Engadget

Nuance adds Rovi's metadata to Dragon TV, becomes annoyingly good at TV trivia

Daniel Cooper — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:33:00 EST

Nuance, of Dragon TV fame announced today that it was licensing Rovi's (formerly known as Macrovision) metadata for its talky-TV platform. Once integrated, the application will be able to marshall far more information than it currently can -- enabling it to give answers to queries like "Who plays Chuck on Gossip Girl?" That said, we're not holding out much hope that it'll be able to answer our question about which guy from CSI played that bad guy in that movie we can't remember the title of, or something.

Continue reading Nuance adds Rovi's metadata to Dragon TV, becomes annoyingly good at TV trivia

Nuance adds Rovi's metadata to Dragon TV, becomes annoyingly good at TV trivia originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon, Rovi, Flixster and Samsung highlight UltraViolet's CES press event

Ben Drawbaugh — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:24:00 EST

The launch of UltraViolet earlier this year was very much the same as we've come to expect from Hollywood. In the case of DVD and Blu-ray, they eventually manage to get it right. Time will tell if UltraViolet ends up successful or another DRM story like PlaysForSure, but studio execs like Ron Sanders of Warner Brothers said "a year ago this was just a concept... we have a bright future" while participating in a panel at the UltraViolet press event at CES today. There are plenty of reasons he might feel that way, but announcements from Panasonic and Samsung to add Flixster app to its HDTVs and Blu-ray players is surely one of them -- Flixster is owned by Warner and evidently one of the most downloaded apps of all time from the iTunes store. In addition to the success of Flixster, the DECE claims to already have 750k UltraViolet households signed up in less than three months. The current state of UltraViolet and much more after the break.

Gallery: Amazon, Rovi, Flixster and Samsung highlight UltraViolet's CES press event

Continue reading Amazon, Rovi, Flixster and Samsung highlight UltraViolet's CES press event

Amazon, Rovi, Flixster and Samsung highlight UltraViolet's CES press event originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovi hits Hulu with patent infringement lawsuit

Joseph Volpe — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:38:00 EST

Mo money, mo problems, right Hulu? Seems it, considering the newly up-for-sale content hub has just been slapped with a patent infringement suit. This latest bit of intellectual property beef centers on the online content provider's alleged unlicensed use of Rovi's electronic program guide technology. According to Reuters, the company, which currently powers the streaming likes of Blockbuster On Demand and CinemaNow, is seeking financial compensation for potential "lost license revenue and treble damages," potentially tripling any future settlement award. While Hulu has yet to issue a statement on the matter, we'd be willing to bet those takeover talks are taking a backseat until this gets sorted.

Rovi hits Hulu with patent infringement lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovi sues Amazon and IMDb for infringing TV guide patents

Michael Gorman — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:08:00 EST

Rovi sounds friendly enough, but the company used to be called Macrovision -- and the infamous DRM provider just sued Amazon's IMDb.com last week for infringement of five TV guide patents. The patents came along with Rovi's acquisition of Gemstar, and they cover everything from interactive program guides to purchasing products on-demand to scheduling recordings from a computer -- a huge range that seems to hit everything from QVC to the Xfinity TV iPad app. That probably explains why Rovi says it has deals with everyone from Apple to Yahoo -- between its TV listings products, recent purchase of a sizable video library, and the current litigation with IMDb, it appears that the company is serious about leaving its DRM-centric roots behind and moving into internet content distribution.

Rovi sues Amazon and IMDb for infringing TV guide patents originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovi announces agreement to acquire Sonic Solutions for $720 million

Donald Melanson — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:51:00 EST

Rovi Corporation has already gone though a few significant transformations -- it was once the DRM-centered company known as Macrovision -- and it's now set to undergo another big one. The company has just announced a "definitive agreement" to acquire Sonic Solutions in a deal valued at $720 million. Among other things, Sonic owns RoxioNow (the service formally known as CinemaNow), which will give Rovi access to over 10,000 movies and TV shows, and Sonic also just acquired DivX earlier this year, which Rovi points out has a presence on more than 350 million consumer electronics devices. Head on past the break for the official press release, and look for the deal to close sometime in the first quarter of next year if all goes according to plan.

Continue reading Rovi announces agreement to acquire Sonic Solutions for $720 million

Rovi announces agreement to acquire Sonic Solutions for $720 million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google TV: Who is the competition and what are they saying about it?

Richard Lawler — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:40:00 EST

The Google TV has landed and is already sending ripples through the marketplace, but what about all the companies already blending internet and TV? Whether they are already planning to work with the new initiative (Rovi), even more firmly staking a claim on their existing technology and vision for the connected TV (Microsoft, Yahoo), sounding like it's an option for the future (Samsung, VIZIO, Boxee) or already working on their own Android on TV projects (People of Lava, MIPS) each one should tell a little bit about where this market is headed in the coming months and years. Read on for their statements -- and a quick breakdown of what each is bringing to the table in case you weren't already running a network cable to your HDTV years ago.

