Amazon Unbox on TiVo, Hope this works with the S3

[pl1]

I just saw this article on "Unbox on TiVo". (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070207/D8N4SJP00.html) I sure do hope this will work with the S3. That would be great VOD!

Most online download services,
however, leave content essentially trapped
on the customer's computer. TiVo and
Amazon.com's major advantage is their
ability to deliver movies and TV shows
directly to the TiVo box, observers said.

And it looks like Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/b/?&node=16261631) is all set to go!

[Derow]

Great concept, but on Amazon's site it says the following:

How will the quality of Unbox videos compare to the quality of shows recorded by my TiVo?
Unbox videos watched on a TiVo will be of better quality than videos recorded at the Best Quality setting on a TiVo Series2 DVR.

Who wants to watch SD content? Isn't that why we all spent a lot of money for an S3? I'm looking forward to Blu-ray and HD-DVD, not backwards to SD! I know it says "better quality", but just the fact that they don't specify what the quality is makes me confident it isn't much better than SD. I don't mind waiting 10 hours for HD content to download if that's what it takes, but I won't pay to watch movies in SD. Netflix is still the best bet for renting movies in the highest definition.

[ah30k]

There is a discussion on the regular TiVo forum where TiVo Steven (or Stephen, I can never remember) is posting. Lets keep all the posts over there.

[pl1]

Who wants to watch SD content? I agree with you 100%. This is the same problem with most any rental or PPV at this point, so I'm hoping that there will be HD versions for our S3. That would be the balls!

[hookbill]

Funny, I just heard about this on the local morning news. Yes, I know that's about as reliable as the National Enquirer. Anyway they said Amazon was presenting the box as competition for TiVo! Then they explained what it did and I thought, "huh, competition for TiVo?" Didn't make sense.

[Revolutionary]

Halle-frickin-lujah!

I don't care if its not HD -- let's be realistic! Nobody does HD downloads yet (except some hit-or-miss Xbox 360 stuff). But at least this gives me 1) the same video quality as iTunes, 2) with more selection, 3) and the ability to rent content, 4) direct to my Tivo (no more HTPC workaround).

And I'm guessing that the quality will be better than you expect. iTunes and Unbox offer very clean images, even if the resolution is lower than DVD. I find that both scale to my plasma very well -- and both look a whole hell of a lot better than Best Quality Tivo with analog cable as the source.

Sweet. Can't wait for it on the S3 (but I will!).

[davidmin]

TiVo says it works on the s2 or s3.

[hookbill]

Why would I want to download a tv show? Isn't that what my S3 is for? And maybe it's because it's new but the movies offered don't look great.

[pl1]

TiVo says it works on the s2 or s3.I didn't see that it in the article I posted. Now that I do see it from TiVo, I still hope it works and especially in HD. But, you are right.

[Revolutionary]

Why would I want to download a tv show? Isn't that what my S3 is for? And maybe it's because it's new but the movies offered don't look great.

You obviously wouldn't want to. I do it all the time. (I actually need 3 tuners on Mondays and Thursdays.) :eek:

[GoHokies!]

There is a discussion on the regular TiVo forum where TiVo Steven (or Stephen, I can never remember) is posting. Lets keep all the posts over there.

I'll even provide the link!

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=339889

Not that this is going to help, since we can't even avoid 3 different SDV threads on the same page (and this makes the third Amazon thread between the 2 forums)...

[hookbill]

You obviously wouldn't want to. I do it all the time. (I actually need 3 tuners on Mondays and Thursdays.) :eek:

Well, there are still other ways to do this, less expensive, illegal.

Not that I would ever do that. :rolleyes:

[Revolutionary]

Well, there are still other ways to do this, less expensive, illegal.

Not that I would ever do that. :rolleyes:

Yeah, I'm familiar with the alternatives. How do you think I get by now? ;)

But I'm glad to have a legitimate, hassle free way of doing it that doesn't require resort to a third system (HTPC) for media access.

[TerpBE]

Buying movies from amazon would be much more attractive if there was some way I could add more space to my Tivo....like with an external drive, perhaps. Are you listening, Tivo?

[gwsat]

A price of between $9.99 and $14.99 for an SD movie downloaded to an S3 makes the service a nonstarter in my book. You can buy a DVD for not much more than that, which is essentially permanent. The service might start to make sense when they start delivering HD content and the price is lower but for now, color me disinterested.

[Bai Shen]

Read the terms. They're not a good sign.

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/15/amazon_unbox_to_cust.html

[MichaelK]

Halle-frickin-lujah!

I don't care if its not HD -- let's be realistic! Nobody does HD downloads yet (except some hit-or-miss Xbox 360 stuff). But at least this gives me 1) the same video quality as iTunes, 2) with more selection, 3) and the ability to rent content, 4) direct to my Tivo (no more HTPC workaround).

