This isn’t a review – I don’t have a TiVo and I haven’t used one. This is my assessment of TiVo (and the other predominant DVR system available in NZ, MySky HDi).
When TiVo was announced I was fairly dubious – without access to Sky’s channels it seemed hard to see a product like TiVo really having enough to offer. However not long after it was announced that TiVo would support on-demand content delivered by broadband.
So then the issue was just how much content, and how much would they cost? The other issue was one of usage – almost all broadband plans in NZ include a capped data allowance, after reaching that point customers either pay for additional data, or have their speed limited to “dial up speed”.
Sky’s MySky platform however is different. It has the ability to receive all Sky’s subscription channels. It offers all the regular DVR features – live-pause, series recording, multiple concurrent records. It also has on-demand capability, but it’s delivered via Sky’s satellite path, there is a fairly limited selection.
TiVo solved their broadband issue by negotiating an exclusive deal with Telecom, which is where it started to unravel for me. Rather than trying to negotiate unmetered access to on-demand services with a variety of ISPs they chose to enter into an exclusive arrangement with NZ’s largest (but also most despised) ISP, despite a number of other ISPs reportedly expressing interest.
The TiVo costs around $900 and offers features that are pretty much on par with cheaper DVRs, what sets it apart is it’s on-demand capability supported by a local company owned by two large broadcasters. But those features are only available to Telecom broadband users, something which I find absurd. Users of other ISPs who are willing to pay for the traffic requried for on-demand should be able to use the service also, but clearly that wasn’t going to be an acceptable option for Telecom getting involved, so that door has been closed.
The other issue is cost – early on there was talk about advertiser-supported on-demand content, where you’d basically be able to watch programming for free in exchange for watching a few ads (basically the model broadcast television is built on), but it’s entirely unclear at this stage what proportion of content will be paid and what will be free to users courtesy of advertisers. Pricing is also unclear, I can’t find details online or in sales literature, but I’ve heard that a feature film will cost $7.95 which seems high to me.
What remains to be seen now is how good the on-demand service is, as without the additional channels that Sky can offer the non-broadcast content is all TiVo has to fight. How will Sky react? They MySky HDi device features an Ethernet port which is marked “for future developments” – will on demand broadband content be the future development?
Personally I and others I know will not be getting a TiVo anytime soon as we’re unwilling to subscribe to Telecom’s services, and without the on-demand content the price of the TiVo can’t be justified.
#1 by Matt Dwen - November 9th, 2009 at 20:29
TiVo will succeed in that the masses are stupid enough to go “Wow, it’s TiVo!”, without having a clue in what it is, just like buying $500 HDMI cables (Nice, piece Dylan – my favourite is still the US$500 Denon Cat5 cable: http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3429.asp).
Content is still king: reception platform is irrelevant. While a TiVo will let me record the RWC Final on three of the five channels it will be broadcast on, most of what I watch is still on the Sky platform.
#2 by Dylan - November 9th, 2009 at 21:07
Yeah, but TiVo doesn’t have nearly the brand recognition among general consumers here as in the US. While geeks know about it, and have done for a long time, it’s not really be a widely discussed brand at a consumer level here. I suspect that MySky has a broader brand recognition than TiVo.
Also, at this stage I believe the TiVo is also available exclusively at Telecom stores, which is not exactly the place for home electronics impulse purchasing. While Sky regularly has sales material in store at electronic retailers and often does cross-promotion.
Even with monthly payments on a Telecom bill the TiVo device cost is twice what MySky costs ($30/mth vs. $15/mth) – at the end of 24 months you own the TiVo, but is that really worth it? Of course that’s not the full cost of MySky, as it’s worthless without a Sky subscription, but with 780,000 existing Sky subscribers (many more than Telecom Broadband subscribers) that’s a pretty solid potential market for a $15/mth device.