[opfreak]

Any way to get TiVo off life support I'm all for. So I say, bring on the ads.

YES!, what they should really do is allow you to skip all those TV ads, but insert their own ads after every skip.

Or maybe they skip the TV ads, play their own ads, and then skip the TV ads again. Then all we see are Tivo ads. Brilliant. They can even enable auto tv ad skip on by default, so all you see is TiVo ads

As long as that helps them get off life support its all good.

 

[mschnebly]

YES!, what they should really do is allow you to skip all those TV ads, but insert their own ads after every skip.

Or maybe they skip the TV ads, play their own ads, and then skip the TV ads again. Then all we see are Tivo ads. Brilliant. They can even enable auto tv ad skip on by default, so all you see is TiVo ads

As long as that helps them get off life support its all good.

LOL Yep and maybe they should just run ads every 5 minutes! They will get off life support and be able to give out a nice bonus to management. Get them off life support and get them a gold plated wheelchair!

 

[trip1eX]

instead of that overlay in the top left corner that says press OK to skip to the next show they should show an ad. lol. I mean it's basically an ad as it is. AT least show some kind of google search text ad there. The first 10 times you see the message show no ad so the customer can be trained to see what it means. But after that someone like myself knows what it means and you can just show an ad there because it wouldn't be any more annoying. Just show like a logo. Like Coca Cola lolol.

 

[ufo4sale]

As a majority share holder I think these are all fantastic ideas. Keep up the good work.

 

[JackMcC]

Please provide the name and address of that movie theatre across the street from your local megaplex showing the same films that do not show pre-roll trailers.

For me personally, that would be Chunky's but I haven't been there in the last 10 years though.

Nashua - Chunkys Cinema Pub

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[slowbiscuit]

As a majority share holder I think these are all fantastic ideas. Keep up the good work.

Now we understand.

 

[Bigg]

I'll take Ted's explanation of TiVO needing ads to make the low-volume retail channel viable over the above TCF conspiracy theory. With TiVO splitting into two companies in 2020 the hardware side needs to start making money since the patent/litigation side won't be around to subsidize it anymore.

So I'm wondering how many TiVos are actually sold truly at retail? I believe the retail number also includes CI's who install them for clients. I'm wondering if they figure that the retail market is even smaller than it appears. Otherwise, the whole EDGE and the ads kind of make no sense. The Series 1 and several series after that were truly targeted at enthusiasts who wanted a TiVo for themselves, but now that MSOs are the largest clients, I'm thinking that CIs might be the target market even for the "retail" product.

My sense is that the enthusiasts have cut the cord in large numbers, and the ones who haven't are largely on DirecTV, while many of the ones remaining on cable have gone to MSO-supplied DVRs like X1 that are definitely not as good as TiVo, but aren't nearly as bad as previous generations of non-networked 2-tuner DVRs with 80-160GB hard drives. Further, some of the techies who used to use or have TiVos and have nice HT setups today only have pay TV for the SAF/WAF, or as part of a bundle, and don't use it themselves. What's left of TiVo's market is really, really small, and OTA alone can't support them, since OTA users are too cost conscious, and they are now competing with Amazon, which doesn't need to make money off of their far less capable, but also far cheaper DVR, as well as Tablo that does need to make money, but is focused only on OTA retail and working with streaming devices.

 

[NashGuy]

So I'm wondering how many TiVos are actually sold truly at retail? I believe the retail number also includes CI's who install them for clients. I'm wondering if they figure that the retail market is even smaller than it appears. Otherwise, the whole EDGE and the ads kind of make no sense. The Series 1 and several series after that were truly targeted at enthusiasts who wanted a TiVo for themselves, but now that MSOs are the largest clients, I'm thinking that CIs might be the target market even for the "retail" product.

