# If only... how big might TiVo have been?



## kered (Dec 3, 2002)

This article on Digital Spy makes me wish things had been different!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/a88715/strong-growth-takes-sky-over-3m.html

I think back to when TiVo first launched here, I think it was £450, more than I could afford, but I said to myself: "I'm going to have one of those one day!"

A few years later, after Thomson had stopped making them, I bought one from Comet for £150, to protests from my wife that we didn't need any new-fangled technology! Then, after it was out of its year's guarantee, I set about putting in a 120GB hdd, to protests from my wife that she couldn't do without it if I broke it!

I haven't installed cachecard or networked to my PC, but even in its current form, its fantastic (but I don't need to tell you guys that!) And, yes, I am one of the idiots still paying £10/month.

I still have a CRT TV, but when I eventually get a big flat screen, I will probably be tempted to get a V+ box, but I don't expect it will be a patch on TiVo. That was a nice idea by Carl, setting up a poll in support of TiVo software for the V+, but it doesn't look as if that is going to happen.

I think some of the more knowledgable of you have mentioned UK TiVo subscriber numbers in the 10s of thousands, so to see that Sky+ is now at 3M is such an "if only" feeling!

Derek


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## gazter (Aug 1, 2001)

kered said:


> This article on Digital Spy makes me wish things had been different!
> 
> http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/a88715/strong-growth-takes-sky-over-3m.html
> 
> ...


I often cry myself to sleep at night, wondering, imagining skyhd with a tivo interface. We are so used to technology developing... I got my Tivo in 2001.. I was throwing some stuff out the other day and came across my old nokia 6210, the cutting edge of mobile phone technology. It now looks like a dodgy prop off the original star trek series in comparison to modern phones.

Yet, I am stuck with sd tivo, and it is better then anything else, and i know that nothing better is going to come around in the near future.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

kered said:


> That was a nice idea by Carl, setting up a poll in support of TiVo software for the V+, but it doesn't look as if that is going to happen.


Yeah. I think VM have invested too much in their own software to change it now. Such a pity really


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## gazter (Aug 1, 2001)

cwaring said:


> Yeah. I think VM have invested too much in their own software to change it now. Such a pity really


And Sky have invested so *little* into their software and are unwilling to change it.


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## kitschcamp (May 18, 2001)

And are flogging it to other providers - the EPG & OS for the Viasat+ box is near identical to the Sky+ box.


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## ColinYounger (Aug 9, 2006)

...But then there's what MIGHT be. The TiVo/Nero partnership, and the Australian angle.

Wait. Slap me. I sound like Pete.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

gazter said:


> Yet, I am stuck with sd tivo, and it is better then anything else, and i know that nothing better is going to come around in the near future.


The PC based version of Tivo from Nero that should be released in the UK and compete with Windows MCE will I suspect be significantly better than our current Tivo S1 machines. Dual or triple tuners, HD compatibility, Freeview Playback type amendment of the schedule of late running programs etc, etc, etc.

The only question is what will be the charge for the monthly guide and will there be an upgrade path for the Lifetime Sub for UK Tivo S1 owners.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

ColinYounger said:


> ...But then there's what MIGHT be. The TiVo/Nero partnership, and the Australian angle.
> 
> Wait. Slap me. I sound like Pete.


It seems I was writing my own post in response as you beat me too it with your shorter one.


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## jeremy Parsons (Jan 6, 2002)

As someone who has two Tivo's , one on DTT and othe other on Virgin media and a V+ box upstairs I can clearly state everytime I use the V+ I wish for the tivo interface and realise in the UK how far ahead tivo was.

My tivo's are 400GB and 240GB each (with cache cards) and I find the V+ box loses out in the following ways.

rubbish interface
rubbish looking box - the LED's are cheap looking
rubbish fast forward - always overrun
disk is far far too small
no decent preferences about what to keep

I get pixillations on tivo 1 , I think this may be a hard disk issue , it does freeze now and again on the UI, (Its on its second replacement already) would still look to replace it.

however in its favour the picture quality is crisp for HD and SD , both Tivo and V+ are on 32 inch LCD displays.

