analog broadcasts along with the capability for recording the rapidly expanding programming offerings in HDTV. The company said the HDTV format DVR is one of the new products most frequently requested by technology licensing partners as well as TiVo subscribers. "HDTV has arrived and our consumer electronics partners have been eager to incorporate a TiVo HDTV DVR into their digital receivers," said Mike Ramsay, CEO of TiVo. "This is an important step in DVR technology that will give our licensing partners the ability to offer their consumers an HDTV platform DVR with the TiVo service before the end of the year." The TiVo HDTV reference design will offer all the same unique recording and viewing features currently available for the TiVo Series2 and will also support all high-definition formats, including 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. The source of the HDTV signal may be ATSC terrestrial HD broadcasts or satellite HD broadcast. The platform will also be capable of encoding a standard definition analog signal from terrestrial antenna, cable or satellite, identical to current generation TiVo platform functionality. HDTV offers significantly improved audio and picture quality over analog broadcasts. The rich TiVo user interface and program guide provides a consistent way to search and recorder either analog or digital broadcasts, significantly improving upon the basic program information delivered with the broadcast. This new TiVo will also offer HDTV viewers all the viewer friendly features that are standard on the TiVo Series2, including Pause Live TV, Season PassTM, for easily recording an entire season of favorite shows, and WishListTM, which lets TiVo find and record shows viewers love.

DIRECTV and TiVo to demonstrate new DIRECTV HDTV DVR at CES

January 9, 2003 - LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9, 2003 -- DIRECTV, Inc. and TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO) announced today that they will introduce a new DIRECTV HDTV DVR that will enable consumers to record and playback DIRECTV high- definition, as well as standard-definition DIRECTV programming and terrestrial ATSC broadcasts. The companies will demonstrate the new receivers this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (DIRECTV Booth 13525, TiVo Booth N208).

The DIRECTV HDTV DVR is expected to be available to consumers by year-end. The DIRECTV DVR with TiVo service will apply all the familiar TiVo functions to DIRECTV and ATSC high-definition programming -- including the ability to record, pause, instant replay and rewind live television. The new DIRECTV HDTV DVR will feature a larger recording capacity than existing DIRECTV DVRs, and will feature component and digital video outputs for enhanced audio and video. Manufacturers and pricing will be announced at a later date.

"Our new HDTV DVR combines the best HDTV and DVR features in one receiver and is clearly a product for which our discriminating customers have been waiting, said Brad Beale, senior vice president, Product Development and Advanced Services, DIRECTV, Inc. They no longer have to choose between high-definition or DVR. The new DVR takes whats best about TiVo, the ability to personalize TV viewing, into the realm of high-definition for an even more extraordinary DVR experience."

"HDTV is no doubt the future of home entertainment and we are excited to work with DIRECTV to bring HDTV and TiVo together." said Ta-Wei Chien senior VP and general manager, TiVo Technology and Licensing. "DIRECTV brings the best of new technology to its subscribers, which means HDTV and TiVo. This is a winning combination."

In addition to the component outputs and S-Video, the new DIRECTV HDTV DVR will incorporate a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) connector with high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP). The component or DVI may be configured for all HD formats or standard definition. Details on the size of the hard drive will be available at a later date.

DIRECTV offers four HDTV channels -- HBO HDTV (programming from the HBO East channel), SHOWTIME HDTV (programming from the SHOWTIME East channel), a high-definition channel featuring pay per view movies from major motion picture studios, and HDNet, an all HD network that will offer the largest selection of sports programming available in high definition.

The DIRECTV HDTV DVR, like existing DIRECTV DVRs, will also have the ability to enable viewers to create a Season Pass to automatically record every episode of favorite shows, and, using the WishList feature, instruct the recorder to find and record shows featuring favorite actors, directors, sports teams or interests.

Pricing information on the new DIRECTV HDTV DVR box will be announced at a later date and a monthly subscription fee will be required to receive the DIRECTV DVR with TiVo service.
 

Beginning today, DirecTV will offer local TV channels for its customers in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Knoxville channels include WATE (ABC), WBXX (WB), WVLT (CBS), WTNZ (FOX), WBIR (NBC), and WKOP (PBS). The new package will receive local channels from a satellite at the 119-degree orbital slot, requiring the use of a multi-satellite capable system.

In a separate development at the other satellite TV company, TMPG Media Innovation, a media strategy and promotional marketing agency, said it reached an agreement for the media planning and broadcast buying assignments for EchoStar and its DISH Network satellite TV service.

TMPG said it's providing EchoStar with a full range of strategic media services, including national and local media planning and buying activities for television and radio as well as promotional media campaigns.

