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Thoughts On An Open TiVo
Shiraz Kanga writes: "I think this article on suggested hacks for TiVo needs to be reviewed on Slashdot (especially the last section)" A humorous and intelligently written article on the problem with tivo, and why it comes so close to perfect. But also why it is flawed. Great article on the future of television, and digital VCRs.
4) Skip all ads. ReplayTV took the approach of "screw the networks, we don't need 'em" and added a 30 second skip button. Since then, they've hired a former CBS exec and have realized that they will have to work with the networks in the future. The skip button is still there, but it is never advertised. TiVo decided early on that they would try to work with the networks and feature 3 levels of fast-forward, with auto correction (it backs up a bit when you hit play). Is it realistic for TiVo and ReplayTV to basically tell the networks "we don't care if no one sees the ads that make up your revenue stream"? NBC has invested in both companies BTW.
Actually, I've been wondering how long it will be until the networks start showing 37 and 23 and 49 second ads, or other weird lengths, to foil all of the "30 second skip" functions that the TiVo's and VCR's have. Or, better yet, how about banner ads at the top or bottom of the screen, during the actual shows?
- Mike
Given the power and availability of off-the-shelf PC hardware technology, I'm surprised that PC assemblers haven't thought of such an idea. You don't need much in the way of proprietary technology to make the ultimate video recorder. Here is my modest proposal:
First of all, to get a compact form factor use a case and motherboard that employ the NLX form factor. Unlike ATX, this standard employs a 3-slot PCI riser card to allow a slimline design. It is also very serviceable--the motherboard could be removed and replaced without removing any cards, and many cases are built for such home-entertainment features as front infra-red ports and designs that compliment stereo systems. There are some very nice NLX cases out there that are the same size as most VCR's and would fit in your TV cabinet nicely.
Use video display/capture cards with TV in/out like ATI's all-in-wonder, and hardware DVD/MPEG decoders like Netstream 2000. Hardware DVD and MPEG decoders reduce the CPU requirements and have the added benefit of being "MPAA-approved" if you care about such things. This is a video recorder, so you don't need a screaming high-end machine or hugh 3D acceleration--money saved there can go towards a massive 40GB drive if you wish.
At this point you can go beyond TiVO: Add a DVD player and you can watch rented videos. Add a CD-RW, IOmega JAZZ or Castlewood ORB drive and you have removable media so you can tape the Olympic opening ceremonies and keep them and record over the copy on your hard drive. Alternatively, add FireWire and you could digitally transfer video to and from your miniDV camcorder
As for software: if Linux is good enough for TiVO it's good enough for me. Either GNOME or KDE-based environments could be used, with a window manager optimised for TV screens (the GNOME desktops look particularly nice). Someone could start an Open Source project at develop a standard XML application for TV Listings. The TV Listings could be made available via freenet or GNUtella. The advantage to such an open system, besides being free in all senses of the word, is that it doesn't rely on a corporation being around to provide the service. You risk your privacy since they can monitor your viewing habits, and if they lost out to a competitor and go out of business you could end up with the next Betamax VCR--unless someone deems their market share is large enough to take over the service or is generous enough to open the system up.
So get out there and build the ultimate video appliance!
--
No sig for you!!
See the OpenCable Initiative and this article in Cable Today. There is a July 1st, 2000 deadline but many cable operators have applied to the FCC for waivers due to deployment delays.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
- I don't pay money to usa a VCR...
No, you pay several orders of magnitude more for the device than it costs to make it and then pay for each tape on which you record. And the VCR records exactly what you tell it to record.- Sell it for whatever it costs to make... why does suddenly everyone want users to *subscribe* to things[?]
