The news that Best Buy and TiVo are teaming up to share technology and hopefully pump up each other's sales has led some to conclude that new HDTVs with digital video recording capability are in the offing.
That's highly unlikely.
TiVo, the inventor of the DVR market that has trouble making any profit on it, and Best Buy, the giant of electronics retail, announced Thursday a new partnership. Best Buy will push TiVo DVRs in its stores, and TiVo will create a special set-top box that Best Buy can sell specifically to push its own advertising at TiVo customers.
We're not likely to see Insignia TVs with TiVo inside.
(Credit: CNET)Then there's this line in the press release, which appears to be causing some confusion: "TiVo intends to work with Best Buy's Exclusive Brands group (e.g., Insignia, Dynex, etc.) to explore integration of its user interface, search, and other TiVo benefits to help further grow that consumer electronics line."
Some are interpreting that to mean TiVo will drop its DVRs into Insignia and Dynex TVs. But that's not what it says. The release carefully words that section for a reason. In an interview, TiVo Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales Joe Miller downplayed that part of the deal concerning TVs, calling it "just one aspect." What TiVo will share with Best Buy-branded TVs is its interface, search function, and Internet-delivered content, like on-demand movies from Amazon and Netflix, and YouTube.
But as far as putting TiVo DVRs inside Best Buy's TVs, it's clearly not a priority for TiVo. "We're not ruling it out," Miller said. "But what we're saying here is, what does it take to make the best possible TV experience."
They're not ruling it out, but they're not promising it either. And it's likely because it's not a wise path to follow. TVs with built-in DVRs aren't exactly a new idea. At CES 2005, the Humax with TiVo inside was announced but never made it to market. The LG 42LB1DR, which had a DVR but not TiVo-branded, actually made it to store shelves, but it had a huge caveat: it could only record over-the-air and "clear cable" (QAM) channels or it needed a cumbersome CableCard hook-up. With the former configuration, premium channels such as Comedy Central and HBO weren't available, with the latter you lost access to on-demand programming (and, often, the ability to record one show while watching another). That meant consumers were paying a big premium (versus the same TVs with no built-in DVR), despite getting a hobbled recording experience. Not surprisingly, demand for such DVR-enabled TVs was nil, and they've largely disappeared from the market.
What this is about is increasing sales for both. TiVo has been losing subscribers, and consumer electronics purchases have taken a plunge along with the economy. Miller says the main focus of the deal for both is to sell more TiVos.
"Their goal is to drive as many TiVo subscriptions as they can," he said.
CNET's John Falcone contributed to this story.
(Credit:
Digeo)
Recently, Digeo began selling its new Moxi CableCard DVR at Amazon for a whopping $800. That got us thinking about the whole DVR category, and how the real prices of the products are often hidden with subsidies (from cable or satellite companies) or service fees (such as with TiVo).
If you're looking for a digital video recorder, your choices are limited by how you receive your TV signal--satellite, over-the-air antenna, or cable--and how much you're willing to pay a month. Satellite subscribers are shoehorned by their provider--Dish offers the excellent ViP722 (with the SlingLoaded ViP922 due later this year), and DirecTV offers the DirecTV Plus HD DVR HR21. Antenna-only folks were the most limited: previously, the only choice was TiVo (which, again, requires a monthly or lifetime fee for service), but the availability of the DTV Pal DVR offers the promise of a no-fee DVR with support for digital and HD TV signals--just pay for the hardware, and you're done. (CNET is currently evaluating the DTV Pal DVR, and will have a review later this month.)
For cable subscribers, things can be a bit more varied--and almost certainly more expensive. Nearly all cable companies now offer their subscribers an HD DVR option. They'll tout it as "free" (in that you don't have to buy the hardware), but your bill will undoubtedly include a rental charge for the hardware (and the remote!), as well as a "DVR service fee." Want to get a real TiVo instead? That may cut the rental charge and DVR service fee from your monthly cable bill, but then you're stuck paying a service fee straight to TiVo ($13 a month, $129 a year, or a flat $400 fee for the lifetime of the box). Meanwhile, your cable company still gets in on the action; they may still charge you for CableCard rental fees (needed for the TiVo to receive digital and premium channels), plus the normal service fee on top of that (the channel charges that make up the bulk of your bill). Going with the lifetime fee (just because it's easy), that brings the real-world cost of the cheapest high-def TiVo, the TiVo HD, to around $700.
Enter the Digeo Moxi. ... Read more
New TiVo customers will be getting discounted service fees
(Credit: TiVo)Just in time for the holidays, TiVo's making some temporary changes to its service fee structure. For new TiVo buyers from now through February 2, 2008, service choices are as follows:
- 1 year monthly service: now $12.95/month (originally $16.95)
- 1 year prepay service: $129 (originally $179)
- 2 year prepay service: $249 (originally $279)
- 3 year prepay service: $299 (unchanged)
To reiterate: those pricing discounts apply only to new TiVo customers (including those who've purchased in the past 30 days); existing customers won't see any changes to their bill. However, TiVo does have an offer for current customers: the return of the lifetime service fee. Existing customers (who already own at least one TiVo DVR) who buy an additional TiVo on the same account can opt for a one-shot product lifetime service fee for that new DVR for $399. That's $100 more than the equivalent plan that was offered by the company until last year.
Additionally, TiVo is making what it calls a "permanent change" to its multiservice discount (the service price paid for up to five additional TiVos on the same account). Subscribers can choose between a $9.95 monthly charge or a $99 yearly prepay (per DVR).
Microsoft said Monday that's it's revamped its IPTV software, now called MediaRoom. In a feature published Monday on CNET News.com, I've already gone into some depth about what the new software offers and what it means for the telco TV market.
Some common ground
(Credit: NBC)But I also wanted to point out an important feature the new software doesn't offer: multiroom DVR. This service would be a dream come true for me. Even though I've got three TVs in my tiny apartment in New York City, my roommate and I still fight over the TV in the living room. Why? It's the only one with the DVR. We've each gotten so accustomed to watching recorded TV on our own schedules that neither of us even watches TV in our bedrooms, because then we'd have to watch TV live. Oh, the horror!
The situation has caused some tension between us. I refuse to watch American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, even though I know we can fast-forward through the boring parts. I also might be the only person in America who can't stand Lost. By the same token, my roommate has no interest in the latest Frontline episode or Charlie Rose interviews. We have found some common ground with shows such as The Office, 30 Rock and Grey's Anatomy. And of course we're both anxiously awaiting the new season of Project Runway.
But a multiroom DVR could end a budding war in my household. I could watch my boring PBS shows anytime I want in my room, while she could belt out bad pop songs on American Idol in hers.
Microsoft says the feature will be added in later releases. Ed Graczyk, a director of marketing for Microsoft, said the reason it wasn't in the current version of the software is that IPTV operators didn't see it as a top priority. AT&T said it's considering offering multiroom DVR functionality, but it didn't give any specific plans.
But I think AT&T and other telcos using Microsoft's software are missing a big opportunity to differentiate their services. Verizon has offered multiroom DVR for almost a year. EchoStar's Dish network also offers it. And Time Warner (my cable provider) has it in some locations. (Too bad for me Manhattan isn't one of them.)
Unfortunately, even if Microsoft had added multiroom DVR to this current version of software, it still wouldn't change my situation. I don't live in any of the 21 cities where AT&T is offering its IPTV U-verse service. (AT&T is the largest IPTV provider in the U.S. using the Microsoft MediaRoom software.)
That said, I think I'm a pretty average consumer. And the multiroom DVR function would definitely prompt me to go through the hassle of changing my service. And if I'd do it, maybe other people would too.
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