Tivo in the UK

[fudgepacker]

I've had Tivo since it came out here and despite having and then binning Skyplus i've been waiting dutifully for a new release.

I believe this is tied down to the fact that Sky teamed up with Tivo and has essentially managed to rule out its release in the Uk for the forseable future, but is this right.

Have we no chance of seeing Tivo 2 or 3 here.

I did have a look but i couldn't see any other threads on this although i'm sure there are.

[wolflord11]

I guess those in the UK are still with the series 1 Tivo units.

We in the States have moved on thru the Series 2, 2.5 and now into the 3 Series.

The Series 2 could possibly be used, but not the Series 3. I do not believe the Series 3 would work because of the Cablecard needed.

[Glen]

wow, its nice to have some input from the states! Yeah, we are still with Series 1 TiVo's! I love mine to bits! It's been working solidly for 5 or so years now with no signs of it needing repairs thank God! I would of course love to see TiVo series 2 come out that works with Sky, and i'd be the first in the queue if it did ever come out as Sky+ just doesn't cut it and is no comparison to TiVo by any means! If how ever Series 2 was released that didn't work with SKy, I like a lot of others here would be disappointed!

[iankb]

I've had Tivo since it came out here and despite having and then binning Skyplus i've been waiting dutifully for a new release.

I believe this is tied down to the fact that Sky teamed up with Tivo and has essentially managed to rule out its release in the Uk for the forseable future, but is this right.The general conclusion is that TiVo would like (or have liked) to return to the UK, but there is no volume manufacturer willing to manufacturer them under TiVo's licensing scheme. I suspect that there also may be an issue with who would market them.

I think that, to keep up their market share, TiVo in the US have now had to move from simply licensing a design to actually selling them under their own brand. I can't see them wanting to expand (or return) into any more countries at the moment if they had to produce the boxes as well.

I don't believe that there is any future restriction imposed on them by Sky, other than the assumption that Sky might no longer wish to provide customer service for TiVo if they were in direct competition for new sales.

[fudgepacker]

The general conclusion is that TiVo would like (or have liked) to return to the UK, but there is no volume manufacturer willing to manufacturer them under TiVo's licensing scheme. I suspect that there also may be an issue with who would market them.

I think that, to keep up their market share, TiVo in the US have now had to move from simply licensing a design to actually selling them under their own brand. I can't see them wanting to expand (or return) into any more countries at the moment if they had to produce the boxes as well.

I don't believe that there is any future restriction imposed on them by Sky, other than the assumption that Sky might no longer wish to provide customer service for TiVo if they were in direct competition for new sales.

Cheers and do you know as wolflord11 suggests above whether Tivo2 would work over here,if i picked up a box.

[iankb]

Cheers and do you know as wolflord11 suggests above whether Tivo2 would work over here,if i picked up a box.No.

Although the hardware differences could probably be overcome, it would be impossible to get TiVo to accept a Series 2 serial number so that you could use the UK EPG service.

There are many threads on the subject but, if it really were possible, there would be hundreds (nay, thousands) of eager hackers on this forum who would already be doing that. ;)

[fudgepacker]

Cheers, and so the wait goes on

[katman]

The general conclusion is that TiVo would like (or have liked) to return to the UK, but there is no volume manufacturer willing to manufacturer them under TiVo's licensing scheme.

I wonder if Thomsons decision to stop manufactur of TiVo was in anyway related to the fact that Thomson got a contract to manufacture SKY+ boxes ???


Sky might no longer wish to provide customer service for TiVo if they were in direct competition for new sales.

so not all bad then :)

[Automan]

Several years passed between the end of Thomson making UK Tivo boxes (in Ireland) and them starting to make boxes for Sky Digital.

Automan.

[iankb]

Also, Thomson were left with a stockpile of unsold TiVo's, so I don't think that stopping production was much of a choice - given the lack of effective marketing.

[fudgepacker]

Also, Thomson were left with a stockpile of unsold TiVo's, so I don't think that stopping production was much of a choice - given the lack of effective marketing.


It was without doubt the worst marketing campaign that there's ever been

[wolflord11]

If I am correct the Directv line of Receivers and DVR's ending in 100 are manufactured by Thomson. I wonder if this is the same company?

If it is, then why could they not produce a DVR to tivo's specifications?

Mind you, theres nothing wrong with the Series 1 Tivos. The best unit I currently have is a Series 1 Directv/Tivo unit. The Directv/Tivo units are still "Kings" of the DVR and Tivo World. :D

[DeadKenny]

Have we no chance of seeing Tivo 2 or 3 here
Zero chance in my opinion. Not with the way things stand at the moment.

p.s. Err, username... err okay... !