Because people wouldn't buy it otherwise. ReplayTV units are far more expensive than TiVo units. As a result, they aren't selling as well. If they sold it to you "at cost", you'd be paying in the range of 600$ for a TiVo -- there's over 100$ in RAM chips alone.- ... but it's not perfect
No, it isn't perfect. Having used one of the original Sony DSS units, I hate the TiVo UI -- it contantly wastes half the screen realestate. I would like to have more control over what it records -- a "User Suggestions" to guide the "Tivo Suggestions" (my TiVo was recording every Senfeild episode it could find and then one day it stopped -- I didn't do anything; the scheduler just stopped selecting it.) You cannot add a season pass if there's an overlap, but passes can overlap without warning if the lineup changes -- FOX and WB have moved shows around for the fall. (I've got hundreds of tweaks..)I'd like to see a "TiVo Cluster" where several TiVo's use a cooperative scheduler to deal with overlaps. This isn't going to happen with the existing hardware -- you'd need a networkable MFS to this properly
As one of the Tivo "hackers", this guy annoys me. Where is he going to get these TV listings? Pull them out of his ass? TV listings aren't free, period. The newspaper isn't free. Detailed TV listings in downloadable format aren't free. If some enterprising young idiot decided to create a "free" Tivo service by typing the data in each week's TV guide into a format the Tivo could import, it still wouldn't work. There's not enough detail there for the Tivo, and it doesn't list them far enough in advance to make the gee-whiz aspects of the Tivo work.
If someone hacks the Tivos to download service elsewhere (and I hope they don't), the lack of a network jack won't be a factor. The serial port runs ppp, that's all that would be needed.
It bugs me that this guy freely admits he doesn't own a Tivo, obviously isn't very familiar with the hack efforts, yet feels free to rant and rave like he has a clue.
cc
> A guy a work with wrote 100 words and got one.
I guess it couldn't have been you, though.
More radical ideas:
-
Make the recording process smarter, so it recognizes and skips ads. (Share "it's an ad" info over the Internet, so once a few users have skipped an ad, everybody skips the ad.)
Marketing point: "Watch three programs in the time others watch two."
-
Store thumbnails, so you can bring up a
thumbnail page for a show and go directly to
the parts you want. Useful for sports; skip all the talking-head junk.
-
Use Gnutella to share stored content over your cable modem. (ok, bad idea...)
Get this going, and there will be generic set-top boxes.They are running a contest right now. Write an essay and win a TiVo (14 hour model). A guy a work with wrote 100 words and got one. They pick 10 winners a day.
Click here
So, if you've wanted one, but are too cheap to get one, here's your chance.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
I'll derive further satisfaction from the fact that I'm screwing all my cable modem neighbors our of their fair share of the bandwith while I hog down 25 gigs a day to set me up with another evenings entertainment.
Does this make anyone else want to smash a 36 inch tube over Alan Blount's pointy head? "Me Me Me, and my all consuming need for mindless entertainment at your expense." What a rotten thing to advocate as Open. The superhighway analogies get beter all the time: SUV on the cable. Fortunately, cable modems will twart people like this, and they get the same bandwith anyone else has. Still, I'd like so see these boxes spewing chunks for their intentions. Anyone got a official crackTIVO site?
For you media addicts, just use a $40 VCR and $1.50 tapes to save all of those golden sitcom, reality, whatever, moments. It's cheaper, it lasts longer, it's easier than hacking the spy box. The net is just not up to this yet.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Your cover is blown. You can come out now...
So you obviously haven't watched much TV lately. There have been numerous occasions that I've seen where the transition break was missing. Or even worse, they insert fake ones in between commercials. Local stations in particular usually insert their own advert for the evening news etc as the last "commercial" before going back to the show, and they very often insert a transition break before their ad. I don't think that's an accident, they probably do it deliberately to foil VCRs with commercial break detectors.
There was a very interesting article about this sort of problem - well, funding commercial TV in general - in a post-TiVO world in the Guardian (UK) a while back. Sorry, no URL :(
The ultimate conclusion - massive product placement was about all that's viable. When the advert can be so easily bypassed, the only real way to pay for it all is to make the ad and the program inseparable.
Makes me queasy too, but the logic does seem inescapable.
Greg
(Inside a nuclear plant)
Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!
Read the rules:
CONTEST VOID IN ARIZONA, FLORIDA, MARYLAND, NORTH DAKOTA AND VERMONT AND TO THE RESIDENTS OF THESE STATES.
No free TiVo for me.
==
This post sponsored by the American Obstetrics Society:
If the parent post was true, then I could see calling it "Insightful", since it's not. It's FUD.
;)
....some smart ass hax0r will kode up a better...." Um hello? There are plenty of smart ass hackers coding up plenty. Obviously some people don't realise that you can hack code without an internet connection. Mind you, people have also hacked an internet connection, but you still won't be able to turn it into an MP3 player, or download anything from your favorite porn site.
;) )
First, a 90-days manufacturer's warentee does NOT mean that it won't last past 90-days. It's current life expectancy is in excess of 5 years, which is plenty.
