rjgibson0066
05-01-2008, 03:49 PM
From Forbes.com.... maybe I have missed a thread or two, but didn't know this... sorry if redundant:
TiVo (nasdaq: TIVO - news - people )'s digital video recorder is far and away the best device for recording television programs. It's simple, reliable and has a fantastic user interface. Better yet, TiVo is now rolling out a version of its system that zips TiVo software directly to your regular cable box, for only three bucks per month. That means you don't have to pay for a stand-alone TiVo box ($100 to $600 plus $13 a month for the service).
That's the good news. The bad news is that the new TiVo ride-along service isn't quite ready. I've been participating in a test of it among Comcast (nasdaq: CMCSA - news - people ) subscribers in New England, and instead of the slick, fast, rock-solid TiVo experience I've known and loved for years, I've experienced a slow, flaky system with annoying freeze-ups that have left me without TV service for days at a time and required four service calls to my house in a one-month period.
TiVo concedes that its new system has suffered performance and stability problems but vows that a forthcoming software update will address those shortcomings and bring performance up to par with the stand-alone TiVo box.
Not to be overly dramatic, but if TiVo can't make this new system work, the company might not survive. TiVo has gained 4 million subscribers over the past nine years but lost a cumulative $733 million doing so. Its original business model--selling stand-alone boxes and charging subscription fees--has proved to be untenable. Selling through cable operators is its only chance.
Comcast plans to roll out TiVo in other regions later this year, and a pilot program with Cox Cable is scheduled to begin this year as well. In theory this model lets TiVo reach a bigger audience (Comcast has 24 million subscribers) and acquire new customers at a lower cost.
That's the theory. In practice TiVo is discovering the technical perils of taking a closed system, where the software and hardware are designed together, and decoupling it so the software can run on devices made by others. (This is why Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) sells its OS X operating system only on its own hardware.)
You could chalk this up to version 1.0 software. TiVo decided to write a new version of its software for cable operators, using the Java language. Java programs can run on multiple hardware platforms, but they tend to run slower than programs written in languages like C++, which is what TiVo used in its stand-alone box.
TiVo also had to split its software into two pieces, one that runs on your cable box and another that runs in a distant data center. On a stand-alone TiVo box, when you search for a TV show, the search takes place on the TiVo box itself. In the new system the request travels out across the network, is performed on servers, then returns to your cable box.
The new version looks like stand-alone TiVo but lacks some of its features, such as the ability to download movies from Amazon and view photos stored on your home PC. At the same time, the Comcast version has features the stand-alone box lacks, like the ability to search Comcast's video-on-demand and to find shows that broadcast in both standard definition and high definition and to record only the hi-def versions.
I'm sure Comcast and TiVo will work out the kinks, if only because Comcast can't afford to make four service calls to my house just to squeeze an extra three bucks per month out of me. Comcast needs extras like TiVo to lure in new customers. As for me, I'm still using the Comcast-TiVo service, but in June, when we move to a new house, I'll probably drop Comcast-TiVo and go back to using a stand-alone TiVo box. In six months, or a year, maybe I'll give Comcast-TiVo another try. Maybe.
TiVo (nasdaq: TIVO - news - people )'s digital video recorder is far and away the best device for recording television programs. It's simple, reliable and has a fantastic user interface. Better yet, TiVo is now rolling out a version of its system that zips TiVo software directly to your regular cable box, for only three bucks per month. That means you don't have to pay for a stand-alone TiVo box ($100 to $600 plus $13 a month for the service).
That's the good news. The bad news is that the new TiVo ride-along service isn't quite ready. I've been participating in a test of it among Comcast (nasdaq: CMCSA - news - people ) subscribers in New England, and instead of the slick, fast, rock-solid TiVo experience I've known and loved for years, I've experienced a slow, flaky system with annoying freeze-ups that have left me without TV service for days at a time and required four service calls to my house in a one-month period.
TiVo concedes that its new system has suffered performance and stability problems but vows that a forthcoming software update will address those shortcomings and bring performance up to par with the stand-alone TiVo box.
Not to be overly dramatic, but if TiVo can't make this new system work, the company might not survive. TiVo has gained 4 million subscribers over the past nine years but lost a cumulative $733 million doing so. Its original business model--selling stand-alone boxes and charging subscription fees--has proved to be untenable. Selling through cable operators is its only chance.
Comcast plans to roll out TiVo in other regions later this year, and a pilot program with Cox Cable is scheduled to begin this year as well. In theory this model lets TiVo reach a bigger audience (Comcast has 24 million subscribers) and acquire new customers at a lower cost.
That's the theory. In practice TiVo is discovering the technical perils of taking a closed system, where the software and hardware are designed together, and decoupling it so the software can run on devices made by others. (This is why Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) sells its OS X operating system only on its own hardware.)
You could chalk this up to version 1.0 software. TiVo decided to write a new version of its software for cable operators, using the Java language. Java programs can run on multiple hardware platforms, but they tend to run slower than programs written in languages like C++, which is what TiVo used in its stand-alone box.
TiVo also had to split its software into two pieces, one that runs on your cable box and another that runs in a distant data center. On a stand-alone TiVo box, when you search for a TV show, the search takes place on the TiVo box itself. In the new system the request travels out across the network, is performed on servers, then returns to your cable box.
The new version looks like stand-alone TiVo but lacks some of its features, such as the ability to download movies from Amazon and view photos stored on your home PC. At the same time, the Comcast version has features the stand-alone box lacks, like the ability to search Comcast's video-on-demand and to find shows that broadcast in both standard definition and high definition and to record only the hi-def versions.
I'm sure Comcast and TiVo will work out the kinks, if only because Comcast can't afford to make four service calls to my house just to squeeze an extra three bucks per month out of me. Comcast needs extras like TiVo to lure in new customers. As for me, I'm still using the Comcast-TiVo service, but in June, when we move to a new house, I'll probably drop Comcast-TiVo and go back to using a stand-alone TiVo box. In six months, or a year, maybe I'll give Comcast-TiVo another try. Maybe.