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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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It was nice knowing you.
I've never seen a BSOD on a TV before. Hopefully through the deal Comcast will supply the NTLDR.
Didnt' they already try this?
Yup thought so
</joke>
Oh well I it will be fun to watch them fail yet again.
There is nothing like seeing a Blue Screen of Death on a 50 inch plasma screen. And there's nothing like having the "URKEL32" teleworm wipe out your Simpsons recording collection.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
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
Just one virus and I'll get free porn for life.
---Technology will liberate us if it doesn't enslave us first.
There's also the fun of when some kid in Hong Kong gains control of your TV through an unsecure port and starts to change the channels on you.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Hmmm....
I wonder if it will include Binky, the Helpful Paperclip...
"Hi Buddy, looks like you are watching Porn - do you want me to inform all people you know?
Press [YES] to confirm or [YES] to continue
+++ MELON MELON MELON +++ Out of Cheese Error +++ redo from start +++
Is there anyone who can offer genuine non-zealous commentary on Microsoft's MCE2005?
I'm currently running SageTV (http://www.sage.tv) for my PVR needs. Before that I was running MythTV which I really liked, however it was really flakey.
I wonder how MCE2005 compares to either or both of the two.
TIA
"Control and customize your viewers' experience.
With Microsoft TV Foundation Edition's new UI Customizer tool, you can make changes to the viewer's user interface, preview the changes, and then almost instantaneously publish them to the viewer's set-top box."
Gee, thanks Redmond, I was looking for an outside corporation to control my "experience" (there's that damned word again from the dot-com era). I like how they'll just have the vendor just make bulk changes then push them to my set-top box without asking me if I want an update or not. I suppose that's part of the agreement, though. Looks like another MS service I'll be ignoring.
I'm sure "SlashdotMedia" will improve on all the wonders that Dice Holdings blessed us all with
Everyone who has a DVR (that I know) calls it TiVo, or says they'll "TiVo it" even though it's not a TiVo. They don't care where the product comes from, and that's Microsoft's entry point. They can take a loss on their product and beat out the competitors.
Wow, now there's a losing combination. Here in Chicago Comcast is long running corporate joke. Very poor service both in their TV and Cable modem divisions and a broadband network they can't seem to keep up for very long.
I switched to DirecTV w/ Tivo long ago and will probably give that up eventually as more shows become available on bitorrent. Considering I only watch perhaps three shows regularly, its overkill. Also, Rupert-Owned DirecTV with DirecTivo does have its downsides.
Then again, never underestimate the power of bundling services.
Not that I worry much about Microsoft. I worry more about Comcast. They control more of my life, in the format in which I receive my home internet connection and cable television, than any other entity right now.
What if, in their infinite wisdom, that Comcast requires that you use a Windows box to take advantage of "special features" of their device that MS creates propriatarily? In simpler language, I am used to Microsoft making things that don't fully integrate with my Mac OS arrangement (and generally, I usually don't care since I have plenty of alternatives with my platform). However, Comcast loves to charge its customers for things they don't or can't use, and it's hard enough to know exactly how they are sticking it to me as it is.
On the plus side, they may be a company that I worry about, but my cable internet from Comcast is 2.5MBits and whomps my office connection easily.
Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.
MSNBC
MSCBS
MSABC
MSFOX
The History Channel (sample show: Microsoft invents the GUI with Windows 1.0)
EA-SPN. (the sports network where you get to watch guys play sports videogames)
Animal Planet. (featuring the microsoft mouse)
Lifetime (featuring details of how long the Microsoft EULA binds you)
MTV (featuring Ballmer Beach Dance Blast!)
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I have Comcast's current HDTV/PVR offering, and it pales in comparison to my series 1 standalone TiVO. To get a season pass, you search by title, and individually record each episode that shows up in the search results.
Just about everything you like about the TiVO ain't there yet for "Com-assed". The one big thing the box has going for it is direct firewire access to the current video stream including on demand content, hdtv, and stuff from the dvr library. Of course, once MS gets loaded on the box, you know they're going to lock it down.
Intelligent Life on Earth
Microsoft was responsible for the software that runs on the Dish Network Dishplayer (7200-series). And they sucked at it too. The thing crashed constantly. At least now that Dish is responsible for the software directly, it works a little better, but they're still dealing with the horrible base that MS laid.
I don't think TiVO has a thing to worry about.
-Todd
"The details of my life are quite inconsequential..."
Seriously? It was yesterday, during boot-up. I had to power it off. Thankfully, it did not blue-screen during the next boot.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
CatsCradle writes "The Seattle Times has an article about Microsoft's Foundation and their new partnership with Comcast to provide a TIVO like service."
