# Tivo going out on their own???



## Bob Livingston (Jan 4, 2005)

I understand from all of the press, that DirecTV is going to cut Tivo loose about mid year, and I am wondering if anyone knows what Tivo is going to do about this???

I would like to see Tivo at the SatelliteExpo2005, in Memphis, because I think they have a great product and they might just be able to get some support for their "After DirecTV" Product..


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## Jerw134 (Aug 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Bob Livingston _
> *I understand from all of the press, that DirecTV is going to cut Tivo loose about mid year, and I am wondering if anyone knows what Tivo is going to do about this???*


It's not happening, so they don't have to do anything about it. DirecTV's contract with Tivo isn't up until 2007.


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## mishagray (Oct 2, 2000)

Rumors are that the rumored "divorce" between tivo and Directv was way to premature. I think its because the DirecTV insiders have seen the NDS recorder and its crap compared Tivo. DirecTV NEEDS Tivo just as much as Tivo needs DirecTV. So while News corp. would love DirecTV to start shipping NDS PVRS (and DirecTV probably will just to satisify the owners) they can't ignore real money. 

DirecTV needs a MRV feature to be competitive with cable and dish. And Tivo can give them that this year. NDS can't. Let's wait and see what we hear about this week at CES. 

DirecTV and Tivo will be happy together for a while. It will need NDS at least 2 years to match Tivo's functionality.


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## Bob Livingston (Jan 4, 2005)

I rather thought that DirecTV's announcement was "Premature", but you never know what is going to happen next, on "How the Dish Turns"... LOL 

Thanx for your input...


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## Bob Livingston (Jan 4, 2005)

Here is a "News Flash" for you...
NDS Threaten TiVo with DirecTV PVR 

Staff writer 

30 November 04 


There won't be much surprise to hear that the now Murdoch-controlled DirecTV is readying the launch its own PVR around Spring 2005, whose function mirrors TiVo. Added to this, NDS the creators of the rivals PVR, claim their unit will handle Pay Per View programming better - by charging for the content when it is watched, not recorded. This will give them the opportunity to speculatively tempt the viewer with lots of yummy content.

You can go to digital-lifestyles for more information, as this site will not allow me to put in any url's... LOL

If you want the complete link, e-mail me and I will send it to you... This is very interesting news.....


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## D_Doherty (Aug 17, 2004)

Where is my stick?

That dead horse is here again.


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## unixadm (Jan 1, 2001)

Interesting? Maybe.....but sounds more like FUD to me.

It seems that over the past month that DirecTV has been marketing "DirectTV DVR service with TiVo" pretty heavily. I've seen a bunch more commercials of late, especially during football. These commercials specifically tout the great features of TiVo. The front page of their website has the DVR/Tivo ads, and even the HD DVR/TiVo ads.

If they were planning on parting ways with TiVo, then why spend so much money marketing it right now and get people wanting it?

As someone else said, the contract is not up until 2007. My guess is that it was a political move to make the "premature" announcement to get more hype, maybe push a few buttons of certain key people controlling the money and maybe a little push to get Tivo to jump few an extra hoop or two to "keep" the contract.

Who knows.......we will have to wait and see what DirecTV's big announcement at CES is tomorrow and what new stuff is on the horizon.


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## mishagray (Oct 2, 2000)

They can't disable the use of the Tivo service without some sort of replacement. That could be construed by many as a breach of contract. 

But DirecTV is really interested in one thing: money. 

I think that here is a fight going WITHIN DirecTV about NDS vs. Tivo. News Corp (the giant corporate owners from afar) want DirecTV to move to NDS. It keeps more money in the family. I think the DirecTV employees (especially those who have been around prior to the takeover) are focused on increasing subscribers and increasing DTV revenue. 

The DirecTV guys know that the Tivo is a better product. I would guess that a large number of higher up executives have protoptype DTivos and prototype NDS boxes running in their offices and homes. They know which ones are better. And my guess is that customers will notice also.

But again, Tivo and NDS, are simply a means to an end for DirecTV. They have used multiple suppliers of boxes before, and I think they will continue to do so. Even if all the boxes are sold under one company name, they will still use multiple designers and manufactures for many of those boxes.

So I would predict, that DirecTV will sell both boxes. Customer's will pick one box or the other. I would guess that DTV will still charge NDS customers the $4.99 a month for the NDS boxes. Since that will create more revenue. But the DTV insiders know which box is going to create more customer loyalty, and therefore more revenue. They are not going to shoot themselves in the foot. If the NDS box is a better overall value, then people will pick that one. 

I think that in the short term, Tivo doesn't have much to fear. In the long term (2-3 years out) they may, which is why so much emphasis on non DTivo products from Tivo.


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## brwarning (Mar 6, 2002)

Most of the items that I have seen in the press have been coming from the people at NDS, not from Directv.


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## pkscout (Jan 11, 2003)

> _Originally posted by D_Doherty _
> *Where is my stick?
> 
> That dead horse is here again. *


I borrowed it to go beat the "can I network my TiVo" dead horse. I'm done for now if you'd like it back.


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## Bob Livingston (Jan 4, 2005)

Well, here is the Press Release!!!

