TiVo might be dying on the vine, but at the rate they’re racking up lawsuit wins they may survive yet. TiVo’s stock skyrocketed after a federal court shot down Echostar and Dish’s recent appeal. Possibly next: Dish DVR shutdowns. More »
Remember that $US104 million payday EchoStar was ordered to pay to TiVo? TiVo couldn’t resist making a statement about it.
After getting resoundly swatted in court by Tivo time and again for walking all over its patent for a “multimedia time warping system” (cool retro-future speak for a DVR), Echostar (now just Dish) is finally admitting defeat once and for all. Following its loss to TiVo in a US Appeals court earlier this year, Echostar appealed to the Supreme Court, which just decided not to hear the case, leaving Echostar nowhere else to turn.
In order to offer more HD channels, satellite providers need more satellites. So happy day for Dish Network subscribers, their EchoStar XI satellite was successfully launched this morning after a satellite propelled into space last March didn’t reach the right orbit. This’ll let Dish add 17 new HD channels shortly, bringing them up to 100. DirecTV says they’ll have over 150 by the end of the year, though Dish’s upcoming all-HD TurboHD package could wind up being a better deal if history is any guide. [Reuters]
The Sling Modem cable modem + Slingbox device we saw back in January is finally launching. The first network to carry it is EchoStar, which has a really tight relationship with Sling seeing as it purchased them last fall. With this, you’ll be able to use the same box for your cable internet to surf and stream video to your portable devices. We’re always happy when we can make two gadgets into one.
Two years after initially smacking down Echostar (now just Dish Network) in court for stepping on its patent for a “multimedia time warping system” (aka a DVR) Tivo has clinched final and lasting victory against the satellite provider. Dish Network subscribers won’t have to worry about losing their DVRs or seeing anything different though, since the current boxes are designed around Tivo’s patents (probably because they knew they were gonna go down in court). Update: Echostar/Dish is actually gonna take it all the way to the Supreme Court!
According to a recent SEC filing, Sling Media’s parent company, EchoStar, has formally changed its name to the DISH Network —a move that better aligns the company with its core satellite TV service. A spin-off company called EchoStar Holdings was also formed and, as part of the move, it will be taking over the Sling Media brand. What does this mean for Sling Media and their popular line of Slingbox products? More »
TiVo already stomped EchoStar out in court a year and a half ago in a patent dispute over TiVo’s “multimedia time warping system.” Refresher: EchoStar cobbled together its own DVR setup, TiVo sued and won. EchoStar appeals to the US patent office for a review of TiVo’s patent. Today: The PTO finds TiVo’s patent to be valid in a decision that’s “final and not appealable by EchoStar”. Still left on the fight circuit, however, is the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, but the PTO’s decision for TiVo makes it all the more probable they’ll uphold the original ruling and injunction against EchoStar. TiVo’s take after the jump. [Flickr] More »
This deal between DirectTV, EchoStar (DISH’s parent), and Clearwire (a WiMAX service provider) seems to be the first big solid WiMAX push in the US, if everything goes to plan. In the agreement two big satellite TV providers will get a broadband service of their own—something they apparently think they need to compete with cable and DSL—and Clearwire’s WiMAX will get some large exposure to the public. More »
