Dave Zatz and a couple of this site’s twitter followers have pointed out the fact that TiVo has begun to rollout a new software release (11.0c) for TiVo HD and Series 3 customers. Included in this release is a new “feature” which displays advertisements along with a Swivel Search menu item whenever you hit the pause button. Both of these “features” have been available on Series 2 DVRs for quite a while now.
Some people are up in arms over this latest update while others don’t think it’s a big deal. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the pause menu advertisements however, I do think that the ability to perform a Swivel Search directly from the pause menu is a great idea. Swivel Search is a nice feature unfortunately, I tend to not use it since it is not readily available throughout the TiVo UI. Pause menu advertisements has me concerned because I’m worried that the TiVo interface may have become inundated with advertisements. In the end, the thing that TiVo needs to remember is that people are paying a monthly subscription fee so that they can fast forward through commercials not so that they can view ads whenever they go to the “TiVo Menu” or hit pause on their remote.
What do you think about this latest update? Does it bother you?
We pay a lot for the box and a monthly service fee to TiVo and now advertisements everywhere. My cable DVR had a lower monthly rental fee and no box to buy and no advertisements. ???
You might want to take a closer look to see how much you are paying for DVR service from your CC. From what I’ve seen, you may save a couple of bucks by going with a CC box however, TiVo’s functionality is far superior (IMHO).
I have not gotten the update yet and frankly I don’t mind more advertisements tivo is a company than need to make money in order to stay afloat especially in this economy. If I have to put up with one or two advertisements per show then fine just as long as they aren’t too intrusive I just don’t think I would want to live in a world without tivo.
If you want Tivo to survive as a company they need to make money. Just because a little bar pops up that asks if you want more info is no reason to get you panties in a knot.
I make a habit of watching all the Stared ads because it helps TiVo.
TiVo has nearly $200 million in cash and charges a service fee and they are not a charity. I’ll pay an extra $2/mo for NO ads. They’d also save money by not wasting dev cycles on more advertising functionality.
TiVo lost 3.6 million in the 4th qtr of 2008 and were happy about it. To my knowledge they have never had a profitable qtr.
This is one of the many reasons I recently dumped my 2 TiVos and built myself a Media Center PC. Saves me $20 a month in TiVo fees. Fees which when you think about what you are paying or (downloading a program guide) is a bit overpriced. Especially considering they are now getting much more ad revenue then 6 years ago when I first because a TiVo customer.
TiVo needs to consider a reduction in the cost of the service, update the UI and make music less of an after thought. Play with Windows Media Center or Elsia and then go back to a TiVo and you’ll see they need an update. I’ve been staring at the same dull UI for 6 years.
How do you get HD content into your MediaCenter? Do you have a cablecard hooked up to it?
I get HD signals for free over the air with the new digital broadcasting. I don’t watch a lot of other cable channels, but the few shows I do watch, I just skip the HD..it’s not that big a deal to me.
I see. In my opinion, I couldn’t live without my HD.
I haven’t received the update. Although I may find it a bit annoying, at least its not over the program as its playing.
To mjwedeking: does your cable DVR have a 30 second skip, like the TiVo? I suspect not, which means the cable co is making you watch the ads (perhaps through fast forwarding). So ads aregoing to leak in at some point.
Actually, several DVR makers have 30 second skips. Some you can configure to different times, in fact. Verizon FiOS DVR is one.
[...] looks like the 11.0c update includes more than just pause menu ads and Swivel Search integration. Earlier today, I discovered that you can now add a Netflix Watch Instant shortcut to the Now [...]