"We as a technology and service provider could be a bridge. We are bridging that gap between the control and convenience of DVRs and keeping the content around."

That's why the company decided not to include a "skip" button in TiVo, as Replay did. Skipping ahead, over the ads without even having to see them, would have alienated the media companies, Baer said. And it would have been unnecessary.

"Replay can make all the noise it wants, but in the end when people have (TiVo) in their homes, fast forwarding through the ads at 60 times normal speed (as TiVo allows) is fine for people. It's a very acceptable way to use the product," Baer said.

The company is also providing creative new ad models to show advertisers that DVRs don't necessarily mean the death of commercials. For example, in a new campaign for the electronics retailer Best Buy, TiVo users can hit a button on the remote control whenever they see a Best Buy and view "Video Showcase" of "innovative Best Buy branded entertainment," according to TiVo's press release.

That video showcase will include a "behind the scenes jam session" with Sheryl Crow and a chance to win a Sheryl Crow CD.

TiVo users are legendarily passionate about their TiVos, and on TiVo forums on the Web -- yes, there are such sites -- there isn't too much complaining about the Best Buy ads.

There is grousing about another "advertainment," though -- TiVo's recent usurpation of people's DVRs to record a new BBC show that folks hadn't asked for. Unless customers had something else scheduled to record at the time, TiVos in Great Britain recorded the BBC comedy Dossa and Joe, and the customers weren't allowed to erase the recording until seven days had passed.

This sparked a furor, and TiVo apologized for the move, saying that it should have let people know about it beforehand.

Still, said Aditya Kishore, an analyst at the Yankee Group, "The fact that it wasn't erasable was a big no-no in my mind. You're saying this box is giving you more control over TV viewing and then you go in and take away that control -- to me that's a very confusing message."

But Kishore thinks that if TiVo can avoid such missteps, its approach is probably more viable than Sonicblue's. In the long-run, after all, the DVR companies need the networks. "If they don't accommodate advertisers, and if you've got a substantial portion of the user base skipping ads, why would an advertiser buy programming time on a network?" Kishore asked. "And then what happens to network programming?"

But if TiVo is moving in the right direction, is TV moving to meet it? Kishore and Sonicblue both say no -- the networks don't see that this is a new era of TV.