TiVo updates from their quarterly call

Dave Zatz has a great roundup of new information about TiVo from their recent quarterly report call. There are three big things:

1. The CEO admitted 9 months after the Series 3 TiVo launched that it was too expensive. For something in development for 2-3 years before release, I can't possibly see how this could be a surprise. If you polled any typical TiVo user (not bleeding-edge home theater nuts who will buy anything at any price) previous to the S3 launch, I'm sure everyone would have said the $799 price was the biggest sticking point. That was the overwhelming feedback on launch day and continues to this day. Everyone was expecting a $499 box and hoping for something in the $300-500 range.
   
   It sounds like they want to release a "S3 lite" in that price range, but I don't know what features they'll be removing. Dual tuners is a must, but I could live without OTA recording (if it was just a cable HD device) and I suppose it didn't have to have the aluminum case and fancy OLED display.
   
2. TiVo units from Comcast won't be making the Spring 2007 release they were rumored to, and instead it looks like they'll start in a few select markets near the end of summer. The promise of these units is definitely cannibalizing S3 sales as half my friends balked at the $799 price and said they'd wait for the Comcast offering instead. It'll be interesting to see what features are dropped in order to still differentiate it from a S3 or S3 lite TiVo (though one thing's for sure: it'll have On Demand stuff that S3 TiVo boxes won't have)
   
3. TiVo is coming to Australia. This is great news for fans down under that go to great lengths to rig up a TiVo, though it sounds like TiVo will be tweaking/removing features in order to please  broadcasters. It's unfortunate when a technology company has to cripple or disable features they already release in other markets, and especially so when it's something as core to the device as fast-forwarding.

Comments

[blackyard.net]

I still think despite the price slash the gadget is still on the higher side. The rules of simple economic dictate higher prices = low sales. The company should take a look at its competitors to decide if it's really worth that much...

www.blackyard.net

[LCD1080]

The current Series 3 price of $377 from Amazon (including rebates) motivated me to buy one. The price included a $30 rebate for accepting the Amazon credit card which I thought was a good deal. The S3 is an elegant piece of electronics that is far more capable than the beat up cable box that I had rented.