Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

That sound you hear may be the death knell for the set-top box/dust magnet in your home entertainment center. Sony and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association have announced an agreement that will place the cable companies’ technologies inside future Sony TV models. This will allow consumers to dial up ALL their cable channels, access video-on-demand and use interactive services without having to find a place for a steaming-hot cable box near the TV.

The nation’s largest cable companies - Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House - are on board, and the pressure is now on Samsung, LG and other big-screen makers to follow Sony’s lead. The NCTA says they’re welcome to do so.

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Evan will be filling in as The Water Cooler contributor while Bryan continues his plot to take over the world, for the next few weeks, across the pond in London .

There’s good news for losers like me who look forward to the end of the day when they come home and all five episodes of Law & Order: Petty Theft are on their TiVo. TiVo’s future is a bit more secure now that the company announced the extension of its current deal with DirecTV.  The deal which was set to expire in 2007 will now go through 2010.

The deal helps, mainly because the company is strapped for cash as it is tied up in lawsuits. TiVo has been actively seeking licensing fees from companies that have similar DVR technology in their set top boxes like Dish Network and Motorola. Just this past week the courts rules in favor of TiVo over Dish Network, which should result in a huge influx of cash for the previously struggling company.

Now the company can invest in research to make the system full of more obnoxious noises every time you touch a button.  TiVo never ceases to amaze with the great technologies they come out with, my life changed the day you could control it from Yahoo!, so watch for more great things to come. And if you don’t have it, get it, you’ll be a better human being.

Also look for the boxes in more retail stores like Wal-Mart and Target in the future. If you have an interest in the stock market, follow TiVo and its aptly named ticker symbol: TIVO as the legal developments may create a great opportunity to invest. (Stock was up over 20% after defeating Dish Network).