Unbox needs to loose the 24 hour watch period

davew723 · 03-09-2007, 09:13 AM

I'm a parent that has been a loyal Tivo and NetFlix fan for years. I sure wish that Tivo/NetFlix deal would have worked out. In any case I'm willing to give Tivo/Unbox a chance, _IF_ a couple things change.

We only allow our children to watch TV for a limited period of time at night and on the weekends. My childern _rarely_ every make it thru a movie in one sitting. It normally takes us at least a week to get thru a movie with my kids between homework, sports, and other activities.

Now you match that requirement with Tivo/Unbox's rediculousy 24 hour watch period and it just doesn't even make sense that I attempt to use this service. Sorry guys the 24 hour period goes or your not getting a dime of my business.

I bought a Tivo to "Watch TV my way", "Not to watch TV in a 24 hour window."

---

If I had a second request it would be to add a subscription based Model. 4 Movies a month is $##.##. But, I'm willing to give it a true if the first request is resolved.

classicsat · 03-09-2007, 11:23 AM

You are renting those movies.

mikeyts · 03-09-2007, 11:48 AM

How is this a TiVo Suggestion? Amazon Unbox was in existence for months before they added the ability to directly download into TiVo and their 24-hour viewing limit, though stupid, is shared by the VOD services of all the cable systems I've lived in, as well as the online downloading services of MovieLink, CinemaNow and Xbox Live Video Marketplace.

Go complain to Amazon.

peteypete · 03-09-2007, 07:39 PM

Yeah, a week might be better.

MAPits · 03-10-2007, 06:55 AM

Yeah the 24 hour thing is just to short.
I tried it out last night then I realized I wasn't going to get through the movie in time. I need acouple days at least.

"How is this a TiVo Suggestion?"
Well, Tivo could get a better deal like 48 hours to watch if downloaded to a TiVo.

MikeMar · 03-10-2007, 06:59 AM

I think with kids you should just stick w/ netflix

mikeyts · 03-10-2007, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAPits

"How is this a TiVo Suggestion?"
Well, Tivo could get a better deal like 48 hours to watch if downloaded to a TiVo.

It's like complaining to your DVD player manufacturer that you don't like Blockbuster's prices and policies. Unbox is not a service offered by TiVo; the prices and policies for TiVo are exactly the same as they were when you could only download for viewing on a PC during the first several months of the service's existence. If you were downloading for playback on your PC, would you complain to your PC's manufacturer?

As I said, Amazon isn't alone in this--I don't know any service for downloading theatrical release films for rental which doesn't use a 24-hour viewing period limit, which I agree is useless. You might as well make it 6 hours--most people who start viewing a film on a weekday night will probably not be able to resume viewing it before the time that they started it the previous night. But the 24 hour thing is an industry standard and I doubt that it will change any time soon. Complaining to TiVo certainly isn't likely to change it.

rdrrepair · 03-10-2007, 01:59 PM

We could start a class action lawsuit!

Yeah, that's it, that's the ticket!!!

Of course, I am kidding! But seriously...

...I like the concept and I hope they work it out. 24 hours is too short in my book. I for one will download some Tv's shows that were missed by the TiVo and me. I will not use the download now for new releases or short term rentals. I don't feel that this post is going to change anything, but the cumulative effect might cause some people to take notice.

Don't think for once that Amazon & TiVo doesn't have people watching and collecting feedback. This venture is a money making service~customer service can only be improved by letting others know what you think.

Keep trying new things - fix what is broken - move on!

mikeyts · 03-10-2007, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdrrepair

Don't think for once that Amazon & TiVo doesn't have people watching and collecting feedback. This venture is a money making service~customer service can only be improved by letting others know what you think.

Oh, I'm sure that they do and I'm sure that those people had noted the five or six times people complained about the time limit in threads that I've read in the S3 and Coffeehouse forums. This forum is for suggesting things that TiVo can do to improve their products and services: Unbox is not one of them. They added a feature to allow broadband connected S2s and S3s to be used to play things rented and purchased at Unbox, but nothing that they can do to that feature can change Amazon's business model.

Stormspace · 03-15-2007, 02:57 PM

One thing this service differs from typical VOD service is that with VOD cable service you can record the show for later viewing. With this service you have 24 hours to watch on rentals and the rentals are more expensive than those at the local movie store. These rentals should be cheaper or the time limits should be extended.

mikeyts · 03-15-2007, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormspace

One thing this service differs from typical VOD service is that with VOD cable service you can record the show for later viewing.

This is not true on either Cox San Diego North County or TWC San Diego. Only two business models are allowed to be marked with "Copy Never" by the FCC's encoding rules and VOD is one of them (the other being scheduled PPV). If you can record VOD on your system now, don't expect it to be true going into the future.

