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Record TV from your mobile

Web browser maker Opera has announced they're working on the capability to record TV from your mobile phone, via their phone browser and simple internet standards. They don't mention any compatible units and any PVRs that would work would require an always-on internet connection. This basically sounds like they're announcing support for WAP or simple HTML front-ends to PVRs that can be controlled via the web.

Snapstream's BeyondTV already does this with any WAP enabled cell phone and I know TiVo has announced upcoming support for phones to remotely program your TiVo through TiVo Central. [thanks JG at mobiletracker for passing this along]

March 30, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

It's official, people know what a TiVo is

A new study by the cable industry group Horowitz Associates has found that surveys of cable and satellite subscribers show over 95% have heard of TiVo and PVR technology. They don't go into the details of how they conducted the research but mention last year they only got around 32% recognition among the same folks.

Maybe all that TiVo evangelizing is finally getting them somewhere.

March 30, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

pre-built MythTV boxes for sale

An Australian company has started selling pre-built MythTV boxes that look to be based on a shuttle PC chassis. The full set of features are here and a linux hacker has already figured out a couple missing features and a handful of security holes.

The major downside to this is the price. At current exchange rates, they're asking about $1350 for the PC loaded with MythTV. Another potential downside is using a pre-packaged version of MythTV. As MythTV continues to be updated, will owners of this device need to wait for official updates from the company? [via BoingBoing]

March 26, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

ReplayTV hack DVArchive updated to 3.0

I have a friend that got a ReplayTV back in 2000 when I got my first TiVo and he's always insisted he got the better machine. Older Replay units (specifically the 4xxx and 5xxx series) are almost infinitely hackable, and a software package like DVArchive has a mindblowing list of features:

# See what shows your ReplayTV(s) have recorded right from your computer
# Automatically finds your ReplayTVs
# Download shows from your ReplayTV to your computer to watch, archive, burn to DVD/VCD, etc
# Automatic support for Replay 4xxx and 5xxx Series units
# Turn your computer into a virtually unlimited capacity ReplayTV show archive
# Schedule automatic downloads of shows from your ReplayTV to your computer
# Schedule automatic purging/deleting of shows you don't like but which your ReplayTV keeps recording
# Watch previously downloaded shows OR watch shows directly from your ReplayTV without having to download them first
# Control your ReplayTV remotely (turn it on, off, delete shows, etc)
# Manage your ReplayTVs photos
# Control your ReplayTV from your computer
# View and Search TV Listings
# Schedule new recordings on your ReplayTV (ReplayTV 5xxx series only)
# View lists up the upcoming recordings (and conflicts) for your ReplayTVs
# Access these listings, schedule recordings, schedule downloads, etc via a web browser from anywhere in the world
# Has a clean interface that allows you to see and use all your ReplayTVs from one place

The only TiVos I know that are capable of this entire featureset are what I would dub "ultrahacked" and are owned by electrical engineers and veteran software developers. But with ReplayTV and DVArchive, this kind of uber-functionality is as easy as installing a simple to use Windows program.

They've just released the 3.0 version, if you've got a ReplayTV and a home network run, don't walk, to get this package.

March 25, 2004 in ReplayTV | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack

ApeXtreme DVD Player/PC Game Console/PVR

Just a run-of-the-mill press release from Apex. Note PVR functionality. Why was Apex the first to do this? Maybe they are not hampered by The Innovator's Dilemma.

The ApeXtreme is the first device of its kind. It functions as a full-featured, high-end home DVD player, a hard-disk-based Personal Video Recorder and a home game console designed to play any PC game -- all in one attractive device. The device moves PC versions of electronic games out of the computer room and into the TV room, giving gamers the ability to play their favorite "PC-only" games on a console machine, with a bigger game image -- on their standard TV.
...
Introduced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the ApeXtreme was honored as the "Best of CES" in the "Home Audio & Video" category, as well as being a CES Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase Honoree.

I wonder if customers of this device have to pay for the Windows OS as well? MSRP is $499?!?!

Apex Digital Announces Final Specifications and Partners for its Revolutionary ApeXtreme DVD Player/PC Game Console; Adds PVR Features, Faster CPU

March 25, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Sky Italia

While not directly PVR-related, this was a quick intro into the challenges of satellite tv in Italy. I'm not sure if there are any PVRs sold in Italy just yet, but if Sky Italia could launch a PVR, that might be a powerful differentiator (at least until Rai and MediaSet do the same.)

