Letter From the Editor

March means much more than “madness” and leprechauns for this Irish lass: It’s time to celebrate the birth of a little certain “someone” who forever changed the way the whole world sees TV. The legend started like this…

After unveiling the first working prototype of TiVo at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 1999–and despite an estimated four to five months of work remaining to complete a real working product–TiVo’s co-founder Mike Ramsay challenged the company to ship a perfect TiVo digital video recorder (the first DVR on the planet!) by March 31, 1999.

After everyone gasped, someone pointed out that March included a “blue moon”–in this case, the second full moon in a month, and of course, metaphorically speaking, “a rare event.” As such, the engineers decided to code-name this valiant effort “Blue Moon.”

“Everyone worked almost straight through without a break the entire month of March,” says Bob Poniatowski, a TiVo employee since Day One. “Our engineers spent many nights working and sleeping at TiVo. One of the hall closets was designated for blankets and pillows.”

Sure enough, just as the last week of March rolled around, so did the first TiVo box, right off the assembly line. Mike declared March 31st a “national” holiday and the last Friday in March to be the official “Blue Moon” holiday for all TiVo employees henceforth. The rest, as they say, is TV your way–and history worth repeating over and over again.

Happy birthday, TiVo: This one’s for you!

Make a wish,
Shanan

P.S. As you know, TiVo is the most selfless little creature most of us have ever met (and he never stops smiling!). So instead of sending him birthday wishes, he wants you to tell him what you want (think BIG, even beyond “the box!) because you never know which dreams can come true until you put them out there.

TiVo Tip: Exercise your broadband connection

With each passing year, the TiVo® service keeps getting wiser, but are you exercising it to its full potential? Now, with ExerciseTV on TiVoCast, TiVo viewers may never be called couch potatoes. Exercise on your schedule with ExerciseTV and find workouts that best meet your fitness goals, like Flexibility & Flow, 6-Pack Abs, Ripped & Toned and more! Get started…

To download TiVoCast programs:

• From TiVo Central > Find Programs > Download TV & Movies > TiVoCast.
• Browse the channels and find the programs you like.
• Choose to download just one episode or “Get a Season Pass” and have each delivered to your Now Playing list just like regular recordings.

NOTE: You must be broadband-connected to download TiVoCast content.

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Who’s your Daddy?

Wondering how TiVo got so smart? The brains behind the original “box” originally come from his technological father, of course. Jim Barton, TiVo’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, reminisces about the birth of his baby in this Continental Magazine article covering “Idea Makers,” because remember, TiVo and DVR were born at exactly the same time–no chicken-or-egg question there!

Jim, who has seven TiVo DVRs at home with 3 terabytes of storage combined, 3 HD plasma TVs, and 2 SD TVs, was kind enough to “time-shift” his own busy schedule to share his current “CouchTime” profile with you, his TiVo family.

What’s on Jim’s Now Playing List:

Daily Show Colbert Report The Late Late Show CSI and CSI:NY Criminal Minds NCIS The Soup Chuck Modern Marvels

Build It Bigger Cities of the Underworld The Universe The Ultimate Guide Mythbusters American Experience Skyland Real-Time with Bill Maher

Photo by Charles Barry for University of Colorado

Editor’s note: In case you’ve always wanted to tell the man who invented TiVo how it’s made a difference in your life, now’s your chance. You never tire of hearing how cute and smart your baby is, right? And no card is necessary when you’ve got email.

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Smile, it makes people wonder…

Jeepers, creepers, where’d you get those… antenna! TiVo got its identity (both the name and its perfectly cute face) in 1997 from the big brains behind : : CRONAN : :. Because TiVo was a first-of-its-kind product and service, and about to forever change the way people viewed television, Michael Cronan asked, “What would we name the world’s ‘next’ TV?”

Starting with T and V, “i” and “o” soon became the winning vowels. Interesting also, that “i” and “o” were part of the name from the “Input and Output” engineering acronym—and “VO” had a nice connection to “vox” and “voce” (Latin for a vocal sound). Seeing the name in print, Michael Cronan then drew a smile under the word—a clever turn that literally put a smile on the face of a brand. Check out the baby pictures and learn more.

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TiVo Fan Mail

Take a cue from young Takara (pictured here) and celebrate the birth of an invention we couldn’t live without with cake! Plus, frosting–yum.

Hi there,
I’m a TiVo fanatic… My wife and I can’t stand TV without TiVo. And now our daughter thinks TiVo means “delicious.” Attached is a photo from the weekend.

Cheers,
Ben and Dannielle H.

P.S. I’ve been a TiVo user and lover since 2002…. And I’ve hosted a TiVo party (via your “TiVo Tasting House Party” promotion last year). I stickered my car with your “cling” and I always wear my Team TiVo cycling jersey when riding.

No, we don’t make this stuff up. You send us a story or photo of your favorite TiVo moment and we make a RECORD of it – from TiVo birthday cakes to TiVo tattoos to TiVo what-have-you.

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