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Time:
21:22 EST/02:22 GMT | News Source:
MSNBC |
Posted By: Adrian Latinak |
Sorry fans, but it’s destined for the ash heap of history. TiVo, the granddaddy of digital video recorders, or DVRs, enjoys a cult following noted for its evangelical fervor. There are few worse cocktail-party quandaries than being sandwiched between a TiVo owner and the wall.
SHOULD YOU EVER find yourself in such a spot, prepare for a 45-minute sermon on the glories of pausing live TV, fast-forwarding through the ads, and watching King of the Hill reruns whenever you damn well please, without having to worry about setting a VCR timer. The devotee will even use TiVo as a verb, as in, “Why don’t you come over tomorrow night, ‘cause I just TiVo’d three episodes of Crank Yankers.”
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#1 By
665 (64.126.91.172)
at
10/13/2002 1:11:18 AM
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#2, good point. This kind of reminds me of Iomega. The Zip drive used to be huge, but since CD-Rs have come out everything has changed. I suppose the exception to this may be that while it made a lot of sence to go to a CD-R/W drive (cheap drive, cheap media), if you buy this machine you won't have to pay for the media and it has a great format a lot of people like. I think it has a fighting chance, but it needs to look at its long term competition.
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#2 By
1845 (12.254.162.111)
at
10/13/2002 1:20:17 AM
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I know very little about TiVo. When I read the article I wasn't sure if the company had already gone belly up. I see from other Bob's comments that it hasn't. I don't think this article was written well.
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#3 By
2960 (68.100.157.191)
at
10/13/2002 3:39:24 AM
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Excuse my french, but this guy is full of sh*t.
I have UTV instead of Tivo, but I could NEVER go back to watching TV without my dual-LNB recorder.
It has cut in half the number of shows I used to miss because of recording conflicts.
TL
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#4 By
135 (208.50.201.48)
at
10/13/2002 10:04:05 AM
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monkeydust - Yeah, but apparently TiVo has now decided that part of your subscription fee allows them to spam ads at you, and collect your viewing habits. Considering all the complaining that happens when others do this, I don't understand why this is acceptable with Tivo.
I agree with neu, if they built a more VCR like device at a reasonable price, I'd buy it. I'll just keep my WinTV card with recording software like Snapstream.
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#5 By
135 (208.50.201.48)
at
10/13/2002 4:01:27 PM
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Drestin - With the new Series2 software the unit is completely worthless without a subscription.
So nope, sorry, you can't do that.
I have to agree with the article. There really is very little market to be had here, certainly not at the cost points they are still selling.
When they can build the hardware for under $200 and make a profit, and then integrate them in to the pre-existing television guide services already provided by premium satellite and cable services... the idea will sell.
But as of right now $300 + $13/month is not cost effective when you can buy a VCR for $75, a half dozen tapes for $10 and a year subscription to TV Guide for $20 and get the functionality that most people desire. (i.e. recording the West Wing because you're not going to be home on Wednesday night)
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#6 By
2960 (68.100.157.191)
at
10/13/2002 8:29:16 PM
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#12,
A partial correction...
Only EXTERNAL units have to do the re-compression. All Dish/DVR combination units that are housed in one unit store the direct satellite feed as far as I know.
My Microsoft UltimateTV DirecTV box does the same thing.
And I prefer the UTV system to Tivo. I just wish I knew whether it was on life-support, still developing, or what. Since January, it's been a real mystery.
I just know DirecTV still takes $9.95 a month and it still works. For now...
TL
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#7 By
2960 (68.100.157.191)
at
10/13/2002 8:32:37 PM
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"I have to agree with the article. There really is very little market to be had here, certainly not at the cost points they are still selling. "
I have ZERO doubt that a statement like this will only come from someone who has not lived with a Tivo/UTV unit in normal daily life.
Or from someone who doesn't own a television.
It completely changes how you consume television, I guarantee it. Especially units like my UTV that have dual-LNB satellite feeds.
TL
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#8 By
1845 (12.254.162.111)
at
10/13/2002 8:42:13 PM
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Here's my two cents. I don't own a TiVo or anything like it. I have two TV's. I never watch TV, but rather use them for DVDs, VHS, n64, and XBOX.
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#9 By
135 (209.180.28.6)
at
10/13/2002 9:40:40 PM
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TechLarry - "I have ZERO doubt that a statement like this will only come from someone who has not lived with a Tivo/UTV unit in normal daily life. "
Well the article was correct on two points... That Tivo isn't in a position to hit mainstream, and that the people who have bought it are fanatics. :)
"Or from someone who doesn't own a television."
I have four televisions... One for each room! :)
"It completely changes how you consume television, I guarantee it. Especially units like my UTV that have dual-LNB satellite feeds. "
I mainly watch DVDs on my televisions, or sometimes XBox. Otherwise I watch CNN and the History channel and that's it. Little known fact about both those channels... they repeat the same content over and over and over and over again. :)
I guess the point of the article is, Tivo is in a situation where they only appeal to a select number of geeks with money and lot's of free time. For Tivo to go mainstream it has to offer something to the people who don't have lot's of freetime. That's what the VCR did by allowing you to time shift television.
This post was edited by sodablue on Sunday, October 13, 2002 at 21:43.
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#10 By
1845 (12.254.162.111)
at
10/13/2002 9:47:27 PM
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With all that is available on the Internet, why do we still need television?
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#11 By
1845 (12.254.162.111)
at
10/14/2002 3:00:39 AM
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It's better to be locked into a single hardware manufacturer and pay a monthly subscription fee? It seems that custom hardware options and no additional fees would be the better option. Perhaps we see things differently. It's a good thing both options are available.
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#12 By
2960 (156.80.64.132)
at
10/14/2002 9:02:25 AM
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"I guess the point of the article is, Tivo is in a situation where they only appeal to a select number of geeks with money and lot's of free time. For Tivo to go mainstream it has to offer something to the people who don't have lot's of freetime. That's what the VCR did by allowing you to time shift television."
And I maintain that these statements only come from people who have never actually USED one :)
TL
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#13 By
2960 (156.80.64.132)
at
10/14/2002 9:08:01 AM
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"Just buy an ATI All-In-Wonder card and get almost all the same features and you can do what ever you want with the data. No subscription, hard drives are cheap and you have the option of VCD or DVD. "
This is a potential choice (and I've looked at it), but it doesn't come close to matching the flexibility of a dual-LNB input UTV/Tivo DirecTV combination receiver/recorder.
BTW... Those that think they are very expensive, they aren't really. Yes, the Tivo Generation-2's are $349, but you can get the DirecTV/Tivo or UTV combination Receivers/recorders much cheaper. My DirecTV/UTV recorder/receiver was only $150 after rebates.
And the combination units are superior to the external units in one way. Instead of decompressing the video, and then re-compressing it for storage, the combination DVR/Receivers store the actual Satillite feed in it's un-modified state. This results in much better picture quality and simplicity.
The downside is that they don't record from outside sources, but I personally could care less about that. It records what I bought it to record and does it perfectly with no picture degredation.
TL
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