My sense is that the enthusiasts have cut the cord in large numbers, and the ones who haven't are largely on DirecTV, while many of the ones remaining on cable have gone to MSO-supplied DVRs like X1 that are definitely not as good as TiVo, but aren't nearly as bad as previous generations of non-networked 2-tuner DVRs with 80-160GB hard drives. Further, some of the techies who used to use or have TiVos and have nice HT setups today only have pay TV for the SAF/WAF, or as part of a bundle, and don't use it themselves. What's left of TiVo's market is really, really small, and OTA alone can't support them, since OTA users are too cost conscious, and they are now competing with Amazon, which doesn't need to make money off of their far less capable, but also far cheaper DVR, as well as Tablo that does need to make money, but is focused only on OTA retail and working with streaming devices.

Yeah. I think TiVo's retail base must be pretty inconsequential except as a testing grounds for technology that they deploy elsewhere. Zatz reported that they dropped below 1 million retail subscribers way back in Aug. 2013. What's the number down to now, six years later?!

Despite all the sturm und drang on this thread about the pre-roll streaming ads from TiVo, I have to think that those ads aren't *really* about their retail DVR users at all. I just don't think that there are enough of them for TiVo to make any meaningful ad revenue off of -- especially when they're only serving up one single pre-roll ad, which can be skipped, and when they're even letting customers opt out of the whole thing permanently!

Don't get me wrong, I still think what TiVo is doing to their retail DVR subscribers -- at least those who already paid for lifetime service -- is slimy. I'm just saying that I think what's happening here is that TiVo is using their retail subs as they have been doing for years now -- as guinea pigs to test out new technology before it gets deployed more widely. TiVo knows that a few long-time retail subs will walk away in disgust over these ads but, in the grand scheme, they don't matter. Because TiVo's retail DVR user base doesn't matter, except with regard to their usefulness to help the company develop products and services that can be monetized on a larger scale.

In the past, that meant that retail subs were essentially beta testing new hardware and software/UI/feature designs before they got deployed to the larger, more important MSO-partner user base. But in this case, I think these streaming ads are about developing a whole new ad-based business that TiVo wants to bring to a (hopefully) much bigger retail market when they introduce the free TiVo+ service to retail users on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and their own TiVo-branded Android TV stick.

 

[Troy J]

Its been a couple decent decades TiVo, but... this isn't what I signed up and paid for, I'm out.

 

[b_scott]

I sold my Tivos when I moved and went streaming only two years ago. I loved Tivo for so long. But they just kept getting less and less consumer friendly. This is ridiculous. I just dropped back by to see what kind of outrage there was. Good luck friends.

 

[Fofer]

When it comes to force-fed ads though, even a cordcutter with streaming services (as a replacement for TiVo) is going to see lots of them. There’s no way to remove or skip them all.

At least with TiVo and these new ones, we can opt out.

 

[b_scott]

When it comes to force-fed ads though, even a cordcutter with streaming services (as a replacement for TiVo) is going to see lots of them. There's no way to remove or skip them all.

At least with TiVo and these new ones, we can opt out.

No, I can skip past all ads on PS Vue recordings. And I never had a Tivo that had auto-skip.

 

[Troy J]

When it comes to force-fed ads though, even a cordcutter with streaming services (as a replacement for TiVo) is going to see lots of them. There's no way to remove or skip them all.

At least with TiVo and these new ones, we can opt out.

While somewhat correct, with ads, I'm having a really hard time figuring out the value I'm getting out of TiVo at this point. Basically, the reasons for paying what we do, are very much diminished by this. As I'm not OTA, there isn't much difference from using the cable providers box at this point.

 

[aaronwt]

No, I can skip past all ads on PS Vue recordings. And I never had a Tivo that had auto-skip.

Even on shows from the CW?
If so I might need to revisit PS Vue. Since all the other services don't let you skip over commercials on CW programs.

 

[Ruth]

I'm running PE3 on a Premiere so I'm not getting these, and I've just discovered this thread and learned about this. UGH!! Like so many others, I got into the TiVo game (nearly 20 years ago, with a Series 1) largely so I could avoid watching commercials. And I've been a TiVo advocate ever since. How profoundly disappointing to see TiVo abandon all that and turn around and force-feed us with them.

