# Radio Times take on PVRs



## ghstone (Apr 12, 2003)

Folks,

I have just reached the letters page of this weeks Radio Times and read a query asking if the only benefit of a PVR over Tape was that it had Freeview built-in - referring to a reply to a letter the previous week.

In replying, the editor gives a good account of the benefits of the current crop of dual tuner PVRs but then goes on to say that SKY were the pioneers in PVRs with SKY+, and even refers to it a system that is still seen as the easiest to use ! presumably by those who have only seen SKY+...

Needless to say, this has caused me to put fingers to keyboard and point out the errors in their potted history of the PVR.

Of course if anyone would like to add their voice to mine, it's [email protected]

Graham


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Hehe! I had intended to post about this earlier in the week but completely forgot  I might send them a quick email if I get the chance.


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## AENG (Dec 20, 2000)

ghstone said:


> the editor gives a good account of the benefits of the current crop of dual tuner PVRs but then goes on to say that SKY were the pioneers in PVRs with SKY+,
> Graham


I see this as particularly ironic. It was a speech in 2000 by the then DG of the BBC (one Greg ****) that alerted me to the existence of TiVo in the first place! He was, IIRC, pointing out some of the far-reaching effects that it could have on the future of TV in this country, at a time when virtually nobody had heard of PVRs anyway.

Thanks, ghstone, I'll certainly add my three penn'orth to the RT postbag.


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## Milhouse (Sep 15, 2001)

You can refer the Radio Times to this blog entry on the BBC website which declares TiVo as the inventor of PVRs...

(BTW, discussion of the newly launched TiVo/Amazon "Product Purchase" feature is taking place in the Coffee House here, with a neat summary from TiVoStephen detailing how the new feature will work - I think the BBC blog article is a bit OTT based on a lack of information, I actually think it's a good idea and a shame it won't be available over here!)


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## tenwiseman (Dec 3, 2006)

All the poster advertising of Sky+ gives the public the impression that Sky actually invented personalised video recording. It's probably that, that the radio times writer was fooled by.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if most of the current Sky+ poster campaigns weren't pinched word for word from similar TiVo advertising in the states and then modified.


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## woody (Jan 26, 2002)

The BBC should actually know better, they are/were a Tivo partner, and also invaded our Tivos' with an unwanted program (best forget that one)


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## Milhouse (Sep 15, 2001)

I posted a critical but (IMHO) still reasonable response to the moderated BBC blog - it it any surprise that it hasn't appeared after 9+ hours? (Retorical question in case anyone is wondering...)


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## johala_reewi (Oct 30, 2002)

My experience of BBC 'science like' news articles is that they are not very well researched. If only their reporters did a quick look at wikipedia before publishing!


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

johala_reewi said:


> My experience of BBC 'science like' news articles is that they are not very well researched. If only their reporters did a quick look at wikipedia before publishing!


Is it only me who finds that second sentence rather ironic in light of the first one; or is WP now 100% correct all of the time?


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## AENG (Dec 20, 2000)

cwaring said:


> Is it only me who finds that second sentence rather ironic in light of the first one?


No, it's not!


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## kitschcamp (May 18, 2001)

I think the second sentence is meant to be ironic; even the Wikipedia is more accurate than the BBC science articles.


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## TheBear (Feb 21, 2001)

Milhouse said:


> You can refer the Radio Times to this blog entry on the BBC website which declares TiVo as the inventor of PVRs...


Which of course is completely wrong!

The concept was first developed in the late 70's..


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## Milhouse (Sep 15, 2001)

TheBear said:


> Which of course is completely wrong!
> 
> The concept was first developed in the late 70's..


Perhaps "invent" isn't entirely correct but "first to market at an affordable price and be granted patents for a whole bunch of fundamental PVR technologies" was too long winded although entirely correct... so just who did invent (or perhaps just develop concepts of) what most of us now call a PVR (ie. a digital hard disk video recorder) in the 70s?


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

Milhouse said:


> ... so just who did invent (or perhaps just develop concepts of) what most of us now call a PVR (ie. a digital hard disk video recorder) in the 70s?


The first PVR's were not hard-disk recorders, but VCR tape recorders; however inadequate you might consider them.


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## Milhouse (Sep 15, 2001)

iankb said:


> The first PVR's were not hard-disk recorders, but VCR tape recorders; however inadequate you might consider them.


So the first PVRs were just VCRs then? I wouldn't consider a PVR to be a plain old VCR, although I conceed that the VCR was a very personal device. I think most peoples perception of a PVR these days is something far more sophisticated and advanced than a VCR, and that what TiVo created is nothing like a VCR, although both do record and playback video...


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## kitschcamp (May 18, 2001)

Agreed. All the definitions of PVRs that I've seen were to distinguish them _from_ VCRs. I remember reading very detailed descriptions in Wired about a decade ago.


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## mjk (Mar 13, 2002)

woody said:


> The BBC should actually know better, they are/were a Tivo partner, and also invaded our Tivos' with an unwanted program (best forget that one)


And if you look in the TivoWeb Deleted Shows list the damn thing is still there!!


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

Milhouse said:


> I think most peoples perception of a PVR these days is something far more sophisticated and advanced than a VCR ...


Not if you buy Sky+, and Sky is probably the biggest supplier of so-called PVRs.

My old VCR could remember to record series at fixed times per week, and record according to the actual broadcast time. I'm not sure that Sky+ could profess to do the former reliably, and TiVo to do the latter.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Your VCR wouldn't do it on its own though, you needed to put a blank tape in and set it into record mode.

Supposedly the original ideas of the PVR/DVR was come up with at Honeywell in the mid 80s. However all references to that use the exact same phrase, seemingly copied from Wikipedia. I've e-mailed the guy to ask if he did invent the PVR, I'll let you know!


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

TCM2007 said:


> Supposedly the original ideas of the PVR/DVR was come up with at Honeywell in the mid 80s.


Honeywell? Bull!


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## kitschcamp (May 18, 2001)

Honeywell is a lot more than heating valves and thermostats!


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Hmmm. Did you get the reference or were you chastising me?


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## velocitysurfer1 (Sep 6, 2006)

woody said:


> The BBC should actually know better, they are/were a Tivo partner, and also invaded our Tivos' with an unwanted program (best forget that one)


The BBC also ran the news article back in September 2000 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/945275.stm.


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