TiVo partners with CinemaNow, gets Disney on demand

TiVo has announced that all broadband connected TiVo Series2 and Series3 users will gain Disney on-demand rentals later this year. This in the wake of a new partnership with online content distributorCinemaNow.

This partnership adds to TiVo's existing content deals with Amazon's Unbox, Music Choice, and Jaman, as well as upcoming support for YouTube and other popular Web video codecs. It looks to be part of a broader move to convert TiVo from a simple DVR into more of a media hub, offering an increased amount of on-demand content, along with access to user's personal media.

Though downloadable content through Amazon Unbox has been available for a while, it has thus far offered no content with HD picture quality or Dolby 5.1 audio. Today's Disney and CinemaNow announcement notes that though most of the releases later this year will be in standard definition, select rentals will be in HD. Like Amazon Unbox rentals, however, the content will only be available for 24 hours.

When weighed against the increasing number of dedicated on-demand set top boxes like those provided by Netflix, Apple, and Vudu. TiVo's claims of content volume are far ahead of competitors.