Both DIRECTV and EchoStar's DISH Network added stations to their respective local TV packages.

At DIRECTV, the satellite TV service is now offering local TV channels in Norfolk, Va. The market also includes Portsmouth and Newport News. In addition, KWTV (CBS) channel 9 was added to its local TV package in Oklahoma City. The package launched in the market on July 30.

Oklahoma City and Norfolk viewers will receive local channels from a DIRECTV satellite at the 119-degree orbital slot, which requires the use of a multi-satellite capable DIRECTV system, which consists of a single dish and receiver.

As for DISH Network, the service now offers Indianapolis' local WB, WTTV channel-4. WTTV carries Indiana Pacers and Indiana University sports events as well as the WNBA's Indiana Fever and the NFL Indianapolis Colts.

During its fiscal second quarter, which ended July 31, TiVo added 42,000 net subscribers for its personal video recorder service, bringing its total subscriber base to approximately 464,000.

TiVo said its subscriber base has more than doubled in the past 12 months.

Revenue for the quarter totaled $23.9 million, nearly six times the revenues totaling $4.1 million reported during the same period last year. TiVo's net loss for the quarter was $3.0 million, compared to $34.5 million reported during the fiscal second quarter last year.

In addition to the financial report, TiVo also announced that Sony will offer a new digital video recorder with the TiVo service in the U.S. market this holiday season. The next-generation unit uses technology licensed from TiVo. The introduction of the product follows Sony's recent launch of a DVR in the Japanese market also using technology licensed from TiVo.

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association wrote state lawmakers in California last week urging them to oppose a five percent tax on consumers who receive satellite TV.

SBCA President Andy Wright told members of the California Assembly the dish tax, which he said is being pushed by cable operators, is anti-competitive. "It clearly seeks to use California tax policy to shore up cables falling market share by taxing only consumers who have abandoned cable for the superior quality, choice, service and digital signal provided by satellite," he said in a letter sent to Assembly members Friday.

Wright also said a statewide tax on satellite TV "is in no way analogous to locally assessed franchise fees and other user fees paid by cable."

The SBCA move follows efforts by DIRECTV, based in the Los Angeles area, to fight the dish tax.

The satellite TV tax is contained in a section of state legislation dealing with Californias Fiscal Year 2003 budget.

More Than 20 Channels Now Available in Dolby Digital 5.1

For a listing of programs broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, please visit www.dolby.com/tvaudio.

HDNet and the Arena Football League signed an agreement to broadcast live high-definition TV coverage of AFL games during the second half of the 2002 regular season. AFL action on HDNet's DIRECTV channel 199 begins June 1 when the Los Angeles Avengers host the Dallas Desperados at 10:30 p.m. EST. A complete schedule of programming, including rebroadcasts of games, is available at www.hd.net.

DIRECTV is working with Starz Encore and TiVo on testing a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service for satellite TV and for the personal video recorder environment.

Beginning this summer, DIRECTV customers with a TiVo receiver, and who subscribe to the Starz Super Pak, will have access to a selection of movies automatically delivered by satellite to their receivers. Films like "Jurassic Park III" and "Pearl Harbor" will be available on demand for viewing at any time with full PVR capabilities, the companies said.

The test will be free for viewers who subscribe to Starz.

The National Hockey League signed multi-year renewal agreements with DIRECTV and cable pay-per-view provider iN DEMAND for carriage of the NHL Center Ice package, beginning next season.

NHL Center Ice offers hockey fans up to 40 out-of-market games a week during the NHL regular season, plus select first-round and second-round Stanley Cup Playoff games.

In addition to Center Ice carriage, DIRECTV will offer a new channel - the NHL Network - to NHL Center Ice subscribers and as part of its Sports Pack subscription. In DEMAND also will offer the new network to NHL Center Ice subscribers.

DIRECTV has offered NHL Center Ice since the package's inception during the 1995-1996 season. EchoStar's DISH Network doesn't carry NHL Center Ice. In Demand has offered the NHL Center Ice package since the 1999-2000 season.

 According to the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, concern about a combination of satellite TV assets controlled by EchoStar and DIRECTV still comes down to reduced choice and competition for rural TV viewers.

That's what the NRTC said in a draft summary of its comments on the merger obtained by SkyREPORT. The cooperative said in its draft that "tens of millions of rural homes" - up to 25 million or more - are not passed by cable and have no access to any multichannel services except through EchoStar's DISH Network and DIRECTV. A combination of the two companies would create a monopoly DBS provider in rural/underserved areas, the NRTC said.

