(15 November 2006 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Tivo which works in the area of creating television services for digital video recorders (DVR) in the US has announced that it will debut a break-through new service early next year which will provide friends and families scattered across the US with an easy way to share their home videos, by sending them directly to the television.

Rather than burning and mailing DVDs, or viewing videos uploaded on a computer, friends and family will now be able to set-up their own private channel to send home videos directly to a Tivo subscriber’s TV set.

Tivo has partnered with One True Media an online service that helps people easily turn their video and photos into online video stories, to create an end-to-end solution for the person who took the home movies and to whomever he or she would like to show them.

After uploading their home movies to One True Media, consumers will be able to edit their videos online and will receive a personal TiVo channel code which they can then distribute to other Tivo subscribers. With a few clicks of the Tivo remote, and the personal Tivo channel code, friends and family will be able to get a Season Pass recording that will deliver to their TiVo all the current and future home movies from the video creator. Videos will be displayed in the Tivo subscriber’s Now Playing List — the same location all of their favorite television programming is stored within Tivo.

Tivo president, CEO Tom Rogers says, "TiVo is not only the best way to watch television, but it is also the best way to get television programming of all types. TiVo is committed to ensuring that its subscribers can enjoy their favorite video content no matter what the source. With the introduction of home movies, TiVo is once again delivering new service features that expand the universe of choices available to our subscribers.

"Video that stars the important people and events in a subscriber’s life should be viewable on TV. It is not TV until it is on the TV and that is one reason we say ’It’s not a TiVo unless it’s a TiVo.’"

To share home movies or slide shows privately the video creator gives his personal Tivo channel code to friends and family. Only people with the unique personal code assigned to the subscriber’s channel can see the published channel. Thus, creators can share their videos with friends and family, while assuring that their most treasured memories are not publicly available to anyone.

One True Media CEO Mark Moore says, "One True Media makes it easy to tell the most important stories of our lives and share them with friends and family. We are excited to work with TiVo to enable consumers to now create their own personal TV channels and enjoy their videos on the big screen in their living room.

"Tivo revolutionised the way we watch TV, putting consumers in charge of what they want to watch and when. Now, our two companies are taking that empowerment to the next level."