Personal video recorder company TiVo has a great product, but has been facing pressure from competitors (including former partner DirecTV). This coming reality has led to a lot of critics and analysts to be down on TiVo's future. Much is the same as NetFlix, which has been touted for its system of delivering DVDs to homes through the mail. There have been many questions raised about NetFlix's future as technology advances.

As I read on TV Barn, Newsweek has an article detailing a possible alliance between TiVo and NetFlix. This alliance supposedly includes the delivery of movies over broadband to your friendly TiVo.

Company reps deny this as rumor for now, but I think this deal has the possibility of offering an easy-to-use package for home users to pick movies they want from the comfort of their couch. It gives both companies a unique advantage to survive and thrive in the developing marketplace.

I just got a TiVo this year. For all of its touted advantages as a digital video recorder that efficiently slices and dices your viewing, a superb recorder can only record what's availble to watch -- and I've got basic. If I went to an expanded cable package or switch to satellite, TiVo's competitors stand ready with PVRs of their own (they're just not as good as TiVo on the whole).

This proposal gives me a great reason to stay with TiVo in light of increased competition.