What Will We See From TiVo @ CES ‘08?
What do you think we will see from TiVo at CES ‘08? In 2006 we got our first glimpse of the Series 3 (thanks to MegaZone) and in January of this year we learned more about the Comcast TiVo partnership & Roxio’s TiVoToGo client.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that TiVo will demo a Series 4 TiVo and potentially a SDV dongle at this year’s CES. What do you think? Is there something that you would like to see TiVo showoff at CES ‘08?
December 20th, 2007 at 10:06 am |
Besides the two-way functionality, what would TiVo add to a Series 4 unit?
Given that the HD is still relatively new and they have products for two different types of HD users, will they really have another box coming out soon?
I’m expecting that they will announce an increased emphasis on TiVo as software and partnerships with cable companies.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:53 am |
I’d like to see a TiVo box that supports OCAP software, so I guess you can call that a Series4.
But yeah, a SDV dongle would be expected, even if it isn’t functional.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:25 am |
I’d like to see anything that allows me to continue to use my cable TV, but doesn’t require the use of a cable splitter losing 3+ dB on each leg. I was so happy to loose the splitter when I moved up to the series 3 with 2 cable cards and got rid of the cable box. Am I now going to go back to crappy cable signal if I have to introduce a splitter for a dongle that should be an inline module, not a parallel module.
December 20th, 2007 at 2:33 pm |
Yeah, no way we’ll be seeing an S4 any time soon. There’s no reason for it.
December 20th, 2007 at 2:46 pm |
‘S4′ has been used to refer to a possibly unit that would use the compromise worked out between TiVo and the NCTA, which would use the TiVo software for linear content (what it does today plus SDV) and switch to OCAP applications for non-linear content (VOD, PPV, etc). It *might* be possible to do that on today’s hardware using the forthcoming SDV dongle, but if they do go this route I won’t be surprised to see new hardware with the bidirectional communications capabilities built-in. Personally I don’t think it will be called a Series4 though, just another member of the Series3 family.
At CES I think we will very likely see the SDV dongle - hardware already exists and it is due out in early 2008 anyway. We may see some demo (probably smoke and mirrors) of the proposed Nero PC-based TiVo software. I’m sure the current generation of the OCAP software will be on display. We may see more content partnerships announced, like we did Unbox, Rhapsody, and Music Choice in the past. (C’mon, get the Anime Network On Demand for TiVo Cast already!) There will probably be software upgraded discussed - perhaps finally HD support for TiVoCast/Unbox content, for example. And I think we may here more about over-seas plans, and updates on the Australian development.
But I’m not really expecting any major new hardware this year, the TiVo HD is in the sweet-spot right now. I wouldn’t object to being surprised, of course.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:03 am |
I wish for a new DirecTV HD Tivo supporting the new mpeg4 channels
December 21st, 2007 at 8:35 am |
it would be nice if TiVo were able to renew their relationship with directv. Like MegaZone said, I think we will hear of several new partnerships at CES…..
December 21st, 2007 at 8:37 am |
I don’t think we will see a S4 however, I do think we will see an OCAP enabled DVR.
December 21st, 2007 at 8:22 pm |
If there is a SDV prototype on display it’ll be for select guests only. It’s not a mainstream topic and TiVo isn’t building the hardware.
I don’t think we’ll see any new retail DVR hardware, though the MSO TiVo will have a big presence as will TiVo HD. They’ll display things like Real Rhapsody and the Spanish-language TiVo, plus perhaps an Australian prototype (though that could be behind closed doors). Probably some new partnerships as well.
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:45 pm |
I don’t expect to see much other than the obvious world-wide rollout and maybe a new TivoCast or two. A new version of Tivo software supporting folders for TTG would be nice…
What would I like to see? A much better UI for Amazon Unbox downloads is required if I’m going to use it more often. Giving no descriptions and not even keeping the series in order (I’m watching Battlestar from the beginning right now) makes it all too difficult. I end up going onto the PC to see which episode is next. I’d love to see some more networks and some more content from those networks (where is Amazing Race which I just missed) but that’s just an Amazon thing.
From Tivo I’d love…
- A new desktop with scheduling to do conversions in the middle of the night, limit the number of episodes for a particular series, and faster conversions
- The addition of a general video podcast feature a la the “type the URL here” function for audio podcasts, with subscriptions
- Some move to more direct internet video support, like a YouTube partnership, even if its only for the new h.264 supporting Series 3/HD boxes.
- A much better UI for searching and organizing music on your Tivo a la Apple TV, including Album Graphics, and a better way to search than scrolling through every artist
- A new version of Tivo software supporting folders for TivoBack access
- Support for in-home Tivo-to-Tivo transfers of Unbox content and TivoCast stuff
- Remote Management of another Tivo from this one, or at least the ability to delete something from the other Tivo once you transfer it here
Personally if I’m going to be forced thru another generation of hardware change any time soon it better be a significant improvement. I want all the long delays in the UI bandished forever. I want it to natively support more formats, including QuickTime, DivX and XviD. Or some way to make the transcoding process less time consuming and the resulting transfers faster…
And time to get wireless, including 802.11 N Draft support on board. Even if it won’t always handle those HD transfers…