PVR UK: PVR (Personal Video Recorder) and DVR (Digital Video Recorder) news, reviews and how-tos for the UK (including Sky plus, TiVo, MythTV and Freeview)

There's still life in TiVo

For those of you who still follow TiVo's fortunes, Thomas Hawke has summarised a recent interview TiVo's CEO Tom Rogers gave to Bloomberg. There's some news on the upcoming Series 3 TiVo in there.

Going, going, gone...

It's the end of an era. My TiVo went on ebay last night for £234.99 - that's more than I paid for it brand new 3 years ago (£210)! It has to work out as the best value bit of kit I've ever owned, and it's transformed TV for me. I could never go back to life before PVRs now, but although I am using an Inverto IDL-7000T as my main PVR now (twin Freeview tuners, 80gig hard drive - you can get them here), I do miss the convenience features of my TiVo (especially Season Passes), so I am going to build my own out of standard PC components, and try out Windows Media Center and MythTV on it. That project starts in a couple of weeks, once all the hardware is here!

TiVo + Google = ?

TiVo is in talks with internet search giants Google and Yahoo! over a possible deal aimed at bridging television and the web.

The talks are still fluid and could result in a number of outcomes, two sources familiar with the negotiations said.

One scenario that's been discussed would see TiVo partner with Google or Yahoo! on a new service that would let consumers search for videos on the web and then watch them on their television sets, according to one person with knowledge of the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A second person familiar with the talks said TiVo has held talks with both Google and Yahoo! about a potential equity investment, including the possibility of an outright acquisition. Any deal would likely be exclusive, this source said. Nothing has been finalized, however, and the talks could yet fall apart.

"A deal to co-operate could happen quickly, but then the details would have to be worked out," the first source said. "The search companies need to work with companies like TiVo because they have access to the living room, and they own a television interface."

A TiVo representative declined to comment for this report. Jennifer Feikin, director of Google Video, said she could not comment on any TiVo talks at this time. Yahoo! spokeswoman Kathryn Kelly said the company does not comment on rumours and speculation.

A partnership between TiVo and a major internet search engine would offer expansion opportunities for both. TiVo has long talked about becoming the 'Google of TV', eventually enabling its 3 million subscribers to search for and watch any broadcast or broadband media. Though TiVo opened the door for video downloads straight from the web, it does not yet offer such a feature.

Meanwhile, Google and Yahoo! are investing heavily in video services.

Google this week began soliciting video submissions to its searchable broadcast archives, inviting small and major producers alike to host or sell playback of their work using its servers. The project builds on Google Video, the company's latest experimental work to archive closed captioning of broadcast television shows and make their content searchable. The beta project launched earlier this year, but it has yet to allow people to watch video clips.

Yahoo! this year also launched a searchable video archive.

Both search giants have for now focused on PCs and the web, but ultimately, industry observers believe, their plans will involve porting web video clips to the television, which generally offers viewers a better video experience.

Google and Yahoo! are in such fierce competition that neither wants to let the other land a deal with TiVo that might provide an edge. That could strengthen TiVo's hand at the negotiating table, one source said.

Though details have yet to be worked out, a number of possibilities have been put on the table, the sources said.

For example, a TiVo deal might allow Google or Yahoo! users to find video files on the web and then watch them on their televisions. Web surfers might provide some personal information, including their TiVo serial box number, in order to download video directly to their TiVo box. A credit card number might also be required, if the video had an associated fee. TiVo would collect a share of the fees from either customer payment or from advertising-supported video.

Such a deal would be attractive to TiVo, because it would promote the company's service among a broad audience, potentially selling more broadband-enabled set-top boxes. Right now, the company has an estimated 300,000 customers using its broadband-connected boxes, compared to close to 3 million using a dialup connection that wouldn't allow for a web-to-television service.

Mike Homer, a former TiVo board member who still serves as a consultant for the company, said he did not have specific knowledge of a pending deal with Google or Yahoo!. Nevertheless, he said a collaboration between TiVo and a web search engine in that class would be a win for both.

"You can think of this as a big user interface extension," he said. "It makes a lot of sense, and you could almost claim that it is totally necessary... it's a no-brainer."

