Reports by Consumers

Let’s start from the beginning, what is a Slingbox and what does it do. Imagine the ability to watch your television from any online computer in the world. (Plus the ability to watch your TV from many portable devices.) Imagine the idea of not only watching your TV, but watching your recorded events from your Tivo, or DVR. Now imagine the possibility of tuning your TV or setting your DVR to record an event from any online computer in the world. This and even more is what you can accomplish with the Slingbox and their software and accessories. It does this with the help of what they call SlingStream Technology.

In the last 5-6 years the balance between us has shifted. At some point I became the ‘go-to-person’ for computer help or electronics advice. I got him hooked up with TIVO, advised on computer purchases, helped troubleshoot network problems and recommended backup devices. Today I set him up with his own web hosting package so he has a website and a new email address with his company name. It has been an interesting role reversal, and I find a great deal of personal satisfaction in being the problem solver.

According to David Zatz, Tivo is raising their prices - just in time for the holiday season.

The TiVo finally loads. We get to watch an invisible entity navigate through TiVo menus. And then seemingly get confused. Because, see, there are now two, count ‘em, two Gilmore Girls entries in TiVo. The invisible TiVo controller choose the first one. Which contains the last six minutes of the show and only the last six minutes of the show. Upon encountering this, the TiVo controller apparently became overwhelmed and decided to turn off the screen while such things are sorted out.

I’ve already taken a hit this way. When my older Tivo unit was killed by a lightning strike a few weeks ago, it significantly reduced my ability to pursue my television hobby. (Imagine a music lover whose iPod was just destroyed, and they can’t afford to replace it.) Granted, I still have my newer Tivo unit, but the whole point of having more than one was to be able to record shows that conflict with each other.

Matt hopes this kind of Tivo-proofing won’t become too common, but one thing I like about it: It forces marketers to think hard about what the content-makers are doing to engage with the content-consumers. If you want to join the conversation, you have spend some time listening! As Matt points out, “it must take tremendous planning to have every company with a commercial to film it featuring some tidbit from the show.”

TiVos and other “Personal Video Recorders” (PVR) have been out for a while now and seem to be quickly replacing VCRs. A year or so ago I looked into purchasing one but decided against it not only because of the high retail price, but because of all the restrictions, the minimum subscription cost of $17 a month, and limited expandability. TiVo didn’t allow me to add on modules, customize it the way I want, nor did it give me the networking capabilities I wanted. A year later, the TiVo hasn’t improved much. So, for the cost of a tv-tuner card, I decided to build my own instead.

Last year, we bought a Tivo that came with a special deal - buy a year of service in advance and get a Tivo for free. So we did it. Now I need to set it up - but I can’t give myself the Tivo Rewards points. So, anyone want to trade? I’ll give you my points if you give me yours when you get a Tivo. (In other words, you need a Tivo already. And you need to be a Tivo rewards member already.)

We are also getting away from the PC client. I’m not referring to the usual “mobile phone as a web client”. iPods are connected to the internet nowdays -what’s an iPod without a fast internet connection to download music or audio/video podcasts? TiVo is turning into a web-connected device. And Cisco’s aquisition of KiSS Technologies through Linksys is a good promise we should be expecting more on internet based/enhanced home entertainment…

In my view this is a smart move by ReplayTV. For years it has been scrapping with TiVO to be top-dog in the market, and it has also been left punch drunk after numerous fights with the broadcasting industry over various issues such as allowing users to fast-forward through commercials.

Traditional advertising is having a pretty tough time. If I’m anything like your basic consumer, I’m tired of being bombarded by advertising in all its forms. I zip through commercials with TiVo. I listen to satellite radio precisely because I can’t stand to listen to those screaming car lot ads. I run 3 email filters (both server- and client-based) to rule out SPAM, and use FrontierMail to send challenges to everyone else who isn’t on my list. I use Mozilla with its automatic pop-up blocker. I read blogs to figure out whether I should buy a service or product, and I add my knowledge to the same blogs. My fingers immediately tear up junk mail I get at my postal address. The first thing I do when I get a magazine is dump out all those subscription cards. My brain doesn’t even register ads in magazines and newspapers.

I was reading John C. Dvorak’s column in PC Magazine last night and I realized that John has been thinking the same thing I have. I’ve had a Tivo for 2 years now and it seems to have changed my brain. The feature that has done the most to change my behavior is the instant replay button. It is so convenient to hit that button if you catch something interesting while you weren’t really paying attention. Now I wish I had an instant replay button for everything in my life. I’ll be driving into work and listening to the radio. If I’m not paying very close attention because of traffic or whatever, I often wish I could replay what I just missed. I definitely wish I could skip the commercials. My 15 minute drive into work seems to have 10 minutes of commercials for 5 minutes of talk (unless I am listening to NPR). I even see this happening in conversations. Maybe I’m not paying enough attention, or maybe I can’t hear the other person so well, but I often wish I could get an instant replay.

