Amazon is offering an Amazon Wireless Digital Bonus, which basically means that if you buy an Android phone of tablet from AmazonWireless you’ll receive a total of $15 in credits. The $15 is split three ways – a $5 credit for the Amazon Appstore for Android, $5 credit for Kindle content, and $5 credit for Amazon MP3. (Remember they do have a free Kindle App for Android, so you can use the Kindle content on your Android device.)
The offer is good through November 12, 2011.
Way back in September, 2008, TiVo and DirecTV re-united and promised a new DirecTV DVR with TiVo (aka DirecTiVo) ‘in the second half of 2009′. Well, as 2009 rolled along the new box was delayed until late 2010. This has generally been blamed on the economic collapse and DirecTV cutting back on things like R&D spending, shuffling priorities, etc. Which is, frankly, quite understandable. A lot of companies had to re-prioritize for the new economic environment.
So as we approached late 2010 DirecTV delayed the new DirecTiVo again, this time to ‘early 2011′. The explanation at the time was that they didn’t want to launch a new product into the channel just before the holidays. OK, I guess I can see that. A lot of retailers lock down holidays plans months in advance, and if DirecTV waited too long they wouldn’t have any shelf space allocated for the new units. You want to launch a new product in time for the holidays, not during the holiday shopping season – and product launches start months ahead of when consumers see the product.
Of course, ‘early 2011′ has come and gone, and clearly the new DirecTiVo has yet to arrive. At some point ‘early 2011′ morphed into ’2011′, and qualifiers like ‘hopeful’ started to show up. There was even some recent speculation that the new DirecTiVo might ship this month.
However, those hopes appear to be dashed. Now the DirecTV FAQ page for the new DirecTiVo says they are ‘optimistic’ that it will be available for purchase in 2011, but also that it has not yet been approved for production.
Will DIRECTV offer a new TiVo HD DVR?
We continue our partnership with TiVo to develop a new TiVo HD DVR from DIRECTV. The launch date is still to be determined, pending production approval. Product development is a complex exercise, and TiVo and DIRECTV are jointly committed to providing our customers with the high quality products we are both known for.
We apologize that the process has taken longer than anticipated. Once the product is approved for production, we will communicate a target launch date. We are optimistic that the new TiVo HD DVR from DIRECTV will be available for purchase in calendar year 2011.
For now we can tell you that the new TiVo HD DVR will have:
- Access to over 160 HD channels
- DIRECTV CINEMA™, with thousands of shows and movies to watch instantly
- TiVo Integrated Search across TV and Video on Demand
- TiVo WishList® Searches, Suggestions and KidZone
- DIRECTV DVR Scheduler
Personally that doesn’t fill me with confidence.
Now, I want to make an important point here – I don’t think this is TiVo’s fault. A lot of people have complained at/to TiVo about the delays, but they’re not in control. Remember this is a DirecTV product, not a TiVo product! TiVo is a supplier and contractor to DirecTV for this. Unlike the original DirecTiVo boxes, the new unit is not based on a TiVo-designed reference platform. It was previously announced that the hardware will be supplied by Technicolor (formerly known as Thomson), and TiVo is integrating their software with the platform under contract to DirecTV.
DirecTV controls the schedule, they control the product specifications, they decide on the features, they control the budget, etc. For a while now TiVo has been mentioning the new box on their quarterly calls and clearly stating that they hope DirecTV will decide to release it soon, but that the decision rests with DirecTV. On the most recent call TiVo’s CEO, Tom Rogers, stated that there was continuing work to implement new features for the product and he was hopeful it would ship in 2011.
There have been rumors and reports that the DirecTiVo is already out of date, that DirecTV’s specs for the unit were set in 2008 and in the meantime they’ve added a number of features to their non-TiVo DVRs (in-home sharing, etc.) which wouldn’t be on the DirecTiVo. A long time ago now it was reported that the new DirecTiVo would use the old, SD TiVo UI and not the new HD UI. Even that the hardware was based on the old HR22 DirecTV DVR. I have some hope that TiVo’s statements, and the continuing delays, mean they’ve taken steps to update the product specs to launch a truly competitive product when it comes to market. Who knows which of the old reports are still true given the time that has passed, of if the were even accurate to start with.
Of course, no one but the insiders knows the truth, and they’re not talking. But I think there is some pretty strong circumstantial evidence that TiVo isn’t the cause of the delay. Since the announcement in 2008 TiVo designed the TiVo Premiere and brought it to market. They integrated OnDemand support into the software, and launched the platform with MSOs RCN & Suddenlink. They announced their deal with Virgin Media and have very successfully launched with them in the UK – and I’ll note that’s also on non-TiVo-designed hardware, the box is from Cisco. They have similar deals with other MSOs, like ONO in Spain, using the same HW as the UK.
They’ve also designed the TiVo Premiere Elite and TiVo Preview, and those appear to be headed to market later this year. At least through MSOs, if not also via retail.