To be sure, there will be many issues to iron out before successfully transferring web video to the television. TiVo will likely have to expand its storage capabilities. The quality of web video must improve for television viewing. And bandwidth capabilities in homes must expand, among other considerations.

More problematic, however, are copyright issues that need to be ironed out with broadcasters and content producers, as well as the inevitable pushback from cable companies and television networks. Cable companies, for example, are reluctant to abandon control of their distribution channel to consumers by allowing in millions of new feeds of content.

Any new web-based video service TiVo develops will also face some stiff competition. Companies such as Akimbo, Brightcove.com and iFilm.com want to help give independent videos new distribution onto the television. Akimbo, whose set-top box lets people watch thousands of shows from the internet on their television set, hopes to eventually partner with cable companies or set-top-box manufacturers to plug in its service, similar to that of TiVo's.

The difference in the two strategies is that TiVo does not want to license or own the content it distributes, at least for now. And Akimbo has yet to develop a substantial subscriber base.

TiVo has long been seen as a takeover candidate, given its relatively small size, lack of profits and its ambitions to challenge television and cable industry giants. Among its chief attractions is its brand, which is to DVRs, or digital video recorders, what Xerox is to photocopiers. Apple Computer, Sony and Comcast have all been mentioned as potential suitors, although no offers for the company have been confirmed.

TiVo's courting of internet search engines comes as the company's fortunes are reviving, thanks to a recent deal with cable giant Comcast that would see the DVR maker co-develop a version of its video-recording service that Comcast would offer as an option to its 21.5 million cable subscribers.

The Google alliance would be the latest in TiVo's efforts to create new services to differentiate itself from a crowding DVR market.

TiVo has been developing what it calls its 'Tahiti' strategy for nearly two years. Services being developed as part of the strategy aim to make internet content available to TiVo DVR subscribers on their television. Initial efforts include: making movies and trailers downloadable to a TiVo recorder from an internet-connected PC; buying products through the TiVo interface; and searching local cinema listings.

Synergies between the web search giants and TiVo could include transferring the multibillion-dollar pay-for-performance advertising model from the web to television. Last year, TiVo's president said the company was developing a technology infrastructure that would enable content owners to pay for exposure in search results for video. Google and Yahoo! both specialise in the same business, but for the web.

TiVo has also made content on its recorders available on PCs through its TiVoToGo service.

TiVo has become especially aggressive recently in efforts to develop new services as competition has increased in the DVR market. New Tahiti services are expected to become available throughout the year, chief executive Mike Ramsay said earlier this year, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The CEO's visions for such efforts are so ambitious that he expects the model where internet-related content is played on televisions to challenge the broadcast television industry in the next 10 years.

The DVR pioneer has to have such grand visions for its service, otherwise it risks being lost in the woods as other companies try to pick off customers. The biggest threat to its business involves TiVo's largest customer, DirecTV.

The satellite service operator accounts for more than half of TiVo's subscribers. DirecTV said it would use software developer NDS as a second supplier for DVR technology. DirecTV has not turned on features beyond TiVo's core DVR service, such as Home Media features, to the chagrin of DirecTV TiVo subscribers.

In addition, a DVR feature is at the heart of Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition, and satellite service company EchoStar Communications also features a DVR in its set-top boxes.

Comcast also launched a DVR feature for its cable service, which was a blow to TiVo's efforts to woo the leading cable company in the US. However, in a coup, TiVo managed to ink a distribution deal that will kick in with the first of their co-developed products in mid- to late-2006 and will use the TiVo brand.

Despite the addition of Comcast as a partner, TiVo has been developing new features and advertising methods to again set itself apart from the television industry.

"There are those out there who think that DVR is the endgame," Ramsay said at CES earlier this year. "DVR is not the endgame, it's just the beginning."

