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SBC Builds A TiVo Rival

Posted by timothy on from the hubris-is-good-for-us dept.

ChipGuy writes "With all the hoopla around Tivo To Go, SBC Communications has launched its own PVR-plus-set-top box which integrates SBC DSL with its satellite service. From the looks of it, this could be the trend where phone operators offer their one set-top box/ home media servers. This is not good news for TiVo or Microsoft which harbors living room ambitions. 2Wire might be the dark horse in set-top box sweepstakes."

5 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Re:TiVo ToGo *Hoopla*? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Oh, and by "new killer features" I meant something like:

    You're on your lunch break at work with a high speed 'net connection and have nothing else to do, so you log into your SBC/2Wire box via a password protected web browser and see, basically, a java version of the PVR's menu. You pick one of your favorite shows and hit Play and the 2Wire box transcodes the video in realtime to a streaming format so you can watch the recorded show (or live tv, even) right there in your browser while you're away from home as it pipes the stream out the integrated SBC 'net connection.

    Yeah, I know there's no way they could do that with the quality of most SBC 'net connectivity, but you know... :)

  2. SBC institutionally incompetent? by Monkelectric · · Score: 3, Interesting
    This would be great news if it were anyone else but SBC. SBC delivering TV over DSL is like letting the retarded neighbor kid fix your car. You know he cant do it, but it might be fun to watch him try.

    Seriously, SBC cant get DSL right (PPPoE, WTF?), I have no confidence in their ability to get TV working as well.

    --

    Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

    1. Re:SBC institutionally incompetent? by Skeezix · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Think again, Monkelectric. I just finished SBC's ADSL2 trial and it was amazing. We're talking 10-12Mb/s downstrea, over 1.2Mb/s upstream, brilliant HDTV over IP and no, it is not PPPoE anymore. Stay tuned....

      --
      Celebrate the finer things in life
  3. Standardization of set top boxes by Raindeer · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yesterday I had a discussion on set top boxes with a couple of colleagues. It seems to us that the living room of the future will have its own rack full with set top boxes. A set top box for your digital radio, a set top box for digital tv, a set top box for internet/dsl connection, a set top box for video on demand, a set top box for I don't know what else for a kind of DRM protected content.

    I can see all these set top boxes actually harming competition. Having to introduce a new set top box for a new service seems like a proper waste of money. The consumer might like a different provider per service but buying a new box just to make it work will be prohibitively expensive

    It would be great if we would get systems that are modular, maybe work with a set of chipcards or something along those lines.

    --
    Use Adsense for Charity
  4. FFS, die already, won't you? by MerryGoByeBye · · Score: 4, Interesting

    TV is dying, folks. While the symptoms may not be outwardly apparent yet, the insides are rotting away like so much necrotic carcinoma. How much longer can TV keep going while a greater and greater (what is it now, over half?) part of the US (and world) establishes broadband connectivity?

    Do you think people can split themselves in two?

    TV already shot itself in the foot when it spawned 400-channel versions of itself and divided up the interest by its newfound extra channels. All that's left now is to watch as the shows go to crap, the heads roll and the whole burgeoning monstrosity becomes cannibalized by BigBand.