Tivo in Micromart

[pukka]

not seen a post yet so here we go, :D they is a great article in this weeks micromart. :D

just a quick plug....


:D

Paul

[cwaring]

Any chance someone can do a decent scan of it. I don't get MM :)

[mikerr]

Ah micromart... I use to buy that many years ago every thursday in the days before ebay :)

www.micromart.co.uk has some tivo articles, but it doesn't give dates

[cwaring]

Yeah. That's why I don't want to buy it. I don't want to find stuff I want that I can't afford ;):D

[pukka]

its 4 pages worth.. i will see if i can whip out the scanner tonight and see if the old baby works :D


Paul

[Tivo_noob]

Just bought it today, good read, pity i don't have a scanner :(

[keithed]

http://www.micromart.co.uk/default.aspx?contentid=0a437af8-b1f5-4ffc-a6c8-f567007946de&featureid=2862

Here's some of the story..

[GarySargent]

Did anyone manage to scan the article?

I tried to buy it today but there is a new one out TODAY! Agh!

[pukka]

sorry been busy at work :D if iget home early enough tonight i shell do it :D

[digital_S]

TiVo has been a runaway success in the United States because: "It's quite easy to use and offers flexible, powerful options for finding and recording anything you might like on TV. And mostly because it pioneered the lifestyle changes described in the previous question. No longer do people have to sit at home on Thursday night, at a specific time, waiting for a show to come on."
(Part of the artical in that link above)...

Just 2 things tho: The same thing could've happened here (still can) - and why did they write that artical in past tense? TiVo IS still around, and hopefully it will be around forever!! :D

[pukka]

i have it scanned in, pm me and i will post the address :D

Paul

[cwaring]

With Mr Pukka's permission (actually, he asked me to :)) I am now hosting the files scanned from MM. There are four individual PDFs totalling around 2mb and can be downloaded from here (http://www.telewestinfo.co.uk/Tivo/TivoMM.zip).

[GarySargent]

Who is this guy that has taken over my site?! :D

What is it with journalists and names - thats the second time I've been completely misnamed!

[GarySargent]

Here is the full version of the answers I gave to the journalists queries:

> - In your opinion, why was TiVo a failure in the UK?

There are a couple of reasons why TiVo could be considered a failure in the UK.

Firstly the Series 1 TiVo hardware was expensive to manufacture, which ultimately led to Thomson stopping production of the UK boxes. In the USA a Series 2 platform had been developed which was much cheaper to manufacture, however bringing this to the UK would mean further investment by a suitable manufacturer (in the USA the likes of Philips and Sony both manufacture TiVo hardware).

Secondly the TiVo software itself was so radically different to anything currently on the market, that is was very difficult to educate potential customers as to its benefits. Key to TiVo's popularity with its loyal users is the indexing of the guide data, making finding and recording episodes of programmes a breeze. Gone is the nightly task of setting the video timer that we were all accustomed to, with TiVo you simply told it which programmes to record, and it would do so forever (avoiding repeat showings etc). Such features are hard to market in advertisements - it's really a case of trying it and you are hooked.

> - Is Sky Plus a reasonable substitute?

Yes Sky Plus is a reasonable substitute, but it does still lack some of the more advanced functionality TiVo has had for years. It is also only suitable for those with Sky, whereas TiVo will work with Sky, Freeview, Cable, and analogue TV.

> - Will TiVo ever properly return to the UK?

TiVo haven't yet left the UK. Whilst Thomson no longer manufacture TiVo hardware meaning you can't buy a box in the shops, the TiVo service is still very much available in the UK. This is the enhanced guide data that powers many of the TiVo features. Look on eBay and you will find a thriving second hand market for TiVo's, with prices at a premium due to the high demand.

With the service infrastructure still available in the UK, and being actively updated, everything is still in place for TiVo to return to the UK with updated hardware. For this to happen a manufacturer is needed to build TiVo boxes. With Sky Plus becoming more and more popular, it would seem likely that manufacturers will soon realise the potential market for a new TiVo box - especially in households that do not have Sky (in fact it surprises me that they haven't realised this already).

> - Do you know how many British TiVo users are out there?

There have not been any official figures released. A good guess would be around the 25,000 mark.

> - How many people access your TiVo sites?

Currently just under 10,000 visitors (not pages) per month, and the trend is an increasing one with the last three months showing a large increase.

[browellm]

With Mr Pukka's permission (actually, he asked me to :)) I am now hosting the files scanned from MM. There are four individual PDFs totalling around 2mb and can be downloaded from here (http://www.telewestinfo.co.uk/TivoMM.zip).

Is it down at the moment?

[cwaring]

What is it with journalists and names - thats the second time I've been completely misnamed!
He got it right the second time though :)

Is it down at the moment?
No, but the Webmaster's an idiot :p URL corrected :)

[browellm]

Cheers Carl

It's a pity the article completely skips over Tivo's trump card over Sky+, the fully searchable EPG, wishlists and SP's that work (more) reliably.

[manolan]

Actually, Gary's name notwithstanding, I think that was quite a good high level summary of the situation.

[cyril]

Cheers Carl

It's a pity the article completely skips over Tivo's trump card over Sky+, the fully searchable EPG, wishlists and SP's that work (more) reliably.

Luckily Active Home magazine's current issue correctly states that Sky+ doesn't come close to TiVo !

Half a page article after it's UK DVR comparisons.