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DirecTV Prepares TiVo Killer That Might Actually Kill TiVo
from the whoops dept
The death of TiVo has been reported many times over, but the news today clearly is extremely bad news for TiVo. Despite efforts to expand TiVo distribution with other partners, the majority of TiVo subscribers are DirecTV customers. TiVo and DirecTV have worked together for quite some time, and, in the last quarter, nearly 75% of new TiVo subscribers came via DirecTV. That's an awfully important distribution channel, and it looks like it may go away. DirecTV should be ready to launch their own branded PVR device sometime early next year, which they claim will have all the features of TiVo plus more. The only thing it will be missing, they say, is the ability to do commercial skip -- but even that's a hidden feature on TiVo. So, while TiVo keeps trying to innovate beyond the space, and most people find its interface better than competitors, losing such a channel is going to be very difficult to overcome. Of course, TiVo isn't doing itself any favors with new "features" that are seen as consumer unfriendly.
Reader Comments
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No Subject Given
I'll stick with my PVR enabled Dish Network device.
Complete with AdSkip buttons and an 80 GB Hard drive.
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No Subject Given
The sad thing is that D*TV has ownership off the Tivo units they resell and Tivo can't do anything like patch them or release TV2Go for them so it's not hard for the D*TV folks to keep the TV behind the ball on features. The HDTIVO desperately needs several fixes and enhancements (guide pain speed anyone, cross tuner scheduling for over laps, coke bottle view mode for 4:3 mode etc) but Tivo can't release anything without going 50 rounds with D*TV, D*TV dosn't wasn't any of the overhead so they just say no, and the customer gets screwed in the end. Ultimately though Tivo is killing it's self by trying to get in bed with these companies instead of producing the features consumers really want, sad really.
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No Subject Given
to kill tivo you've just got to offer a PVR service that allows you to fast forward, without adverts....
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Re: No Subject Given
In my opinion it's the Season Pass feature that makes Tivo special. Friends that have switched to a Dish PVR seem to miss this the most. I don't see myself switching to a PVR that would make me schedule recordings by time like I did with a VCR.
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Re: No Subject Given
The Season Pass feature is exactly what is keeping me with my Tivo's. I have standalones though, so I'm not stuck with the DirecTV stranglehold.
This past week my in-laws had a new Dish 510 system installed and it drives me nuts trying to schedule recording on it. The speed of the unit is great, but if it can't do the most basic thing that it should be able to, then it's useless.
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