Update: Now with reactions from Roku and PlayOn!

Continue reading Google TV: Who is the competition and what are they saying about it?

Google TV: Who is the competition and what are they saying about it? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovi introduces latest cable guide that you'll never see

Ben Drawbaugh — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:18:00 EST

Long before Macrovision bought TV Guide (formerly Gemstar) and change its name to Rovi, we've been seeing guide demos that are worth getting excited about. But after years and years of the same old crap from big cable, all the excitement is dashed instantly as we realize we'll never see 'em deployed. We'd love to believe that the new TotalGuide for Service Providers announced this week at The Cable Show would change all that, you know with its slick looking user interface and unified search -- which appears to be a better implementation than TiVo's. If the screen shot above looks familiar it's because it looks similar to the TotalGuide for CE (used to be codenamed Liquid) that is currently available to CE manufacturers. More pictures and screen shot after the jump.

Continue reading Rovi introduces latest cable guide that you'll never see

Rovi introduces latest cable guide that you'll never see originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 20:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovi TV Guide widget debuts on Samsung HDTVs

Richard Lawler — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:18:00 EST

The agreement between Rovi (formerly Macrovision) and Samsung for EPG data has taken an odd turn with the debut of the TV Guide widget for Samsung's Yahoo! Widget enabled HDTVs. Check the pictures to get an idea of what it looks like, though with host of these televisions likely hooked up to satellite or cable boxes, the usability of these abbreviated "what's on" listings when another click of the remote would bring up a guide that will actually tune to those stations. Still, check the pics for an example of the flexibility of the widget platform, including the option to load up Daily Hotlists from Rovi's editors daily, complete with personal profiles but aren't exactly satiating the appetite we've developed for the Liquid guide demoed earlier this year.

Continue reading Rovi TV Guide widget debuts on Samsung HDTVs

Rovi TV Guide widget debuts on Samsung HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pace and Rovi work together to make a standard set-top a true multi-room DVR

Ben Drawbaugh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:51:00 EST

There aren't many times where we're caught off guard by a new product enough to think, why didn't we think of that, but this is one of them. The set-top-box manufacture, Pace, has just launched one of the coolest multi-room DVR solutions we've ever heard of. Not only does it over come the limitations of other so called solutions by not being limited to two tuners (for the whole house), a 160 GB hard drive, copy control flags (it streams, not copies) and a scattered recorded TV list; but it doesn't require even a single extra wire to be run in your house -- no, it doesn't use WiFi. What Pace has done is to work with Rovi and load up new software on its standard dual tuner HD set-top, the DC700X. This new software paired with a MoCA 1.1 NAS (pictured above) makes every DC700X set-top in the house a multi-room DVR. If this sounds like what you've been waiting for, then you'll want to click through past the jump to learn all about it -- or just to see another picture.

UPDATE - Pace announced deals with Buckeye Cablevision, Mediacom Communications, NCTC and Sunflower Broadband to deploy this.

Continue reading Pace and Rovi work together to make a standard set-top a true multi-room DVR

Filed under: Industry, Cable

Pace and Rovi work together to make a standard set-top a true multi-room DVR originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung signs up to use Rovi EPG technology

Ben Drawbaugh — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:29:00 EST

What this means for consumers is yet to be announced, but with any luck that cool new guide called Liquid, that we saw last month from Rovi, could be coming to Samsung HDTVs. Where all of this fits in with tru2way still remains to be seen as well, but with more and more TVs coming equipped with network connectivity and thus access to accurate guide data and VOD services like Amazon and Netflix, makes us wonder if tru2way will even matter. We suppose this CES will be the real indicator, when we see if CableCARD makes a comeback and if tru2way is a part of it.

Filed under: Industry

Samsung signs up to use Rovi EPG technology originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Macrovision re-invents itself as Rovi, kicks off with new guide "Liquid"

Ben Drawbaugh — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:17:00 EST

Hold on to your hats folks because the company that we love to hate is turning over a new leaf by kicking off its old DRM shoes and leveraging its acquisition of Gemstar in a big way. What we mean is that this is the first time in the history of Macrovision that we can remember being excited about an announcement; and boy does it make perfect sense that it comes with a new company name. Rovi's first consumer product should be available in various HDTVs next year, and among the new jazzed up looking guide you can expect a full DLNA client that is designed to be a single access point for all of your content. This includes internet sourced content like Slacker radio, YouTube XL, BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand, and CinemaNow; as well as anything you might have on your PC like pictures, music and even videos. Add in a little social networking from sites such as Flixster and we might have ourselves a new way to watch TV. No word yet on what new TVs will feature Liquid, but we'd expect to hear more at CES '10. The full release is after the jump.

Gallery: Rovi's Liquid guide

Continue reading Macrovision re-invents itself as Rovi, kicks off with new guide "Liquid"

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment