March 30 - 6:10pm EDT   DirecTV has launched an app that allows customers to control their home DVR systems from an iPhone or iPod touch. A search function can be used to find shows up to 14 days in advance, or the content can be browsed by channel or date and time. The listings include additional information such as show descriptions, length and rating. Users can record single shows, an entire series or Pay Per View content. [full story]

January 20 - 1:15pm EST   Elgato has released an update to EyeTV 3, its Mac-based DVR software. Key to v3.1 is the addition of a TV Guide schedule for North America, which covers broadcasts up to 14 days in advance and provides associated cast, rating and genre information. A year of the schedule will be free for new and existing EyeTV 3 owners, but subsequent years will cost $20 each. [full story]

January 19 - 4:05pm EST   Sony has announced that owners of a compatible Bravia TV can purchase the BRX-A320 DVR, which has a 320GB HDD for recording up to 27 hours of HD video and 55 hours of SD, or up to 249 hours of content in LP mode. There is just one HDMI port in the device, though users can still record SD content thanks to one of four selectable recording modes. In the name of space efficiency, the DVR can mount on the back of the compatible Sony TVs thanks to a mount purchased separately. [full story]

December 21 - 4:15pm EST   i.TV has released the latest version of its TV and movie guide for the iPhone and iPod touch. The update now allows users to remotely program their DVR systems, view a variety of streaming content or purchase movie tickets. The DVR functions require a TiVo account and allow configuration of the frequency, quality and priority of recordings. The additional streaming content includes television shows, previews, movie trailers and YouTube videos. Users can purchase tickets from MovieTickets.com and securely store payment information for later use. [full story]

September 18 - 4:05pm EDT   Toshiba Japan on Thursday introduced three new DVRs with the company’s proprietary eXtended Detail Enhancement (XDE) near-HD quality upscaling technology that was first introduced in the XD-E500 DVD player. The newest models to use the technology are headed up by the RD-X8 DVR, which comes with a 1TB hard drive to record TV from its digital TV tuner. In addition, it will burn dual-layer DVDs and supports both MPEG-4 and AVC/H.264 formats. Of the new additions, the RD-X8 alone has Deep Color HDMI outputs. [full story]

August 27 - 3:50pm EDT   DVR maker and service provider TiVo announced on Wednesday it will partner up with Entertainment Weekly to provide viewers with content that is always available. Under the new agreement, Entertainment Weekly’s What to Watch recommendations will be automatically recorded on TiVo’s Internet-connected digital set-top boxes. Users will also be able to download Entertainment Weekly video content via TiVo, including Just a Minute, Ausiello TV and Idolatry, in addition to behind-the-scenes video from photo shoots. [full story]

August 25 - 4:50pm EDT   Panasonic updated its DIGA-series Blu-ray DVR recorders, which were released late last year, announcing today it will soon launch the three recorders that include the 1TB capacity DMR-BW930, 500GB DMR-BW830 and 320GB DMR-BW730. All will support the web-based BD Live bonus content, record HD programming onto their onboard hard disk drives and be able to burn Blu-ray AVCHD format (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264) videos onto blank Blu-ray discs at 6X speeds. [full story]

July 17 - 12:50am EDT   TiVo on Thursday announced that its Series3 and TiVo HD DVRs will soon support YouTube content, allowing users to browse and view videos on the Google-owned service. In the future, TiVo hopes to introduce a login interface, which would let users access their YouTube accounts, videos, channels, and playlists. Tivo expects to have the update delivered over "the next few weeks" for the aforementioned players. [full story]

June 10 - 4:00pm EDT   Iomega today announced the release of its DVR Expander drive, made to work with TiVo and Scientific Atlanta DVRs and more than triple their TV program storage capacities. The 500GB DVR Expander interfaces via an eSATA connection, capable of 1.5GBps transfer speeds, and can hold up to 300 hours of standard-definition TV programming or 60 hours of high-def programs. [full story]

May 28 - 4:55pm EDT   Hitachi on Wednesday unveiled a pair of new hard drives to add to its CinemaStar line, with the C5K320 and the 5K500. The former is a 2.5-inch hard drive with up to 320 GB capacity, while the latter is built around a 500GB, 3.5-inch hard drive. All of Hitachi’s CinemaStar hard disk drives are designed to extend the recording capacity of DVRs in home theater setups, but can also work with media center PCs. [full story]

May 28 - 11:35am EDT   DVR provider TiVo on Wednesday announced it will offer videos on demand from the Walt Disney Studios library, with some of the content made available in high-definition. The service will be available for all subscribers with Internet-ready Series2 and Series3 terminals via CinemaNow. TiVo made it clear movies in standard definition will be available for a 24-hour period, although how many HD movies will be available and if the timeframe for watching them will differ from the SD offerings was not specified. [full story]

May 20 - 1:15pm EDT   Recent interference with Vista Media Center recording was accidental, NBC says. TV viewers last week reported being unable to record episodes of American Gladiators and Medium, and instead receiving messages saying that DRM restrictions had been enabled. This triggered a number of of online complaints, including concerns that NBC was attempting to deter the use of DVRs, which allow people to skip unwanted advertising and other distractions. [full story]

May 15 - 2:25pm EDT   The subscription-based TiVo service has quietly brought back its Lifetime Service subscription plan on a permanent basis, extending what was originally a temporary deal. When it originally launched, the service offered similar lifetime subscriptions that were ultimately phased out in July 2003. The lifetime service is receiver-specific, though it is possible to transfer it from an older receiver to another one for a fee of nearly $200 that also maintains a one-year subscription to the TV recording service for the older device. [full story]

April 11 - 8:40pm EDT   In response to the ruling against the Dish Network, the company writes that it is disappointed with the court's rejection for an appeal, but that it will not affect current or future customers. According to the note, EchoStar has already developed and deployed a new version of the DVR software to customers as an automatic download. Dish claims the new software does not infringe on patents held by Tivo Inc. [full story]

April 11 - 4:15pm EDT   The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has once again denied an appeal by the Dish Network in light of a legal victory by TiVo, filings show. TiVo contends that Dish DVRs violate a software patent it holds, connected to split recording and viewing; the latter company has protested this however, and fought not only the initial verdict of a lower court, but also the outcome of its first federal appeal. In the wake of this second appeal, the Federal Circuit's decision is final and Dish has little to no legal recourse. [full story]