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Gizmodo: How is TiVo Doing After Launching Series 3?

Gizmodo asks a pretty good question today: How is TiVo Doing After Launching Series 3?.

What follows are some fairly dire predictions based on TiVo's stock price and analyst musings. Personally, I think TiVo is doing about the same as it always was, but I'm definitely seeing them become a software provider for cable company DVRs, in addition to their own products. I suppose they could always use their patents to bash competitors and stay afloat, though I hope they don't go too far down that path.

It'd be interesting if Google or Yahoo or Apple bought TiVo and they didn't have to sweat their profitability any longer. If they got scooped up, I bet we'd see a lot of new ideas again as they'd be free of the business constraints.

by Matt Haughey October 30, 2006 in News

Comments

I fear that if Tivo is subsumed by an entity like Google or any other large software-oriented organization, we will see an even more rapid disemination of DRM schemes to protect the so-called "content providers".

Posted by: Charles Rouh at Oct 31, 2006 12:48:33 PM

A buyout by Google (now with YouTube) or Apple (with video downloads via iTMS) could make for some interesting synergies with TiVo, especially with the S3's broadband capabilities built-in.

Posted by: AJRitz at Oct 31, 2006 1:47:36 PM

What about NetFlix? It would give them an instant installed base for any video-to-TV download services they want to roll out.

Another option is CISCO. They could buy out TiVo and start delivering the MovieBeam service through Broadband to the TiVo. With the S3 they could even handle the HD content.

Posted by: tedbill at Oct 31, 2006 2:20:40 PM

Well, for better or worse, I just went and spent $680 on a Series 3 (15% off coupon to the TiVo Community Store).

I've had TiVo for years and although I could probably ween myself off it and use something like Media Center or MythTV, I think my wife is totally addicted to the TiVo interface.

It seems like all the free DVRs from the cable companies have been getting pretty bad reviews everywhere I look, so I'm thinking that it might be worth it to go with the TiVo.

We'll see. I'll be posting about my Series 3 when it arrives.

Posted by: Marc at Oct 31, 2006 5:34:28 PM

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