Leading satellite provider DirecTV confirmed that rumors of the TiVo operating system making a return to their system are in fact true. TiVo, despite being the best operating system for HDTV DVRs by all critical accounts, was dropped by DirecTV like a hot potato when the satellite provider moved to a more HD-channel-rich MPEG 4 format, which forced users to DirecTV's proprietary system that was nowhere near as user-friendly as the Mac-like TiVo system.

Little is known about how TiVo will make its way back into the world of DirecTV. Will the MPG4 receivers installed in the field be able to change to the TiVo operating system? That's unlikely. However, TiVo and HDTV enthusiasts will be able to get TiVo back into their lives if they are willing to once again upgrade their HDTV receivers. It's safe to assume more and more pay-per-play content via partners like Netflix will be part of the new receiver, as will network connectivity, which is part of the digital cable TiVo boxes.

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