I meant to write about this news story a few days ago, but completely forgot until ScottyDub reminded me last night. Thanks for the reminder Scotty!
If any of you are like me, you got into the DVR world back when we all called them TiVo’s because that’s all there was. You didn’t say the word “DVR” because it really hadn’t been invented yet. You just went around saying things like “Did you TiVo it?” or “I forgot to TiVo Lost last night! Argh!” or “I LOVE MY TIVO!”
We said the latter phrase at least once a week.
The great thing was that in the beginning, DirecTV and TiVo joined forces to create what was dubbed the DirecTiVo. It was a special TiVo unit built specially for DirecTV.
That was the TiVo I grew up on. That’s the TiVo I loved.
But then DirecTV decided to make their own DVR to handle the new MPEG4 high-definition format, and decided not to renew their agreement with TiVo. Or something like that. All I know is that in order to get all the new HD channels coming out, we had to finally dump our beloved TiVo.
That was especially hard on my wife, who really, REALLY loved that thing.
We ended up getting used to the DirecTV DVR, which eventually turned out to be a pretty good machine.
But we still miss our TiVo.
Well, in just over a year, we just might be able to get it back. From ARS Technica comes the report that the union between DirecTV and TiVO has been reforged!
And the natives…rejoiced!
In the second-half of 2009, DirecTV subscribers will have the ability to switch back to a TiVo unit that will be capable of MPEG4 and all the latest technology.
From the article:
The two companies have had an on-again, off-again relationship. DirecTV initially offered its subscribers DVR hardware from TiVo, but then began distributing its own equipment, including the first HD-capable hardware. Two things appear to have changed that stance: new management at DirecTV and TiVo’s winning streak in lawsuits against competing DVR makers.
We speculated in our earlier coverage that the companies’ increased cooperation would ultimately lead to HD-capable TiVos being offered to the satellite subscribers. That day has now come to pass, as TiVo announced the new agreement this morning. The agreement isn’t a slam-dunk for TiVo, though, as the satellite provider will continue to develop and market its own, competing equipment—even TiVo’s announcement of the deal suggests that this equipment will be “primary offerings” for DirecTV subscribers.
The major downside here, obviously, is that we’ll have to wait for about a year. It’s not a horrible thing, but once one hears exciting news like this, you sort of want to have it RIGHT NOW!
The other thing is, as the article points out, many of us have gotten used to our new DVRs and how they operate. Will those users be willing to make yet another switch?
I know I will. While I love the simple, one-touch, quick recording ability on the DirecTV DVR, I miss the ability to quickly fast-forward through a show via the tick-marks that TiVo has.
What do you guys think? Any former TiVo owners out there? Will you want to go back?
There is a downside, though, Mike. TiVo has been working with HBO and others to develop technology (well, I'm sure it's not that complicated) to make sure you can't skip certain commercials or that you don't leave a recording on your TiVo past a certain length of time, etc. Being the big guy in the game means they'll be the ones testing out a lot of this kind of stuff on unsuspecting consumers such as yourself. Maybe not, but I'm betting they'll implement at least some things that we don't like.
I love Tivo! Welcome back to the Olbinski household… we've missed you and your happy-go-lucky mascot.
I'd be surprised if they launch anything that would limit the ability to skip commercials. Let's be honest, it's one of the best features of TiVo/DVR's. If they were to do so, I think it would seriously impact consumer buyin.
That aside, I've got a place reserved for mine as soon as it's available.
I never had a Tivo – just the DVR. What are the differences?
Well, they've already had (for a long time) the ability to force a banner ad that plays over the ads you're skipping. I'd be surprised if they don't continue to push the limits – how else are they going to make money?
How does a guy without a DVR even know this?
I had a HD DirecTivo less than a year ago and I've NEVER seen an ad banner that goes over ads that play…at least, I don't remember that.
It's not like TIvo and HBO are the only ones…the TV studios are the ones driving this…not just Tivo. The DTV DVR will have to have the same kind of control.
Maybe you've been fast-forwarding through your memory…?
We jumped ship from our trusty old dual-tuner TiVo over to a sleek dual-tuner HD Motorola box when we switched cable providers. I really, really loved the TiVo and miss it dearly but I couldn't justify the incredible expense involved in making another upgrade to get a comparable set of features that Grande cable offered me for half of what we were paying for TiVo alone.
Were it not for economics, I'd still be a TiVo owner. My Motorola DVR pales in comparison with regards to it's user interface and “Season Pass” -style scheduling.
Hopefully when they come back out, it wont be a big expense like before.
Tivo just had an original interface, it was cool the way it worked, the way you could organize things and had really great tools when watching TV shows.
Like with the DTV DVR, I don't know if there is a way yet to skip easily through a 6 hour TV show. You pretty much just have to fast-forward to whereever you want.
With a Tivo, there is a skip button, and you just jump to the hash-marks every 15 minutes with a click of the button, so you can get through a 6-hour show with blazing speed.
I lucked out and got one of the last DirecTV (Hughes) units with TiVo on it (I think in 2004), upgrading to it from the original receiver I got from them in 1996.
I had the chance in 2007 to try a newer receiver with HD and their DVR software on it, I unplugged it after an hour of fiddling with it and sent it back, opting instead to just upgrade the hard drive to get the increased recording space I'd wanted.
If they come out with a new receiver in 2009 with TiVo on it and lots of recording space, and most importantly, reasonably priced, I'll get it. If not, I'll continue to make do with my old Hughes unit.
The problem is though, you don't have one with MPEG4 on it right? So you
can't see the new HD channels…
Yah, Mike's comment on the HD channels is the problem. It burns me, 'cause I've only got the handful of HD channels that come off the old satellites. So, no Wendy Watson in HD, for example.
It's really not a bad time to switch, the DTV HD DVR is pretty good and
stable…never have problems anymore. And it's recording feature is a heck
of a lot faster than Tivo's used to be.