No, that isn’t a redundant subject line, the full name of the new TiVoCast channel is ‘The Watcher On TiVo’. The Watcher On TiVo carries videos from Chicago Tribune TV Critic Maureen Ryan, and would seem to be the content promised in the May announcement of TiVo’s partnership with the Tribune. At the time it sounded like the videos would only be available to Chicago locals, and I wondered in comments on some other blogs why they wouldn’t make them available to all subscribers as it would help promote the Tribune. And it looks like that’s what they’ve done, since Worcester, MA isn’t exactly in the Chicago, IL area.

You can subscribe online or on your TiVo via Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video -> Browse Other Videos -> All -> The Watcher On TiVo

And I was right about it being basically a TiVoCast with a corresponding Guru Guide. The Guru Guide is available under You can subscribe online or on your TiVo via Find Programs & Downloads -> KidZone Recommendations & Guru Guides -> Featured -> Best Bets from The Watcher The Guru Guide is also available online.

On a different note, I finally got 9.4 this evening and I’ve had a little time to explore. I tried the YouTube feature and was vastly amused to discover the today’s ‘Most Viewed’ video is a ~10 minute clip from the hentai anime New Angel (aka Shin Angel). Not too graphic, looks like it was edited with a meat cleaver, but still amusing. Ah, YouTube.

But I have to say, poking around and playing different videos, it looks surprisingly good on my 61″ DLP. Much better than I was expecting actually, giving the normal resolution of YouTube videos. Well done TiVo. I hope they make the streaming H.264 generic so other sites can use it.

Being able to Review Thumbs is interesting, but I wish it allowed me to sort it alphabetically. That would make it easier to find a specific program. It looks like it is sorted by some ranking system, since there is no discernible order. There are also odd duplications in the list, with the same program or movie appearing twice.

Everything seems to work as I’d expect, I think 9.4 is a nice update.

It looks like the rumored partnership with The Chicago Tribune is confirmed, they’ve issued a press release.
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The New York Times is reporting a new deal between TiVo and The Chicago Tribune, which is expected to be announced tomorrow. Under the deal, the approximately 100,000 TiVo subscribers in the Chicago area will be able to sign up to receive program recommendations from Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan, which their TiVo’s could automatically record. In addition, Ryan will record special videos summarizing her picks twice a month which will be delivered to the TiVo subscribers who sign up for the service.

To me this sounds like a combination of a Guru Guide, for the recommendations, and a special TiVoCast channel for her videos. Which is a new way to use the existing platforms.

TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said that TiVo is in talks for similar partnerships in other areas. And it sounds like there is some revenue sharing with The Tribune in this deal:

The more immediate benefit may come from Chicago-area consumers who choose to subscribe to TiVo after seeing the newspaper’s advertisements of the service. The Tribune will receive a share of the new subscriber revenue.

Since TiVo’s quarterly call is tomorrow, we’ll probably hear about this then.