USAToday is reporting that DirecTV has announced its’ plan to develop a DVR that will have nearly all of the features of TiVo along with Video On Demand (VOD). With 61% of TiVo’s subscribers coming from DirecTV, this is obviously not good news for TiVo. It will definitely be interesting to see what TiVo’s plans are for this competition.
Leon has just informed me that he has released Beta 5 of JavaHMO! According to Leon, this will be the last beta unless there are any major bugs that are found. Once again, Leon and his crew have done a wonderful job creating an alternative to Tivo Desktop. Help support JavaHMO by testing out the software and reporting any bugs.
Here are the bug fixes for this release:
1. Fixed cinema data downloading bug [Bug 1070055]
2. Fixed bug that created duplicates in audio organizer
3. Fixed bugs that could cause broken images [Bug 1056752]
4. Updated JRE for Windows installer
5. Fixed image organizer sorting bug [Bug 1070541]
Both TiVoCommunity and Wired are reporting that the Senate has passed a scaled back version of the copyright bill which would have made it illegal for you to skip past commercials. A number of items were removed from the bill making it much more sensible. I’m glad to see that clearer heads have prevailed!
TiVo’s latest conference call contained mostly good news for TiVo. According to the call, TiVo added approximately 419,000 total subscriptions. Out of the 419,000 new subscribers, 316,000 of them are from DirecTV.
Along with the added subscribers, TiVo also mentioned the fact that TiVoToGo will be released by the end of the year! Although we already knew this, it’s good to hear it directly from the CEO :).
For more information on this call head on over to Thomas Hawk’s Site or PVRBlog.com.
TiVo, please, please, please release TiVoToGo. A countless number of people are asking for its release so that they can start watching their programs on other devices. I cannot tell you how many searches I get each day for “TiVoToGo release date” or “TiVoToGo beta”. Please don’t keep us waiting much longer. Besides, TiVoToGo would be a nice early Festivus present :).
The news that PVRblog hinted at is in fact bad news for TiVo. TiVo has decided to implement banner ads and popup ads that will appear while you fast-forward past your beloved commercials.
Is it just me or does it seem as though TiVo has decided to give in to a lot of advertising and big media demands as of late. I’m not sure that this is a smart move for TiVo. I realize that TiVo is trying to keep both the consumer and advertisers happy however; I feel as though the consumer has taken some major hits as of late. Stop adding features for the advertising community and start adding features that the consumer wants. In the end, the consumer is the entity that ultimately purchases a TiVo. Without a consumer, TiVo has nobody!
Update: According to this author, TiVoBlog has helped contribute to a “Mini Web Panic”!
Update: It appears as though several people believe that this bit of news is in fact a bunch of hysteria. Because of this, I’ve decided to add the following comment that I posted on Sflare.com:
…TiVo seems to be adding these features without any concern for the consumer. I understand that they are trying to generate revenue however; this type of “feature” is not something that any normal consumer would say that they want. Take for example the recent decision to allow for limitations on the amount of time you can keep your pay-per view programming. All I was trying to do on my site was let TiVo know that they need to keep the consumer in mind when they consider a new feature…
PVRBlog.com has posted an article in which they say that the LA Times will release some news tomorrow that will cause your jaw to drop but not in a good way. Apparently the article mentions some bad news for TiVo!
What could PVRBlog.com be talking about? I hope it’s not as bad as they’ve made it out to be. Check tomorrow’s LA Times for more info…..
CNN Money is running an interesting article about TiVo and how some analysts believe that TiVo should cut its’ monthly subscription fee.
In my opinion, you get what you pay for. While many cable companies offer DVRs with lower monthly fees, you certainly do not get the features that TiVo offers. While some of these features are not necessary, they definitely make for a pleasant experience.
TiVo might want to consider offering a subscription with less features then the current subscription. Maybe they could charge $6.95 for this type of subscription. By offering a limited type of subscription, TiVo may be able to attract more people to the product and or discourage some people from getting rid of their TiVo for a cable company DVR.
It really should come as no surprise that several NFL teams use TiVo to review their performance. I wonder if other sports use TiVo for the same purpose. It seems as though it would only make sense….
The Harvard Business School has posted a summary of a recent lecture presented by TiVo CEO, Mike Ramsay. The article mainly discusses how Mike sees his company moving forward over the next 10 years. One of the most interesting ideas that Mike mentioned is his belief that:
over the next five years……..20 percent of TV programming will be broadband rather than broadcast, and will include specialized digital content (think games, other forms of interactive entertainment, and customized shopping) that broadcasters can’t offer over ordinary cable lines.
If Mike really believes this then I guess TiVo is moving in the right direction with their NetFlix partnership.
