An outside the box idea... (how feasible?)

Myself, and several others i know are effectively already doing this with HD off the air tuners, and using a cable box for a tuner for non-HD content. I have played with a center media server that has four total tuners with a large amount of disk space. I am running Windows Vista Media Center with a Microsoft xbox 360 used as a media center extender. I also use the add-in package called MyMovies and have ripped my DVD collection to the server as well. My music is all ripped to this same server and my pictures are all stored here as well. The media is all served both through the Media Center, and just through Window Media sharing. I have not "released" this to the rest of the family as the primary way to perform DVR functions, as I have Tivos in each of the rooms with TVs. I do have 1 gig ethernet between the media server (which is in my office) and the rooms with the TVs.

For the most part it was a pretty nice setup which is why I think Tivo should beware of where Microsoft is heading. There is also no monthly cost for the media center setup. The missing pieces were a cablelabs approved tuner card that could stream video to the various Windows Media extenders in the house; however this is on the way. Also, currently, the average user could not get all of this setup without help (especially MyMovies and the associated codecs needed to stream to the extender in a format it undestands). So while there is a ways yet to go to get all of this working together smoothly (especially with the ripped DVDs), it is getting closer. Once it is done, all of my content in the house as well as what was recorded via the various tuners is available for use.

The bad thing here for Tivo, is that if MRV was on the horizon at all, I wouild not be spending calories to look at this. With MRV, the Tivo + Galleon is more functional, and easier to setup than the Window Media Center solution. If the Tivo had MRV then I could live without the HD streaming capability and be happy with access to all of my videos, DVDs, pictures, music, and tuner recorded content via Galleon and Tivo.

Just my $0.02 worth
sjcbulldog

Two companies provide similar type solutions. They only serve MOVIES and do NOT have DVR functionality in them

I have had YOUR idea for sometime. As I have the Avionix MOVIE system. It would be simple enough to COMBINE both TIVO & the AVIONIX into one unit. However the legalities of that with CABLECARDS & Cablelabs is another issue all together.

Here is the link for AVIONIX MOVIE SERVERS.... http://axonix.com/

Kalaidascape is the other company that provides MOVIE servers. http://www.kaleidescape.com/

check em out and see what ya think.

TexasGrillChef

P.S.
The AVionix system which I have is fantastic. The servers allow for Firewire &/or USB Hard Drive upgrades.

THey also now have HD-DVD support and soon to have Blu-ray support as well.

Verizon already has such a setup but it only works with standard definition programming. They're working on a method to stream HD content throughout the house but it may be a while before we see it.

The company someone referred to as "Diego" is actually called Digeo (perhaps they're manufactured in Mexico, just like our Tivos ). They're the ones that developed the Moxi Box and have a new product that's supposed to be introduced in the upcoming months. It's a dual-tuner DVR with cablecards and a built-in DVD player. Here's a press release with more info:

http://www.digeo.com/press_pressrelease.aspx?id=5

The press release doesn't mention anything about the DVD player but the one shown at the CES had the integrated player. Perhaps they've changed the design and removed the player. Here's a link with photos:

http://www.digeo.com/tech.aspx

The one in the upper right is the model I'm referring to. The DVD player is a slot-load model and you can clearly see the slot in the photo.

I'm just wondering why streaming seems appealing to folks.

When the central unit goes down, or the network gets flakey, all the TVs are busted.

From a reliability engineering standpoint, the centralized plan of all eggs in one basket is foolhardy. I have reduced my options to a single path of success. Alternately in a decentralized solution, If a hard drive fails or the network goes down on one device, I can simply go to another room.

If any component goes down on the centralized device, you are SOL until you have time to fix the centralized device. You are also in a vulnerable situation because if there is some time critical function (like the big game, or wifey wants to record the final episode of the soap), then to achieve success I must pay some guy big bucks using overpriced parts to fix it fast.

But maybe streaming seems more "live" and that has an inherent appeal- the sense of immediacy and all. I dunno- it just seems more unresponsive at FF/REW/skipping, flakeyness with MPEG4, and oriented to single point of failure.

Justin Thyme said:

I'm just wondering why streaming seems appealing to folks.

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I think MVR (transfer, not streaming) is better for content recorded by the Tivo Tuner between Tivos. Its the right solution for that application.

Although I would really love to see streaming content made available on the Tivo by an HME update. I see it more as an additional content source similar to renting movies from unbox. Althought this content would initially not be stored long term. Just cached until a stream/channel change. Having the ability to view/download from some of the following direct streams mpg2/mpg4/h.264/wmv/divx or via flash/silverlight would be huge for Tivo. Content providers like YouTube could easily create their own HME plugin and Tivo would get to collect their typical month service fees. YouTube is not the only content source. There are lots of video sources. Another example is http://wwitv.com. I can see a HME plugin for this site and many more. Or Channels like the Home Shopping Network might want their own HME plugin where they could show the live video stream. Embedded in the stream is VBI/script content that could be parsed by the HME add and provide the option to make direct secure purchases via the Tivo HME app along side the video.

Streaming in my mind just opens additional content which Tivo needs to stay competitive.

Tivo should take some baby steps toward open streaming. Allow viewing it but not storing it, to avoid copyright issues. Only open up a couple formats at the start. Maybe just mpg2/4 at the start or what ever is easy. The next step would be to create a better Tivo partner program where vendors could certify the DRM on the content to store the content longer term, similar to unbox.

Justin Thyme said:

From a reliability engineering standpoint, the centralized plan of all eggs in one basket is foolhardy. I have reduced my options to a single path of success. Alternately in a decentralized solution, If a hard drive fails or the network goes down on one device, I can simply go to another room.

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Yes, you can go to another room, but you can't view anything on the failed box.

Justin Thyme said:

If any component goes down on the centralized device, you are SOL until you have time to fix the centralized device. You are also in a vulnerable situation because if there is some time critical function (like the big game, or wifey wants to record the final episode of the soap), then to achieve success I must pay some guy big bucks using overpriced parts to fix it fast.

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None of this concerns me. In all my years of working with PC's, both at home and at the office, using both low-end and high-end products, I can remember a total of 3 hardware failures... I've built several PC's from scratch and I know where to get good prices on quality components. Anything I buy or build will have plenty of redundancy built in. And personally, there is very little on TV that I'd ever define as "critical".. Maybe a few sporting events per year, and really only if my teams are playing.. As far as the wife goes, nearly everything she's interested in is available online - some at a better quality than we get from our cable operator.

There are also benefits to centralization. Easier management. Half the hardware = half the components that could fail. Flexibility in the location and appearance of your devices.

Justin Thyme said:

But maybe streaming seems more "live" and that has an inherent appeal- the sense of immediacy and all. I dunno- it just seems more unresponsive at FF/REW/skipping, flakeyness with MPEG4, and oriented to single point of failure.

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We're talking about streaming recorded content, so a "live" feeling doesn't seem relevant. I use the low-end slingbox over my 10/100 LAN at home and it's pretty responsive remote-wise.. Though I would hope for better..

Streaming in itself has no appeal. The appeal is that (right now) it's the only way to get what we want - a well integrated and modular system that allows you to time and place shift all of the various forms of content in the home. If that was achievable with a more distributed system of transferring between boxes, then I'd probably go that route. In fact, the ideal solution in my mind would be if the extenders had a good sized (say 5GB) buffer that would allow faster local response and be less susceptible to network issues..