The Murdoch Empire Looks to Italian TV [nytimes.com]

March 24, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Tivo advertising

CNet has a decent overview of the moves (Showcase and Video-to-Video) that Tivo is making to begin to serve more targeted ads to it's 1.3 million users.

Known as Video-to-Video, the idea is to let viewers click a button on their remote control to immediately watch a 3-minute video describing products and services that might appeal to them. The marketing clips are promoted through small icons that appear on the TV screen as viewers fast-forward past regular ads.

The article goes on to talk about "telescoping" which is a new term to me. Does "telescoping" have anything to do with interactive television? I'm inherently skeptical because so much has been hoped for (remember TELE-TV?) and so little has materialized.

TiVo is helping to pioneer a futuristic vision of TV-watching that will let people access whatever information or video they want, whenever they want and for however long--without missing a beat. The long-term vision for TV advertising invokes a concept known as "telescoping," in which the lines between advertising and programming may blur beyond recognition.

For example, if a viewer is watching "The Apprentice" and likes the new BMW a young executive is driving, he could click on the car with the remote to get an informational video on the car and schedule a test drive with a dealer. He could then go back to watching the show at the exact point where he left off.

As long as Tivo is working on creating targeted ads, perhaps based on what you have recorded, I might stop to watch one. As it is right now, the vast majority of TV advertising means nothing to me and I would skip whatever I could when using a PVR.

If we end up with a future such as is described, maybe we will wistfully long for the 20th century, and relatively well-defined lines between advertising and content.

TiVo looks to tune in to advertisers [news.com.com]
UPDATE
Slashdot commentary on Tivo advertising is here:
Slashdot | Tivo Plans Commercials On Demand [slashdot.org]

March 23, 2004 in TiVo | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Who doesn't like TiVo?

Jason Kottke, is soliciting stories from readers that don't like TiVo. This could be the most valuable market research for TiVo and other PVR manufacturers ever, if they're paying attention. There are a lot of great user complaints so far.

March 19, 2004 in Op-Ed | Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBack

TiVo Will Die

Jim Louderback of PC Magazine believes that Tivo will die as a company due to: Moore's law, HDTV, and DirecTV. I agree that a $1000 HDTV Tivo box is a non-starter if the cable companies will do something for 1/100th the price. But Tivo's intellectual property and experience is more valuable than Louderback thinks it is. As 2004 plays out with more PVRs everywhere and HDTV slowly taking off, we'll see if Tivo will have a seat at the table or not.

Over the years I've observed that the more arrogant and less responsive a company gets, the more likely it's about to fail. Oddly, when the going gets tough, most companies don't do a gut check and rededicate themselves to service. Instead, they circle the wagons and go into a preventive defense—and search for someone to sue.

In the early years of TiVo, I'd get instant service. TiVo even gave me the name of a special ambassador—a strategy meant to ensure that the company got a fair hearing in the press, on the Web, and in other public forums. Today my inquiries go unanswered—or even worse, I never receive a promised response. Hold times on the help lines are interminable: It took me over half an hour last week to determine why the company had charged me $14.

TiVo Will Die [pcmag.com]

March 18, 2004 in TiVo | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Tivo changed my life!

This NY Times article on Tivo is fawning to the point of saccharine. There were a few interesting nuggets though, like the mother who commented that she was buying less junk food and less toys for her kids because they are skipping the commercials. That trend, writ large, is what the networks and advertisers are worried about.

Faced with a backlog of 100 hours of stored programming, Mr. Fisher, the TV development executive, and his wife skipped the movie theater last Christmas Day and waded through the recorded shows instead. "We didn't leave the room all day," Mr. Fisher said. "And we felt kind of sleazy afterwards."

Yikes!

How Do I Love Thee, TiVo? [nytimes.com]

March 17, 2004 in TiVo | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Hack for an Autistic TiVo Eye

I flipped on my (Philips DSR6000R01) DirecTiVo the other day and immediately noticed the remote signal was flaking. Commands were received slowly or not at all, and the LED lights on the front of the main unit were blinking like crazy—probably about 6-10 times a second. I figured the remote's batteries had croaked mid-click, causing some kind of fatal IR loop, so I popped in two fresh AAs and rebooted the TiVo twice. No dice; same problems.

After five fruitless phone calls, $19.95 of pay-per-incident support bought me the observation that I "might have a power supply issue," so I should just send the unit in for an official look-see. Based on what I'd heard from friends with similar problems, though, the official Philips "diagnosis" was frequently "Go buy a new unit," so I opted for a more lo-fi solution.