I also have MCE but currently use it for playing back avi and mpeg movies only


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## Automan (Oct 29, 2000)

Sky HD boxes are getting a new EPG sometime this year but what changes it offers heaven knows 

So we know have a 3,000,000 sky+ boxes to 40,000 UK Tivo's?

Most UK TV users are not TV Holicics and if you have never used a Tivo they won't know what features they are missing and most likely in the UK never will.

Automan.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Spend the weekend at a friend's and played with his dual tuner HD TiVo. Sigh.

In fact some of the things I've moaned about SkyHD apply to the HD TiVo too - its menus are in SD for instance.

And it's a bugger to hack - although we eventually managed it.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> In fact some of the things I've moaned about SkyHD apply to the HD TiVo too - its menus are in SD for instance.
> 
> And it's a bugger to hack - although we eventually managed it.


Managed to hack Tivo HD or managed to hack the Sky+ operating system?


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

HD TiVo. They are much less open to user hacking than our Series 1s; you have to patch the kernel and tivoapp before you can even start - until fairly recently you had to burn a new EEPROM on the motherboard!


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> HD TiVo. They are much less open to user hacking than our Series 1s; you have to patch the kernel and tivoapp before you can even start - until fairly recently you had to burn a new EEPROM on the motherboard!


And what would it take to hack Sky+ or Sky HD and what operating system does that software use?


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## Sneals2000 (Aug 25, 2002)

kitschcamp said:


> And are flogging it to other providers - the EPG & OS for the Viasat+ box is near identical to the Sky+ box.


As is the DirecTV PVR that replaced the DirecTivo in the US I believe... (Dates back to when News Corp had a large share in DirecTV ISTR) I wouldn't be surprised if the Sky Italia box was similar as well.

Isn't Viasat using Videoguard (same encryption as Sky) these days - or is that Canal Digital? ISTR that one of the two main Swedish PayTV satellite platforms is (the other uses Conax?) Sky Italia have switched to Videoguard as well - meaning more and more European pay-TV platforms are sealed boxes rather than CI-CAM based...


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## kitschcamp (May 18, 2001)

Yeah, Viasat uses Videoguard and Canal Digital uses Conax. Canal Digital is cracking down on "unauthorised boxes" and your card will only work with one of their approved boxes. Viasat marries the card to your box for *all channels*, and you can only use the card in that single box. But helpfully they do provide a service on their website to remarry your card to a box, and even to send a "boost" signal to your card with the latest keys, so at least you could take your card to your sommarstuga.


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## Sneals2000 (Aug 25, 2002)

kitschcamp said:


> Yeah, Viasat uses Videoguard and Canal Digital uses Conax. Canal Digital is cracking down on "unauthorised boxes" and your card will only work with one of their approved boxes. Viasat marries the card to your box for *all channels*, and you can only use the card in that single box. But helpfully they do provide a service on their website to remarry your card to a box, and even to send a "boost" signal to your card with the latest keys, so at least you could take your card to your sommarstuga.


Yep - and unlike the UK - there is no concept of FTV AIUI - to get SVT channels via satellite you have to subscribe - and they are uplinked by Viasat and Canal Digital rather than SVT AIUI - as the two platforms are based at different orbital positions I guess this makes sense to SVT! (Who would othewise have to uplink two versions themselves?)

I've been wondering if Sky would do the all channels thing - but they seem pretty secure still. They ARE enforcing multi-room installs being on the same phone line. We had one for a while that we disconnected to do some decorating and forgot to reconnect. We soon got a letter from Sky - which actually prompted us to realise we didn't need the multiroom as we only watched FTV channels on it!


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## ciper (Nov 4, 2004)

TCM2007 said:


> Spend the weekend at a friend's and played with his dual tuner HD TiVo. Sigh.
> 
> In fact some of the things I've moaned about SkyHD apply to the HD TiVo too - its menus are in SD for instance.
> 
> And it's a bugger to hack - although we eventually managed it.


All you do is change your TV type and the menus go into high def resolution. It takes all of 5 seconds to change!



TCM2007 said:


> HD TiVo. They are much less open to user hacking than our Series 1s; you have to patch the kernel and tivoapp before you can even start - until fairly recently you had to burn a new EEPROM on the motherboard!


Its no different from the later models of the Series 2. In fact both "series 3" models are so similar to Series 2 that nearly all the same hacks work for them.


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