Since, if your machine craps out, and you have to get it replaced, you can transfer your lifetime to the new unit. That's one big advantage that TiVo has over Replay.
However, if you want to replace your unit with something different, then your lifetime service is still with the original unit. However, unless your just going to toss your old unit in the trash, the subscription still has value and will continue to service that machine.
The idea of selling your service subscription independant of the box is just silly. The service is for the box. The box can be used without the service, but the service does nothing without the box.
As far as the service being worth it, it sure is. For the luxury of never having to care about what time anything is on, for always having my favorite shows at my fingertips, for everything else TiVo gives me, I'll gladly pay a one-time cost of $200. I've spent more for less.
Now, about the "article". This person seems to suffer from a common problem. If it has a screen, he wants it to download porn from the internet. Sorry, if people really want web on their TV, that's great for them. For me, my TV is my movie theater, I have a computer for downloading porn.
Two of his "goals" are already met. He want's a one-time cost. TiVo has that. You don't have to go monthly or annually if you don't want to.
As far as privacy, no one knows what _you_ watch, only what people, in general, are watching. This is a Good Thing. I want people to know what I watch so the Networks can stop cancling my shows.
His comments about such things as "TiVo Inc. can't put a network connection.... [because]
He gripes about paying for listings. It's not about listings, it's about a service. It's what it does with the listings that your paying for. TiVo is a huge time-saving device. I don't know what his time's worth, but my TiVo has paid for itself months ago.
His fun TiVo hacks are also a joke. The first, providing an alternate service is laughable. I doubt he knows the first thing about it. It's not as if you can _legally_ rip that data from the web and do what you want with it. He speaks of "venture kapital", I hope he realizes it should all be saved for lawyer's fees.
The second "suggestion" was using VBI for the TV listings. Great idea, if someone didn't already patent the process. It's being done already, but unless you want to get back to the topic of monthly fees, you can forget about it.
Besides, using VBI will, at most, tell me what's on now or maybe what's on next on the channel your tuned to. TiVo stores at least 10 days of data for all of your channels and needs it's data enough in advance to plan out all of it's upcomming recordings. Part of what TiVo does is it takes all the shows you want it to record and records them each time they are on. You can't do that by relying on VBI, which would require TiVo to channel surf to find show. It's laughable.
The third, "MP3 and Napster support". Would someone explain why I would be using my TV for MP3! If I want to _listen_ to music, I wouldn't be using my TV!
I really can't continue about how silly the whole article was. TiVo is about making the most of TV, and all he could think of was wanting to download porn and MP3s. (Not that that's a bad thing.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have 76 shows on my 108 hour TiVo and, unlike people forced to channel surf, each one is something I like.
I want a TiVo like unit that would have modular tv tuners, so I could plug in more than one and record what's going on on a couple of channels at once. I hate having to choose between two equally good programs to watch at some times, and other times there is nothing good on.
--
The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
- Local stations in particular usually insert their own advert for the evening news etc as the last "commercial" before going back to the show, and they very often insert a transition break before their ad. I don't think that's an accident, they probably do it deliberately to foil VCRs with commercial break detectors.
Not necessarily. This might be true if the station is automated, but if it's like the station I work for, where we have bonafide human operators, it simply takes a small amount of time to roll a break which translates on-air to an extra bit of black. Even with video servers like we use, the operator still has to fire the break and take it on-air. Heaven forbid the station is using a cart machine, or worse manually rolling each spot (believe it or not, some smaller stations still do this).I say this from experience switching our LPTV station, UPN30 WAPK-LP. I can also say with authority that we don't deliberately insert black in-between spots at any time. Now maybe the op is asleep at the board, or off taking a shit or something, but that's an entirely different story, one which I won't get into (do you wanna hear me rant?
You usually have five different types of breaks:
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
FC Closer
Binary-only modules are allowed in Linux (i.e. OKed by Linus) which is presumably how they've done this and still stayed GPL-compliant. Although the license weenies are probably fuelling their flamethrowers right now...
Well, I admit I might be thinking too much conspiracy into the whole thing. Your explanations make perfect sense, so I won't contest. Besides, like another poster noted, the number of break-detecting VCRs must be pretty small, so the stations probably wouldn't bother.
