TiVo asked the FCC for a waiver of certain home-networking...
TiVo asked the FCC for a waiver of certain home-networking requirements for cable set-top boxes (http://xrl.us/bniavj). TiVo said it needs to the waiver so it can continue to sell DVRs to cable operators who will then lease them to subscribers.…
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TiVo said it will be prepared to implement an industry-standard home-networking technology when it is available, but “because TiVo is not itself a cable operator and has a very small share of the market for set-top boxes as supplied to operators, TiVo must wait upon the decisions of others before it can ascertain the necessary industry standards and begin implementation,” it said in the request for waiver and clarification of the rules. “TiVo’s share of the market ... is too small for TiVo either to anticipate or lead in the adoption of an industry standard,” it said. It asked to be let out to be let out of the requirement until a year after cable operators have deployed 100,000 compliant set-top boxes from each of the two major vendors, Cisco and Motorola that include the new standard. Without a waiver, cable operators “might feel obligated to suspend any dealings with TiVo” for fear of deploying non-compliant devices, it said.