What was Comcast thinking? Any ReplayTV and Tivo owner (and Comcast DVR “renter”) is not going to be too excited about recording Six Feet Under and watching it later after reading these spoilers. They should have had an article on the upcoming episode with a warning about spoilers in the article and just a link from the front page (like CNN did with their Six Feet Under article) but that would make too much sense.

TiVio, today, announced an upgrade for one million of its Series 2 users that will allow viewers to respond directly to long form ads which have been specially encoded to provide more information to the viewer upon request. To do so, TiVo will, with user permission, forward the users contact information to the advertiser.

These numbers are for worldwide shipments (not just Canada). The article goes on to say that the trend in DVR units is towards integrated set top boxes — cable boxes and DVD players that include DVR functionality, although they do say there is still a market for high end stand alone DVR units such as ReplayTV and Tivo.

I never really thought of this before, but after reading this article about swapping the front faceplate on your Tivo at PVRBlog, I realized that the same problem could occur with a ReplayTV. Should the remote die or the batteries die, basically your ReplayTV is useless until you get a new remote or batteries.

The Tao of Mac agrees with me. I really don't get the immediate appeal of Podcasting. Yet. It's supposed to be like Tivo for your radio--you can record radio broadcasts and then play them back at your leisure.

The TiVoCommunity recently gathered in Las Vegas for a huge meetup that included previews of TiVo beta products. Someone that was there took a bunch of shots of a demo. Here's a note that someone wrote in with:

What’s a PVR? It’s a Personal Video Recorder. I’ll be presenting more information on them in a few weeks, but in the meantime, here are some links to peruse at your leisure:

The decision will have implications not only for file-sharing, but for any company that creates technologies that can be used to copy copyrighted materials, including companies that make TiVo players, next-generation scanners and digital cameras," says Ghosh, who helped draft an amicus brief filed by Intellectual Property and Technology Law Professors in support of Grokster.

I bought a Tivo. a few months ago and had a big brawl with it because I have a Vonage voice-over-ip phone. As you may or may not know, Vonage + Tivo != happiness. I figured at that time, that the Tivo would work out of the box with a USB ethernet adapter. Was I wrong. I ended up having to complete the first couple of calls using this whole Tivo-Call-Over-Null-Modem-Serial-PPP rigamarole. I basically had to use a null modem cable(I used a LapLink cable) and setup some serial ppp mojo on my Windows XP box to get it to perform the Daily Call via the...

While I'm on the thought of home entertainment and geekiness. I didn't buy an integrated home entertainment system. Each component, stereo, TV, DVD player, satellite/TiVo receiver were all acquired separately. I have worked at the connections and layout until its at the point where I only need 3 remotes and everything runs through my stereo, both sound and video. All of my video is digital except for the video game consoles (and I expect the next generation of them to be digital too). All of my sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 and/or DTS running across...

ZDNet has word that Tivo is in talks with Google and Yahoo over a deal that could bring search to TV.

One scenario that's been discussed would see TiVo partner with Google or Yahoo on a new service that would let consumers search for videos on the Web and then watch them on their television sets, according to one person with knowledge of the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A second person familiar with the talks said TiVo has held talks with both Google and Yahoo about a potential equity investment, including the possibility of an outright acquisition.

I put off purchasing a TiVo for as long as possible, even in the face of the rave reviews of friends, because I feared it would increase my TV watching habits dramatically. That didn’t happen - the quality and not the quantity increased, but it did make TV watching feel like more of a chore and a responsibility; I worried that if I didn’t keep pace with the recordings, I would lose the chance to watch what I wanted. Still, I wouldn’t trade my TiVo for anything. It has become an absolute necessity, in the same way that once color...

Did you ever want for the ability to turn your lights on and off. Have full control (Play, Stop, Pause, Menu) of your DVD player, TIVO, and High Def TV, all wirelessly from your PSP? If so, click on this link:

We found this blog entry on how to port your Tivo to Go programming to your PSP (scroll to near the bottom of the page to read your PSP requirements).

• Eighty-one percent of owners say they “like” or “love” using their TiVo/DVR, while 78% of owners say they “like” or “love” using their iPod.

What I've found disturbing is that the folks I've talked with generally don't understand issues related to 911 service, the need for back-up power, the difficulty of connecting VoIP services into existing home wiring, or the lack of quality guarantees from VoIP service providers. They also don't understand that some services don't support fax, and none of the services that I'm aware of support home alarm systems or devices like TiVo that need to call home for updates.

That's Fox News playing on the new HP desktop. I've had the DirecTV box hooked into my Sony for a long time, but Microsoft's new Media Center is way better than Sony's Giga Pocket. It's really pretty much like having TIVO in your computer. It downloads the program guide off the Internet and keeps it current, so you can pick programs to record ahead of time, or, even have it record regular programs whenever they're on. You can pause and rewind live TV, etc.

I wish I had this Home Theatre PC Guide [via] when I was putting together my little HTPC/PVR. This guide pretty much gives you everything you need to know to put together your own wannabe TIVO. All you need is a an old computer, some software and a TV tuner.

Comcast Corp. is working with TiVo Inc. on an advertising system that will insert new, updated commercials into already-recorded programs, the company said.

