PlayTeeVee - Last Call

[PlayTeeVee]

Folks,

As much as we would like to continue working on games for your TiVo, the time has come to cut our losses and move on.

You can read more about it in our blog here:

http://playteevee.com/blog/

PlayTeeVee will be up for the next couple of weeks until our server contract runs out..

-T

[Turtleboy]

Thanks for your hard work and efforts.

I think in the end that people use their Tivos to watch TV. If they want to play games, they go to their xbox or wii.

But you did do some very cool stuff within the limitations of the Tivo box. Good luck on your next venture.

[steve614]

I also want to thank you for your efforts.
I really liked the pool game.

Sadly, I'm one of those people whose Tivo time is 90% television. :(

Good luck!

[Mars Rocket]

This is the first I've heard of this. Maybe better marketing next time would help you out.

Were these downloadable games or something like that?

[steve614]

They were games that accessed a server just like the ones Tivo provides.
They posted their IP address in this forum when they started out and you had to manually add it into the Tivo in the Music, Photos and More section.

[Mars Rocket]

Sounds cool. I wish I had known about it earlier.

[Tobashadow]

If you want to pm me the servers needs i could possiably get one going at no cost to host it.

[ZeoTiVo]

They were games that accessed a server just like the ones Tivo provides.
They posted their IP address in this forum when they started out and you had to manually add it into the Tivo in the Music, Photos and More section.

when HME hit , I thought it was a MAJOR difference from other DVRs that 3rd parties could write apps for the TiVo. PlayTeeVee shows the promise of that but TiVo needs to do something to provide some exposure on the TiVo screen.

Alos of course TiVo needs to actively support HME and make some improvements to it. Sadly TiVo dropped HME when the got the TiVo on Comcast deal and put all their Java resources on that effort. :(

I setup PlayTeeVee, really it is easy though manual, and my daughter likes to play the Reversi game.

[sbourgeo]

Bummer, the kids liked the balloon game. :(

[visionary]

They should have put one of those one line ads on the Tivo menu, play TeeVee, and it would automaticly load the proper numbers to do that. I am just amazed someone in business can't think of something that simple. It is like opening a restaurant with no sign outside. I bet 90 percent of users had no idea about the product existing.

[gonzotek]

when HME hit , I thought it was a MAJOR difference from other DVRs that 3rd parties could write apps for the TiVo. PlayTeeVee shows the promise of that but TiVo needs to do something to provide some exposure on the TiVo screen.

Alos of course TiVo needs to actively support HME and make some improvements to it. Sadly TiVo dropped HME when the got the TiVo on Comcast deal and put all their Java resources on that effort. :(

I setup PlayTeeVee, really it is easy though manual, and my daughter likes to play the Reversi game.HME hasn't really been dropped. Internally, they've clearly added features and made improvements in the client code. For reference: comments made by the Rhapsody engineers with the last Rhapsody release regarding improvements on TiVo helping music play back continuously and less app crashing, as well as the integration of swivel search with the core tivo functions, and also now all the new Web Video feeds, enabled through TD but managed on the TiVo. The last public release of the HME SDK was in October of last year (an experimental release). They absolutely could do better in a lot of ways, but not all of their efforts have gone solely to Comcast. There has clearly been work done in this area on the standalones over the last few releases. They just aren't making it open to the public. Which is a shame, because there is still a lot of potential there, especially if they can securely provide access to some of the data and control functions of the television-related parts of a tivo.

[ZeoTiVo]

HME hasn't really been dropped. Internally, they've clearly added features
agreed - I meant to say PUBLIC interface to HME in my post but forgot to type it in - brain fart. They had plans to add more public APIs but dropped those plans as Comcast came along. All the improvements you note are significant and do indeed improve the TiVo experience but still 3rd party HME folks are left in the lurch and the best of the early breed in Galleon was even stopped by the original developer due to the stalling of the public facing HME for even simple bug fixes. :(

[PlayTeeVee]

Ironically, I don't think any of our posts generated more replies than this one...