Thanks for that link to the Microsoft homepage! I've been looking for that.
Slashdot comes through again!!!
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." -- Ambrose Bierce
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
People are missing the point here. Now with comcast you can get an affordable HDTV DVR (as opposed to the $1000 diretivo model).
s p
Check it out:
http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/dct6412.a
That's pretty good for $10/month.
Knowning Microsofts take on DRM im sure this will be a brilliant advance on current PVRs: Won't let you skip adverts, will only let you record selected programs, will delete recordings after 3 days or less, won't let you give recordings to anyone else or take them off the unit, and will phone home to give your viewing habbits to the FBI for analysis in the War on Terror(r).
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
STOP: 0x0000000A (0x0000015a, 0x0000001c, 0x00000000, 0x80116bf4)
WHAT_CHU_TALKIN_BOUT_WILLIS?
Please enjoy viewing this Gary Colman bitmap while the dump file is being created...
Timeshifting won't be an issue within a couple of years because everything will be going toward a Video-on-demand model where you can pay a small amount for a rental, or pay a little more to keep the content forever.
You'll also be able to transfer the content to other devices throughout your home and to portable devices.
There is one obvious drawback: we'll all be locked into Microsoft's solution.
But if it's a good solution, I'm not sure most of us will mind. I don't mind being locked into my Powerbook G4.
Lets see:
Microsoft + Echostar = DishPlayer
Microsoft + DirecTV = Ultimate TV
Microsoft + Comcast = ?
I actually owned a DishPlayer. The problems with it to me wern't horrible, but it did cause a class action lawsuit to be brought against Echostar. Their new PVRs never matched the features of the DishPlayer, but they at least were stable.
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.
One of the above words has correct use of the apostrophe. You decide which one!
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
According to the article you'll be able to "pause and rewind live television broadcasts" and record shows. There is no mention of any ability to fastforward or skip commericals. Thus it is highly unlikely that any such feature exists.
Tivo was a huge giant step forward for consumers, Microsoft's taking us a couple steps back.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
This is why you don't buy a lifetime subscription from anyone that Microsoft might ever want to try to compete with.
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.
Putting Microsoft between you and your content seems like a mistake... even if the hardware is cheap. You have 233 day and counting to get your broadcast flag free capture cards.
TiVo needs to position themselves as the Google of DVRs and adopt the "Do No Evil" policy.
My Tivo automatigically calls home and downloads updates and has been doing this since day one years ago. DirectTv has already changed the logo that used to say Philips Tivo to Direct TV. They've made updates to the UI which were (thankfully) an improvement. So what's new?
Here I was thinking I could make some quip about this new service recording and inserting additional ads into your recorded content, and tag a fast "5:Funny". Something like this:
"I hear Microsoft plan to go for an untapped market niche neglected by the TiVo. This new recorder records just the ads around the program, as well as inserting a few of its own."
Surefire positive moderation and reassurance for my meaningless existence centered around Slashdot karma right? Well, it seems the comedians at Microsoft have already stolen my thunder. From the Microsoft Foundation page...
Sell and secure HDTV homes.
Promote offerings with targeted ads and recommendations.
Insert ads and promotions...
Control and customize your viewers' experience.
It seems that they have they thought of all my best gags and implemented them as actual features. Dammit. What a sad day when a monolithic company can spent thousands on marketing a product whose primary purpose is to deny a Slashdotter the simple pleasure of a two-line quip. *runs and cries*
This is Microsoft's second attempt to crack this market. The first one, Ultimate TV went nowhere. But the reports I've heard from Ultimate TV owners have been pretty positive. So Microsoft isn't exactly going into this from scratch.
Mmmm, secure HDTV. Don't want any of those pesky users exercizing their rights! Let's make sure that we can keep them from recording what you don't want them to. That way you can target them with even MORE advertising because they will be forced to watch what WE want them to watch.
Timeshifting be damned!
"Sell and Secure HDTV Homes" means "get people who use HDTV to use our cable system, and keep them from switching to satellite". This should be clear from the context, as the next sentance reads "Microsoft TV Foundation 1.7 helps you attract and retain your most valuable consumers by highlighting high-definition TV programming".
Your rant about timeshifting rights is poorly informed. People who actually HAVE a Motorola DCT6412 set-top unit (the kind being used with the MSTVF1.7 rollout) report that it allows recording to the built-in hard drive for all content, and allows HD transfers out to other devices over Firewire.