Source: silicon.com

Bye bye Tivo :(

Well, I've finally done it. After 3 years of perfect behaviour, my Tivo is on ebay here. I will be sorry to see it go, in fact, if I could get a twin Freeview tuner Tivo today, I would buy it, even if I still had to pay out £10 a month on a subscription. But, time and technology move on, and a single analogue tuner just no longer cuts the mustard in today's multi-channel digital world. I am using my Inverto IDL7000T as my PVR of choice these days, but I do still yearn after the ease-of-use perfecion and "set-it-and-forget-it" nature that Tivo achieved. Season Passes, I will be sad to see you go. Very.

I will be making an update after the weekend on life with the Inverto, but I am also going to build myself my ultimate PVR (or PVR+ as I called it in an earlier article). Maybe the spirit of Tivo will live on...

Could Apple buy TiVo?

Rumours are rife that TiVo is being watched by several companies looking to take it over. Of these, Apple seems to be the hottest prospect. Reuters has reported TiVos shares rising by 17 percent.

"What we hear on the street is that Apple is interested in their business and that they are a takeout target," said analyst Steven Kroll Jr. of Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co.

TiVo is in turmoil at the moment, and a takeover by a company like Apple would give them some stability, and useful ties into other markets (such as music) where Apple dominates. Apple would have a technology in people's living rooms that would give them a portal into services like iTunes. People could buy music from their TiVo and download straight to their iPods. If the inevitable video iPod could be tied into a TiVo to download video and record TV programmes, that would put Apple in a superb position. On top of that, both companies have similar ideas on making superb user interfaces, and use hardware and operating systems with much in common.

TiVo co-founder honored with innovators from leading technology companies for fundamentally changing how consumers watch TV

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo TIVO, the creator of and leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), announced today that TiVo Chairman, CEO, and co-founder, Michael Ramsay will be honored at the DEMO@15 conference as one of DEMO's 15 World-Class Innovators. The honors were given to innovators whose technologies launched at previous DEMO shows and still remain relevant and significant today.

Honored alongside Ramsay will be other industry luminaries including Marc Andreessen, chairman of Opsware, Marc Benioff, chairman & CEO of Salesforce.com, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and EMC Corp. Executive Vice President, Howard Elias.

"TiVo has fundamentally changed the way people watch television. It has transformed mass-market broadcast television into a personal viewing experience and forever altered our expectations as to how we will consume mass media," said Chris Shipley, Executive Producer of the DEMO Conference. "As TiVo made its foray into the market, DEMO was pleased to be a showcase for the technology and is glad to honor Mike now for his vision and leadership in transforming this market."

Ramsay co-founded TiVo in 1997 with Jim Barton, with the vision that television should fit the viewer's life, not the other way around. A pioneer in creating the digital living room, TiVo has put convenience and control into the hands of consumers via the digital video recorder (DVR), which enables viewers to pause live TV and watch programs on their own schedule. TiVo has continued to innovate by expanding beyond the DVR to bring consumers all the content they love -- whenever and wherever they want.

As of October 31, 2004, there were approximately 2.3 million subscriptions to the TiVo service, and the company's existence has fundamentally changed industries ranging from entertainment to advertising, causing TiVo to become a household brand.

"The DEMO conferences have always been a launching pad for emerging technologies, and I am honored to be recognized alongside these industry visionaries," said Ramsay. "DEMO enabled us to showcase our vision to create a digital living room that would enable consumers to control digital entertainment at their convenience. I am thrilled that that vision has become reality."

TiVo recently announced TiVoToGo(TM), a new feature that enables subscribers to take their favorite shows with them on their PC wherever they go. The company also recently announced its next-generation service strategy, code named "Tahiti," which includes an open platform that will enable third parties to develop applications and distribute content to the TiVo subscriber base. By opening its platform to developers, TiVo will add new value to the TiVo Service, and open the floodgates for other innovative services and applications on the TiVo platform.

uk.com
    About TiVo Inc.

    Founded in 1997, TiVo, a pioneer in home entertainment, created a brand new category of products with the development of the first digital video recorder (DVR). Today, the Company continues to revolutionize the way consumers watch and access home entertainment by making TiVo the focal point of the digital living room, a center for sharing and experiencing television, music, photos and other content. TiVo connects consumers to the digital entertainment they want, where and when they want it. The Company is based in Alviso, Calif.