Comcast Chief Executive Roberts told cable executives late Monday that under such a system, programs that were recorded weeks ago on a TiVo digital video recorder would have their old commercials replaced with new ones.

Engadget has found their way to a beta version of TiVo Desktop 2.1 and they give it a once over.

The good stuff they find includes better support for TiVoToGo on portable devices and a TiVo-branded video player complete with the green playback bar and sounds we're all used to. They also are getting rid of the playback password, which sounds like good news, but...

Also, what's up with the UI? The TiVo remote works because my fingers can feel around the rewind/pause/fast-forward buttons. Great physical UIs don't make for great software UIs. Or maybe I'm just bitter over the whole DRM thing and taking it out on a poor, defenseless UI.

I have a tivo and a pc running BeyondTV 3.52. My pc's encoder is a Hauppauge PVR-250. Tivo records everything in best quality. I have recorded the same show on both the Tivo and BTV. I must admit that the quality of the BTV (also recorded at best quality)is far superior to the TivoTogo files. That said the BTV files are about three times the size of the Tivo files). Not sure this addresses the article here just thought to mention if anyone else has experienced this?

"So this "upgrade" removes my ability to strip the DRM on .tivo files so that I can watch _my_ .tivo files on _my_ mac laptop?"

If you really hate Tivo so much because of their DRM, then maybe you should stop using / subscribing to Tivo. But you won't do that, will you .. ?

I know it's not a TiVo, but it *is* a valid alternative if you are truly passionate about controlling your environment.

TiVo is legally covered, those who want to get around the DRM will do so, the rest of us won't even notice, and life will go on.

"You need to realize that there is simply no way that TIVO can provide a TTG-like feature _WITHOUT_ DRM - they will simply get their asses sued off by the TV/Movie industry"

I can video tape any show, and import that show on a cheap video card, without DRM. Why should a TiVo box I paid for and pay monthly for be programmed to let me do less with the files in my own home?

They wouldn't be helping folks spread them online or try selling shows on discs. I think the assumed evil in TiVo customers is totally unfair and unrealistic.

Furthermore, your assumed "good" in Tivo customers is unrealistic.

Get real. These files get out unrestricted and all of the sudden people are sharing/emailing/etc them all over the place. People dont like that, it is called "stealing" (see mp3's). Generally stealing is considered not "good" and ultimately someone will have to pay. Tivo does not want people stealing nor do they want to pay for enabling them to be stolen.

Engadget? Are you kidding? Why in the world would you quote an outfit that posted the ludicrious "Tivo Death Watch" junk only weeks before Tivo signed a deal with Comcast? Engadget has been totally discredited; the sooner its owner and his 386 computer go belly-up, the better!

There are more than a few problems with DRM and DRM with TivoToGO... Matt's 99% honest user figure is pretty close to the mark I think.

DRM seems to only stop honest users from performing actions previously allowed as "fair use", but does nothing to actually slow down actual pirates. True pirates and TV rip distro groups don't use their TiVo to rip stuff anyways. They rip from the actual network satellite transmission feeds or DTV broadcasts...

Just the other day, I tried to use tivotogo and the Sonic myDVD tivo suite on trial to burn "the contender" for a friend who missed it. I dutifily typed in my t2g password, it transcoded for hours (which drives me nuts) and then "unknown error" bork/coaster... I took an unDRM'd MPEG2 off my SageTV box and it burned it without issue. Both are mpeg2 files, but only the DRM one locks me into a specific buggy DVD burning software platform.

I suggest everyone that is rallying around TiVo's DRM to check out one person's experiences with the last ten years of DRM:

Anyway everything is already out there DRMing on the Tivo to go end means nothing. This is just Tivo doing it's usual belly flop dance to placated the media powers at the expensive of their real customers.

How are you watching .tivo files on your Mac?

Mark - I strip the DRM from the file using the process outlined at http://www.evillabs.net/tivo/ and a Windows system. Then copy them to my PowerBook for when I want to watch a show away from my TV. Isn't that what TiVoToGo was designed to allow me to do?

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Engadget plays with TiVo Desktop 2.1 Beta:

Toshiba's versatile SD-H400 is a home entertainment marvel! It combines a full-featured progressive-scan DVD player and a TiVo Series2 hard disk recorder with 80-hour capacity! Toshiba has always been a leader in DVD technology, and the SD-H400 delivers superb DVD picture and sound. In fact, if you own an HD-capable TV, you can enjoy an ultra-clean progressive-scan signal through the component video output for both DVD and TiVo playback!

Most of the shows I watch, I watch on TiVo so that I can fast forward through the commercials. Well, I watched The Bach*lor last night and I think some of those girls were ‘plants.’ Meaning all that drama could not have been real. The girl with the sun glasses calling the other girl a slut. And the girl leaving and coming back and the girl crying saying she loved him. Get real!!! I realize there are some stupid women out there but what are the chances that there are that many in one show. Makes great teevee don’t ya think? And this new Bachelor, Charlie, grosses me out! Come to think of it, I haven’t really liked ANY of the Bachelors.