Its shares jumped 14% on the news in after hours trade, with investors encouraged by the company's growing revenues and improved forecasts for the year.

The California-based company has become synonymous with video recorders that do not need videotape, allowing viewers to pause live programmes and play them back using a built-in hard drive rather than a tape.

As it announced its results, the company admitted that its accountants, KPMG, had found an accounting error and it will file amended results for part of this fiscal year.

The relatively small size of the error encouraged investor attention to focus on the company's better-than-expected results.

Changing fortunes?

The Tivo technology, which could change the way people watch television, has had a mixed reception, as some customers have been reluctant to sign up for the sophisticated yet relatively expensive technology.

Earlier this year, the company's fortunes appeared to have changed for the better. Its losses narrowed, helped by cost cutting and drive to retain subscribers.

On Thursday, Tivo reported a net loss of £3m for the quarter ending 31 July, compared with $34.5m for the same period a year earlier.

Revenues were $23.9m, compared with $4.1m a year earlier.

The company expects to have a further 250,000 to 275,000 subscribers by the end of the year, bringing its total subscriber numbers to between 630,000 and 655,000.

The company also announced that Sony would bring out its own DVR later this year with technology licensed from Tivo.