And I'm guessing that the quality will be better than you expect. iTunes and Unbox offer very clean images, even if the resolution is lower than DVD. I find that both scale to my plasma very well -- and both look a whole hell of a lot better than Best Quality Tivo with analog cable as the source.

Sweet. Can't wait for it on the S3 (but I will!).


I think moviebeam is doing HD downloads right now.

But I too am willing to spot them some time since it's all so new.

[naclone]

does anybody think that this agreement might be connected to the rumored S3 price drop? does this potential new revenue stream for TiVo (depending on what the financial arrangement is with Amazon) means that TiVo can now subsidize the S3 units and that hopefully means that Amazon Unboxed will feature HD content in the not too distant future?

[dswallow]

Read the terms. They're not a good sign.

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/15/amazon_unbox_to_cust.html
Have you ever read the terms of just about every service-oriented purchase or rental you make? Ever read the license for Microsoft Windows or any of thousands of desktop software applications?

[MichaelK]

Read the terms. They're not a good sign.

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/15/amazon_unbox_to_cust.html


if anyone is suspecting anything less from movie downloads in this day and age of DRM then they are not in reality. (ignoring the bits about advertising)

Also- those terms are for PC downloads. Since there is no PC required for tivo playback the tivo terms will be different. Tivo's current terms are similar in regards to DRM and data collection so I dont think it's a big deal.

also the article is from 5 months ago- do we know what the current terms are? I'm too lazy to be bothered to look- :D

[gwsat]

I think moviebeam is doing HD downloads right now.
Correct. Further, HD downloads cost only $4.99 at Moviebeam.com:

http://www.moviebeam.com/opencms/opencms/Pages/WhatIsMovieBeam/PricingInfo.html

If the Amazon-TiVo partnership would do the same, I would give it a try.

[MichaelK]

Correct. Further, HD downloads cost only $4.99 at Moviebeam.com:

http://www.moviebeam.com/opencms/opencms/Pages/WhatIsMovieBeam/PricingInfo.html

If the Amazon-TiVo partnership would do the same, I would give it a try.

I would to- IN A HEART BEAT!

[tgibbs]

Well, HD is certainly better than Best quality on a series 2. The competition, XBox360, offers both 480p and in some cases HD. On the other hand, the list of shows offered by Microsoft is still pretty limited. Practically speaking, I'd probably be willing to settle for widescreen ED (480p) for most shows--basically, DVD quality.

[Bierboy]

Well, HD is certainly better than Best quality on a series 2. ..Heck....lowest quality on an S3 is better than best quality on an S2 :rolleyes:

[kjmcdonald]

Heck....lowest quality on an S3 is better than best quality on an S2 :rolleyes:

how?

If you're source is digital you don't get a choice. I guess that would be the 'lowest' quality (since it's the only quality) and better (since it's digital.)

For analog though, I know the S3 has different compression rates than the S2, but you really think that 'basic' (or whatever it's called) on an S3 beats 'Best' on an S2?

I'll have to test that out tonight.

-Kyle

[infinitespecter]

Correct. Further, HD downloads cost only $4.99 at Moviebeam.com:

http://www.moviebeam.com/opencms/opencms/Pages/WhatIsMovieBeam/PricingInfo.html

If the Amazon-TiVo partnership would do the same, I would give it a try.

Have you seen the quality of the movies from MovieBeam? Every possible thing that could be wrong with HD is wrong with those HD movies. Here is what engadget had to say about that :
My neighbor is no HD connoisseur but his reaction was the same as mine; surprised at how bad it could look. Although he wasn't sure what was wrong with what he saw, I knew right away. The movie was so compressed that all the scenes suffered from compression artifacts, even scenes that were almost completely still. The compression was unbearable and even if it did work on my TV, I would be sending it back. The movie was "Deep Blue Sea", this scene was a simple profile shot before the transition and with nothing moving. The blocks you see in his cheeks were present in all skin tones. This is by far worse than any compression I have witnessed from DIRECTV or due to local affiliates multicasting their OTA feeds. http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/03/15/moviebeam-review/

MovieBeam shouldn't even be a consideration. The only real good to get "on demand" HD movies onto your TV involve a cable box or an Xbox 360. The 360 downloads have been said to be virtually indistinguishable from HD-DVD video on all but the biggest 1080p displays.

[aaronwt]

You can already download HD movies and HD Tv shows with XBOX live and the Xbox 360.
they are no replacement for HD DVD/BD but they do look very good considering they are 720P.

[Jiffylush]

You can already download HD movies and HD Tv shows with XBOX live and the Xbox 360.
they are no replacement for HD DVD/BD but they do look very good considering they are 720P.

