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TiVo and Netflix Hook Up

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the coming-soon-to-a-set-top-box-near-you dept.

thejoelpatrol writes "It's official. After denying that such a deal was in the works, TiVo and Netflix have finalized a deal to let TiVo subscribers download movies over their broadband connections. Several such services have sprung up recently, but none has the name recognition of either of these beloved entertainment-technology companies."

8 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Protecting content by erick99 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The companies are planning to work together on technology that will secure this content, she said.

    This is no small undertaking. I've gotta believe the MPAA and other interested bodies will be up Tivo/Netflix collective arses about piracy. It will be very interesting to see how long it takes to make the MPAA & company feel safe....

    --
    http://www.busyweather.com/
  2. Couple of things. by Eeknay · · Score: 5, Interesting

    First, we have the inevitable piracy argument, that you can rip the movie fairly easily to a computer for all others to see, especially since there's no protection like a DVD could possible give.

    Second, what about all those different versions of movies? Will they offer, for example, the Return of the King Theatrical *and* EE version? The primary concern here is both the time it takes to download, since many people have varying speeds of connection, and whether or not TiVo/Netflix can keep up with demand from thousands (millions?) of customers all wanting the same movie when it just gets released.

    And in regards to length of movies, what about storage capacity on the TiVo? Won't it fill up awfully quickly given a certain amount of movies downloaded rather than purchased on DVD?

  3. The Register has a little more info by kentmartin · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/01/netflix_ti vo_deal/ has some more info (albeit in a shorter article). It mentions that copy protection will be a bit a priority and that it should be easier to enforce than on anything as openly standard as PCs.

    Should be cool though

  4. The Key Quote" Secure This Content" by KrisHolland · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "The companies are planning to work together on technology that will secure this content, she said."

    Here is a clue, if I can view it then it is not secure nor will it ever be secure enough.

    DRM is the crazy idea of giving me the content, and also the key to view it, but though obfuscation somehow hide the decrypt process. It won't work in the long run.

    --
    3dinfo@maficstudios.com
  5. Interested To See Microsoft's Reply by BRock97 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Chalk up another weapon in Tivo's arsenal for living room domination. One of the final strokes would be for them to make the Tivo the centralized media portal in the house with the ability to run clients on PCs, other TV's, and maybe even the Playstation 2, precisely what Microsoft is doing with Media Center Edition and the Xbox. For Tivo's sake, I hope they play this correctly as it has the possiblity to either make or break the company.

    I do wonder, though, if we won't see a similar announcement from Microsoft in the near future. After all, wouldn't a service like this fit perfectly into their growing living room plans? I would think so.

    For me, I would love to have this type of functionality from Tivo. The ability to not only stream shows that you have recorded, but movies that you have downloaded from Netflix to any client would probably make me invest in a Tivo setup.

    --

    Bryan R.
    The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, or $12.50 as seen on eBay.....
  6. And Will it Make Money? by ej0c · · Score: 5, Funny

    I sure hope so, 'cause I'm getting tired of tracking those TIVO shares I bought at $35 thinking it was underpriced..

  7. Re:This will last just long enough by DrXym · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Whether the encryption is cracked or not is irrelevant really. It's not as if you're getting movies that aren't out on DVD. And a DVD is a much easier thing to crack than some format being sent between TIVO & Netflix.


    As proof of that, note that you can easily get DVD rips right now. So what's the point of cracking the TIVO system? And even if it is cracked, it seems highly likely that each movie would be digitally watermarked with your account number, TIVO box and other incriminating info. So releasing it out onto the P2P networks seems like a very foolhardy thing to do.


    The only benefit from a cracked system is perhaps you could build your own personal jukebox of movies. Again, it's not like you can't do that already so I wonder what the point is.

  8. Why the focus on digital delivery? by BreadMan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I know that the nifty thing to do for netflix is to deliver the movie and not have to pay the post, but the existing netflix business model still has a lot of other long hanging fruit that could be picked by partnering with TiVo

    For example, why couldn't my TiVo:

    - Recommend movies for me based on my viewing ordering patterns
    I could see what TiVo recommends and just order from my TiVo.

    - Offer me the ability to order movies based that I'm currently watching
    So I could see a movie commercial-free and uncut if I don't like the way the network has edited it or I don't like the pan and scan. Or recommend a movie related to what I'm currently watching.

    - Let me search/browse the NetFlix database and order.
    The TiVo has the capacity to keep a NetFlix inventory. Ordering from the TV seems more comfortable way to interact with NetFlix.

    - Let me manage my NetFlix account
    What movies to I have, how many more could I request, what I've ordered.