For a little over $300 ($500 when you include the programming), I wound up with a 91-hour capacity TiVo. In comparison, the largest commercial available TiVo is a 30-hour unit, with a 60-hour coming out Real Soon Now. The 30-hour unit also costs about $300 post rebate (checking the price on Amazon).
The breakdown:
14-hour Philips TiVo from Circuit City: $300
Circuit City rebate on 14-hour Tivo: -$100
Rebate from TiVo: -$100
60 gig Maxtor from 123cdc.com: $214
So for the "cost" of a voided warranty and a little extra shipping, I wound up with three times the capacity. And I had fun in the process. Furthermore, some of the people in the TiVo Underground managed to get Circuit City to pricematch Sears, resulting in a $200 TiVo with $200 in rebates (i.e. free). They also got staples.com (physical locations only -- their online site doesn't carry the 60 gig Maxtor) to pricematch 123cdc.com and then used a coupon code to knock another $50 off the price.
how they make money is their problem, not mine. I don't pay money to use a VCR once I've bought it, and the TiVo is not much more than a glorified digital VCR. Sell it for whatever it costs to make it plus a reasonable margin, and be done with it! It's worked for all products up to now, why does suddenly everyone want users to *subscribe* to things, and why would we users buy into that?
are you comfortable with them changing it at any time, like Amazon just did?
hey, at least it *is* there; I couldn't care less it's advertised or not, but if I'm going to buy a digital vcr (which i'm not, but that's another story), I sure as shit want the one with the "skip ad" button.
the original article makes exactly this point. TiVo is nice, and a huge step up from what was available before. but it's not perfect, and not only in features but also in the model of interaction between the user and the manufacturer. I don't think it's reasonable to criticize TiVo much; they've done a good hack and sold it. If we don't like the conditions, it's up to us to work towards being able to run our own personal TiVo-like services from a regular computer using open source software. It may be a year or maybe three, but I'm pretty sure it'll come.
Here's my math based on prices from CDW:
= -=-=-=-=-=-=-
[Note: Gigabit switch...$1400? Woof...okay, let's wait for the new Apples to push Gigabit prices down a bit...let me drop my standards to 100Base-T]
1) 8-port 100Mb hub ($100)
2) Dazzle MPEG-1 capture card ($200) plus 100Mb NIC ($20) plus lets say another $20 for the interface from one to the other.
3) 6GB Hard drive ($100) plus 100Mb NIC ($20) plus another $20 for the interface from one to the other.
4) Cheapo video card with TV-out ($50) plus 100Mb NIC ($20) plus $20 for the interface from one to the other.
5) Palm/Visor ($150) plus 100Mb NIC ($20) plus again $20 for the interface.
By my calculations, this "uber pimp" system (as CmdrTaco would call it) should cost a total of $600-700 bucks...which is pretty much what a Replay or high-end TiVo would cost you!
I have seen hard drives with ethernet connections to use a quick and easy file servers, and I can't imagine it would be hard to get data from a video card onto a network like some VNC or X server thing...so even if those interfaces cost $100 the whole system should still clock in under $1000.
I'd buy it.
There's also an important part...if the system is built around standard tech and using open design, I already have most of a JoeShmoe Digital VCR system!
I have plenty of hard drive space, so I can skip the storage units. I have a capture card, so I can skip at least one input unit (tho I have many sources so I would want more than one). I already have the 100Mb hub. Really all I'm lacking is a cheap video terminal so that I can have MPG file at point A show up on TV-out at point B.
Now MPEG-2...thanks to the premium associated with DVD production...is going to cost an arm and a leg. But I don't see a system like this costing $5000. Purchasing a computer to do each task would still only cost me $2000.
- JoeShmoe
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
I recently bought a TiVo and, if you read the fine print, you'll find that the $199 is not for your lifetime, but the lifetime of the machine. A machine they don't think will last much longer than 90 days, based on their warranty. If your machine craps out after that or you you want to buy a second generation system if/when they come out, your initial $199 vanishes. This is a fatal flaw, in my opinion, because I would want to be able to buy and sell my service subscription independent of the box I initially got it with. On the whole, I like my TiVo hardware, but they won't get very far on a business plan that involves charging people to gather their personal viewing habits.
No, that's far from true. Anything where product placement is possible could work. Sitcoms, for example, are very easy to do that way. Sports can work, too - subscriptions there are well established, while getting sponsors to stick banner ads in the coverage - or pay either to replace or retain ad hoardings in the stadia in the coverage.