    About the DEMO Conferences

    The annual DEMO conferences focus on emerging technologies and new products, which are hand-selected from across the spectrum of the technology marketplace. The DEMO conferences have earned their reputation for consistently identifying tomorrow's cutting-edge technologies, and have served as launch pad events for companies such as Palm, E*Trade, Handspring, and U.S. Robotics, helping them to secure venture funding, establish critical business relationships, and influence early adopters. Each DEMO conference features approximately 70 new companies, products and technologies. For more information on the DEMO conferences, visit http://www.demo.com/ .

    The DEMO community also benefits from the award winning DEMOletter. A weekly e-newsletter designed to reach the people who are creating companies, building products and launching new ideas, DEMOletter provides smart insight and analysis of entrepreneurial business issues.

    This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to, among other things, expectations for future third party development of the TiVo platform and the expected benefits and increased value from this third party development. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "intend," "estimate," "continue," or similar expressions or the negative of those terms or expressions. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. These factors include technology changes, new developments in the Company's product and service offerings, increased competition, changes in business strategy or development plans, future subscription growth, ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, compliance with existing and future governmental regulations, future litigation costs, and financial results, and expectations for future profitability, as well as the other potential factors described under "Factors That May Affect Future Operating Results" in the Company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2004, as amended, and the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended April 30, 2004, July 31, 2004, and October 31, 2004. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect an analysis only and speak only as of the date hereof. TiVo disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

    NOTE:  TiVo and the TiVo Logo are registered trademarks of TiVo Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. TiVoToGo is a trademark of TiVo Inc.

© 2005 PRNewswire

Have TiVo blown their chances?

History is full of companies with great ideas that failed to capitalise on them, and although their ideas and innovation lives on in the products of others, the originators seem to wither away and die because of poor business sense. I wonder increasingly if Tivo will become yet another of these footnotes in the history of the PVR. It seems the recent loss of their CEO may have been due to his failure to complete a deal with Comcast to license their software. Although it would have resulted in less than $1/month in revenues per box, the potential for starting a relationship with millions of consumers was huge.

Matt Haughey has more to say.

The Plip-Plop from the top

Some of my friends came round the other day while I was watching my TiVo. They are ex-TiVo users who have moved on to Sky+. As soon as they heard the magical "plip-plop" of TiVo they started to reminisce about how cool it was. It's funny how instantly recognisable the sound of TiVo is.

Matt Haughy of PVRBlog has managed to get an interview with TiVo's Director of User Experience, Margret Schmidt, in which they discuss the wonderful simplicity of the whole TiVo interface, including the sound cues. It makes interesting reading.

MH: TiVo is not only one of the best examples of powerful-yet-easy visual interfaces, I'd say TiVo is probably the only device that I actually enjoy hearing. The sound interface is a helpful, effective addition to the UI and rarely gets in the way. I can't point to many products that use sound effectively aside from TiVo and I'm curious how the team developed it. Were there long discussions or testing involved to help determine how intrusive sounds should be?

MS: Since TVs aren't silent, we didn't want the TiVo interface to be silent either.  The initial sound concepts fell into a few categories.  Some were mechanical, some synthesized, others more organic.  We quickly identified the organic, happy sounds as better in line with our brand value of "playful".  It actually didn't take too many iterations to get it right.

TiVo interview

Engadget have interviewed Mike Ramsay, CEO of TiVo. He talks about TiVo technology, how it's getting licensed into DVR devices, and the future of PVRs:-

Where do you see the television landscape five or ten years down the road?

High definition will become more commonplace. Five years from now, you’ll be able to get television content over broadband, whether it’s over satellite or cable, and it will be the start of some new and interesting sources of content which has not been available to people to date. And five years from now, the idea of electronic delivery of video rentals will be real. Blockbuster will still be in business, but the idea of getting your video rental over broadband will have started to happen.

Read the interview.

TiVo versus Media Center

PVRBlog has pulled together a whole host of articles that compare Tivo with Microsoft's Media Center...

In both sets of tests, the Media Center Edition PCs prove to be a bit buggy and crash-prone, and the reviewers eventually give the final nods to TiVo with its bulletproof simple design and reliability.

