Innovative Licensing Relationship to Drive Fast Deployment by Making a TiVo DVR Easier and Less Expensive to Build
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 12, 2002 - TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator and leader of television services for digital video recording, today announced Toshiba Semiconductor Company and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC) as the latest technology licensees of its digital video recorder (DVR) technology. The technology license includes intellectual property in the form of a proprietary Media ASIC design, and a hardware porting kit (HPK) that provides a standardized layer for implementing TiVo DVR services on a variety of hardware platforms and operating systems. This technology will enable DVR manufacturers to differentiate their products with minimal cost.
"We are pleased to work with an industry leader like Toshiba as they take this innovative step forward in the development of DVR technology," said Ta-Wei Chien, senior vice president and general manager TiVo's technology and licensing business. "The integration of TiVo technology into Toshiba's chips has the potential to accelerate the development of devices that enable the TiVo service. This is another step towards the rapid proliferation of the TiVo technology platform and the development of innovative products for consumers."
"Our customers are telling us they need the newest and most innovative technology and chip designs. We see TiVo as the key to providing the latest technology and important product differentiation for our customers," said Farhad Mafie, vice president, ASSP Business Unit, System LSI Group, TAEC. "Developing chips that are 'TiVo-ready' is an advantage for us. We believe in the growing market for DVRs, and the standard-setting work TiVo has accomplished is what led us to license technology from the market leader for our next-generation products."
The addition of TiVo's Media ASIC intellectual property (IP) into Toshiba's chip offering will enable consumer electronics manufacturers to more easily and inexpensively integrate TiVo functionality into future devices. The Media IP is an important component of TiVo's overall technology portfolio.
The HPK facilitates an open, hardware-agnostic approach to DVR implementation. It provides the standard software layer from which DVR applications can be easily ported to a range of hardware platforms and operating systems. This allows manufacturers who utilize Toshiba's TiVo enabled chip to readily differentiate their product with little overall cost.
The functionality licensed in these designs includes patented technology, which enables many of the unique features that TiVo subscribers value, such as pause, fast forward, instant replay and simultaneous recording and playback of different programs, automated disk management, conflict resolution and many others.
As part of the agreement, the companies will work together to integrate the technology into chips that will become available sometime in 2004. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
About TiVo
Founded in 1997 with the mission to dramatically improve consumers' television viewing experiences, TiVo is the creator of and undisputed leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR). TiVo's leadership has defined and inspired the entire category, earning the company patents for pioneering inventions associated with DVR software and hardware design. TiVo was the first to deliver on the promise of consumer choice and control over TV viewing, building a loyal and passionate subscriber base with over 97% of customers recommending TiVo to a friend. This enthusiasm has contributed to overwhelming growth over the past year, bringing the total subscriber base to exceed 420,000. TiVo is headquartered in San Jose, CA. Revenues for the twelve months ended January 31, 2002 were $19.4 million. Additional information can be found at http://www.tivo.com.
This release may contain forward-looking statements regarding TiVo's business, customers or other factors that may affect future earnings or financial results. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include delays in development, competitive service offerings and lack of market acceptance, as well as the "Factors That May Affect Future Operating Results" and other risks detailed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 31, 2002, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect an analysis only and speak only as of the date hereof.