The cooperative also said promises from EchoStar that a combined satellite TV entity would adopt a national pricing structure "are no substitute for competition and will not protect rural Americans from the effects of a monopoly."

Today, the NRTC and others will file comments on the proposed merger at the Federal Communications Commission. In the past few weeks, filings and letters of support and opposition to the deal have been flooding the agency.

In addition to pay-TV concerns, the cooperative said 40 million homes are not passed by high-speed cable or DSL facilities and have no access to high-speed Internet service except via satellite. Today, the two competing providers of broadband satellite services are StarBand, controlled by EchoStar, and DirecWay, owned by Hughes. The merger would combine the two entities "and create a monopoly in the delivery of broadband services to rural Americans," the NRTC said in its draft comments.

The NRTC draft comments also asked that EchoStar be required to file all relevant contracts concerning its relationship with Vivendi Universal.

Low cost platform offers more recording capacity and enables new entertainment services starting at $299
January 8, 2002 - Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, NV January 8, 2002 TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) the creator and leader of television services for digital video recording, today introduced a new digital video recorder (DVR), the TiVo Series2 DVR. TiVos next- generation DVR offers more recording capacity at a lower cost and will enable new entertainment services such as digital music, digital photos, broadband video on demand, and video party games that can be enjoyed by the entire family.
TiVo DVRs record television programming directly to a digital hard drive, eliminating the hassles of videotape. The TiVo Series2 offers up to 60 hours of recording time, in a newly designed box that is TiVos smallest and sleekest yet. A 40-hour version of the Series2 recorder is currently available from AT&T Broadband for $299 at www.attbroadband.tivo.com. The 60-hour TiVo Series2 will first be available to consumers beginning in February 2002 at www.tivo.com for $399. Customers interested in pre-ordering the new product can go to www.tivo.com now and register to be first in line when sales begin.

TiVo Series2 DVR has two USB expansion ports, providing easy connectivity with peripheral devices, such as digital cameras, MP3 or CD players. This connectivity will also enable TiVo subscribers to access exciting new entertainment services like music, digital photos, video party games, Internet radio and broadband video on demand. Today, TiVo announced industry partnerships (see related release dated January 8, 2002), to develop these new entertainment services in time for the holiday season of 2002.

"You cant win in this market with techno baubles and gadgets. We have inspired consumers by recognizing its 90 percent about entertainment, and 10 percent about technology. Weve learned from our loyal TiVo subscribers that consumers want the latest and hottest technology, but demand ease-of-use and a better entertainment experience," said Mike Ramsay, CEO of TiVo. "Spending time at home with the family, relaxing and being entertained should be comfortable, not complicated. TiVo Series2 delivers an easy-to-use and easy-to-enjoy home entertainment experience."

TiVo DVR Series2 Feature Highlights
Specific features and functionality in the new TiVo include:

Up to 60 hours of recording time without the hassles of videotape
Sleeker dimensions of 15" width by 11.5" depth by 3" height for convenient fit in home entertainment systems
As with all TiVo standalone units, the TiVo DVR Series2 is compatible with and connects easily to virtually every television model available. It also works with VCRs, TV antennas, cable systems, and satellite systems
Improved patented remote control that allows for easy program recording as well as control of multiple TiVos in the home
Enhanced graphics engine
2 USB expansion ports to connect to peripheral devices like digital cameras, network adaptors, MP3 and CD players, etc.
Ready to run multiple entertainment services such as digital music, digital photos, video party games and broadband video-on-demand
Media interested in reviewing the TiVo DVR Series2 should contact TiVo PR or go to www.tivo.com/pressroom.

TiVo partners with RealNetworks, Jellyvision and Radiance to deliver music, games and broadband video on demand services

January 8, 2002 - Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, NV January 8, 2002 TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) the creator and leader of television services for digital video recording, announced strategic partnerships with RealNetworks, Jellyvision and Radiance to deliver new entertainment services for its next-generation digital video recorder (DVR), TiVo Series2. TiVo will distribute new digital music, video party games and video on demand services. Services are expected to be available in time for the 2002 holiday season.
"From TiVos inception weve known that delivery of music, photos and games would be a natural extension to the easy to use DVR service TiVo offers today," said Mike Ramsay, CEO, TiVo Inc. "We are happy to be working with premier services partners to make that a reality, delivering a whole new world of TV entertainment a world of fun video party games, music, photography, video on demand and more, to our customers living rooms, no PC required."

