TiVo is smart TV.

This article offers update on TiVo as of March 2001. TiVo calls its product the personalized video recording (PVR), a technology and service that enables viewers to watch what they want, when they want, not to mention skip the commercials. Ever since TiVo hit the U.S. market, consumer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The response from television and advertising executives has been more wary. Presently, however, TiVo finds itself in an uncertain situation. On one hand, the company is the leader in PVR, having won its highly publicized battle with rival ReplayTV, which stopped selling to the consumer market in the fall of 2000. On the other hand, Wall Street refuses to share the enthusiasm. After reaching a high of $72 three months following the company's September 1999 initial public offering, the stock came crashing down by 94 percent and now trades at $4 a share. Moreover, TiVo probably would not turn a profit for at least three more years. And although TiVo boasts 153,000 subscribers, that falls far below previous expectations. INSET: My Life With TiVo.