New DVR may edge out TiVo

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - DirecTV is getting ready to unveil a digital
video recorder (DVR) service in mid-2005 that could duplicate virtually
every feature now available from current partner TiVo, a published
report said Monday. ...

http/money.cnn.com/2004/11/29/technology/directv_tivo/index.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"SaltiDawg" <saltidawgNOSPAM@users.sourceforge.net> wrote in message
news:41ae0fb8@news101.his.com...
> NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - DirecTV is getting ready to unveil a digital
> video recorder (DVR) service in mid-2005 that could duplicate virtually
> every feature now available from current partner TiVo, a published
> report said Monday. ...
>
> http/money.cnn.com/2004/11/29/technology/directv_tivo/index.htm
>
They had better not be taking my DirecTivo away! It'll just make it easier
for me to switch to cable for HD instead of waiting for the new satellites.

 

[sonic]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"M Schmidt" <martinschmidt57@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Q9yrd.9985$NU3.5647@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> "SaltiDawg" <saltidawgNOSPAM@users.sourceforge.net> wrote in message
> news:41ae0fb8@news101.his.com...
>> NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - DirecTV is getting ready to unveil a digital
>> video recorder (DVR) service in mid-2005 that could duplicate virtually
>> every feature now available from current partner TiVo, a published
>> report said Monday. ...
>>
>> http/money.cnn.com/2004/11/29/technology/directv_tivo/index.htm
>>
> They had better not be taking my DirecTivo away! It'll just make it
> easier
> for me to switch to cable for HD instead of waiting for the new
> satellites.
>
>
The new satellites are KA band which the DirecTivo can not tune. You'll need
a new dish and reciever for the HD locals, which will
be at 75 and 95 degrees in the KA band. The reciever announced will replace
the Tivo and usher in NDS's new security and compression technology.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

SaltiDawg (saltidawgNOSPAM@users.sourceforge.net) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
> NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - DirecTV is getting ready to unveil a digital
> video recorder (DVR) service in mid-2005 that could duplicate virtually
> every feature now available from current partner TiVo, a published
> report said Monday. ...
>
> http/money.cnn.com/2004/11/29/technology/directv_tivo/index.htm

This completely bogus article has been posted so many times now, that
I'm sure people are starting to believe it as fact.

There is no way it can "duplicate virtually every feature" of a TiVo
without having to pay TiVo for licensing.

--
Jeff Rife | "Five thousand dollars, huh? I'll bet we could
SPAM bait: | afford that if we pooled our money together...
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov | bought a gun...robbed a bank...."
spam@ftc.gov | -- Drew Carey

 

[Poldy]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv,alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

In article <liord.9246$Dm2.2446@bignews1.bellsouth.net>,
RicSeyler <ricseyler@SPAMgulf.net> wrote:

> "video on demand" feature similar to what's offered on cable, USA Today
> said, citing executives of DirecTV
> <http/money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?shownav=true&symb=DTV> (Research
> <http/cnnfn.multexinvestor.com/Reports.aspx?ticker=DTV>).
>
> Red Flag to me....... Stand Alone Tivos aren't as good as DirecTivo, and
> the subtle "similar to" the Stand Alones is even worse.
>
> About the only TiVo
> <http/money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?shownav=true&symb=TIVO> (Research
> <http/cnnfn.multexinvestor.com/Reports.aspx?ticker=TIVO>) function the
> new service will not have, they say, is the ability to jump over
> commercials, according to the newspaper.
>
> Another Red Flag to me..... the word "ABOUT".
>
> The description sound to me like a salesman trying to sell something
> that is actually lacking.

Doesn't say if it will have dual tuners. Of course it may have similar
software features but the interface will be different.

Also, no commercial skipping. Does that mean no 30-sec skip or that you
can't FF through commercials at all?

Sounds like one incentive for News, besides cheaper licensing costs,
would be the PPV thing. They must push movies to you so that you can
view them at any time.

Until we see, Direct Tivo sounds better. However, maybe this will get
Tivo to stop being complacent (assuming D* offers both Tivo and NDS for
awhile). They need faster guides, faster processing of Season Passes,
maybe niceties like PIP so that you can view a recording and have live
TV in the inset.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Jeff Rife wrote:

> This completely bogus article has been posted so many times now, that
> I'm sure people are starting to believe it as fact.
> ...

It's always nice to have an "insider" tell us what press releases are
bogus and which are accurate. ;-)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

SaltiDawg (saltidawgNOSPAM@users.sourceforge.net) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
> > This completely bogus article has been posted so many times now, that
> > I'm sure people are starting to believe it as fact.
> > ...
>
> It's always nice to have an "insider" tell us what press releases are
> bogus and which are accurate. ;-)

OK, let's go through point by point:

"DirecTV is getting ready to unveil a digital video recorder (DVR) service
in mid-2005 that could duplicate virtually every feature now available
from current partner TiVo."

OK, so they hedge with "could", so this isn't false. But, if it does
duplicate everything TiVo does, then TiVo gets money, because they have
patents on those things. This would be silly, since the goal is a cheaper
DVR.

"The new device will also provide a "video on demand" feature similar to
what's offered on cable"

This is completely impossible...DirecTV doesn't have the bandwidth to
do video on demand at all. "Near-demand" where a show starts every half-
hour could be done, but, why bother? A DVR can record things anytime
and save them for later, and you then have full control (pause, FF, etc.).
The current PPV system does this now, when coupled to *any* DVR.

Also, there is no way to duplicate cable's two-way VOD pause and FF
features, since DirecTV receivers can't send data back to the source in
real time.

"The article said the new DVR system will offer pay-per-view (PPV)
viewing."

So does the existing DirecTiVo and UltimateTV. The only difference in
the "new" system is that you don't pay until you watch. This is pretty
much useless for most people, since you don't want a movie you "might"
watch filling up your hard drive.

Last, the CNN website that is referenced got *all* their information from
a story printed in USA Today *and nowhere else*. There was no press
release from DirecTV, so the story isn't official...it's just a rumor.

And, like all rumors, the story changes each time it is told.

--
Jeff Rife | "Having your book turned into a movie is like
SPAM bait: | seeing your ox turned into bouillon cubes."
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov |
spam@ftc.gov | -- John Le Carré