I think one of the biggest 'failures' was that we never really managed to get the TiVo community behind PlayTeeVee. As somebody above mentioned earlier, most people just want to watch TV. I think TiVo realized that early on and this might perhaps be one of the reasons they put HME on ice.

It proved incredibly difficult to get the word out. Posting on this forum alone the day we went live was near impossible as you aren't allowed to a) put URLs into a post and b) promote your product. Even if it's free and benefits TiVo users. Despite some heavy backing from MegaZone it just wasn't enough to get TiVo users excited about PlayTeeVee.

We'd love to keep PTV up and running but the first thing we'd need is buy-in from the TiVo community. Without that, there's no point really..

-T

[ZeoTiVo]

simply put and speaking from the business side for a minute- it takes money to promote something - even a free something - and really, right in your blog you say the end game was to make moeny off of advertisements.

So buying an ad on this ofrum or one on the TiVo would have been the way to go. Also perhaps hosting other HME apps on your web site to provide more utility along with the games would drive more traffic.

anyhow, this is free advice that comes after the fact. Thanks for the cool games and the push to keep HME active, you clearly showed what could be possible if TiVo picked up the ball on public HME again.

[jkalnin]

Marketing is key. PPPP

That last P = Promotion ;)

[timr_42]

Thanks for the games. There is one that I had to stop playing because I would just play it all the time :)
Good luck in your next venture.

[PlayTeeVee]

simply put and speaking from the business side for a minute- it takes money to promote something - even a free something - and really, right in your blog you say the end game was to make moeny off of advertisements.

So buying an ad on this ofrum or one on the TiVo would have been the way to go. Also perhaps hosting other HME apps on your web site to provide more utility along with the games would drive more traffic.

anyhow, this is free advice that comes after the fact. Thanks for the cool games and the push to keep HME active, you clearly showed what could be possible if TiVo picked up the ball on public HME again.

Agreed. We executed poorly from a business point of view. In part due to the fact that early on we were in talks with TiVo and things didn't materialize. Hindsight is 20-20.

A considerable amount of time, money and hard work went into creating PlayTeeVee. We both have fulltime jobs, mortgages and families. If the TiVo community would rally behind us and pitch in to cover our expenses, we might reconsider and continue on. To date however, the 'Donate Now' button at the bottom of our page has been pressed ZERO times since we launched and Google ads netted us a profit of $3.54 before tax.

So we're at a cross-roads right now. Either we cut our losses or try to involve the TiVo Community. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't mind writing more games. But without people supporting us financially ( one way or another ) it's not a viable option.

-T

[[NG]Owner]

If you want to pm me the servers needs i could possiably get one going at no cost to host it.Don't forget to PM this guy ....

For that matter, it'd be interesting to know what your requirements are, hosting wise. There may be others who can help in that manner.

[NG]Owner

[etz]

I was pretty stoked about the concept when I first heard about it on the forum. But then I had a string of bad experiences where the TiVo would lock up during a game and I had to do a power-off hard reset to get back to normal. After that I was very hesitant for a long time. I have tried it again from time to time and it seems to work fine for me, but the games really weren't very interesting to me.... they were just too childish I guess (the airplane balloon thing for one).

Sorry to see PlayTeeVvee go though, assuming that's what happens. I always hoped that some more offerings would come that would be better suited to me.

[tivoupgrade]

Ironically, I don't think any of our posts generated more replies than this one...

I think one of the biggest 'failures' was that we never really managed to get the TiVo community behind PlayTeeVee. As somebody above mentioned earlier, most people just want to watch TV. I think TiVo realized that early on and this might perhaps be one of the reasons they put HME on ice.

It proved incredibly difficult to get the word out. Posting on this forum alone the day we went live was near impossible as you aren't allowed to a) put URLs into a post and b) promote your product. Even if it's free and benefits TiVo users. Despite some heavy backing from MegaZone it just wasn't enough to get TiVo users excited about PlayTeeVee.

We'd love to keep PTV up and running but the first thing we'd need is buy-in from the TiVo community. Without that, there's no point really..

