In this article, I'll explore that question as the basis for a case study on industry flexibility. I'll also look at specific solutions for the problems we encountered, and possible solutions for the industry as a whole.

A personal video recorder (or PVR), also known as a digital video recorder (or DVR), is a device that records live television for later viewing. TiVo is one of the most popular brands of DVR and is a product I've used at home since the first model came out back in 1999.

For me, personally, a DVR is an indispensable device. I like television, but because of my work schedule and active lifestyle, I'm never able to watch my favorite shows when they're broadcast. Even before DVRs came out, I used all sorts of jury-rigged methods to time-shift my TV watching, including some elaborate tape swapping of those old VHS tapes and Rube Goldberg-like triggering of ancient VCRs. TiVo made things a lot more pleasant.

Denise and I have a fleet of TiVo devices. About two weeks ago, her TiVo (yes, we have "his" and "hers" TiVos) stopped recording her favorite programs properly. A week later, my TiVo evidenced the same symptoms.

Most TiVo devices work in concert with the cable set-top box provided by your friendly neighborhood cable company. If you want to record Ninja Warrior at 9pm on channel 150, the TiVo box sends a signal to an IR "repeater", which simulates the cable box's remote control, and causes the cable box to change to channel 150.

This is a relatively crude solution, but it's worked reasonably well for most TiVo owners for almost a decade. That is, until about two weeks ago, when our local cable company apparently found a way to prevent IR repeaters from working reliably.

Here in Central Florida, the local cable network suddenly installed a new operating system update to their cable boxes which includes a feature called Digital Navigator. After years of working perfectly, our TiVo boxes suddenly were unable to change channels correctly at the top of the hour.