Slashdot Mirror
Tivo Testing Internet Download Service
knarfling writes "Yahoo News writes that customers will soon be able to download TV shows to their set-top boxes via the Internet. There is even speculation about being able to download an entire season at a time. Right now there are only three shows from the Independent Film Channel available on Aug 19, but it is a start. Will other companies follow this lead, or will this die down after the hype is over?"
iTunes for television shows? This is the next logic step. And, because of this, the viewer isn't forced-fed the shows the networks choose. Maybe this means that excellent shows like futurama will not get canceled just because the network doesn't want to pay for them.
Slashdot, fix your code or at least hire someone who is competent at it to do it for you.
It's certainly an interesting concept but i'd like to see what savings are passed on as a result. I've seen too many services like this charge more or the same for something you could buy on DVD.
and if it's free there'd have to be ads. I suppose it would be nice to get an entire season of a show I want to watch rather than have to wait weeks. But then the producers would have to increase the release schedule's.
I just don't see it working.
Have you metaroderated recently?
bt takes searching for a bit for a tracker with a quality rip, and means you have to deal with resource hogging apps.
Mythtv means I have to build my own, which is fine, but also has a bit of a complicated setup, along with maintenance.
Tivo on the other hand looks low maintenance. Being able to add drives and transfer to my linux/mac/windows boxes and burn to dvd is my biggest concern with Tivo currently. If they give me shows before they air, then I'd be thrilled and more than willing to purchase a boxtop from the company. Being able to watch stargate before the air date (friday is night out night) and house on some other night would be great.
I've always been surprised by the fact that most TV networks never allowed consumers to download content. I was especially confused when the cable modem became prominent. We're already watching your shows over cable; why not let us keep them on our computers?
I am scientifically inaccurate.
The article suggests that the service will not survive if it cannot present a better financial prospect to the big dogs in the game who are earning more money with the current commercial driven market. History in capitalism denotes a different reality however. The success of the service will depend on whether the big dogs are threatened by delivery of services by companies who are willing to accept a lesser profit. This is how capitalism is supposed to work. Introducing a better technology that people want for less money. They use ESPN as an example as to why it would fail unless they can generate more dollars to attract players like ESPN. When a sports delivery service, that cannot reach the audience they they want, is willing to earn a smaller profit signs on with this and people get the information they want from the smaller service, ESPN will start to feel some real pain as their market share dwindles. They would then be the ones to be forced to adopt the new delivery service, despite the lower profits, to survive themselves. The only power ESPN has in this case is to try to keep people paying the higher fees by intimidation and doom casting at Tivo and the likes. In the long run ESPN wand their buddies may very well be forced to play the cheaper game we as consumers actually want. ESPN and other large commercial driven providers are not goig to buy in. We as consumers have to send the message that 'homey don't play that no more'
... that says this never happens, or, at least not from Tivo.
I love Tivo, and have two of them myself, but I really think they need to release some of ther other "this is being tested" stuff first. Case in point, HDTivo(promised 2002 or 2003, I can't even remember.) Networking on the DirecTivo, promised for years...
Tivo still makes the best DVR, but they never release anything new, fully featured. They even caved on the home media vision, buckling to the MPAA. This may eventually be released, but it wont be from Tivo and it won't be as good as it could be.
Tivo rules, i just wish they really would for a change.
I would rather pay for a service, to get a TV show when I want it, rather than waiting for a certain time for my TIVO to record it so I can watch it later. Let the downloading begin.
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Because if they let you keep it on your computer, you can share it from your computer. You can also edit out commercials and otherwise modify it.
The production studios don't want that. They want to have complete control over when, where, and how you watch everything. They don't believe in "fair use;" they want every penny they can scrape away from you for even thinking about their show. That's why technologies such as filesharing are so scary--it takes the control away from the studios and gives it to the consumers (albeit mostly illegally, thanks to big-time corporate avarice leading to the systematic undermining of consumers' legal rights).
I wish that someone would come up with the idea of "open source television," where programming is produced for free consumption and distribution, and financed by donations or additional fee-based services. You know, art for art's sake and all? Universities should do something like that.
Tivo could easily start buying up cheap movies and old series for cheap and start offering them. By doing that and buying discontinued tv series they could start to build an on-demand catalogue that would justify non-cable people shelling out for a cheap tivo. I think once they had a sustainable group doing that they could start getting more current content.
I do security
"1. Direct TV will drop Tivo eventually (they announced last week), Tivo loses majority of its subscriber base."
Except you are leaving out the fact Tivo signed a deal with Comcast that could make up for losing DirectTV, assuming it works out.
@de_machina
"my point is that you don't tivo for this."
That's sort of like saying "I moved across the street from where I work, therefore nobody actually needs to own a car."
There are a LOT of things not on that list of yours that a lot of people are quite happily watching on their TiVo's right now. It's a pity you can't edit your post to say "Here's an alternative to TiVo, it's up to you if it's good enough."
"Derp de derp."
Well, TiVo won't be "losing the majority of its subscriber base" as a result of DirecTV ditching TiVo. It might lose the majority of its subscriber base GROWTH, but the thousands of DirecTiVo boxes out there aren't going to suddenly go dark. DirecTV will still be supporting the existing TiVo-based DVR models (similar to how they currently support--but don't sell--the old Ultimate TV boxes).
Nathan
2. There are no products available right now that even come close to what the Tivo offers. The highly touted MOXI box has fallen fla with broken season passes and terrible analogue recording, and the other built-it yourself kits use the absolute worst TV Guide data i've ever seen. Sure, eventually someone might make a product as good, but for right now, it's like the iPod. It does one thing, and it does it well enough to stay on top.
3. No one likes integration. Industry has proven that people simply dont like it if their built-in DVD player dies, they have to send their entire TV/VCR in for repairs along with it. Seperare components have been, and will always be top choice for consumers.
4. Tivo has always had mainstream content. They have had movie previews and trailers from every major film maker on their boxes. The studios are just realising how important broadband could be to them. You only need to look at the success of BSG for evidence of this. Now the studios just need to capitalize on it, and Tivo will be an excellent outlet for this.
5. Tivo IS the iPod of the living room. Has been for the past 6 years. Where have you been?