Time Warner rolled out DVR boxes in our area last week, so I picked one up as soon as they were available. $9.95/month for service and hardware. I can never watch regular TV again.
Help this poor sinner–what is DVR?
Digital Video Recorder. It’s their version of Tivo.
Yeah, it’s pretty damn cool. When I suggested we get a Tivo last Christmas my wife was like “eh.” Now you can barely pry her fingers from the remote. It’s not just the recording capabilities (although it is much cooler than programming a VCR). It’s being able to pause and use the buffer in various ways.
Here is my prediction: in 5 years or less every TV will have an encoder and hdd built inside. Even if you don’t buy the service, you will want to pause live TV and have a half hour or so of live TV stored in a buffer.
What bugs me is the monthly charge. Why do people have to subscribe to use what’s really a high-tech VCR? In another five years, we’ll be paying subscription fees for everything that we do. On the other hand, the video satellite receivers sold in Canada by Bell carry no subscription costs. So it’s not a universal charge yet. Still, I wonder how much longer we’re going to be able to “buy” anything? We’re becoming indentured servants to these big corporations.
Yeah, I’m worried about subscription fees too. If DVRs become universal and people use them to skip commercials, we might see network TV become a subscription service too.
Don’t forget that Microsoft wants us to rent Windows instead of buy it as well.
We already license software, which is no more than a form of rental. What Microsoft wants is to sell us a subscription service.
Paying a few bucks a month for PVR service is no more than paying for web sites to skip pop-ups. If PVRs allow you to skip ads, then some people might find it worthwhile.
With TIVO, you can pay a one-time fee for life (thought that fee only applies to the unit you own; if you upgrade to a newer, spiffier model, you’ll have to pay the fee again).
But these aren’t just high tech VCRs. It gives you complete control over your TV watching, something I could never do with a VCR, even with VCR+).
You don’t. If you just want to use it as a high-tech VCR, there is no monthly fee. The fee is for the optional guide service, which is updated daily (the Tivo/DVR downloads the info via your phone line). I think it’s worth the fee, personally.
That’s one of the real joys of the a Media Center PC. You get the guide without the monthly service charge. Of course the machine costs a tad more than a Tivo. However, if you’re in the market for a new PC or if you’re into upgrading your present machine ala Wumpus’ description in another thread, it’s sure worth considering.
i wonder what is going to happen to the broadcasting industry when these things become more common…? does anyone know approximately how much revenue is generated from advertising vs. cable fees? in 5 years, advertising will be pretty much obsolete. product placement advertising (actually using branded products in shows) will pick up some of the slack, but i imagine that it will be tough to jam 10 minutes of advertising random products into a 30 minute show.
anyway, i’ve been using tivo for close to two years now. i don’t watch much TV, but it is really nice to not have to spend 30% of what little time i do have watching commercials. viva la tivo!
I think there is a solid future for the Media Center PC, though they are not only more expensive than Tivo, they are more expensive than Tivo with a lifetime subscription (which would also have no monthly fees). They do more stuff, though.
anyway, i’ve been using tivo for close to two years now. i don’t watch much TV, but it is really nice to not have to spend 30% of what little time i do have watching commercials. viva la tivo!
I’ve always felt that Tivo is ideal for casual TV viewers. People that don’t watch a lot of TV also don’t plan their schedules around TV programming. Generally they just watch whatever is on when they have a free hour or so. With a Tvio, you can at least ensure that you’ll have something good to watch.
Yeah, I’m worried about subscription fees too. If DVRs become universal and people use them to skip commercials, we might see network TV become a subscription service too.
Well, at $10/month you’d have to lease the device for a long time before you reach the breakeven point of purchasing it instead.
For example. Tivo is $199 + $299 lifetime subscription (eg, no monthly fees; otherwise $13/month). That means you’d have to rent for 50 months, or over four years (!), to break even on a purchase. Tivo has been steadily increasing the lifetime subscription fee over time… originally $99 at introduction circa 2000 (although the devices were $500 and $1000), then $199, then $249, and now $299 in mid-2003.
I’ve heard the Time Warner thing is kind of a pain in the ass; somewhat buggy and slow. I’m sure it probably meets the “better than what we had” metric, and it’s highly unlikely you would want to drop $500 on a Tivo instead.
It’s really too bad Microsoft won’t fucking budge on XP Media Center Edition as hard-core OEM only software. If you have a (1ghz+) PC laying around, you could theoretically buy a copy of that OS, slap in a $99 encoder card, and get yourself a Tivo/DVR without any kind of monthly fee.
if you’re into upgrading your present machine ala Wumpus’ description in another thread, it’s sure worth considering.
Home theater PC baseline with specific newegg parts list
Related thread on building a quiet PC
Of course there’s nothing special about a “home theater PC” other than the desire to make it look good and run quietly for living room decor; you could just as easily hide it behind a screen or something.
One of the network execs already has made threats about changing the revenue model for TV if people manage to block commercials via DVRs. I would guess product placement would be one thing they’d try. Who knows what else? Ultimately, if the viewers manage to not watch the ads, we might have to pay for ABC just like we pay for HBO.
I wouldn’t worry about TV going away when everyone has a tivo. HBO and the other pay channels seems to do just fine and they don’t have any ads. Hell, I wouldn’t be that disappointed if HBO was the only channel I got.
I watch so little programming from the broadcast networks that their ads don’t reach me anyway. I’m just part of their overall ratings erosion, which they love to blame on things like Tivo and not on their crap programming.
Aside from local news, I can’t remember the last time I tuned in to a channel under 13. TechTV, G4, and HBO probably make up 75% of my viewing. Even that is skewed right now since I’m watching a lot of Tour de France coverage on Outdoor Life Network.
There hasn’t been anything worth watching on the Big Three for years, though. ABC, NBC, and CBS could all go away tomorrow, and I wouldn’t miss them. I certainly wouldn’t pay to watch any of them.
Someone much smarter than me on these boards stated (in a different TV thread) how sad it has become when all the creative and funny writing on television is in the commercials. I had never thought about that and hate I cannot cite who it was, but dammit if that is not exactly right. The Network programming is just filler for selling crap we do not need, but in smart little 30 sec. skits. So if you all use TiVo, and the like, you will be missing the best stuff on TV by skipping the ads. :)
so the only option is for every channel to become a premium cable channel? don’t know how well that would work.
a lot of people are willing to pay $50/month for a few hundred channels (basic cable), all of which are largely supported by advertising. far fewer (myself included) are willing to spring an extra $10 for a few channels, even though they are advertising free.
basically, that means that TV will have to go from being the opiate of the masses to something of a mid-grade consumer good. probably a very difficult transition.