Can TiVo Come Back?
February 11th, 2010, 3:57pm by Jake
I can’t remember the last time TiVo scheduled an “event” but it looks like they’re finally releasing something new. A decade after pioneering DVRs, is TiVo ready to upgrade its interface? Will they raise the bar with the next-generation of HD DVRs? Or will TiVo just polish their perfectly fine, best-in-class product where everyone is already happy with good enough?
There’s some discussion over at Zatz Not Funny. Any guesses?
February 11th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
An *actual* time machine?!? I can see it now, a 10-second rewind button for whenever you say things you wish you hadn’t!
Whatever it is, it’s gonna be good, because releasing another TiVo with, say, a bigger drive, different video interface, or new networking capability isn’t gonna cut it. Maybe a Sling-like device? Or a mobile phone/iPad app with Sling-like capabilities?
February 11th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Adding Sling-like capabilities would certainly impress me, not that I would get one. But it would be ironic, since it would no doubt lead to a patent infringement lawsuit from echostar, who owns SlingMedia now.
February 11th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
I saw some speculation about a Hulu hook-up, which would be big. Maybe even subscription deals with cable, so you can download/ stream all shows for a flat monthly rate. That would match up with similar Apple speculation. And the networks might prefer working with TiVo instead of Apple, since TiVo is more of a test bed. That would be reminiscent of music studios shunning Windows downloads but embracing iTunes since Apple had such a small market share.
But we’ll see. Bigger hard drive & new interface will be a fail, agreed there.
February 12th, 2010 at 12:53 am
Engadget posted some leaked info on the TiVo announcement. Nothing too groundbreaking. HD optimized UI, speed improvements, etc. There is some mention of Sling-type features, but if they are in conjunction with TiVo Desktop, that’s kinda lame.
http://i.engadget.com/2010/02/11/new-ui-tweaked-hardware-in-store-for-tivos-march-reveal/
February 12th, 2010 at 1:35 am
I think Engadget is giving too much weight to that comment. Of course the interface beta tester has only seen the new UI. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything more. Now, given that Engadget staff (some of ’em) have likely seen what’s coming, their post might just be a convenient way to leak info from their look-around.
I think there’s gotta be something more. Zatz has seen some of it, but he’s not tipping his hand.
February 12th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
A direct download subscription service would be a pretty interesting departure for TiVo… Pretty much obviates the need for the DVR part of their set-top box. I don’t really see the benefit if it’s not substantially cheaper and doesn’t have a portable device story.
February 12th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Let me preface this by saying that I think TiVos are great; I have two of them. I’ve seen (and played with) the new hardware and interface. Personally, I don’t think that it is worthy of the “inventing the DVR was just a warmup” tagline. It is faster. The interface is in HD. There are some “watch instantly” features for downloaded material. I just don’t think it’s revolutionary stuff.
February 12th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Ooh, good thing Google knows not of The Board!
Even given that the new hardware/software might be nice (but not revolutionary), don’t you think there might be more to the announcement? A lot of speculation centers around a Hulu deal, given that it’s taking place at 30 Rock.
February 12th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Love it that we have our own little “ninjas” out there! A new faster interface is nice for existing customers, but isn’t going to help sell the service to anyone new. If it were the de facto Hulu box, it might, but Hulu is cool because it’s free. If the extent of the new features is “watch instantly” stuff, I think the best we can hope for is some implementation of Tru2Way, which in theory, would open up all of your cable company’s OnDemand streaming content to your TiVo. Actually, that would probably match Hulu for breadth of content.
February 13th, 2010 at 7:42 am
30 minute buffer of ALL received stations would be pretty cool — would that even be possible? Clearly I don’t know much about how that could work, but on some level, it a (HUGE) data stream going to a hard drive. I doubt (very highly) that the disk write speeds could possibly allow this to work, but that’s a game-changer of an idea for a dvr.
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:44 am
Ars tells me why my idea is not possible anymore, and it sounds like it’s at the root of why Tivo is pissed at the cable companies (one of the many reasons). Apparently, switched digital video (SDV) is set up so that a certain station is “requested” and only that station comes to the box, reducing bandwidth dramatically.
If the cablecos prevent Tivo from sending that request, Tivo is screwed. Which is the heart of their claim in the article.
February 25th, 2010 at 11:41 am
One “news” story is that TiVo may combine both TV & internet video alongside cable & broadcast listings. That would be news, if they announced THREE YEARS AGO!
I really hope that TiVo has more up its sleeve than just making SwivelSearch the primary interface to browse/discover programming.
