I dont get TIVOS argument. I mean my VCR from the 1980s could be programmed to record a show at a certain time.
TiVo's patent isn't on the ability to record, but an implementation to do it on low cost hardware. This makes it possible to support simultaneous recording and playback with trickplay in a $15-20 chip.
If DVR manufacturers wanted to build $500-$800 DVRs based on 2+GHz AMD and Intel CPUs, then they could probably do that without infringing on TiVo's patent. But they have no interest in that. They want to build their DVRs for $150-300 with a single $15-20 chip.
It makes far more sense to pay TiVo $1.25/mo per DVR (Court's figure) than it does to replace $150-300 DVRs with $500-800 DVRs. Even if they could build a new, non-infringing DVR for $300-500 with the latest technology, that still doesn't do anything for the millions of infringing DVRs already in customers' homes.
Note TiVo does have a number of other DVR-related patents not at issue in this case, such as the on-screen progress bar and autocorrection on fast forward.