Good documentaries would become difficult, to say the least though. Ditto good drama. If we want either, we may have to pay directly...
Greg
(Inside a nuclear plant)
Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!
And if that doesn't work out, there's another possibility. Even if for some reason, commercial-blocking can never be completely automated, it can still be manually done. That might not sound very important at first, but consider this...
Suppose I happen to be a fanatic about getting the commercials out of my Babylon 5 recordings. So I manually go to the trouble of identifying the commercials and deleting them from my recording. But then, instead of just saving my edited B5 to disk, I also publish a history of my editing operations. Think of it as something like a sed script for video.
The next day, you still have yesterday's Babylon 5 episode on your "Now Showing" list, and you click it. Instantly, your box does a net search for edit scripts for the 9/14 4:00am TNT showing of Babylon 5, and it finds my script along with maybe some other peoples' scripts. It looks at the signatures on all these scripts, and compares their identities with your local trust database. Maybe the last time you watched B5 through my script, you liked my editing, so you gave me a thumbs up. Your box chooses my script automatically, and shows your recording of B5, piped through my manually-created filter.
---
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
It looks like PVR capabilities will soon be added to DBS receivers and CATV set-top boxes. This will eliminate one box and solve the current kludges used to interface the PVR with the DBS/CATV box. The FCC has ordered the CATV industry to use open standards for digital cable set-top boxes, allowing you to buy the box from a regular electronics store and plug in a conditional access card provided by the CATV provider. This is currently being implemented but isn't available yet.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Replay fans are quick to point out that they never have to pay to subscribe; however, the cost of Replay == TiVo + lifetime subscription.
A company trying to make money! The nerve!
:)
Seriously, of Mr. Blount's goals, how many are realistic for a company trying to make a profit?
1) Not paying for the service. Buy the box, nothing more. ReplayTV likes to point out that they have no service fee. Their box is $200 more than a TiVo. A lifetime subscription to TiVo is $200. TiVo and ReplayTV aren't making money on the boxes, it's the service and the potential for advertising revenue.
2) Privacy. TiVo's privacy policy is pretty well defined on their web page ( http://www.tivo.com/care/privacy.html ). Yes, they sell info about what TiVo users are watching, but only at the zip code level. I'm comfortable with their privacy policy.
3) Network connection. I agree, this would be great, but again, is it realistic for a company trying to put a set-top box in every household? Remember, they aren't just trying to appeal to the geek market.
4) Skip all ads. ReplayTV took the approach of "screw the networks, we don't need 'em" and added a 30 second skip button. Since then, they've hired a former CBS exec and have realized that they will have to work with the networks in the future. The skip button is still there, but it is never advertised. TiVo decided early on that they would try to work with the networks and feature 3 levels of fast-forward, with auto correction (it backs up a bit when you hit play). Is it realistic for TiVo and ReplayTV to basically tell the networks "we don't care if no one sees the ads that make up your revenue stream"? NBC has invested in both companies BTW.
While there is still room for improvement, I don't understand all of the criticism towards TiVo. Yes there are features we would like to see but this is still a fairly new market. For a product that has only been available for less than two years or so, I think it's a very impressive device. Plus, you can upgrade 'em to 100 hours plus with relative ease.
What if the Hokey-Pokey really is what it's all about?
Fast are currently working on their TV Server which has some of these features. Among others it has connectivity like 100Mbit/s UTP, Firewire, USB, free 'EPG'. (Electronic Program Guide) Their page at http://www.tvserver.de is in German so you might need to use the Babelfish.
I can't wait for these to come out!
Greetings
Here is an excerpt from one of the posters regarding getting his TiVo to use the DSS port to communicate over Ethernet:
T u r b o writes on 08-17-2000 09:19 PM:
I got updates working over the DSS port. I currently have it setup like this:
TiVoPCLANROUTERINTERNET
Obviously, PPP is used between the TiVo and the workstation. I have IP Forwarding turned on on the PC, and the router is doing NAT and IP Masquerading. The connection to the internet is a wireless T-1, but could just as easily be a cable modem or DSL...