I’m holding out for whatever updates Lance has seen, plus the Hulu thing, DirecTiVo boxes and some sling-like functionality. A final settlement with DISH would be icing on the cake.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:42 am
Final predictions, from done deals to absolute longshots:
TiVo Premiere… premieres
New TiVo interface
New boxes include Tru2Way/ SDV
More online integration
New box debuts at surprisingly low $150
Hulu deal announced
DirecTV boxes demoed
Echostar lawsuit settlement announced
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:57 pm
The news was pretty underwhelming, apparently there were no surprises. At all. Still $300 for the entry-level box, which doesn’t even include wireless. They’ll sell you a QWERTY remote for a few extra bucks, too. I’m sure it’s nicer than the series 3, but really, I expected a little more.
The new UI will be nice, hope they push it to the Series 3 units. Frame Channel is probably the nicest surprise– maybe I can finally view my Flickr photos at decent resolution.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10462438-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
March 2nd, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Apparently there’s a live blog going on, still announcing. Maybe they’re going to have 1 more thing?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/life-from-tivos-one-box-press-event/?sort=newest&refresh=60
March 2nd, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Nope, no surprises. Not one. Everything leaked out months ago. No idea why they hyped this to death. New interface looks nice, completely useless for TiVo HD & Series 3 owners. Right now, I have no plans to upgrade, and will wait until my 3-year TiVo subscription expires before I decide what to do. No way I’m paying a monthly service fee for what TiVo acknowledges is now an outdated interface. If they offer the lifetime upgrade for $100, might take up that offer while waiting for the Premier price to come back to earth.
Sigh. I was really hoping there’d be some killer app compelling me to drop several hundred dollars. It’s nice, it’s better, but it’s no big deal.
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2010-03/the-tivo-premiere-is-here
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Hmm, not really blowing me away here. Even Framechannel, while an interesting service for photoframes, is probably lame for an HDTV– the flickr feed is pretty low res (I believe it’s the 500 px “medium” size).
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Didn’t TiVo release a version for the PC a few years ago? Can we assume that it will get a port of the new interface? That could be a real Boxee killer :).
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:29 am
It’s funny, the TiVo diehards on TiVoCommunity & Zatz not Funny seem generally disappointed. Yet Engadget’s & Gizmodo’s write ups were fairly positive. So call it a split decision.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Initial reviews are lukewarm. Still, I was set to buy one for no particular reason, other than the recent stock surge and my long loyalty. Then, I called up to see if I could upgrade my 3-year subscription to lifetime for $99 (the difference) and they denied me. That put me off the whole thing, so TiVo service is now set to cancel on June 21. At that point, I’ll decide about the future of TV for me. Probably totally irrational, but getting denied for the reasonable upgrade (which they’ve offered to others) just soured me.
Probably smarter to wait anyways. Prices will come down, and maybe there will be a better alternative in 3 months.
March 28th, 2010 at 9:52 am
If you were getting a new box anyway, why did you want to rollover your 3 year subscription to a lifetime subscription for your S3? Is there an official policy for transferring lifetime from a S3 to a Premier? Otherwise, it seems to me you’ved timed things perfectly for an upgrade.
March 28th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Yeah, that’s *probably* what will end up happening. But if they gave me the deal, I would’ve happily bought a Premiere today, and moved the old S3 to my office so I could sling video around the house. So there’s a benefit to having both devices function. Without that, it’s at least worth considering Moxi, Media Center PC, or just outright hacking the TiVo.
March 28th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
If you’re just trying to have a way to watch content in multiple rooms (not record), do you need a subscription? I thought that what you paid for, essentially, was access to the program listings, but I really never thought about it before.
March 28th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Pretty sure it’s an expensive paperweight without the subscription.
March 28th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Jake is almost correct. You can still do manual recording with a non-subed TiVo but that’s about it. No guide, no season passes, no MRV.
May 24th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
For those of you following my Twitter ramblings, I’ve now been offered the $99 lifetime deal which I took. So now the plan is on… I’ll buy a TiVo Premiere w/ lifetime and move the TiVo S3 to the office for MRV fun. And see what kind of reception I can get w/ an antenna in there… it is wired for satellite, so I could nab one of the coax and split off the outdoor antenna signal. Along with some recent office renovations involving a hacksaw, it should all work out just fine.
May 25th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
This is cool– Tivo without the DVR! Would they still try to extract a monthly fee? If it had MRV, it seems like the perfect office TV– you only really need to have DVR capability on one central box in the house (assuming at least 4 tuners on that one box 🙂 ).
http://hd.engadget.com/2010/05/25/best-buy-to-include-tivos-software-but-no-dvr-in-insignia/