On a lark, I stuck my finger over the main unit's IR eye, and the blinking stopped immediately. Moreover, I noticed that if I covered all but a very tiny corner of the eye, the signal was received flawlessly. So, I taped a piece of paper over most of the eye, and, after a couple small adjustments, the unit worked flawlessly, even on signals from far across the room. A week later, it's still working great (knock wood).

March 15, 2004 in How-To | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack

EyeHome Macintosh PVR

"Dr. Mac" reviews Elgato's EyeHome wireless module for the EyeTV PVR platform.

EyeTV, if you don't know already, is the little USB (and now FireWire) device that lets you watch, record, and play recorded network or cable television programs on your Mac and store the files on your hard drive. I've heard it called a "Mac TiVo," a DVR (Digital Video Recorder), and a PVR (Personal Video Recorder). I don't have a TiVo so I'm not sure about that one, but the other two fit.

EyeHome is a small silver cigar box-sized device that plays media files from your Mac's Home folder -- movies, pictures, songs, and EyeTV recorded material -- on a TV and/or stereo even if it's in another room, over Ethernet or wirelessly over 802.11g (AirPort Extreme), It is plug-and-play over Ethernet, but requires additional hardware, namely, an Ethernet-to-Wireless Bridge

I haven't had a chance to play with either EyeTV or EyeHome, but together they sound like a great platform for Mac users who want PVR capabilities. Anyone have personal experience with either product?

The Mac Observer: Dr. Mac: Rants & Raves - EyeHome: A Must Have [macobserver.com]

March 14, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Intel to Make DVR PC

Looks like Intel is working on Entertainment PCs, running the Windows Media Center XP OS.

An Intel VP shared a lot of these ideas a couple weeks ago in a keynote speech. Here's some of his evangelizin':

The power of the Entertainment PC is awesome. It's a consumption device. It's a device that you lean back and consume the information from. I've shown you the audio space, we can deliver the very best audio capability out of the PC based on Grantsdale. We've talked about the ability of an integrated access point to have all of the network show up here. And then premium content. We're making tremendous strides forward, for example with Movielink and also the studios.

Skim through the rest, it's not all some Intel higher-up seeing people as consumption machines (you know the old saying about the image most CEOs have of their customers? Consumers are just a big mouth that eats products and shits cash.), there's a good bit about how to publish your own photos and music to the devies in your home as well.

March 8, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Tivo's poor marketing?

In an effort to understand why Tivo has not taken off in the mainstream even though Tivo and it's service is rabidly popular among current customers, Erik Thauvin believes it is poor marketing. He plays devil's advocate:

Commercial Skip — My 4 years old VCR has something called commercial-marking, works like a charm.
Scheduling — Once, again, my 4 years old VCR can easily record a show on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. I just have to remember to change the tape when full. With VCR+ I just pickup my TV guide and find the code, not too hard. I think even my wife can do that. Well... maybe not. (Sorry, honey.)
Pausing Live TV — I can't do that. But I can record a show while watching another live, a single-tuner TiVo unit can't.
Instant Live TV Replay — I really can't do that. Don't call me while I watch TV, please.
Digital Recording — Yeah, cool, but so what?

I think Erik's comment about the VHS platform is a red herring. As we know, DVD players are being sold for less-than $50 these days, and the migration of video rental stores from VHS to DVD has been ongoing for years. I don't remember the last time I rented a VHS tape- it was quite some time ago.

Those of us who have had experience with Tivo or other PVRs understand intuitively what is so compelling about them, but they have not taken off within the mainstream...yet. I am convinced that the features of a DVR/PVR will end up in our TV-viewing experience, but it may not be as we might imagine it today. If anyone else has ideas about why Tivo hasn't taken off, even with all the celebrity endorsements, please leave us a comment.

Erik's Weblog : TiVO [thauvin.net]

March 7, 2004 in TiVo | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack

Apex Digital and bargain culture

While not directly PVR/DVR-related, this NY Times Magazine piece on America's "bargain culture" and the mythical $30 Apex DVD player was really compelling.

Based in Ontario, Calif., Apex Digital was founded by two immigrants from China and Taiwan and is a thoroughly global operation: all the DVD assembly is done by subcontracted workers at a factory in Jiangsu, China, where labor costs are low. Apex has only about 100 employees on its payroll, most of them in California.

A big chunk of Apex's 2003 sales (about $1 billion) came during the run-up to Christmas -- when a kind of extreme thriftiness has come to manifest itself in virtual scrums as bargain hunters throng at low-price retailers for while-supplies-last deals. Last Christmas the Deal was often a DVD player marked down to an absurdly cheap $29, and that DVD player was often an Apex model.