Sounds like I'll be sticking with my Tivo for a while.

Read the full article here...

DirecTV sells TiVo stake

DirecTV, the satellite broadcaster, has sold its shareholding in TiVo, raising concerns that the pioneering technology group is about to lose its exclusive relationship with its largest customer.

However, DirecTV on Tuesday insisted that relations between the two companies remained strong. The sale was announced just a few days after Eddie Hartenstein, DirecTV's vice chairman, said he was stepping down from TiVo's board.

The move comes as DirecTV - controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - is putting personal video recorders such as those designed by TiVo at the centre of its strategy to meet its target of signing up 3m new customers in the next three years.

TiVo pioneered PVR technology, which allows viewers to pause live television, skip commercials and record their favourite shows.

But cable TV groups and rival satellite broadcasters have developed their own services, raising concerns that TiVo will be sidelined. Of TiVo's 1.596m customers at the end of April, 872,000 were DirecTV subscribers.

DirecTV executives believe that as storage capacity on PVRs increases they will be used to store pay-per-view movies, personalised clips, and other content aside from standard television programmes. Hardware prices are also expected to fall.

At the moment, DirecTV subscribers who want a PVR buy a set-top box with a built-in hard drive for $99 and take a discounted monthly subscription to TiVo's service. EchoStar, the rival US satellite operator, gives its boxes away free to subscribers who pay a monthly rental fee.

NDS, another company controlled by News Corp, has developed rival PVR technology which is currently being used by British Sky Broadcasting, the UK-based satellite broadcaster which is also part of Mr Murdoch's empire.

David Farina, an analyst at William Blair, said he doubted DirecTV would end its relationship with TiVo. TiVo shares fell 14.5 per cent to $6.41 after Mr Farina reported the share sale in a note to clients.

TiVo said it would not comment on trading in its shares. A DirecTV spokesman said: "We have a strong relationship with TiVo and it is an important part of our product line."

Source: FT.com.

New Toshiba PVRs

Toshiba have launched (only in the US at the moment) two new Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), although Toshiba are calling them Digital Media Servers. There's 120 GB (RS-TX20) and 160 GB (RS-TX60) models, both with TiVo software, and the ability to write DVD-R and DVD-RW formats.

Read on for the press release...

Toshiba Showcases the Most Comprehensive Line of Digital Video Recorders in the Industry
Wednesday May 19, 9:05 am ET
Toshiba expands digital video recorder line with introduction of two new Digital Media Servers with TiVo(R) and three new DVD recorders

AUSTIN, Texas, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C. unveiled today the most extensive and complete line of digital video recorders in the industry to meet the rapidly emerging market. Toshiba's full line of digital video recorders offers combinations for all recording needs, including TiVo capabilities, a hard disc drive (HDD), and a DVD Recorder with VHS.

Toshiba also announced an extensive promotional campaign to launch its DVD recorders. In addition to a national print and online advertising campaign, Toshiba will be providing dealers with in-store display materials and demo discs to increase consumer awareness and provide education on digital recording. Toshiba will also provide consumers with a toll free support line that will be prominently located inside the carton box. To further enhance a consumer's purchase, Toshiba also announced a software promotion. Purchasers of a Toshiba DVD recorder model will receive free blank DVD media to help them get started on their recording.

"Toshiba's line of DVD recorders offers a model to complement the varied needs of consumers," said Jodi Sally, Assistant Vice President of Marketing, Toshiba Digital A/V Group. "Our full line of digital video recorders offers flexibility for all recording types. Whether you are a fan of TV programming and Time shifting or you like to build your own library of family recordings, Toshiba has a digital video recorder that is right for you."

Digital Media Servers

Expanding upon the relationship with TiVo Inc., Toshiba announced two new Digital Media Server models that feature TiVo technology. Both models include high capacity hard disc drives and DVD recording for simple recording of the user's favorite programs. With the addition of a front panel DV input, both models offer the ability to transfer camcorder material onto the hard disc drive and then to DVD quickly and easily.