January 08, 2005 - At the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, DIRECTV announced a slew of new products and services with which to expand its ever growing consumer base.


One announcement was its new DIRECTV DVR. Users of the new DVR will have access to more interactivity with their unit, such as being able to pause and rewind live TV for up to 90 minutes, thanks to the DVR's large cache. The new DIRECTV DVR will allow users to record up to 100 hours of DIRECTV programming and access various interactive services. 

Interactive features include:


One-Touch Recording -- Customers can record favorite shows by pressing one button on their remote control. 

Record Now/Pay Later -- Provides users the flexibility to record all pay-per-view (PPV) movies they might be interested in and only pay for shows the user actually views. 

Recording of Series -- Provides consumers with the power to seamlessly schedule a recording of an entire season of their favorite show. This feature automatically tracks changes to the programming schedule to ensure proper recording. 

DVR Controls -- Users have full control of their viewing experience with pause, instant replay, rewind, fast-forward, slow motion, and frame-by-frame viewing capability. 

Playlist -- Displays all recorded content in an organized list, including convenient groupings of series recordings and DIRECTV extras. 

Viewmarks -- Customers can easily mark favorite places in their recordings and jump directly to them. 

Advanced Search Capability -- Users can quickly search for shows, genres, actors, directors, channels or key words both in upcoming shows and shows they have previously recorded. Users can also return to previous searches to find matching programs. 

AutoRecord -- Users can set the new DIRECTV DVR to record all programs matching a keyword or other search criteria. 

Onscreen caller ID -- Logs phone calls and offers the on-display convenience of users browsing current or previous calls without interrupting the television viewing experience. 

Enhanced viewing experience -- Supports Interactive programming, such as DIRECTV Mix channels, NFL Sunday Ticket interactive and DIRECTV Active. 

Picture-in-guide -- Users can browse through the various features of DIRECTV's new user interface while connected to their program, which is always present in a video window. 

The new DIRECTV DVR is scheduled for commercial availability in mid-2005.

DIRECTV also announced its Home Media Center at CES 2005. The unit sounds something akin to Microsoft's line of Media Centers (with units shipping from the likes of Alienware, Gateway and others) where it will allow for a central media storage device, the Home Media Center itself, and separate receivers throughout the household that can access the main device and stream video, music and photos to various TVs throughout the household. So, for instance, you could be using a connected TV in your bedroom and schedule the Home Media Center in your living room to record a show, and then turn around and watch a movie that you had recorded earlier in your living room from the comfort of your bed.

DIRECTV also announced the first 12 markets that will receive local high-definition programming later this year. These markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Houston and Tampa. These markets should see local HD programming in the second half of this year, with broad nationwide support for local HD by 2007.


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## Bob Livingston (Jan 4, 2005)

Here is another low blow!!!

TiVo hit by DirecTV rival product move
Financial Times - UK
TiVo, the pioneering US digital video recorder group, ended last week on a sour note after a DirecTV, a key partner, announced it would start selling a rival ...


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## Bob Livingston (Jan 4, 2005)

*I guess the rumor is about to come true now... Sad state, isn't it...*


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## stim (Jan 10, 2002)

Bob Livingston said:


> *I guess the rumor is about to come true now... Sad state, isn't it...*


Do you realize this thread is over a year old?


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## dtremain (Jan 5, 2004)

stim said:


> Do you realize this thread is over a year old?


He should. It's the only thread he has ever posted on, and he started it.

What's your agenda, Bob Livingston?


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## Billy Bob Boy (Jul 25, 2004)

dtremain said:


> He should. It's the only thread he has ever posted on, and he started it.
> 
> What's your agenda, Bob Livingston?


Wow he must have done some searching to dig this one up! How come his post count still says 6? He posted at least 4 times in this thread and just recently and it still says 6???   Crap Crap and Double crap!! I saw this thread and for a brief moment I saw a light for tivo and D*!! Untill i got to the end of the thread and saw it was from a year ago.    Dang! DAng! DANG! I never look at the dates Of threads. (perhaps i should start  )


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## jmoak (Jun 20, 2000)

while we're dredging out the past.....

A couple of years ago there was a rumor (actually, it was a divination) that directv was only going to get worse and worse on their picture quality due to the increase in the amount of channels they were trying to add. (increased compression) There was hope for the future with the mpeg4 sats, but that seems to be only for hd so far and for the next couple of years.

I never thought much about it, until I noticed the increased capacity I was getting with my old 35hr dtivo as the overall picture quality was going down. (35hr box started with ~25hrs, now I get ~40hrs)

So I guess the rumor _is_ coming true now... and you're right, it's a _real_ sad state, isn't it...

not to mention the poor folks whose first experience with a dvr has to be on one that works _sometimes_, with nothing but promises to console them and that it's said to work best for folks who don't ask it to do much recording.

damn sad state, indeed.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Really odd wording from the OP. Tivo's "gone out on their own" since the beginning -- standalone Tivos have always been available. The OP seems unaware of this. Tivo is also adding a new partnership with Comcast even as DirecTV drops them. So, they're really no more nor less on their own then they've ever been.


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