That's Entertainment, TiVo

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Isn't it just a matter of time before we discover that TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) boxes can vacuum the floor, cure the common cold, and make a mean margarita?

The digital video recorder (DVR) pioneer got a little cooler this morning, hooking up with Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Entertainment Weekly to offer TiVo owners a little more programming guidance. If they so choose, subscribers can now have their DVRs automatically record the entertainment magazine's top staff picks. No more Saved by the Bell reruns or 'Til Death for you, my friend.

Whether it's streaming clips from Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) YouTube, playing music for RealNetworks' (Nasdaq: RNWK) Rhapsody subscribers, or shopping through the virtual aisles of Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), TiVo has done well in differentiating its DVRs from the plain-vanilla competition. That's vital to TiVo's survival, since most DVR owners are perfectly content with cheaper boxes provided by their cable and satellite television providers.

Shareholders may not read too much into this morning's programming deal. They're waiting for the company's quarterly earnings report, due out just after the market closes this afternoon. However, the EW alliance is just one more way TiVo can persuade couch potatoes to go with the name-brand solution.

Could this deal be sweeter? Sure. It would be great if TiVo could team up with Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), recording older recommended flicks based on individual Netflix subscriber ratings and viewing habits. That would be a win-win, especially if it ultimately means fewer physical or digital deliveries from Netflix to its subscribers in any given month, given the available TiVo-stored content.

This deal can also open itself up to other periodicals, like travel zines or home-improvement reads serving up their top choices for niche television.

This isn't the beginning for TiVo, and it certainly isn't the end.

Kill time until TiVo's earnings report:

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