Both units will come with a 45-day free trial of the TiVo Plus(TM) service, offering users the opportunity to try features unique to the TiVo Plus service including the ability to search for programs by title, set up Season Pass(TM) recordings for their favorite shows, and create actor, director and keyword WishLists(TM) searches.

With TiVo Basic Service included and without paying a subscription fee, consumers can record their favorite TV shows onto the hard disc drive and watch them on their schedule. They can also record content from the hard disc drive to a DVD disc quickly and easily. In addition, the easy to use TiVo interface can automatically create a DVD Menu that replicates the TiVo user experience for easy navigation. DVDs can be named according to the user's program selections, or titles can be manually entered. In either case, simplicity is the key.

Other key features include Progressive Scan Component Video Outputs for both DVD and DVR signals, capability to record in DVD-R and DVD-RW formats, as well as an IR blaster for Cable Box and Satellite Receiver control. The TiVo Basic Service includes a 3 day rolling program guide, TV "Trick Play" features including the ability to pause and rewind live TV, and manual recording capability with repeat function. Both units are fully upgradeable to the TiVo Plus Service (subscription required) and Home Media Option.

The RS-TX20 (MAP $599) with 120 GB hard disc drive and the RS-TX60 (MAP $699) with 160 GB hard disc drive will be available in August.

DVD Recorders

Toshiba also announced today the introduction of three new DVD Recorders. The new recorders come in three different combinations to meet the varied desires of this emerging market: DVD Recorder, DVD recorder and VHS, and a DVD Recorder with a built-in hard disc drive.

The highlight of the new recorder line-up is the RD-XS53 (October 2004, $699.99). This model features a 160GB hard disc drive, providing over 275 hours of digital recording time. The unit allows users to record and playback their favorite TV shows as well as compile personal movie libraries for archiving and preserving family videos. The RD-XS53 is one of the first DVD recorder models to incorporate High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI(TM)) with upconversion capability to 720p or 1080i. This single cable connection provides the highest quality interface between a DVD player and a compatible HD television, ensuring that all the signals remain in their pure digital form. The RD-XS53 also provides users with an easy-to-navigate TV Guide On Screen(TM) Interactive Program Guide. This simple-to-use guide provides television programming information for up to eight days.

The new Toshiba D-VR3 (July 2004, $499.99) combines Toshiba's high quality DVD recorder technology with VHS capability. The D-VR3 allows users to simply archive home videos of favorite VHS tapes to DVD within the same device.

Toshiba also introduced the D-R3 (October 2004, $349.99) DVD Recorder. The D-R3 offers DVD recording capability on either DVD-RAM or DVD-R. A front DV input, as well as front panel A/V input jacks, allows for easy transfer of camcorder recordings directly onto DVD media.

All Toshiba DVD recorders feature Digital Cinema Progressive Scan output, Colorstream(TM) Pro Component Video Outputs, Multimedia playback for JPEGs and MP3 titles, and a Zoom mode. The line also features 3-D Virtual Surround Sound and Digital Noise Reduction and a front panel digital video (DV) input, which allow user to digitally transfer home movies to DVD or a hard disc drive from a camcorder via the digital video terminal.

Toshiba's line of DVD recorders share a stylish cosmetic look that will complement all Toshiba display devices, particularly flat panel displays.

NTL Digital Upgrades

NTL Home have upgraded the user interface on their Digital TV service with the side effect that your TiVo may now have trouble changing channels on the Pace 4000 set-top box. The problem is not insurmountable, you just need to make sure your IR blaster is using the right code (20020 is the recommended code). If you're not a TiVo subscriber then you'll have to re-run the guided setup procedure that you ran when you first installed your TiVo in order to download the codes.
I had to do this last night and found it pretty plain sailing. Hats off to TiVo once again for features that really work!
TiVo UK Community Forum has a thread about the problem here.

Got a Tivo and a Mac?

Then you might want to control it using TivoFerkey, an on-screen remote control that works with TiVoWeb.

Want to buy a Tivo in the UK?

Think you can only buy Tivos on ebay these days? It seems that you can also get "Grade A" units from Tivoland. Standard ones start at £239 + delivery, and go up to £359 for one upgraded to a 200GB disk (65 hours at best quality). They also have various accessories, including networking and spare remotes.