I copied /sbin/pppd to /tmp/custpppd. I start /tmp/custpppd in rc.sysinit instead of ppp, because when the TiVo tries to call out it, if it fails it kills pppd. Renaming it prevents it from being killed, so the TiVo can think that the call
is succeeding while PPP continues to run over the DSS port...
The default route is setup through the DSS port. Currently, the TiVo still tries to dial and connect to the TiVo service, but once the connection script returns 'OK' the TiVo actually uses the DSS PPP connection for the traffic, since a default route is already set.
I still have to replace the dialing script (tcphonehome.tcl, I think) with something that will always return 'OK' and not try to dial, but it's working well so far...
- Mike
As long as you don't _rebroadcast_ (redistribute on a mass basis) any TV show you recieve, the Audio Home Recording Act (extended to cover TV) covers you. Tivo is just a fancy VCR, and... though the MPAA fought those tooth and nail - they lost... VCR's are legal to use, and Videotape sales have been _highly_ profitable for the movie studios (i.e., MPAA members).
Digital TV recording _for private use_ will likely fall under the AHRA, just like VCRs. But... the crucial difference is that digital media are just... data. TV programs in digital form face the same grassroots distribution threat as music. So, the Napster case is real important and we'll see more rearguard lawsuits - this time from the broadcast media - regarding TV recording....
You might be right if people were just capturing radio waves for free. But many of us pay for TV every month, after the cable company sends a bill.
I'm already funding those TV shows, so what's the justification for the ads? None. They show the ads because people are used to it (after 50 years of having ads in over-the-air TV) and they get away with it.
I'm not asking for free TV, but I think I should only pay for it once, not twice.
---
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Why, oh, why did ReplayTV have to bend over for the TV stations and disable/remove the firewire ports on the back of their competing device?
= -=-=-=-=-=-=-
Here's what I want...someone make this, dammit!
JoeShmoe's Modular Digital TV system:
1) The heart of the system would be a hub or switch. Gigabit ethernet or fiber.
2) To this hub, connect "Input Units". These input units would come in a variety of flavors. They would each have one analog input (RCA or coaxial or SVHS or composite), the hardware to do real-time video compression (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 or MPEG-4) and a gigabit or fiber NIC to broadcast the stream over the the hub or switch from #1.
3) To this hub, connect "Storage Units". These storage units would come in a variety of flavors. Different size hard drives, removable media, etc. They would also have a gigabit or fiber NIC so that they could receive a stream from the input unit in #2 via the hub from #1
4) To this hub, connect "Output Units". These output units would come in a variety of flavors. They would each have one analog output (RCA or coaxial or SVHS or composite), the hardware to do real-time video decompression (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 or MPEG-4) and a gigabit or fiber NIC to receive the stream from the input unit in #2 or the storage unit in #3.
5) Some kind of control unit that would allow you to route streams from one unit to another, either with an LCD interface or a connection to a computer via USB or serial.
~~~~~
So...how would this work? I buy the starter kit with one hub, one input unit (coaxial/MPEG-1), one storage unit (6GB hard drive), one output unit (RCA/MPEG-1) and the control unit.
I tell the control unit that at 5PM on Friday I want it to tune the input unit to channel 40 and send the stream for one hour to the storage unit. Repeat weekly.
Then, when I come home at 7PM...I tell the control unit to send the stream from the storage unit to the output unit which is connected to my television.
Oh! But what if there are two shows I want to watch and they are both at 5PM on Friday?
No problem! I buy another input unit (coaxial/MPEG-1) and tell the control unit that at 5PM on Friday, tune the new input unit to channel 13 and send the stream for one hour to the storage unit.
Oh! I'm running out of space! What do I do if I want to record a lot of shows?
No problem! I buy another storage unit and tell the control unit to store streams on whichever has the most space available.
Oh! My kid sister wants to watch Buffy while I watch Star Trek! How do I watch more than one show at a time?
No problem! I buy another output unit (RCA/MPEG-1), run CAT-5 or fiber to kid sister's room and tell control unit to send stream from storage unit to new output unit.
Now...do you get how absolutely wonderful a modular system like this would be? If you like to record lots of things, buy more input units. If you are a packrat who never wants to delete anything, buy more storage units or one with removable media. If you share a house with many roommates, give everyone their own control unit and output so you can all watch whatever you want at the same time.