Mind you, theres nothing wrong with the Series 1 Tivos. The best unit I currently have is a Series 1 Directv/Tivo unit. The Directv/Tivo units are still "Kings" of the DVR and Tivo World. :D
Directv/tivo I guess are recording direct off the sat stream being integrated boxes? That would make them pretty good quality.

Problem with UK Series 1 is they are recording off external inputs and the quality is noticeably poor once hooked up to a 40" LCD.

Other problem is they aren't HD (not UK ones at least).

[blindlemon]

Problem with UK Series 1 is they are recording off external inputs and the quality is noticeably poor once hooked up to a 40" LCDAre you using Mode 0?

[verses]

Are you using Mode 0?

I know you weren't asking me but... I had been using Mode 0 for quite some time and have just recently reverted back to Mode 4 (but with VBR) as the white flashes had got too much for me. Rather than the 1 or 2 flashes per half hour that others have mentioned, at its worst, I would have 10 or more every minute. It did vary depending on what channel I was watching, but the worst culprits were BBC 1 & 2. However, as the majority of programs I watch are on those channels I decided to revert to Mode 4.

I've tried a variety of setting for the Max and VBR values (Bobones', Blindlemon's and a few others) but it made little or no difference.

I'm using a 28" CRT so Mode 4 doesn't look too bad, although it's obviously not as sharp as Mode 1 was.

Regards,

Ian

[Ian_m]

p.s. Err, username... err okay... !
Don't look it up in Wikipedia either....

[DeadKenny]

As for mode 0, no. Reason being partly because of the white flashes I've read about. Partly also because of the hassle in doing it given I have an unmodded TiVo and I'm not about to fork out for a network card. I might knock up a serial cable and do it via PPP mode, but I just need to get around to it.

But to be honest, SkyHD is more likely going to replace the TiVo. Sad to say it, but it's got HD (even if channels are limited at the moment but that will pick up) and the SD quality is better too.

[stevencarpenter]

Zero chance in my opinion. Not with the way things stand at the moment.

Not quite so sure it is really all over for the UK.

The following was sent in a TiVo email...

Seven and TiVo Inc Sign Strategic Partnership to Distribute TiVo Products and Services in Australia and New Zealand
TiVo to be key platform in Australia's development of digital television and interactive communications


(Alviso, CA and Sydney, Australia May 29, 2007 ) — Seven Media Group, one of Australia's leading integrated media companies, and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in digital video recorders, today announced that Seven will be bringing TiVo to Australia in 2008.

Under the mutually-exclusive agreement, Seven Media Group will lead the creation of the digital platform to enable TiVo's digital video recorder and service, including the award-winning TiVo user interface. The platform will be available for use by other broadcasters and broadband content owners to create a compelling, interactive, free to air digital terrestrial television offering. The TiVo® Service will be available across Australia and will include internationally recognized TiVo features like SeasonPass™ recordings and WishList® searches and allow users to access broadband content on their TV. Through its new partnership with TiVo, Seven will deploy TiVo's leading interactive advertising capabilities to develop new integrated interactive advertising strategies for their very substantial number of broadcast advertisers.

"Every night, the vast majority of Australians turn to free to air broadcasters for their television entertainment. The Australian television market is on the cusp of a significant migration to digital television that will greatly expand the choices available on free-to-air television " said Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo. "We are excited to play a key role in driving this transition by partnering with the top television network in the country to establish Seven's leadership of this transformation."

Added Rogers, "This new partnership with Seven will utilize TiVo's content search and discovery features, TiVo's powerful advertising capabilities and broadband video straight to the TV set. This relationship demonstrates our ability to deploy the TiVo service on the digital terrestrial, or DVB-T standard, which has now been globally adopted and will represent more than 100 million homes by 2009. It demonstrates the opportunities TiVo has to work with leading broadcasters who have substantial marketing clout to drive TiVo DVR penetration by adopting our hardware and software approaches to this globally important standard."

Very curious to read that TiVo are going after another English speaking area outside the USA. Perhaps we might not have a day long remembered and see the end of the rebellion, er oops, ...see the return of TiVo! :-)

[wolflord11]

Zero chance in my opinion. Not with the way things stand at the moment.

p.s. Err, username... err okay... !


Directv/tivo I guess are recording direct off the sat stream being integrated boxes? That would make them pretty good quality.

Problem with UK Series 1 is they are recording off external inputs and the quality is noticeably poor once hooked up to a 40" LCD.

Other problem is they aren't HD (not UK ones at least).

Directv is one of the major Sat providers in the States. They partnered with Tivo Years ago and brought out Directv/Tivo units. They are a Dual Tuner, Dual Buffer DVR running Tivo Software. As you pointed out, there is no Recording off external outputs. There is no option for recording quality like a Tivo unit, but they provide the best in DVR quality in recording.

Unfortunatley, the partnership ended. But there may be hope in the future for a re-partnership.

The Directv/Tivo unit is the "King" of the DVR World. With luck they will return. :D