-T

Did you ever think about sponsoring the community or becoming an advertiser?

Obviously that requires a financial investment and some patience to build your 'brand' but that is how I did it with DVRupgrade (formerly PTVupgrade).

Lou

[PlayTeeVee]

Did you ever think about sponsoring the community or becoming an advertiser?

Obviously that requires a financial investment and some patience to build your 'brand' but that is how I did it with DVRupgrade (formerly PTVupgrade).

Lou

Well, that's one avenue we're looking into. Unfortunatley, there's only so much you can do when people don't really seem to be that interested in games.

On a side-note, we received our first donation, which is MUCH appreciated!

-T

[dianebrat]

Well, that's one avenue we're looking into. Unfortunatley, there's only so much you can do when people don't really seem to be that interested in games.

On a side-note, we received our first donation, which is MUCH appreciated!
-T

I really think you were in a tough spot, I play games, but I do it on a PC, Xbox, or PS3, while I approve of the concept you had, in execution I would never do it.

I applaud your trying as hard as you did however.

Diane

[tivoupgrade]

Well, that's one avenue we're looking into. Unfortunatley, there's only so much you can do when people don't really seem to be that interested in games.

-T

What kind of Marketing did you do?

Games seem to be pretty hot right now (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080718/tc_nf/60853), but perhaps not for TiVo.

But, it could also be that most people here haven't been exposed to your offering, and that is where becoming and advertiser or a sponsor comes in.

I know its your current plan to dismantle the service, but if you are having second thoughts about it, you should contact the proprietors of the site and at a minimum, discuss becoming an advertiser, or perhaps more than that.

[kmill14]

Marketing, Product and ease of access.

Most people that don't read this forum regularly wouldn't even know your site existed.

2nd, I applaud your effort in making your own games, but did you ever explore porting in older, recognizable games? (say classic 80's games)

I think something like the GameTap service (monthly fee with a kickback to TiVo) for the Big Screen TV is a good idea, but the games have to be playable with just a remote control obviously, and they have to be ones people know and will pay for.

[PlayTeeVee]

Marketing, Product and ease of access.

Most people that don't read this forum regularly wouldn't even know your site existed.

2nd, I applaud your effort in making your own games, but did you ever explore porting in older, recognizable games? (say classic 80's games)

I think something like the GameTap service (monthly fee with a kickback to TiVo) for the Big Screen TV is a good idea, but the games have to be playable with just a remote control obviously, and they have to be ones people know and will pay for.

Due to the nature of HME even older, recognizable games, aren't going to work properly. Each games runs on the server instead of on your tivo box. Direct-TV doesn't do this which allows it to have better quality games. The latency and throughput of your internet connection greatly reduce the scope of games you can do.

We talked to TiVo about something similar as to what you suggested ( GameTap ). Unfortunately they've got bigger fish to fry with updates and big companies that are guaranteed to give them a good ROI.

Going for a subscription based system alone is pointless. If people don't care about FREE games, why on earth would they want to pay for them? We could spend money on ads if we knew this would be something that people wanted. Right now, we're not so sure..

-T

[PlayTeeVee]

What kind of Marketing did you do?

Games seem to be pretty hot right now (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080718/tc_nf/60853), but perhaps not for TiVo.

But, it could also be that most people here haven't been exposed to your offering, and that is where becoming and advertiser or a sponsor comes in.

I know its your current plan to dismantle the service, but if you are having second thoughts about it, you should contact the proprietors of the site and at a minimum, discuss becoming an advertiser, or perhaps more than that.

Yes, games are a hot commodity.

The thing is, we would LOVE to continue writing games for TiVo if people were actually interested and / or excited about the possibilities. Reversi was to be the first in a line-up of popular multiplayer board games. Although it has done reasonably well, the multiplayer component is pointless if there's nobody to play with and people don't know about it.

We'll try everything in our power to keep the service alive. That's why we're putting the word out that, unless we get some sort of help, we can't sustain PlayTeeVee any longer..

-T