That means that they now have unmetered access to iTunes downloads, Xbox demos and updates (but not paid-for movie downloads) and ABC iView and TiVo. That’s a pretty wide range of content right there. The TiVo partnership means that apparently 20 per cent of broadband users now have unmetered access to TiVo’s movie downloads. That’s a pretty good percentage, too.

The question now is whether or not a) current iiNet customers will be swayed to TiVo, or b) whether this would sway potential TiVo customers to iiNet. Share your thoughts in comments.

Honestly, nothing else changes. Although I’m certain that someone will end up asking me whether the TiVo device will now get more channels because it says the word Freeview. The answer, of course, is no. There is absolutely no consumer benefit to buying Freeview badged equipment. But of course, you guys know that already anyway…

Any TiVo owners out there want to comment on having their UI changed in such a basic and minor way?

TiVo’s approach here is direct and clear: This is a basic scheduling app, for searching for, reading about, and marking content for recording, in situations when you can’t get to a computer—though a good mobile app can keep a lot of people away of TiVo’s TV interface for good. It’ll work with Series2 or Series3 standalone TiVos, and BlackBerrys running OS 4.2.0 or later, and should be available in App World starting this morning. [TiVo]

What’s even funnier was that Dish had ads saying that its DVR service was “better than TiVo”, an incredibly ballsy move when a court ruled that you’ve stolen technology from the party you’re claiming to be better than. [Bloomberg]

This means that TiVo HD and TiVO HD XL owners will be able to use i.TV as a full remote control, replacing those serviceable but ultimately kind of lame standalone apps that they’d been stuck with up until now. While the prospect of a true all-in-one remote app is pretty exciting — though it’s firmly just a prospect, since i.TV is simply offering a framework, not developing remotes themselves — the app has a few other new features going for it, including push notifications to remind you when flagged programs are coming on, and iTunes integration, which lets you initiate iTunes purchases from within i.TV’s schedule interface.

Prior versions were free, and this one should be too, as soon as Apple lets it through the gates, which is expected to happen within a few days, or, you know, not. For now, enjoy a teasey video:

[i.TV via BGR]

But first, the extender: The Moxi Mate is a small $US399 ($199 for now) extender box that plays back recordings from your Moxi HD from afar, over your home networked. It’s not all that feature-rich—no wi-fi built in, no scheduling of recordings, no support for more than one Moxi Mate at a time—but if your goal is to stream your Moxi library around the house, at least you now have a way to do it.

Anyway, about that library. Although the hardware on the main box hasn’t changed, Moxi’s software update, which should seed tonight, gives your box the gumption it needs to take onboard much larger drives via the e-SATA port, as well as a new optional browsing interface called Grid Guide, which gives users a more familiar, cable-guide-like experience than Moxi’s novel—but good—regular UI. Another, smaller update is Switched Digital Video support by way of an adaptor, if your cable company’s into that kind of thing.

At any rate, the core offering hasn’t changed, it’s just grown an extender: the whole system has the same strengths—a strong interface, good performance, and clear superiority over cableco boxes—as well as the same weaknesses—dependency on PlayOn for online streaming, the learning curve— so unless Moxi Mate tips the scales for you, or you’ve got $US1000+ to drop on storage to build an absurdly large video bank, your current impressions probably still stand.

The loss isn’t actually as severe as they expected, and TiVo execs are playing it down. Thing is, the company isn’t suffering because of some obscure recession-related credit problem or internal restructuring—they’re actually seeing subscriptions decline. Not coincidentally, they expect next quarter to be worse. [CNET]

Then again, maybe I’m just old fashioned – kids today do the craziest things with their technology.

Full press release is below:

MEDIA RELEASE:

TiVo launches new podcast service with Nova & Vega radio

Inaugural event…radio on television brought to life with the new podcast service on TiVo

Sydney, Australia, 15th May, 2009 – Hybrid Television Services (ANZ) Pty Ltd, the exclusive licensee of TiVo® products in Australia and New Zealand, today announced that from Monday Hybrid TV will launch a new podcast service. The service goes live with breakfast and drive time podcasts from both Nova and Vega radio stations nationally, through a deal struck between Hybrid TV and dmg Radio Australia back in December 2008.

From Monday 18th May, all TiVo users in Australia will automatically receive the new service on their TiVo media device at no additional fee. This new service provides highlights of all seven Nova and Vega regional breakfast and drive time shows updated on a daily basis. Podcasts will stream “on demand”, which means they start playing immediately on the TiVo without any need to download the content. Broadband data usage for the service varies between 1 and 30MB, depending on the length of the podcast and the listening time. Customers who have an internet service with Hybrid TV’s unmetered partners. Internode or Primus (from 1 June), will be able to stream the podcasts without incurring any additional data charges with their ISP.

Robbee Minicola, CEO of Hybrid TV commented; “Radio is loved by Australians and until now the radio experience has been quite separate from the TV experience. This new podcast service is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how we want to bring radio into the home…both on the TV and more importantly played through TV sound system. dmg took a chance with us to experiment and deliver this service, that’s what this new world is all about – partnerships that let the consumer win. This new service is just another surprise for our customers when they turn on their TiVo…automatic, free and no worries about subscription.”

Cath O’Connor, CEO of dmg Radio Australia added; “The TiVo media device provides a new platform for dmg Radio as a content owner. Launching Nova and Vega podcasts through the TiVo is another exciting example of the broadening opportunities that we see to have our content reach beyond broadcasting to other platforms. Initiatives such as this allow us to capitalise on the growing interest in radio podcasts, which can now be offered from the central screen.”