You've got to hand it to TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO). First it booked last month's deal with Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) to turn its Web-enabled digital video recorders into video downloading storage devices. Now TiVo is hooking up with One True Media to offer personal video montages.

How does it work? One True Media provides software-based tools to edit collections of snapshots and videos into a video clip, complete with music. Companies like Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) offer similar creative applications, but One True Media is Internet-based. It charges subscribers $3.99 a month -- or $39.99 a year -- for One True Media access, though it allows new users to create their first five clips for free through the end of next month. The creator can then invite specific TiVo users to see the clips for free.

The partnership was originally announced back in November, but the service went live today.

It's just one more way for TiVo to stand out in a crowd of generic DVR boxes. I've already taken advantage of tracking my fantasy football scores through TiVo, and I kicked the Unbox tires through my TiVo earlier this month. I've also streamed Internet radio stations, ported TiVo recordings to my laptop, and checked on movie trailers through my box. In short, it's become an indispensable living-room appliance.

That's pretty much the point for TiVo. The company is still losing money, yet its owned subscriber base -- those it has acquired beyond its fading deal with DirecTV (NYSE:DTV) -- continues to grow. There are now 1.7 million TiVo-owned members, along with the 2.7 million it still has through DirecTV.

TiVo is generating average monthly revenue of $8.99 for each TiVo-owned subscriber. Keeping them around is important if the company expects to break through into profitability. So bring on the family-trip photo montages and birthday videos. If folks are gathering together virtually through TiVo, its future should be pretty bright indeed.

TiVo and Amazon.com are Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter recommendations. If you know how to work a TiVo remote, then you know how easy it is to nab a 30-day trial subscription to the newsletter service.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does love his TiVo, and he does own shares in TiVo. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. Microsoft is an Inside Value pick. The Fool has a disclosure policy.