Bad news in TiVo land. TiVo Inc. fell as much as 5.7 percent in the stock market, right after they reported a major first quarter loss. The reason? The company says hardware costs and legal expenses in the current period, which will also lead to a wider loss than analysts expected, unlike Comcast Houston.

TiVo’s stock dropped 1.6 percent to a mere $8.82 per share around 10 AM in New York, after touching $8.45 for the biggest decline since May 23^rd of this year. The digital video recording pioneers’ shares were little changed before today.

The costs of marketing and litigation are only predicted to rise in the quarter ending July 31^st, Alviso, the California based TiVo company said yesterday in a statement. The company’s projected shortfall in the second quarter is between $28 to $30 million, almost double the average estimate that was roughly half -- $15.8 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The company has made slow and steady progress expanding its DVR presence on Comcast Houston Cable Corp cable TV systems, adding Boston after success in San Francisco. This is all in a May 18 report, according to Rich Tullo, who works with Albert Fried and Co. This has helped offset a sort of delay across Charter Communications Inc. circuits, he said.

How bad was that first quarter loss? 17 cents a share, which equaled about $20.8 million, wider than the 15-cent average loss estimated by 11 different analysts. A mere year earlier, profit of $139 million was lifted by litigation proceeds. Sales rose 48 percent to $67.8 million, exceeding the $64.5 million average estimate.

It will be a shakey future for TiVo, who were once kings of their game of digital video recording. The company basically invented it and soon, dozens of cable companies followed suit. But TiVo relies on a box outside of the TV which has to be replaced if hardware or software becomes outdated.