It is incredible to think of a company less than 5 years old, with about 100 employees, selling over $1 billion, being second in marketshare to Sony (at least within the category of DVD players.) Apex seems to have converged at a point between the globalization of manufacturing and labor, the distribution of big-box retailers in America, and this "bargain culture," by providing product cheaper than any other competitor. We have had low-cost brands in the past, but Apex seems to be a different beast. They seem to be exploiting every possible advantage in the most efficient manner. It is very impressive.

I think an Apex PVR/DVR offering is still a few years in the future, however when it arrives, it will signal a true mass-market for the PVR/DVR segment.

The Apex DVD Player [nytimes.com]

March 6, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack

TiVo to top 10 million subscribers in 3-4 years

TiVo has posted some enthusiastic projections regarding their membership. Now that they've past the 1 million mark, they're projecting 3 million by the end of 2004 and ten million in just a few years after that.

I'd be surprised if they hit these marks, the sector is quickly becoming overcrowded with cheaper options.

March 5, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Snapstream reviewed

Snapstream is reviewed favorably by the AP tech writer.

Beyond TV [the name for the Snapstream software] also blows away the competition by letting you stream programs over the Internet for viewing on another computer. You're not limited to another room in the house like with TiVo's Home Media Option, which costs $99 and requires a second TiVo.

The software streams to Web browsers, so you don't have to buy another copy for remote viewing. It's fairly simple to enable security so strangers don't have access to your television signal or recordings.

Beyond TV handles all the personal video recorder basics well. Users can pause live TV, rewind and set up recordings — all without an advanced degree in VCR technology. And like TiVo's Home Media Option, recording can be scheduled over the Internet.

But SnapStream also added commercial break recognition, which vastly simplifies ad skipping. It also supports a variety of video formats and lets you easily convert to a more tightly compressed file.

If there are any Snapstream users among our readers, please feel free to leave us your thoughts on how it is working for you. What do you like/dislike about the system?

REVIEW: Proving That a PC Can Rival TiVo [news.yahoo.com]

March 4, 2004 in Product Reviews | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

140 hr. Series 2 Tivo

So Tivo has finally realized that there is a market for Tivo owners who want to store a lot of TV. For $350 (after rebate), it seems like the simple decision for those who might be considering an upgrade kit or who might want a second Tivo in a house that has more than 1 TV. Sadly no new features to report other than the larger HDD.

For TiVo, More Hours and Lower Prices [nytimes.com]

March 4, 2004 in TiVo | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

mehack, youhack, we all hack

Raffi Krikorian, author of TiVo Hacks and occasional contributor to this site has launched a new site of his own called mehack. It's along the same lines as TiVo hacking but goes beyond to cover how to hack just about any electronic device in your home or car, and covers news and equipment necessary to do the job right.

March 3, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Canadian review of Beyond TV

TiVo isn't available in Canada there's no sign of that changing soon. Canadians looking to dip their toes into the PVR waters should check out the alternatives. One of my favorite software packages (I reviewed it last summer) is Snapstream's offerings. Recently, The Globe and Mail published a lengthy review and found a lot to like and few drawbacks. If you're in Canada and you've got an extra PC around, Beyond TV combined with a TV capture card is a low-cost, powerful solution worth checking out.

March 3, 2004 in News | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

PC Mag. reviews Weaknees

PC Magazine does a review of the Weaknees Tivo upgrade and comes away impressed, but not enough to keep the upgrade.

Here's something else I learned during my TiVo experience: I don't love TV enough to want TiVo or the service. If I miss an episode of Friends, I'm not crushed. If I have to watch something for a few moments to figure out what it is, I'm OK with that.

TiVo is a revolution, or at least part of one. Now there are so many PVR/DVR choices, including Media Center PCs, and we're starting to see units that fit as neatly into the home theater environment as the TiVo. Ultimately, all the minor quibbles I have will fade away. I envision a day when my TV will have TiVo capabilities, and I won't need a separate device to time-shift or pick up channel information.

I do think this reviewer has an important point. Most people will be happy enough with less-than-Tivo's-featureset if they don't have to pay the upfront and monthly fees. The cable and satellite providers who are adding PVR features to their boxes and adding a few dollars to the monthly bill will be tough to beat.

For those people who love TV, and want all of the best features and the easiest user-experience will pay for Tivo, but it's clear that that particular market is not nearly as big as Tivo had hoped.

The Real TiVo: A Supercharged Personal Video Recorder That Still Has Flaws [abcnews.go.com]

March 1, 2004 in Product Reviews | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack