TiVo’s history:

TiVo was founded in 1997 by Mike Ramsay and Jim Barton. It is currently based in Alvisto, California. Mike Ramsay was Chairman and CEO and Jim Barton is currently CTO and Senior Vice President. Ramsay quit as CEO in mid 2005. TiVo finally hit the market in 1999. The two co-founder created a brand new category of products with the development of the first digital video recorder. This earns the company patents for pioneering inventions associated with DVR software and hardware design. TiVo was the first to deliver on the promise of consumer choice and control over TV viewing.

TiVo is only available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. However, TiVo does not sell their boxes in Canada, so customers have to order boxes from the United States and import them. TiVo DVRs have also been modified by end users to work in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and South Africa. TiVo service was launched in the United Kingdom in the fall of 2000. In 2002, TiVo decided to cease production in the UK, but services are still available to existing customers. UK customers can still get their hands on a TiVo box by biting on auction sites. The prices of these second-hand boxes with lifetime subscriptions had soared above the original market price.

In 2005, TiVo launched TiVoToGo. This allows users to transfer programs from the TiVo boxes to the computer or laptop with Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system. Users can then burn the shows onto DVDs.On March 2005, Tivo will put DVR services into cable set-top boxes. TiVo will serve as Comcast's primary supplier for digital video recording technology. This is a deal of a lifetime for TiVo in signing with the nation's largest cable provider.