New Entertainment Services: Music, Video on Demand, Games, and Photos
The TiVo Series2 DVR, announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (see related release dated January 8) will enable these new entertainment services:

RealNetworks RealOne Player will be integrated into all TiVo Series2 DVRs, enabling TiVo subscribers to create and manage their music collection on TiVos hard disc and subscribe to RealNetworks RealOne Music service. RealOne Music will enable TiVo customers to download and stream music from the music catalogs of major and independent labels, listen to more than 2,000 Internet radio stations and view artist and album information. TiVo users will have the option to activate the RealOne Player when they activate the TiVo Service for an incremental monthly subscription fee.
"TiVo is the leader in revolutionizing consumers relationship with television. We are excited to work with TiVo to offer TiVo subscribers music management and the ability to listen to music on their TiVo DVR,"said Dan Sheeran, vice president, media systems, RealNetworks, Inc. "Music is an important part of the media experience in the home and embedding RealOne Player with RealOne Music functionality will bring a whole new experience to the living room."

Jellyvision, the creator of PC games, "You Dont Know Jack", "Smush" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", will work with TiVo to create new video party games that will run on TiVo Series2. "Jellyvision is very excited about bringing to life truly interactive television with TiVo," said Amanda Lannert, president, Jellyvision, Inc. "Their new platform is going to allow us to launch interactive programs that, unlike a web site, offer full-screen audio-visual experiences with the pacing of television and the creative production values to engage a truly mass audience. All to be enjoyed in the comfort of your living room."
Radiance Technologies, Inc., an emerging delivery management software company, will have its client integrated into the TiVo Series2 DVR as a foundation for broadband delivery management services. In addition, Radiance will work with TiVo to develop and integrate into the TiVo platform an Internet Video-on-Demand (iVOD) application and toolkit atop the Radiance client. Content providers will benefit from the combination of end-to-end content security and the superior economics of Radiances scheduled delivery approach.
"TiVo has always been about giving consumers more choice and more control over what they view on television,"said Ash Munshi, CEO of Radiance Technologies, Inc."We are excited that Radiance has been selected as a strategic partner for dramatically expanding the choices available to TiVo users via Internet Video on Demand and other broadband managed delivery services."

TiVo subscribers with TiVo Series2 DVRs will be able to sign up for these new services from RealNetworks and Jellyvision by the holiday season, 2002.

In addition to these services, TiVo showcased the capability to deliver digital photo services on the new platform. Consumers will be able to hook up their digital cameras to their TiVo Series2 to view and share family photos on their TVs, and even order prints.

TiVo DVR Becomes the Music Management Hub of the Living Room, Consumers Get Access to Music from Over 10,000 Artists

January 8, 2002 - Consumer Electronics Show, LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2002 TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO, Booth #N201) and RealNetworks, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK, Booth #14824) today announced that TiVo DVR (Digital Video Recorder) customers will be able to download, personalize, manage and play their favorite music, streaming video and other digital content from the comfort of their living rooms through RealOneTM Player and RealOne Music.
As part of the multi-year agreement, RealOne Player will be integrated into TiVos next-generation DVR, TiVo Series2, as the default digital music management software for TiVo subscribers. Through RealOne Player on the TiVo DVR, consumers will be able to copy their CD collections from an external CD drive or a PC onto the TiVo DVR hard drive, download music through RealOne Music, manage their music collection by remote control on their TVs, transfer music onto portable devices and burn audio CDs through an external CD-R drive. In addition, consumers will be able to stream more than 2,000 Internet radio stations and view artist and album information. TiVo users will have the option to activate the RealOne Player for an incremental monthly subscription fee when they activate the TiVo Service. TiVo will also offer consumers a subscription to RealOne Music, enabling them to download and stream tracks from the music catalogs of major and independent labels via the MusicNet platform.

"We are excited to be working with RealNetworks to offer consumers the ability to make their TiVo DVR the center of their entertainment experience in the living room," said Mike Ramsay, CEO, TiVo Inc. "With RealOne Player, RealOne Music and a remote, consumers will be able to organize and play Internet radio, digital music they have recorded from their own CD collection and music streamed or downloaded through RealOne Music. RealNetworks has long been the leader in digital media delivery, and now consumers can use their TiVo to manage all their music and video entertainment."

"RealNetworks is committed to delivering great Internet media experiences from any platform to any device anywhere," said Larry Jacobson, president and COO, RealNetworks, Inc. "TiVo redefined its customers relationship with television. Now with RealOne Player TiVo customers will be able to access the Internet and manage their music from one location, their TiVo DVR."

Consumers are expected to be able to get RealOne Player and RealOne Music in TiVo DVRs in the second half of 2002. As part of the agreement, consumer electronics and other OEM licensees of TiVos DVR service and technology will have access to the embedded RealOne Player and the RealOne Music service.