360 = 20 gig harddrive.

S3 has a 750, oops, I mean 250.

I have blu-ray but there isn't a ton of content out there, I would love the ability to get more HD content or at least good copies of SD content, especially older stuff or entire series that aren't likely to air in their entirety any time soon.

[Revolutionary]

Couple things

A price of between $9.99 and $14.99 for an SD movie downloaded to an S3 makes the service a nonstarter in my book. You can buy a DVD for not much more than that, which is essentially permanent. The service might start to make sense when they start delivering HD content and the price is lower but for now, color me disinterested.
Its not just to the Tivo: you can have two active copies at a time; one on Tivo and one on your PC, or one on each of two Tivos, or two PCs. Watch it on Tivo, delete it, archive it on PC.

I think moviebeam is doing HD downloads right now.

Yes, but as infinitespecter pointed out, their HD is ass-tastic. First, they don't use HD transfers -- they simply upscale DVD to HD resolution, then beam it over extra compressed. How any engineer thought that was a good idea, I don't know. Better to give me a DVD-quality picture and let me do the upscaling than to sell me a crappy, compressed upscale and try to pass it off as HD. Also, I won't pay for a Moviebeam box.

Well, HD is certainly better than Best quality on a series 2. The competition, XBox360, offers both 480p and in some cases HD. On the other hand, the list of shows offered by Microsoft is still pretty limited. Practically speaking, I'd probably be willing to settle for widescreen ED (480p) for most shows--basically, DVD quality.

I strongly suspect that the reference to "Best Quality on a Series 2 Tivo" was simply to give current Tivo customers a frame of reference. I've rented a movie via Unbox, and it was identical in quality to iTunes Video downloads. And both look SUBSTANTIALLY better than Tivo's best quality on analog cable. Very clean and crisp -- most of the compression is in the depth of color (you can see it -- colors looks flat). I consider a 16:9 iTunes/Unbox download to be better than S2 Best, and better than a torrent-source HD show, but not as good as DirectTV HD-lite. If that quality stays consistent on the Tivo, then I think this will be surprisingly nice to look at.

[btwyx]

Read the terms. They're not a good sign.

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/15/amazon_unbox_to_cust.htmlThose aren't the terms, these (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=atv_dp_cs_use/103-8399477-0562212?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200026970) are the terms.

What in particular are you complaining about?

[Fofer]

Buying movies from amazon would be much more attractive if there was some way I could add more space to my Tivo....like with an external drive, perhaps. Are you listening, Tivo?

Keep in mind you can delete your purchased movies, and redownload them at any time. That's a nice little perk and helps with the "storage" issue.

Of course, I upgraded my S3 to 750 GB last night... :o

[Fofer]

A price of between $9.99 and $14.99 for an SD movie downloaded to an S3 makes the service a nonstarter in my book. You can buy a DVD for not much more than that, which is essentially permanent. The service might start to make sense when they start delivering HD content and the price is lower but for now, color me disinterested.

Don't forget they are also offerring rental options too though, for $2 - $4... might make sense if you just want to catch a flick once and don't plan to watch it again.

Personally for $15 I'd rather own the DVD with all the extras.

But I'd be interested in the rental model, if there were some titles I'd want to watch only once...

[dswallow]

Don't forget they are also offerring rental options too though, for $2 - $4... might make sense if you just want to catch a flick once and don't plan to watch it again.

Personally for $15 I'd rather own the DVD with all the extras.

But I'd be interested in the rental model, if there were some titles I'd want to watch only once...
Here's what'd draw me in to the whole concept:

1) Let me upgrade from a rental to a purchase after I've watched the rental; just have it be the incremental cost difference plus some sort of transaction fee -- like another $1 or so at most.

2) Let me either convert the purchase to a physical copy of the media or add a physical copy of the media to my downloadable copy for a reasonable amount.

3) With series, let me get a physical copy of the series at a substantial discount, especially if I've bought all or most of the episodes of a season.

I'd then be much more apt to rent movies since if it happened to be something I felt was a keeper, I could make a purchase out of it one way or another.

[Fofer]

Those all sound like great ideas to me, dswallow. I've always wanted something similar from iTunes, WRT to album downloads.

If anyone can pull that sort of thing off (download + the physical media purchase at a discount,) it's Amazon.

Here's hopin'.

[smak]

I'm hoping that eventually both this and the Xbox one comes with a subscription service like Netflix.

I don't think they would do unlimited due to the speediness of "renting" new movies. Even if it's 6 hours, it would be a lot speedier than Netflix's no less than 2 days.

Maybe a few plans, 8, 12 & 20 rentals a month for various prices.

-smak-