Will Tivo box the Amazon Unbox?

« Pogue Loves TiVo | Main | Series 3 TiVos and plasma remotes »

Will Tivo box the Amazon Unbox?

Unboxlogo Interesting news/rumor from TechCrunch: Will Tivo box the Amazon Unbox?

Although Amazon's Unbox has already caught some heat for the lame DRM behind it, I have to say I think it'd be a great fit if this turns out to be true. Two years ago, Netflix and TiVo were going to work together but eventually that idea died. Also, Apple entered the fray by announcing the iTV player to come out next spring and Amazon could beat Apple to the punch by using the already-installed hardware of TiVo boxes nationwide.

I'm a big fan of watching stuff on the couch. Currently I run a hacked xbox wired to a plasma TV and I frequently use usenet and bittorrent to grab missed TV shows. I have it completely automated to where I just click a single download link and about ten minutes later I can enjoy it in the living room. Video quality varies but is usually pretty good but I do wish HDTV were possible (and that my xbox had hdmi out).

I don't just download ripped TV shows, I also pay for video downloads. I've got a video ipod and I buy a lot of shows from the iTunes Music Store to enjoy on planes, trains, and automobiles. It is kind of frustrating when you come home and want to finish a show on your TV and instead you have to use a computer.

I'll likely buy an iTV when it comes out, but given Amazon's endless inventory and my already existing TiVo sitting in my living room, I'd go that route as well if it meant quick access to any movie or DVD in their inventory.

by Matt Haughey September 22, 2006 in News

Comments

Presumably this would only be technically feasible on broadband connected TiVo's.

Is it possible on DirectTiVo's, which are a huge number of the TiVo installed base? I don't know, I have never had one.

If it's limited to only non-DirectTV broadband connected units, that's not a very big number of potential customers.

Posted by: Bill G at Sep 22, 2006 12:48:25 PM

It could drive sales of new TiVos, if people really want the convenience of getting a movie without having to leave the house or wait for netflix to show up.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Sep 22, 2006 1:16:27 PM

This would be a natural fit. It makes much more sense than the supposed Netflix deal. The potential advertising value to Amazon is huge. As a TiVo user and an Amazon customer, I'd probably take advantage of this.

But, I'm really commenting because I want to hear more about your TV setup, Matt! Are you using the Xbox to download your shows, or what? How about writing up a tutorial and posting it here?

Posted by: Radioscott at Sep 22, 2006 1:26:59 PM

I've been meaning to write it up for two years, but it's a pretty basic setup that has been covered online for ages.

You get an old xbox, then exploit it so you can run your own code and install a hard drive in it, etc.

Then you load xbox media center (xbmc) onto it, and configure it for your network (including shared drives).

Finally, you just download shows to a shared directory that the xbox can see, then go into the living room and start streaming the video to your TV.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Sep 22, 2006 2:39:45 PM

Matt, it's true that it's been online for a while now. But, still everybody seems to have their own unique setups. And a lot of those guides online are a little technical. I'd just love to see a "...for Dummies" style guide on the subject.

Besides, now might be a good time to revisit the subject since there are a lot of used Xboxes out there at the moment.

Posted by: Radioscott at Sep 22, 2006 3:28:13 PM

Another vote here for using an Xbox for this.
There are software hacks which make it extremely easy, and you can't get much cheaper than old Xbox's.

Check it out!

Rob Bruce
Tech Podcast-geek speak radio
http://feeds.feedburner.com/geekspeakradio

Posted by: Rob at Sep 23, 2006 8:07:51 AM

it all depends on pricing--will the price it near dvd price or blockbuster rental or netflix price? also what limitations will be placed on it? will i be able to view it on any of my tivos via lan transfer? or view it on my computer via similiar transfer? i doubt if they will allow archieving to dvd. will they limit number of viewings or time of keeping?
i expect that they have less than a million tivo users who can take advantage of this but if it works out to be a good deal this will increase.

Posted by: charli at Sep 23, 2006 11:30:05 AM

Does anyone else think that these videos should be "free" when the DVD version is purchased on Amazon? That would definately drive Amazon's DVD sales, and make consumers happy that they are not paying for content twice. Then all the DVDs purchases through Amazon would be available to watch "instantly" on your TIVO box. Great idea if you ask me. Of course some people will pay for a movie twice and so it make cut in to the profit margins for some of the movie studios.

Posted by: Lou at Sep 23, 2006 3:45:09 PM

When you say that you have it `one-click automated` to grab shows from usenet or bittorrent are you saying that you don't have to search for the show you want on various torrent sites, click the torrent link, then wait for download to your shared drive? `Cause that's what I do and it never feels automated to me. Also, I've recently been accused of torrenting an episode of a tv show by the mpaa via my my isp. I'm just waiting for the day they decide to officially sue me.

I've got a modded xbox and am also amazed about the lack of coherent and easy-to-follow guides to modding an xbox and then running software on it. It took me many hours jumping through message board flotsam to figure out how to set it up.

Posted by: Lorenzo at Sep 23, 2006 5:32:31 PM

I also buy a lot of shows from iTunes Music Store and put them on my video ipod, but I never watch them on the ipod or the computer.

I bought the docking thing that hooks the ipod to the TV via svideo and watch the shows on my tv. I'm not a videophile, but I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the itunes downloads on the tv, and they're even higher quality now that itunes has bumped up the resolution.

For those of us living out in the country without cable, being able to download Battlestar Galactica and watch it on my tv without commercials is wonderful.

Posted by: Scott Winn at Sep 23, 2006 6:25:44 PM

I'd love to see some kind of hookup between either Netflix and TiVo or Amazon or somebody to close the gap between what I can find/buy on the internet and the living room. Even with the Series 2 box (which actually seems a little slow), there's so much untapped potential that really just requires better software. In the meantime though, perhaps I can put my old Xbox to work, since I've got a 360 now. Thanks for the inspiration!

Posted by: blueZhift at Sep 25, 2006 7:10:01 AM

"When you say that you have it `one-click automated` to grab shows from usenet"

I use a website aggregator of usenet content, which catalogs files found. I search for a show, find the .avi in the results, then right click for a download manager to take care of (it maximizes download bandwidth and plops stuff into my movies directory).

So basically it's one-click after I find what I'm looking for, which is a simple search form away.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Sep 25, 2006 4:28:00 PM

抛光
磨料

Posted by: 磨料 at Oct 16, 2006 1:16:54 AM