This is the system that puts the consumer first, and television companies second! This is the ultimate evolution in personal media management! Cheapos can stick to MPEG-1 quality, videophiles can move to MPEG-2 and power users can try MPEG-4. People can add more storage anytime as they find they need it. Fancier control units with GUIs running on Linux can take over for the simple LCD models, and maybe add more scheduling and TiVoish features.
Now...please...please...please...can someone start a company before all the venture capital dries up and start pumping out high volumes of these specialized devices? Nothing I have said can't already be done with existing technology (except maybe realtime MPEG-4) if you are willing to spend a boatload of money and buy individual computers to act as "input", "storage", "output", and "control" units.
I don't want to buy a dozen G4 cubes just to get this type of functionality. But as long as companies like TiVo and ReplayTV keep selling out the the television studios...that looks like the only way I'm going to be able too.
- JoeShmoe
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-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
If I were designing a device I expected to make money on, had a corporation relying on or even wouldn't be able to anonymize myself and isolate myself from legal problems my design would be much the same.
No matter how strongly I feel that the MPAA should be carved up like the monopoly it is I can't afford to waste the time I'd spend in court or possibly even incarcerated, especially since it would most likely lead to me getting the boot from the U.S.
He spends a noticeable amount of time ranting about how the tv listings on Tivo cost money, when you can get them for free from the newspaper. He doesn't seem to account that when you pay for the listings with Tivo, you're not just getting a copy of TV guide. You get everything pre-loaded into your box, with most of the programming to record done for you. No more setting stop/start times, and whatnot. Also it gives an additional value add, by providing recommendations tailored to your tastes. Over time, as the system learns more about you and others, it will make targeted recommendations of shows that you might like.
And above all, it's paying for convenience. And apparently plenty of people are willing to pay for that convenience. Just as apparently, he's not.
Other than the fairly rabid anti-profit motive slant to the whole piece, I don't see how this is all that noteworthy.
"Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
Tivo + DVD = easy rental backup
Tivo + Napster = a distributed archive of all the movies and TV anyone ever wanted to see. . .
Mmmmm. . . tasty
I don't mind companies like Tivo trying to control consumers' behaviour remotely and surreptitiously collect information from them.
However, nothing gives them the *right* to do so. If you manage to circumvent their BS, bad luck for them.
Now, some people will invoke the DMCA against circumvention.
This is exactly this kind of situations that are meant in the 2nd amendment and where we are encouraged to have the resolve to confront the MPAA, the RCAA and their corrupt puppets in Congress;
and to clarify that there is no need to abide by the law that was bought and paid for;
but instead, that we should recover the institutions of government for the people by the people;
by all means.
I'm ready to burn the Bastille in yet another Boston tea party!
"It's an incredibly difficult task. It's one thing to record what you see onto the TiVo drive, but the format on that drive and how you get access to that drive is totally proprietary to us. It would be very difficult for somebody to actually hack into that. And as far as we know, no one is doing that today."
Spock, beam me up.
Someone, somewhere made a mistake. Not the people who used the word Free to describe un-encumbered software, but the guys who built the base of the english language. The French had Liberte and Gratuit. One of them means Free in a good way (free of hinderances, patents, ability to see source, etc.) The other (gratuit) means free in a way that turns most people into greedy, useless bums.
/. everyday, about how America should be Free. How the principles of fair competition should succeed. Then I see the same people sprouting communist crap about 'Why should I have to pay for this?' 'They owe it to me'.
The superhighway (God how I hate that word!) now has people begging on the offramps. Wonderful. What is it with people that makes them believe they have a right to everything they want without paying for it? Tell that same person he's not getting a paycheck this month and watch the brown stuff collide with the rotating airblowing thingy.
I see people crying their eyes out on
Give it a rest. No-one is buying it. Companies need to make money so they can pay you greedy gits to have the lifestyles you want. Don't keep trying to stop them. Especially ones that are doing innovative things. MS is not innovative. They rip you off, tie you into bad security and privacy, and are generally a nasty company. But Tivo are good. You are whinging about paying $10 a month for cool stuff. Yet there are people in countries who gladly spend a weeks salary every month JUST ON LOCAL PHONE CALLS, because they have no choice and value communication so much.
If you don't like the way Tivo are doing it, get off your beer guzzling, tv drooling rear, and go and do something about it. Do it better. Then I'll listen. Until then, you're a whinging luser!
HTML needs a rant tag - Alan Cox
/* Wayne Pascoe