Amazon and TiVo Team on TV Ad Links

By Geoff Duncan Published July 22, 2008

Folks were wondering what Amazon’s forthcoming Internet-based video-on-demand service might mean for the deal the company had struck with TiVo and its existing Unbox service. Well, wonder no more: Amazon and TiVo have announced a new partnership called Product Purchase that will enable consumers to buy products from Amazon using their TiVo remote by way of onscreen links that will appear in selected programming. The first shows slated to leverage the new feature are The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen Degeneres Show, USA’s Burn Notice, and Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report and The Daily Show.

“Product Purchase adds a whole new dimension to the TV viewing experience,” said TiVo’s director for broadband services Evan Young, in a statement. “By teaming with Amazon.com, TiVo enables viewers to purchase products related to their favorite TV shows or that they’ve seen in TV ads without leaving their couch. “

Recommended Videos

Product Purchase will operate using the TiVo Swivel Search feature; users will be able to select a product and add it to their Amazon.com shopping cart, where it can be purchased later during checkout. The service will secure purchases with a PIN code associated with a user’s Amazon.com account…so, in theory, there’s no worry about Little Timmy wracking up a $1,000 bill on DragonBall Z paraphernalia while you’re out mowing the back yard.

Of course, advertisers are all in favor of new technologies that let people spend money with as little effort or thought as possible—and the embedded Product Purchase technology also has the advantage of working during recorded and time-shifted programming.

The new feature launches today and will appear on broadband-connected TiVo Series3 and TiVO HD DVRs.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Audio / Video

You Asked: Black bar mystery solved and virtual mode explained

You Asked

On today’s You Asked: Why dumb TVs are practically extinct and what it means for you. Plus, we dive into what Samsung’s virtual mode really does in its soundbars and tackle the age-old question: Why do some movies have black bars on certain streaming services but not others — even when it’s the same movie?
Black bars: sometimes there, sometimes not

Saud writes: I have a question that’s been frustrating me for a while. I have an LG G4 77-inch OLED. Some movies and shows fill my entire TV screen (no black bars), while others don’t. For example, while watching the John Wick series on Lionsgate Play, the first three movies were full screen, but John Wick: Chapter 4 had black bars. Why is that? It feels frustrating and even disappointing when the full screen isn’t used -- like I’m not getting the most out of my TV. I’ve read this has to do with aspect ratios, but is it really the director’s choice, or are streaming platforms altering content to fit? If they do adjust it, does that affect the viewing experience?

Audio / Video

Should we be worried we don’t own our media anymore?

The Blu-ray cases of Blade Runner 2049, Ratatouille, and Akira with an iPhone displaying streaming apps all lying on a wooden table.

As convenient as streaming has made the consumption of media, what's available to us today might not be available to us tomorrow -- or maybe not in the way we remember it. We have no ownership over the content that we're consuming. Instead, we're paying to get access to what streaming companies want to offer us, and they can change their mind whenever they feel like it.

Add to that the fact that 2024 was a hard year for physical media. Best Buy stopped selling discs in its stores and online, and by the end of the year, a Blu-ray player manufacturer discontinued production of its products. There was also news swirling that vinyl sales had plummeted by 33% in 2024 (although it turns out that was due to a change in counting methodology for vinyl sales, which are, in fact, up 6.2%). If there's declining interest in owning physical media, as the Best Buy news would seem to indicate, what are we losing by switching over solely to streaming? Should we be concerned that we have no ownership anymore over the things we watch, read, and listen to?
The impermanence of streaming
Netflix regularly culls its offerings. This could be for a variety of reasons -- licensing deals might end, the content isn't as popular as hoped, or a shift in strategy -- but the result is the same. We lose access to something we might have enjoyed.

Audio / Video

This Sony QLED has “insanely great picture quality” and a $500 discount

Sony Bravia 7 Review

When it comes to QLED TVs, pretty much every TV manufacturer has one or two quantum dot models to choose from. It just so happens that today, one of the best Sony TVs of 2024 has an incredible discount:

For a limited time, when you purchase the Sony 65-inch Bravia 7 Series QLED, you’ll only pay $1,400. At full price, this model sells for $2,000. We tested the Bravia 7 Series earlier this year, and editor at large Caleb Denison said this Sony had “insanely great picture quality.”