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Microsoft Takes on TiVo
CatsCradle writes "The Seattle Times has an article about Microsoft's Foundation and their new partnership with Comcast to provide a TiVo-like service."
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If MS wants to have Windows Media Center infiltrate the living rooms of America, this is a logical step. It also follows that they want to get their DRM involved at this side of things, both for encoding saved shows, and if there are Windows Media decoders at the set-top, perhaps on the production/encoding side of the cable.
500GB of disk, 5TB of transfer, $5.95/mo
Why does it always seem that Microsft instead of trully being innovative ( ala apple) they always have to buy themselves into an existing market, then try to bull rush it with thier tremendous capital.
Because M$ has more money and muscle to influence companies.... End of Tivo
Hardly. Tivo has name recognition in the DVR market (so much so that many people don't know what a DVR is, but certainly know what a Tivo is). Tivo's been in the market for years and has a large installed userbase. Microsoft will have to fight hard to catch up to this. In my opinion, this is similar to Microsoft entering the console market with the XBox. The XBox sells decently in the US, but it can't compare to PS2 sales in any market. Why? Sony has name recognition and beat MS to market in the current generation of consoles. I think that MS is going to have a very difficult time unseating Tivo as the King of DVRs.
when is the last time you saw a blue screen in XP?
The "jokes" about the BSOD are old, so try to think a little and come up with something original.
Tivo has name, and proven track record.
:)
Microsoft has money and can buy name and track record.
That aside, competition is most aways a good thing it drives up inovation. The more brands availible the better off we are as consumers.
But look at other comcast products, G4, after the merger of G4 and techtv, they took one crapy network and one decent network(Techtv), and produced a crapy network.
Now i can use my comcast DVR to make sure i dont ever have to see a retarded G4 show again
OK, TiVo has a huge share in the DVR (or PVR, as my Cable company calls it) market, but didn't Netscape used to have like 92% of the browser market? Name recognition means crap when competing against Microsoft. Sorry, but unless TiVo partners up with cable box makers YESTERDAY, then they're done.
Hey TiVo, you need to call someone over at Motorola. I have a Motorola cable/PVR/HDTV box and it SUCKS. Bad. I've had TiVo for three years, and I love it. The Motorola box crashes all the time, the controls suck, the program guide sucks. Looks like it was programmed in the 80's.
-Arthur
Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
Tivo's stock price has dropped 4% from yesterday's close on the announcement and over 6% from earlier this week... People are in a state of panic and for good reason. TiVo has been building up their Tivo to go services and working out rights management details with the NFL and other interested parties. They're also rumored to be including full Netflix movie download services in their next box. Tivo has been network agnostic while the MS box is geared towards comcast customers. This gives MS both a leg up and a problem. The advantage is in being able to offer specific PPV/pay per download movie choices while keeping it under the cable company's control may be a weakness. Also note that this is one cable company taking on the new box. Unless we start hearing that these boxes are also broadband web browsers and offer new features bundled in with comcast's cable modem or that other cable companies are joining on, Tivo is in good shape. They still have DirectTv and retail space that MS would have a while to catch up in. My final thought is Microsoft's trump card. If they somehow manage to integrate control of the set top box into the OS (do I smell anti trust case?) they could very well be able to kill off Tivo.
This is why you don't buy a lifetime subscription from anyone that Microsoft might ever want to try to compete with.
>Netscape used to have like 92% of the browser market?
End user: Why pay for Netscape when this IE thing is free!
*months later*
Netscape: We're free too now.
End user: Too late. I already have things setup the way I like.
Unless there's some severe price-breaks and bundling involved I wouldn't write off Tivo just yet.
Comcast, who I also dislike, is the biggest cable service provider in the US. Just like Microsoft they have a bad reputation, and just like Microsoft they're dominant in the market.
I think TimeWarner + AOL turned out to be a bigger joke. But that's because they didn't capitalize on their partnership at all. They had a huge opportunity and they blew it.
Developers: We can use your help.
If Microsoft makes this so cheap that no cable company can turn them down, what chance does TiVo stand? People will say "Why should I pay for a TiVo and subscription when I can get this box for $8 a month from my cable company?"
They have a loyal following of users. TiVo will be smart enough to keep on reinventing themselves. It's a heck of lot easier to set up a TiVo than a Windows Media Center. With TiVo you can get someone on the line for Tech Support pretty quickly and toll-free. For Microsoft...don't even get me started... TiVo won't suffer from the need for constant security patches. Imagine how much hacking will go on with WIndows Media Centers vs. a TiVo?
"This is going to fundamentally change people's perspective on television," said Moshe Lichtman, corporate vice president of Microsoft's television division.
Uh, earth to Moshe. Our perspective on television has already changed dramatically over the past 3 to 5 years (How long has TiVo been around? I know I've had one for at least 4 years.), and it was all done without Microsoft.
I'm sure this is just the beginning of the giant bullshit marketing plan describing all their upcoming TV "innovation".
- Kevin
The less confident you are, the more serious you have to act.
MS-TechTV: First off, we don't need anyone mentioning G4 in it to imply a Macintosh connection. X-Play will now be known as XP. There will no longer be any mention of alternative operating systems on The ScreenSavers. The show, by the way, will be renamed to Dot-SCR. Martin Sargeant will change the show's name to MS-PowerPoint.
Game consoles other than the X-Box will not be recognized. There will be Halo 2 marathons, nothing else. Microsoft staff will be interviewing and studying Tallarico in order to upgrade Clippy, making the paperclip more obnoxious and annoying.
Not that I care, of course...I've stopped watching the channel about as soon as G4 came in and bastardized the whole thing.
The biggest threat to TiVo is cable operators, not Microsoft. For years, TiVo couldn't sign on a single US cable operator to incorporate their technologies into the next generation cable settop boxes. At the same time, the cable operators have been actively adding TiVo like features to their settop boxes. Some develop the technologies in house like Time Warner's MyStroTV, others partnered with third party vendors, like Microsoft and many other companies in that space. Microsoft has lost billions of dollars trying to enter the cable TV industry. TiVo has no success either. That's why many Wall Street's analysts predicted TiVo's death because of competition from cable operator's settop boxes enabled with DVT technologies.
The difference is that the cable company is packaging this. If I am a comcast digital customer and want to use my Tivo, I'm stuck with two incompatibal guides. I'm forced to have Tivo using an IR blaster of some sort to change the channel on my cable box. I'm forced to purchase a second cable box if I want to watch and record something at the same time. This service builds all that in. Plus it's cheaper. With this service there is no compelling reason for a comcast customer to get tivo.
Jack Valenti and Orrin Hatch will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
Everyone who uses tissues calls it Kleenex. Name recognition does not itself destroy competition.
Just one virus, and your porn CAREER is finished...
Visit me on the web at Permanent4.com.
Something's fishy about this. Tivo has a market cap of about Two Million XBoxes. Microsoft could buy them out this afternoon if they saw them as a competitor. Why would they choose to fight instead?