Actually the official birthday of the first TiVo DVR is tomorrow, 31 March.
According to the TiVo Blog that first DVR was shipped back in 1999 and the TiVo DVR was the first DVR ever in the world. Some of the key timeline events since then for TiVo have included:
- Mar 1999 First TiVo DVR shipped
- Sep 1999 Traded publicly on the NASDAQ (Ticker: TIVO)
- Dec 2001 First TiVo Series2 DVR shipped
- July 2006 TiVo service wins a Primetime Emmy award
- Sep 2006 First TiVo Series3 HD DVR shipped
- Jan 2008 First Comcast DVR with TiVo service shipped
- Mar 2010 First TiVo Series4 DVR shipped
- Jan 2011 – TiVo releases first companion for iPad
- Jan 2011 – TiVo deploys Virgin Media set-top box in UK
- Nov 2011 – TiVo launches in Spain with ONO
- Feb 2012 – TiVo nationwide launch of a TiVo HD DVR from DIRECTV
Although they have struggled in the last couple of years with falling subscriber numbers and patent battles the platform continues to work hard to be innovative.
I joined the TiVo revolution myself back in December of 2004 and took that TiVo Series 1 through one hard drive upgrade. Following a very brief flirtation with the COMCAST DVR (which was not TiVo based) I moved into a TiVo HD two years ago. It has changed the way we watch television in our house and it is now rare we watch television shows/series live as it is being broadcast.
This infographic from Connect Your Home shows how DVR’s have really changed the way we watch television.
Do you use a DVR? How has it changed your TV viewing habits?