Tivo Plan's End Run Game Around Cable

[DudeAsInCool]

Breaking Free of Cable's Stranglehold

By SAUL HANSELL

Published: January 6, 2005

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 - Cable television companies are not among the exhibitors here at the Consumer Electronics Show. But their influence is everywhere, as equipment makers seek to work with - or bypass - the cable industry's bottleneck control over the way most Americans watch TV.

All the approaches address the central fact that consumers of most current versions of digital cable service - the kind with the most channels and advanced features - must now use a set-top box provided by the cable system, usually for a monthly rental fee.

TiVo is using this week's show to announce several moves to bypass cable systems, by using the Internet and personal computers as media for television delivery and viewing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/06/technology/06cablebox.html