TiVo Gets FCC Waiver to Sell DVR That Can’t Get Analog Signals
TiVo got an FCC waiver to sell all-digital DVR devices that can’t get analog cable channels or analog broadcasts. The conditional waiver was issued by the Media Bureau Wednesday afternoon, citing cost reduction and power consumption as benefits. The company was required to include post-sale materials on some of the new products’ limitations, including that traditional set-tops still may be needed to get all the pay-TV companies’ services. TiVo had sought speedy approval of the waiver, which it got, to begin selling the device in time for the holiday shopping season for consumer electronics (CD June 9 p12).
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The Premiere Elite DVR, for which TiVo sought exemption from FCC digital cable ready CE rules, allows simultaneous viewing and recording of as many as four digital cable channels, the bureau said in its order. It can store 300 hours of HD programming. “The waiver is in the public interest because it will reduce the Premiere Elite’s cost and power consumption and provide consumers a new retail set-top box option that will compete with devices leased by cable operators,” the bureau said. “We condition this waiver on TiVo’s commitment to inform consumers and retailers about the capabilities and limitations of this digital device."
The waiver will cut the cost of the four-tuner DVR by $80 to $100, reduce its power consumption, and “introduce a new, retail CableCARD device option to consumers,” the order said. Unlike some other CableCARD and HD related waivers, this one doesn’t apply to other products or companies. “Any device manufacturer that seeks to offer at retail a device similar to the Premiere Elite must petition for, and receive, a waiver from the Commission based on the specific facts and circumstances surrounding its proposed retail offering,” the order said.
TiVo must do all the consumer education it proposed. That ensures “the benefits of waiver of the tuner rules, namely, increased retail device competition and reduced cost and power consumption, outweigh the counteracting burden on consumer expectations,” the bureau said. The company is “extremely gratified” by the waiver and “the speed by which the commission acted” on the request, General Counsel Matt Zinn told us: “The waiver grant came just in time for TiVo to announce the four-tuner all-digital product at the CEDIA convention” Thursday.
The post-sales notification the company must use for the Elite DVRs is: “Certain advanced and interactive digital cable services such as video-on-demand, a cable operator’s enhanced program guide and data-enhanced television services may require the use of a set-top box. For more information call your local cable operator.” That assures “consumers are not confused” about what the product can do, the bureau said. Chief Bill Lake signed the waiver.