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TiVo Introduces Series2
KMFMS writes "Yesterday, TiVo introduced their Series2 line of TiVo DVRs. The TiVo web page for the Series2 states that it will have "2 USB expansion ports to connect to peripheral devices like... network adaptors..." " Presumably
this will mean Tivo will have Broadband support to compete with the new ReplayTV 4000's.
It also claims to support music and stuff too.
Enabled for future services in home entertainment
Well, if those are still future services, why would I want to upgrade now? Why don't I wait until these services are actually available and I can be certain that unit, with add-ons, actually functions the way they claim it will.
Why not firewire? It's a LOT faster, and besides, intel wants the market to move in this direction.
And, for god sakes, why not have ethernet, or wireless ethernet build in? My television is nowhere near a phone line, which is part of the reason for not getting a tivo. Although the prices for series one will probably drop now.
They're not selling the data. They're selling the format and convenience of the data.
You can buy a sunday paper and get the TV listings. Somehow TV Guide stays in business selling the same "data" to people, but usually in a better format.
Not that i wouldn't love to be able to get all the stuff for free, but the key to tivo staying in business and making cool boxes is for them to make money somehow. If it would just go over my DSL IP connection I'd be happier than the whole dialing-in thing.
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
Agreed, they're not just selling the data. Add to that the fact that the subscriptions are really the only thing that make TiVo a decent business model (the only things that come to mind from which TiVo might profit is (1) licensing the TiVo technology to box makers like Sony and Philips, (2) the subscription fees, and (3) content deals with big networks), I'm happy to fork over the cash in hopes that it might help a company succeed which deserves to succeed.
Finally, think of it this way. Subscription fees are a way of subsidizing the cost of the set-top box. If you don't like that idea, you can just pay the extra $250 (it was $200 when I bought my TiVo) for lifetime service, and then you're essentially paying TiVo what it should cost to buy the box. Otherwise you can do that in monthly or annual increments down the line, but since I planned (and still do plan) on keeping my TiVo for many years to come when I bought it in June of 2000, I bought the lifetime, which, as of something like this March, will have paid for itself.
-mikey
The new features are all well and good, but I think the key to TiVo's long term success will continue to lie in its simplicity. Right now, it's something that your grandmother can use. It's simple, intuitive, and useful. While adding ports may up the "geek factor" to compete with ReplayTV, it really adds very little in the long run.
If you really want a whiz-bang system with home networking and other features built in, the way to get that NOW is to roll your own PC based system. There's plenty of software available.
If TiVo makes the mistake of over complicating their product and bogging it down with vaporware (see previous RealNetworks article), then they may have problems. Ask yourself what level of technology your non-technical friends and relatives are comfortable dealing with. Most can't even hook up their VCR correctly.
I love my TiVo. It's easy to use and simply works great. I don't ever see myself being without some sort of PVR.
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
While it's true that for streaming over the internet directly from a Tivo it wouldn't matter, but it's pretty crazy to go around transferring full bitrate MPEG encoded movies - what most people want to be able to do is download video to their computer and re-encode or shrink it down to a reasonable archiveable size.
This sketches me out - I have a strange feeling that something is going on behind the scenes here - remember the flap over the ReplayTV that could "share movies with your friends". Tivo is a saavy company when it comes to placating the media world. I have a feeling there is a reason they are putting USB on it rather than ethernet directly. But it doesn't quite click to me what it could be - other than that this allows them to assess the industry response to it, and choose to release or not release official ethernet-USB support at a later date without endangering the product itself, and surely some hackers will make ethernet work anyway to appeal to the gear head crowd.
So I think this is a carefully considered business decision. I also know a lot of folks in the Tivo community and have no doubt that within weeks of these things hitting the stores all sorts of cool unintended uses for these USB ports will be thought up. I'll be first in line to buy one, as soon as the DirecTV-integrated version is out.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
If you are so concerned, TiVo allows you to opt out of the data collection.
Personally, I like that they collect what I watch. Maybe that will mean that the shows I watch don't get cancelled...
Twostep
There are 10 different types of people in this world... those who understand binary, and those who don't.
Anything to let these networks know what I'm interested in seeing, and what they can do with all the crap they stuff down my pipeline.
Well since the people who have hacked an ethernet into the older TiVos (or just used ppp over the serial port) have successfully used their own network connection to download schedule info (on subscribed TiVos), I don't see why TiVo would go to lengths to make it not work here.
I would guess they don't want to announce them until they have them working, a UI for them, and maybe even have them in beta testing. Plus of corse, they may not want to do some/all of those things.
That would require duplications almost every item the stand alone TiVo has. You need another set of IR blasters to go to another cable box. Another coax in, another antenna in, another RCA in set. You need another tuner (for the antenna in), another NTSC decoder. Another MPEG encoder.
In other words you more or less double the SA TiVo's cost (er, except for the hard disk, and the rather inexpensive CPU).
I would rather see a way to network multiple TiVos and have them seemlessly act as one big TiVo. Need a second tuner? Buy a second TiVo. Need more disk space? Get yet another. All three networks have their one best show at the same time, plus HBO's new series airs then too? Get four TiVos.
That would be a lot more general, and not cost significantly more....
(Why does the DTiVo and UTV have two tuners then? Well they only have one extra sat input, and no extra MPEG encoder, in fact they have zero mpeg encoders. So the extra cost was pretty small.)
I really doubt it. It would be nice, but when was the last time you heard of a DVD player or television coming with an upgrade discount.
As long as they keep providing service for the S1 TiVos, I don't see any reason to expect a discount on the new ones.
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
...and they're still going to charge ten clams a month for guide data that's freely available on the web? I'm willing to bet, the answer is yes.
Yeah yeah yeah. Call us when you've implemented a system that not only downloads that data into a regularized format for PVRs to read, but is smart enough to follow schedule changes on its own.
In the meantime, please look up the definition of "value-add" in your nearest Business 101 textbook.
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.