So TiVo has repeatedly shown that they can successfully execute new products in the time since the new DirecTiVo deal was announced. It doesn’t seem logical that they’d be able to execute all of these other projects, and yet would be unable to complete the new DirecTiVo. And, if the reports are true, the Technicolor HW isn’t a radical change from STBs they already produce. So I don’t think the problem is the HW. Or even the integration of the SW & HW.
My feeling, based on what I know and my experience in the tech industry, is that the delays are due to the project coordinator – DirecTV. The best case scenario is that it is a case of creeping featurism; they keep extending the product specifications and have to add more development time to meet the new goals. The worst case is that it is just management decisions and they’re delaying the product without using the time to continuously improve it. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
In any case, it isn’t what those waiting for the new DirecTiVo want to hear. At this point they just want a shipping box. Hopefully one that avoids the Duke Nuke’m Forever syndrome – waiting forever and getting a product that makes you wonder why you bothered waiting
For all of you waiting for the box, this is exactly why you want the FCC to push AllVid on the satellite companies. If they had to open up to third parties, as cable had to do with CableCARD, vendors like TiVo could produce compatible products on their own schedule, not the satellite company’s.
Netflix has decided to overhaul their subscription plans, splitting their disc- and streaming-plans into separate options. For those who use just one or the other, it isn’t such a bad move. The base one-DVD-at-a-time plan is now $7.99/month, and the unlimited streaming plan remains $7.99 a month. But you might see the problem already. If you want to use streaming and have the option of getting a DVD, it is now $15.98 a month – it used to be $9.99.
This is exactly the option my fiancee was given in an email today. Her solution? Drop Netflix entirely. She used to use Netflix a lot before she moved in with me last September, but she didn’t have a DVR at her place and here we have TiVo. So she almost always has something recorded she can watch. (Not to mention I have a frighteningly large DVD/BD collection.) She also recently signed up for a Hulu Plus account, which is only $7.99 for her (she’s in grad school, so she qualifies for the student rate), and she finds Hulu Plus has more of what she wants that Netflix streaming. The initial idea was just to try Hulu Plus out, to see how it was, now it looks like it is the one she’ll be keeping.
Without this price change we probably would’ve kept Netflix out of inertia, since we do use it from time to time (her more than I). But since they made the change and forced her to think about the new plans, it gave her reason to reconsider subscribing at all.
And she’s not alone. It looks like Dave Zatz, over at Zatz Not Funny, was faced with the very same choice – and made the same decision to cancel. It looks like Hulu Plus was also the big winner in his case. Along with Amazon, Apple, and Redbox. And there’s more.
What about you? What do you think about the new Netflix plans and pricing? Has it made you reconsider your options?
Virgin Media is really turning into quite the partner for TiVo. They seem very pleased with their TiVo roll out in the UK, and they continue to rapidly improve their service. They already had some features we don’t have yet in the US, like three tuners (we’re waiting on the Premiere Elite) and a handful of apps (expected to hit the US Premiere at some point), and they keep getting more.
While TiVo has just released a new app for iOS and we’re still waiting for an Android app, the opposite is true in the UK. Virgin Media appears to have launched an Android App for UK Android users that supports their TiVo. I can’t access the link to the Android Market, perhaps because I’m in the US, but it should be here. To quote the Unofficial Virgin Media TiVo Blog:
See what’s on telly when and set recordings with Virgin Media TV powered by TiVoLets you know what’s on when. It’s even easier to find what you want to watch faster, too. Just choose your Virgin TV region and package (M, L or XL) and see what’s on the channels you have.
However, if you have a TiVo you may find the app useful because:
You can set your box to record a show whether you’re at home or on the move. Remote Record lets you set up recordings online or through your mobile.
It’s simple – just log in, pick a show and press record. You can record a single episode or save the whole series
But that’s not all. Just in time for the final Harry Potter movie to hit theaters, Virgin Media has added a Harry Potter App to their TiVo. The app really seems similar to one of the Showcases on a US TiVo, and is primarily for marketing. But it is a bit like having DVD bonus content for the theatrical release – trailers, interviews, photos, a Twitter feed, etc. A lot more modern and interactive than the old Showcases, as fits the new platform.
One area where the VM TiVo is lacking in comparison to the US TiVo is in the availability of over-the-top (OTT) services. In the US was have a slew – Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube, Blockbuster, Music Choice, Pandora, Live365, Rhapsody, Last.fm, etc. There aren’t quite as many options in the UK. But they are improving, Virgin Media just made an agreement to bring the popular music service Spotify to the TiVo platform.
And to top it all off, they’ve slashed prices. Previously subscribers of the Virgin Media M+ & L tiers would pay £8/month while XL tier subs paid £3 – now everyone pays £3. And acquisitions costs dropped as well. The old £40 installation fee – gone. The 500GB model is now £49.95. The 1TB model used to be £150 for existing and £199 for new customers, now it is £99.95 for everyone. And the 1TB model used to be available only to XL tier subs – now anyone can get it.