Sure, there might be a gotcha in there somewhere about 5C or broadcast flags, but none is mentioned anywhere I've found. Care to tell us what it is? Is it any different if the DCT6412 has, say, Pioneer Passport, or iGuide, on it instead of MSTVF?
-- Jeff Paulsen
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?
Plus it heats my home ;)
Any day now.
You can have your god back when you are old enough to handle the responsibility.
They had a review of MCE2k5 (and MythTV) and Myth vs. MCE2k4).
.... is the DRM face recognition facility that deletes all your files if anyone else tries to watch.
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
You're right. You don't ever see a BSOD on XP because Microsoft "fixed" it by having it automatically reboot as soon as it does it by default.
Yup, no more BSOD! Just random reboots instead. Good work team!
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
Why pay a monthly fee if you don't have to? Their business model is what will kill TiVo, not just Microsoft.
I'll tell you what the 'effect' is! It's pissing me off!
I love my standalone series 2 Tivo. I like the menu system, the ability to add additional storage, and the overall functionality. Sadly, Tivo will fall behind because it has committed too much time and too many resources to DirecTV. DirecTV will undoutably chew them up and spit them out at some point in favor of their own in-house developed DVR. DirecTV has no loyalties, including to its own customer base, with its record of extortion and threats for those customers who have shown interest in smartcard development. I wish very much that Tivo could survive without DirecTV, and focus its efforts elsewhere. Sadly, it doesn't look like Tivo is moving this direction.
First and foremost, Tivo has made no commitment to their customer base to offer a standalone or CableCard HD recorder. This is discouraging, at least... and it spells out the beginning of the end for this well-meaning company.
Secondly, when considering current digital cable content, the stream is sourced digitally, decoded to analog, and reencoded by Tivo. This result is less-than-optimal video quality. In fact, it's quite poor, even at the highest quality setting. I want higher quality recordings, even without consideration of HD.
So, I cannot record HD, do not have dual tuner support, and cannot access VOD content directly through Tivo. Even if Tivo WERE to develop an HD standlone record with CableCard support, it would be unable to access VOD and PPV content, based on CableCard specification.
Perhaps this isn't Tivo's fault. Maybe they did try to partner with cable providers and were beat out by a better MS offer. I want to give Tivo the benefit of the doubt here, but they are failing first on several other fronts which are only problems of Tivo itself.
i swear my userid used to be lower.
Microsoft is an investor in Comcast. Comcast has been promising Tivo-like boxes for a very long time now. The thing is, Comcast sucks. It's pretty sad that I can get better quality and more HDTV programming via Bittorrent than I can through Comcast (I use the eyeHome from El Gato to go from my Mac via my home network to my HDTV). And of course Microsoft sucks. Nobody wants them to do this...except for Comcast...and did I mention they suck? I'm torn because on the one hand, there's no way these two dunderheads could produce anything in the ballpark of Tivo. On the other hand there are probably a lot of people who haven't come out of their y2k bunkers who at some point will *not* check the box saying they don't want to receive the MS unit for only $10 a month. Remind me, what has Microsoft produced for consumers since 2001?
Just one virus, and your porn CAREER is finished...
Visit me on the web at Permanent4.com.
Something's fishy about this. Tivo has a market cap of about Two Million XBoxes. Microsoft could buy them out this afternoon if they saw them as a competitor. Why would they choose to fight instead?
I heard a rumor that ms can't stand the fact that cable and satelitte have a strong hold on the market so there gonna create their own entertainment service to compete with the likes of cablevision and direct tv. There also gonna create their own amusement park..MS LAND!!!!!! And then they'll be MS farms and MS whole grain cereal and MS "efficient" light bulbs, and MS thong for the mrs. Seriously when it end for M$???????
I'm far from the first to get excited about an MS product. But at the end of the day, ya gotta be objective.
I've had MS' earlier attempt at a DVR, UltimateTV, integrated with my DirecTV service for awhile now. Truth be told, it's pretty good. MS hasn't updated the now-orphaned software in a long time, so it's a platform with no future. But from all I read in other forums, those DirecTV users who've had to switch to DirecTivo are less than thrilled with the change. The UTV software is quite stable, the guide is fast, and it organizes shows in logical folders. As Apple users like to say, "it just works". You don't hear that often about MS products, but credit where its due.
The one gripe I do have with UTV is that its not hackable. If I had a DirecTivo, I could hack it up to the latest Tivo OS, and pull recorded shows off the unit onto a PC. There is no way to do this (in the digtial domain) with UTV. As far as I know nobody has figured out such a hack yet.
*tink-tink*
Hi! It looks like you're trying to watch friends. Would you like some assistance?