Used Tivoland? Why not leave a comment.

Tivo ups and downs

Tivo is in the news quite a bit lately, and as always, it elicits strong opinions. The NYTimes has an article entitled How Do I Love Thee, TiVo? in which several Tivo users evangelise about their box of tricks, including the revealing father who says

"Before we got the TiVo, my son was getting C's and D's in school because he was staying up late to watch his shows and going to school half-awake," said Mr. Cambron, a television engineer in Kansas City, Mo. Now that the Cambrons can time-shift programs, his son is getting enough sleep and his grades have risen to A's and B's.

Presumably there's no watershed in the USA - I remember the days when I couldn't watch The Sweeney because it was on after 9pm!

Things aren't so cosy in the mind of PC Magazine's Jim Louderback, who predicts TiVo Will Die because the technology is getting cheaper, HDTV is coming and competition from Murdoch's DirecTV. Tivo's crown jewels has to be their superbly usable software, and I wonder if they made more of their licensing, they could weather this storm. Somewhat more worryingly, Jim notes

Of course, I should have seen this coming. Over the years I've observed that the more arrogant and less responsive a company gets, the more likely it's about to fail. Oddly, when the going gets tough, most companies don't do a gut check and rededicate themselves to service. Instead, they circle the wagons and go into a preventive defense—and search for someone to sue.

In the early years of TiVo, I'd get instant service. TiVo even gave me the name of a special ambassador—a strategy meant to ensure that the company got a fair hearing in the press, on the Web, and in other public forums. Today my inquiries go unanswered—or even worse, I never receive a promised response. Hold times on the help lines are interminable: It took me over half an hour last week to determine why the company had charged me $14. And I'll wager that Dish Network is not the first company or the last to be sued for IP rustling.

It's surely not the product designers' fault. They've built a great new category and an incredibly useful and usable product. But a few dumb decisions, coupled with intransigent corporate arrogance and overweening lawyers, have doomed TiVo to death. I'll surely miss the poor guy when he's gone.

Kottke.org are running a survey: Who doesn't like TiVo?. Despite worrying that they'd be preaching to the converted, there's a lot of interesting replies as to why people find certain things a problem, including the very telling

I don't like Tivo itself, I like my Tivo but in blighty we can't get Tivo2 or even new tivo 1's so when they die we have to use inferior alternatives (am hoping rumors of apple pvr device are true otherwise will probably have to be PSX.). So i have Tivo 1 but when the harddrive platters spin off into the sunset. The problem here was how they sold tivo : i sold about 10 to friends after they saw it but adverts with dogs are a hard sell for such a device. Their UK website hasn't seen an update in years and its all too depressing.

I remember one of my friends getting TiVo: I'd never heard of it, but once I'd seen it in action, I went right out and bought one, along with several other of my friends. I have gone on to demo it to others who have gone right out and got one. Until supplies dried up, of course. Now even my girlfriend wants one, and she's not a gadgety person at all. If only TiVo would re-enter the UK market. *sigh*.

Humax, Tivo and the UK

Rumours that Humax were investigating launching a Tivo-based PVR in the UK have been circulating for some time, probably due to this news from the USA

Humax, an international leader of digital satellite set-top box manufacturing, disclosed details of its plan to sell DVRs and DVD recordable products powered by TiVo. Humax has licensed TiVo-technology that will be incorporated into a full line of digital video recorders and DVD recordable products. In the start of the second quarter of 2004, Humax will introduce two standalone TiVo Series 2 DVRs consisting of an entry-level 80-hour model and a step-up 250-hour model.

Later in the third quarter, Humax plans to deliver two combination DVD recordable models integrated with TiVo's best-of-breed service and robust features including home networking capability, progressive scan output and DV input.

From emedialive.

When Humax UK were contacted about the possibility, they replied with

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your kind interest in Humax products. We are aware that there are 18000 subscribers in UK using Tivo olution.

Kindly note that we are currently in discussion with Tivo about entering the UK market.

We have yet to decide whether the product should have DVD-recordable, or Freeview Terrestrial tuner, or just simple HDD-recording function.