But Virgin Media is going one better. They’re actually refunding £50 to the early adopters of the 1TB model who paid the higher rates. Now that’s customer service!
It seems like things are going pretty well for TiVo in the UK.
You may not have heard of The AllVid Tech Company Alliance, but you’re probably interested in their work. The alliance is made up of Best Buy, Google, Intel, Mitsubishi Electric Visual Solutions America, Nagravision, RadioShack, Sony Electronics and TiVo, and they’re fighting for your right to access television content with your device of choice. They’re pushing the FCC to mandate that multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs – aka cable, satellite, and fiber optic television providers) be required to provide standardized, IP-based interfaces to their content.
This would allow consumer electronics vendors, such as Sony or TiVo, to build devices that would be able to plug into any programming source – cable, satellite, or fiber – and to access the full range of content. Not just linear channels, but also SDV, PayPerView, and OnDemand content. You may be aware that TiVo has deals in place with a handful of cable MSOs to access OnDemand content. RCN & Suddenlink already provide TiVo hardware to their customers which can access OnDemand, and Charter will begin doing so this year. And Cox & Comcast have agreements with TiVo to allow access to OnDemand via retail TiVo units in the coming months.
But this is piecemeal. TiVo has to pursue individual deals with each MSO, and then customize their software to work that that MSO’s OnDemand head end. There isn’t a standardized interface, and TiVo remains locked out of other MSOs. Not to mention they’re still locked out of satellite and IPTV fiber services like U-Verse because CableCARD is only mandated for cable MSOs. (FiOS uses cable standards for linear content, but IPTV for OnDemand.) And that’s just TiVo, if Sony wanted to provide the same kind of access on their products they’d have to make the same kind of individual deals with the MSOs. And then Samsung. Etc. It just isn’t the same as having open, defined standards that every vendor can implement.
AllVid is the vision for that new standard, and it would supplant CableCARD, hopefully eliminating the many shortcomings that have restricted its popularity with consumers. (Like the lack of access to OnDemand content.)
Of course, the industry, primarily in the form of the NCTA, is resisting any effort to mandate the AllVid vision. They want to be left alone, claiming that industry innovation makes AllVid unnecessary. They point to things like the TiVo-MSO deals, and a growing number of new services like Comcast’s Xfinity mobile apps. But that’s apples & oranges, saying you can stream content on your iPad isn’t the same as being able to access it on your TV with a set top box you purchased because it has the features you want. And the AllVid Alliance argues just that, in a new filing with the FCC. Just a sample:
Section 629 of the Communications Act is not satisfied by consumers being able to download an MVPD’s app on a particular brand of television set or “cable systems…developing new ways to use the Internet.” While MVPDs point to the latest
“shiny thing over there,” they ignore the Section 629 mandate of the Communications Act. The Commission must not lose sight of the fact that Congress directed the Commission to foster a competitive retail market for navigation devices used by consumers to access the full range of services offered by MVPDs, and to access that programming and those services through manufacturers, retailers and other vendors not affiliated with any MVPD
And:
An AllVid gateway would empower a consumer to use any consumer electronics (“CE”) product to receive any programming offered by an MVPD on a subscriber basis, and would allow any CE product to work securely with respect to multichannel content. Consumers would no longer need to be concerned about how to port content to or store content on TV, computer, game, tablet, or mobile platforms, and whether programs would be lost if the consumer switches to a different MVPD or even to a different device. Consumers would have the option of choosing multichannel programming interactively without worrying about a potential cap on their use of Internet bandwidth. Multiple CE manufacturers–not just those that have negotiated deals with MVPDs–would be able to respond to consumers with innovations that directly address their needs and desires.
They go on to cite the historic Carterfone decision of 1968, which allowed consumers to stop renting their phones from AT&T and to connect non-AT&T telephones, and other telephony devices, to the phone system. Significantly ‘other telephony devices’ includes computer modems. Without Carterfone the early growth of online services may have been stifled. At least acoustic couplers would’ve had a longer run I suppose. I was born in 1970, and I’m just old enough to remember a lot of remaining ‘AT&T’ industrial looking phones and the first wave of all the new, then-radical designs which broke the mold from the standard, archetypal ‘telephone’. The AllVid Alliance is looking to open up television services in the same way.
Ironically, the cable industry themselves have shown that the AllVid vision isn’t so hard to fulfill, despite their claims that it would bring hardship and exorbitant costs. A recent demonstration at a CableLabs interop event showed cable STBs running tru2way middleware were able to stream content over an IP interface to DLNA enabled media devices, using DTCP-IP content protection. This is based on a home networking spec from CableLabs themselves, and could serve as the core for an AllVid implementation. So why the objections to the FCC mandating some baseline standard to ensure a level playing field to start?
Personally, I hope the FCC does mandate AllVid, and that it has some teeth. I think they were too soft with CableCARD, especially in allowing tru2way, which was so unloved it seems everyone, cable and CE industry alike, are mostly trying to forget about it.
Via Multichannel News.
