Comcast and TiVo showed a working version of the TiVo software running on Comcast PVRs at this years CES. The highly anticipated partnership announced over a year ago has many a Comcast cable subscriber excited at the prospect of getting some TiVo love on their current boxes.

While the companies started trialing this service in select markets near the end of last year, the formal unveiling at CES shows that a mass rollout is probably very close to occuring.

The biggest advantage to the partnership is that Comcast customers will be able to utilize a single set-top-box with TiVo's graceful user interface and still have access to great services like video-on-demand (VOD) and high definion programming.

The added TiVo software will be available for a "modest montly fee" although there is no indication of what that fee will be.

Update: Rollout doesn't appear to be coming until spring. Still no word on the pricing.

• despite the fact you have to pay $12.95 a month
• despite the fact the Series3 lacks the capability of the Series 2 to transfer recorded shows onto your PC and PMPs
• despite the fact you need a 2 hour visit from a cable-company technician to install a CableCard into your TiVo and;
• despite the fact the TiVo Series 3 does not support some of your Cable Companies services such as Comcast's on-demand feature.

As reported on PVR Wire last month, those wretched Comcast banner ads found their way back to the program guides of customers living in the Tucson, AZ area.

We speculated that Comcast was on the verge of rolling out this fantastic feature to more markets around the country and appear to have been correct much to the dismay of Comcast digital subscribers.

Livid users have reported seeing the invasive, home-wrecking ads in the Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Washington DC areas.

Some may inquire what the big friggin' deal is?

The big deal, ladies and gentlemen is this.

The ads are annoying. Apparently flipping from one page of the EPG to the next requires an additional button press because the EPG cursor must navigate over this ad to move to the next page. The ad is also a bit of an eyesore and takes up a significant amount of real estate.

There's also the fact that we've all gotten accustomed to the idea that when we pay to subscribe to a service (think satellite radio) we don't really encounter ads for the most part. On the contrary, when we don't pay for a service (think terrestrial radio), we must endure a certain amount of advertising. The ads aren't the primary reason behind the discontent, it's more the principle outlined above. To add insult to injury it's been reported that the company line appears to be that the ads are here to stay.

Perhaps the ads will slide through unnoticed among the typical Comcast subscriber and just be accepted as part of the guide. Reader Jack McMillin hopes that does not end up being the case and has created a petition so like minded customers angry with the EPG ads can vent their frustrations, and hopefully get them removed.

Good luck with that one.

• The user interface has been improved making it more logical and easier to use.
• Dual tuner PVRs act more intelligently when you switch between tuners when a recording is going on.
• An updated favorites function and the ability to save different lists of favorites.
• Reliability has been improved with less rebooting the PVR.

• Although the company has come out ahead so far in its legal battles with EchoStar, the war is not over, as TiVo's patent suit heads next to district court in Washington D.C.
• On the one hand, the recently released TiVo Series3 has received rave reviews as a PVR, the $799 price tag has likely limited sales to a niche audience for now.
• TiVo has announced some major new features to bring internet video into the living room, but it's hardly the only company to do so. Microsoft Xbox 360, or Apple iTV anyone?
  
• There are plans in the works to provide TiVo software for set-top-boxes to be rolled out by Comcast and Cox, but few details have been released on how those partnerships will work.
• DirecTV's partnership with TiVo draws to an end early next year.

• A number of readers complain that the controls are slow to respond
• One reader says his box freezes when you try to flip channels
• Another says her Comcast box gets stuck on fast forward or rewind. By the time she gets it to stop, she's often moved forward 10 minutes when she had just meant to skip past the commercials.
• And my favorite... One reader says she'll push a button and when nothing happens, she'll push a couple of other buttons. After a moment, the PVR tries to implement all the commands.

1. Press the "cable" button at the top of the remote so that you are controlling your cable box
2. Press and hold the "setup" button until the "cable" button blinks twice
3. Enter 994. The "cable" button should blink two more times
4. Press the "setup" button.
5. Enter 00141
6. Now press whatever button on the remote you'd like to become your new button.

• High Definition programs are now labeled as HD.
• The PVR menu has been updated to include a search function.
• The main menu now has a HD option.
  

• Easy access multi-favorites lists.
• New indicators for free on demand shows.
• A status bar to show you how long you have been watching a TV show.
• Improvements to the PVR menu.
• Parental Controls
• And more....
  

1. Choose an unused or unneeded button on the "silver" remote to be the 30-second skip command.
2. Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
3. Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
4. Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
5. Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
6. Type in the code 00173.
7. Press whatever button you want to map the 30-second skip command to.

• High Definition programs are now labeled as HD.
• The PVR menu has been updated to include a search function.
• The main menu now has a HD option.