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TiVo To Support RealNetwork Formats
rtphokie writes: "The flurry of announcements coming form the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas has started with
RealNetworks ' anouncement that it had struck deals to include its technology in an array of microchips and devices, including TiVo PVRs. This is the latest move in an effort to expand from the desktop to consumer devices."
Standards, standards, we only want standards implemented in hardware!
I wouldn't be too concerned. I bet that the RealMedia formatted stuff will be the stuff that Tivo downloads via the phone line like previews and commercials (like that Lexus commercial).
They should go with Divx. Smaller files and higher quality movies
Sounds like those of us who already own a Tivo would have to buy a "second generation box" to take advantage of this deal with RealNetworks.
For me to shell out more money for a new box, they better be offering some real compelling content. The Tivo already records more stuff than I could possibly find time to watch.
** The opinions expressed here are my own, and do not reflect those of my employers - past, present, or future**
This must have something to do with Real charging for new versions of its product. You can still download RealPlayer 8 for free, it just takes about 15 minutes to find the link. I'm waiting for the day that you have to pay to watch streaming content on the web. Maybe I'd be more enthusiastic if I'd ever seen more than 2 acceptable quality Real Media files, and those were encoded at the highest possible quality for the Real Media encoder. Even those were barely of acceptable quality.
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, though I'm not yet sure about the universe. - A Einstein
It doesn't say anywhere in the article that the codec is going to be compatible with RealPlayer. Furthermore, the TiVo implementation may have rights management built into it. If you transfer video from the TiVo to your computer, it may not play on your PC even if it is the same codec.
On a lighter note, maybe I can now watch flash movies on my TV. Hyakugojuuichi!
TiVo wants to allow their customers to record the maximum amount of high-quality video possible to the built-in storage medium, currently a great big hard drive.
I believe that up until now they have used some flavor of MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) compression. If TiVo were to use license Real's software, they could program their boxes to create low-bitrate copies of shows for viewing on PDA's, etc.
I love TiVo, I really do. I have two of them and it's hard to watch TV without them..but...
For my next one I want HDTV support. Right now I have to switch in and out of TiVo to watch HD shows.
I want broadband support. My monthly service for TiVo is effectively doubled since I have to keep a phoneline around for it. I guess I could hack in TivoNet...but I don't have time right now. I want to totally switch to my cell phone.
I want the ability to move shows to other recorders..or better yet, have one master box and several slaves on other TVs similar to that new one that was just announced.
a little consolidation in the home media market in the near future... Maybe Sony buying Tivo, incorporating it's technology into a future version of the Playstation, along with the ability to play Real Media files. You know XBox will have this capability with Windows Media files in the future. Then you also have companies such as AOL/TW who could become a player. I'm sure there are others too.
I Heart Sorting Networks
It's people like you who put Netscape where it is today. While MS was improving IE, you and your ilk were sitting around saying, "Hey, it's okay that Netscape munges tables and needs to reload everything if I *gasp* resize the page -- everyone should support them because they're not Microsoft!" Keep supporting screw-ups just because you hate their enemy and you'll ensure that they always remain screw-ups, because the only thing they need to do to retain that particular business model for a while is to not be bought out by said enemy -- that is, until they finally go out of business because people couldn't take the crappiness anymore.
Oh, and this is coming from someone who prefers Windows Media Player 8, hates all versions of QuickTime, and is happy enough with Real to be a GoldPass subscriber ('though not a Real One subscriber, although that's the player I use for Real now). And call me crazy, but I let them bill me every month because the service they provide is worth it to me, not because they ain't Microsoft.