Sony endorses TiVo personal TV

Sony Corp. of America will build its own line of "personal video recorders" using technology developed by TiVo Inc.

The move lends enormous support to the TiVo technology, which uses a hard drive, a graphical interface and software to let users save TV programs for later viewing at their convenience. Using a TiVo device - currently only made by Philips Electronics - users can pause and "rewind" any TV program and "fast forward" through a previously recorded one. The digital technology also allows users to "time-shift" programs and create virtual TV stations customized to their personal tastes.

Sony will make a minority investment in the two-year-old firm, which has already won support from broadcasting powerhouses CBS, Comcast Corp., Cox Communications, Discovery Communications, The Walt Disney Co., NBC and DirecTV.

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