Is this really it?

The advice for any device is to buy it for what it can do today. You could also add your voice to whatever apps you want ported to the service provider, as it is not like Tivo is writing them for third parties anymore.

 

I couldn't agree more. Tivo has the potential to lock this thing up. Creating a Roku box with live tv and recording is the finish line IMHO. I haven't given up hope yet. Tivo CEO seems to get it. Now lets hope there is follow through. Interview from last weeks Recode

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000278469

 

It would've been awesome had they bought Roku instead of integrating Opera. That would've added meaningful OTT apps. Also kind of interesting was my WDTV Live got a few new (quality) apps around Christmas. Not sure how they got that to happen; I would've thought their user base would be less than TiVos. I'd say at this point even WD has TiVo beat on apps.

 

Advertisements

Tom Rogers, TiVo CEO

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2014-05/tom-rogers-tivo-ceo/

 

Even Amazon couldn't buy Roku. Well at least ROku didn't accept their offer. I don't see how TiVo could have done any better in trying to buy Roku.

 

Considering the guy running the joint created ReplayTV; its doubtful any offer would've been accepted from TiVo. Yes, he still seems just a bit bitter, but he did learn a thing or two about product pricing from the experience.

 

I think we would all be better served if ROKU bought TiVo...

 

The opera App Store needs more users to attract top quality developers. Even with the addition of Tivos to the user base, it's likely that there simply aren't enough eyeballs. I mean, c'mon... The opera brand itself is virtually unknown to the masses. Then you have different kinds of devices, so your UI Design and features of your app have to be kind of generic.

They are promising 'big things' in the next update. I hope that doesn't mean 2 more screens you almost never access in HD and the updated (Romaio) user interface on Minis. It's what, a font change and a couple things are colored differently?

I wish they'd get rid of using flash to drive then menus/guide. Flash is always inefficient, and it shows... And flash is dying/dead. I don't know if the old way the SD menus are coded or HTML5 code or stripping all the crap/layers away and writing code that talks straight to the hardware would be the best way, but after all these years you'd think someone at Tivo would have the skills and knowlege to do so.

A six pack of coders on tech visas locked in a room for six months could cook up a much more efficient solution. I've seen other companies I've worked for do it!

 

Opera was more popular in Europe. Tivo's an american brand though, so kinda different user bases.

I think Opera TV is doing well given its age. But the fact that Tivo had to use a 3rd party technology instead of having a rich app platform to be kinda sad.

(not knocking the HME devs there, but rather was a demonstration of what was possible despite the artificial hurdles from Tivo)

 

Being that streaming tech changes more often than DVR tech,do you really want a Tivo in 10 years with an obsolete streamer built in. In 10 years a person could easily go through 3 rokus, 3 apple tv's, etc.
Tivo needs to go beyond the built in streamer idea.

 

If you ask anyone who really is involved in tech who is more likely to be "around" or relevant in 10 years it's likely that you will get a lot more people saying Roku than TiVo.

I agree with what others said, buy the box for what it does today not what it may do in a year or three.

The fact that TiVo can't get more partners to stream to a box that is more than capable of doing it simply shows that many in the tech industry have already written TiVo off entirely.

 

Yes, too bad emotions sway decisions like these. Even a licensing of the Roku libraries would be enough. They are both Linux based systems, and having a thin hardware interface layer between the Roku software and the Tivo hardware would make it possible to update the Roku bits without replacing the hardware.

Another thing that might have been....

 

Roku's don't record, streaming on demand will never be as big as some of it's supporters would have you believe.

 

What are you smoking? Netflix US user base is already past 33 Million. Tivo US numbers peaked at 4.4 million in 2006

and that's just Netflix. Total streaming can't even see Tivo from where it is now.
"never be as big"? Put the pipe down.

 

I think you'd have to add in all the cable and satellite DVRs as well to make it a fair comparison, if even that would make it more fair. I have no idea myself.

 

Comparing apples to apples there should easily more DVR users than Netflix has streamers. Since isn't the number of DVR users around 50% now?

 

Until Roku provides a DVR experience equal to or greater than the Roamio, this is a meaningless apples-to-orange comparison.

 

This has some good numbers, but might require a calculator and Venn diagram.
http://www.leichtmanresearch.com/press/120613release.html

Random Googling:
Comcast X1, 7Million triple play customers
Roku has shipped 8Million boxes
AppleTV has shipped 12Million, world wide.