Stormspace · 03-16-2007, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyts

This is not true on either Cox San Diego North County or TWC San Diego. Only two business models are allowed to be marked with "Copy Never" by the FCC's encoding rules and VOD is one of them (the other being scheduled PPV). If you can record VOD on your system now, don't expect it to be true going into the future.

Anyone can record VOD with a VCR. Whether a TiVo will do it I don't know. Almost certainly not an S3, but perhaps a S2. When I buy PPV I always record it since I can't be certain that I'll be pulled away from the set for some reason.

Having said that however since I got TiVo I have found that PPV is superfluous so I haven't tried it with the TiVo. TiVo gives me all the shows and movies I want. Others I'll buy at Walmart.

mikeyts · 03-16-2007, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormspace

Anyone can record VOD with a VCR. Whether a TiVo will do it I don't know.

Conceded. When I think of recording digital cable, I think of recording it digitally. My S3 can only record from its tuners--no inputs other than antenna and cable--so no VOD viewing is possible. FCC rules allow them to mark VOD and PPV with "Copy Never" protection, forbidding copying other than ephemerally in a trick-play buffer.

bschuler2007 · 03-17-2007, 01:58 PM

Honestly.. he is right. 24 hours is too short.. it should be atleast 48. And yes.. since it is SENT TO TIVO.. the time frame could be extended just for TIVO as UNBOX knows it is being played on a TIVO.

My issue is.. if I have a friend come over at like say, 8pm.. and we start watching a movie.. it gets late and we don't finish it..

NOW.. my friend has to come back over the next day real early so we can finish it before 8pm. So..Umm.. yeah... could you take the day off from work so we can finish Ferris Bueller?

Just dumb.. add that to the added price involved, lower quality video and sound, time from request to ability to play, etc.. and UNBOX just blows. My suggestion Blockbuster by mail for movies.. UNBOX if your stuck in a blizzard with no mail service for weeks.

mikeyts · 03-17-2007, 11:22 PM

TiVo does not sell or rent these films; they do not set the prices or the policies. All they did was add some firmware so that Amazon can rent films to people with broadband connected TiVos, just as they were selling and renting downloads to people for playback on PCs and PMCs before TiVo added the firmware. Complaining about them here is a waste of your time (particularly in a forum for posting suggestions about improvements to the TiVo product--no change in firmware or hardware will "fix" this). Amazon Unbox existed before TiVo had anything to do with it and if TiVo doesn't work out, they'll still be selling and renting downloads for playback on PCs and portables.

To tell you the truth, I think that complaining about this is a waste of time, even if you were to complain to Amazon, the people who are renting the films and who can change the viewing time limit. There are at least half a dozen online sources of legal downloaded or streamed rentals of mainstream theatrical releases (including cable company VOD systems) and all of them have this 24 hour limit. Though it sucks, if everyone's doing it, it's apparently working for the selling/renting companies.

If you'd like to complain to Amazon, there a thread about doing that in the S3 forum, here.

Kristle1126 · 05-04-2007, 02:16 AM

so there is basically nothing we can do with this 24 hours to watch thing?!

classicsat · 05-05-2007, 11:49 AM

Not by complaining here. That is something you'd have to take up with Amazon.

mikeyts · 05-05-2007, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by classicsat

Not by complaining here. That is something you'd have to take up with Amazon.

Somehow I think that they must've gotten the message by now.

Since every source of online or cable VOD that I know of has the same 24 hour limit, I have to think that it's something imposed by the content copyright holders and not the service providers. I think that increasing it to just 30 hours would assuage almost everyone--if I fall asleep while watching on a weeknight, I probably can't start watching again before the same time of evening that I started last night, so give me at least two evenings to finish. They have to know that they eschew a certain amount of business by imposing this limit, so they have to have their reasons. Maybe they've determined that enough people will go ahead and pay for a second rental period in order to finish that it exceeds any profit to be had from getting more people to use their service by making the rental period longer.

Slightly off-topic, I just discovered Netflix's "Watch Now" movie streaming feature. It lets you view a selection of films ("Over 2000 full-length Movies and TV Episodes") as streaming video. PQ is variable depending upon the speed of your link, but over my 5 Mbps broadband link it has about the same PQ as Unbox (maybe slightly better). There is no downloading; it starts nearly instantly. Best of all, it doesn't cost anything--it's covered by your normal Netflix subscription. If you have a broadband connected PC in your HT (as I do--I'm using it to post this using a 46" 1080p LCD flat panel as a monitor), it's an interesting option.

Stormspace · 05-07-2007, 06:03 AM

Another way to communicate to them is to not play the game. If no one buys they'll either loosen up the restrictions or lower the price. I'm for thinking they'll lower the price until it's low enough you don't care about the 24 hour limit. If that price point is low enough that they can't make money... That's when the restrictions will come off to maintain value.

Unfortunately the TiVo market is still small in the on demand space so it's just as likely the content restrictions won't be lifted since the return won't be enough to justify it and it'll just fold.