Monday, October 17, 2005
TiVo 7.3 is 7.2.1 And Other News
Posted by Jeremy Charette in "HARDWARE" @ 06:00 AM
"Originally, we were under the impression the dual-tuner HD TiVo box with CableCARD support might be ready Q1 2006. Based on what I was told (and what I wasn’t) I’m thinking we’ll see something mid 2006… if we’re lucky. One possible reason for a delay could be the slow acceptance and release of the multistream CableCARD specification. While it’s very early, I get the sense TiVo is looking at much friendlier pricing than the HD DirecTiVo model which premiered at a $1000."
I was at the DigitalLife expo this past weekend and had the same frank discussions with Tivo's product managers. They aren't saying anything specific, but the "impression" is that an HD product is coming sometime the middle of next year. CableCard certification is what seems to be holding up the works, which isn't surprising given CableLabs' slow rate of device approval. I'm going to guess that the Tivo hardware and software is ready for production, but that the issues of compatibility and content protection are mucking things up. On a broader note, this seems to be a trend in the industry lately. Great products are ready for market, and consumers are clamoring for them, but content providers and IP holders are often less than willing to work with hardware manufacturers because of security or marketing concerns. My advice: get consumers hooked on the medium and delivery system. Worry about profit sharing (or taking) later.
I was at the DigitalLife expo this past weekend and had the same frank discussions with Tivo's product managers. They aren't saying anything specific, but the "impression" is that an HD product is coming sometime the middle of next year. CableCard certification is what seems to be holding up the works, which isn't surprising given CableLabs' slow rate of device approval. I'm going to guess that the Tivo hardware and software is ready for production, but that the issues of compatibility and content protection are mucking things up. On a broader note, this seems to be a trend in the industry lately. Great products are ready for market, and consumers are clamoring for them, but content providers and IP holders are often less than willing to work with hardware manufacturers because of security or marketing concerns. My advice: get consumers hooked on the medium and delivery system. Worry about profit sharing (or taking) later.