That said (and yes, I'm too lazy to read the entire thread), am I correct about these things at the present time:
1. As long as my Lifetimed Premiere holds out, I will continue to be on TE3 and will not see the pre-roll ads. (Having typed this, I expect I've jinxed myself and the Premiere will promptly die, so I have additional questions.)
2. If I did need to replace my Premiere, TiVo would probably let me opt out of the pre-rolls.
3. For people who do see the pre-rolls, they can be immediately skipped with FF or channel up (as opposed to, say, Hulu ads that cannot be skipped).
4. Assuming I'm correct on #3, if you press channel up immediately after pressing play, does it effectively skip the ads or is there an annoying lag of some kind? And do we think this is only short-term and TiVo is planning eventually to make them un-skippable?

 

[Fofer]

No, I can skip past all ads on PS Vue recordings. And I never had a Tivo that had auto-skip.

Sure, "recordings." But what about time-shifted live TV? Can you trick play? Pause, instant replay, rewind in LIVE tv?

And no auto-skip? That doesn't sound very consumer friendly, at least compared to TiVo.

 

[NorthAlabama]

As I'm not OTA, there isn't much difference from using the cable providers box at this point.

for me, using the cable providers box would be less expensive, and the guide more accurate.

while i dislike the performance and user interface of the cable provider box, it wouldn't take much to push me to switch, especially when there are advantages to be gained, along with disadvantages to lose.

 

[Mikeguy]

That said (and yes, I'm too lazy to read the entire thread), am I correct about these things at the present time:
1. As long as my Lifetimed Premiere holds out, I will continue to be on TE3 and will not see the pre-roll ads. (Having typed this, I expect I've jinxed myself and the Premiere will promptly die, so I have additional questions.)

Yep, at least as matters currently stand.

2. If I did need to replace my Premiere, TiVo would probably let me opt out of the pre-rolls.

If it was tomorrow and based on what has been occurring, likely so. But who knows what will happen in the future.

 

[NashGuy]

I'm running PE3 on a Premiere so I'm not getting these, and I've just discovered this thread and learned about this. UGH!! Like so many others, I got into the TiVo game (nearly 20 years ago, with a Series 1) largely so I could avoid watching commercials. And I've been a TiVo advocate ever since. How profoundly disappointing to see TiVo abandon all that and turn around and force-feed us with them.

That said (and yes, I'm too lazy to read the entire thread), am I correct about these things at the present time:
1. As long as my Lifetimed Premiere holds out, I will continue to be on TE3 and will not see the pre-roll ads. (Having typed this, I expect I've jinxed myself and the Premiere will promptly die, so I have additional questions.)
2. If I did need to replace my Premiere, TiVo would probably let me opt out of the pre-rolls.
3. For people who do see the pre-rolls, they can be immediately skipped with FF or channel up (as opposed to, say, Hulu ads that cannot be skipped).
4. Assuming I'm correct on #3, if you press channel up immediately after pressing play, does it effectively skip the ads or is there an annoying lag of some kind? And do we think this is only short-term and TiVo is planning eventually to make them un-skippable?

Fair warning: I've not read this *entire* thread either but I've read a lot of it (as well as trusted reporting from other sources). I believe the answers to your Qs are:

1. True
2. True (although TiVo's policy on pre-roll ad opt-outs could change at any point in the future, who knows)
3. True (although see #4)
4. Yes, at least some folks have reported a frustrating lag, which makes skipping these streaming pre-rolls ads different than skipping regular broadcast ads in your recording using TiVo's SkipMode feature.

 

[Joe3]

While somewhat correct, with ads, I'm having a really hard time figuring out the value I'm getting out of TiVo at this point. Basically, the reasons for paying what we do, are very much diminished by this. As I'm not OTA, there isn't much difference from using the cable providers box at this point.

Maybe, just one big difference. If your cable provider box doesn't have theses commercials and TiVo/Rovi does. I say that's one big difference.