Are you a subscriber of Sky or NTL (or other cable) or do you watch Freeview, or are you just interested in a new Tivo-powered HDD-recordable machine? Do you think the current Tivo subscribers will upgrade their machine if new product appears?

Your feedback is most welcome.

It all sounded so good that Digital Spy Forums even started a poll on what sort of features this possible product should have. A lot of people (myself included) got excited at the prospect of a twin Freeview PVR with Tivo software.

Unfortunatlely, it all seems to have been a mix up. In a statement from Dale Heathcote, Humax UK's commercial director, the company said that it "wishes to make it very clear that it does not have a relationship with TiVo in the UK. Humax has licensed TiVo and will launch TiVo products in the USA; however, the company has no current plans to introduce a TiVo product in the UK in any format at this time.”

Sad news for Tivo fans, indeed.

Tivo research

Want to influence future Tivos? Tivo are carrying out a survey to find out what you might want out of a Tivo feature called TivoToGo.

What is it?

TiVoToGo is a potential new feature set for TiVo Series2 DVR users. The feature set would allow you to transfer programs from your DVR onto a computer. On that computer, you could watch the programs, store them for later, edit them, or burn them to DVD.

To use TiVoToGo, you would first connect your Series2 DVR(s) to your home network. Then you would purchase a small security "key" and plug it into a USB port on your computer. The key would allow the computer to access your Series2 DVR, and you would then be able to transfer programs from your DVR to your computer.

Once the programs were transferred, you could play back the programs on the computer or perform other tasks, as long as the security key was inserted in the computer.

Some ways in which you might use TiVoToGo are described below.

PLAYBACK AND STORAGE

Playback: Ever wanted to watch shows somewhere other than on your DVR? Use TiVoToGo to transfer programs from your DVR to a computer.

For example, you could transfer some programs to your laptop and watch them while traveling. Perhaps you make a lot of cross-country flights, or spend a lot of time waiting in airports, or maybe you commute every day on the train. You could use a laptop to watch programs in these locations.

Another idea would be to transfer programs to another computer in your home so that you could watch them while someone else was using the TV.

(Transfer speed would depend on the speed of your home network.)

Storage: Ever wanted to move shows off your DVR to save space? You could use TiVoToGo to transfer programs from your DVR to a computer, and use the computer as expanded storage.

After you transferred programs to your computer, you could delete the programs from your DVR to free up space for more recordings. When you wanted to watch a program again, you could transfer it back to your DVR, or play it on your computer.

Fill in the survey here.

Tivo Remote

Mr. Hughes ranks his TiVo remote among the most important objects in his house because of the amount of time the device spends in his hand. "I don't think that you reach that level of simple elegance by accident,'' he said. "It's designed the way remotes should be designed."

The New York Times are all excited about the design of Tivo's remote control. Read about it here.

Justin and Janet top Super Bowl show according to annual TiVo audience measurement analysis

Tivo are reporting

"Wardrobe Malfunction" Most Replayed Moment TiVo Has Ever Measured

February 2, 2004 - SAN JOSE, CA – Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson stole the show during Sunday's Super Bowl, attracting almost twice as many viewers as the most thrilling moments on the field, according to an annual measurement of second-by-second viewership in TiVo households.

The Jackson-Timberlake moment drew the biggest spike in audience reaction TiVo has ever measured. TiVo said viewership spiked up to 180 percent as hundreds of thousands of households used TiVo’s unique capabilities to pause and replay live television to view the incident again and again.

Read the whole article here.

What if...

your Tivo gave up the ghost?

Earlier this week, something happened in our house. Something of the worst magnatude. It's so horrible that I can barely summon up the courage to type it.

The TiVo died.

Read more of The Day the Plip Plops Stopped.

Tivo Stress?

Forbes.com has an interesting article about how some users are so addicted to using their Tivo's, that they experience stress if they find they aren't keeping up with their programs.

For something that is supposed to be relaxing and unwinding at the end of the day, you (think) 'Wow! I have a lot of shows to watch, will I ever catch up?'.

For this and some other interesting insights, take a look here.