Recently in TV Category

I just have to say “I told you so” and 18 months ago.  About 18 months ago I posted some videos I got from taking a survey online that were a new potential TiVo interface.  The story was quickly picked up by quite a few sites and even got the attention of TiVoPony who nicely asked me to remove the post, which I did until today.  I figured with the announcement of the TiVo Premiere on Tuesday night it was ok to put the post back up.

The most interesting part for me is the fact that the videos from then are so close to the (near) final Premiere interface.  Most of the major features were in those videos.  Gives you some idea how long it takes to develop something for the consumer space.

Since it seems that the DirecTV HDPC-20 tuner for Windows Media Center might actually appear in Windows 7 I want to compare a whole house solution between it and the potential of a DirecTV DVR based Multi-Room Viewing alternative.  Neither of these solutions exist today so this is partially a guess, however in some ways an educated guess based on currently available info.  To make the comparison equal I will try to outfit the systems as similar as possible.  Each setup will have the ability to power 4 different TV’s at once as well as record 4 different channels at once and I will guess it is not a new customer however that won’t always be the case.  I am also going to assume the house doesn’t have in place Ethernet wiring and will require 802.11n install to support multiple HD streams simultaneously.  For A/V cabling it should be the same in both cases so I won’t talk about that.  The pricing is also highly variable base upon what pieces someone might already have.

Win7 w/MC + HDPC-20:
Computer/Server with Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate, one HDPC-20 + Dual OTA or Two HDPC-20, 1 TB HD, 2 GB RAM, Video and Audio on board - $1000
3 Media Center Extenders – Either Xbox 360 Arcade or Linksys/D-Link/HP Extender - $100-200 a piece or $300-600
Wireless – 802.11n router at least and potentially wireless adapters for 360’s - $100-400
Total - $1400-2000 initial cost

DirecTV DVR MRV:
2 x HR2X – Includes 500 GB HD per and two tuners - $170 each or $340
2 x H2X – Can view content from the HR2X boxes - $100 each or $200
Wireless – 802.11n router and wireless adapters for 3-4 boxes - $200-300
Total - $740-840

Win7 w/MC + HDPC-20 Pros:
Single recording list and prioritizer
Ability to schedule from any TV
Extender can potentially be multi-function (DVD / Xbox)
Can get TV with Extender built in as option
Arguably better interface
Lower monthly cost due to no mirroring/leasing fees
Essentially infinite storage capacity upgrade possibilities
Potential to move content to other (portable) devices

Win7 w/MC + HDPC-20 Cons:
Double initial cost
Potentially higher complexity initial setup
Performance (non-360) or reliability (360) of extenders
More complex devices

DirecTV DVR MRV Pros:
Much lower initial cost
Independently functioning rooms if necessary
Potentially ability to watch more live programs simultaneously
Less complexity of devices

DirecTV DVR MRV Cons:
Higher monthly cost due to mirroring/leasing fees
May not be able to schedule new recordings from H2X (unknown functionality)
Two separate recording lists and prioritizers
Potential for double recordings (wasted space)
Single function devices

I am sure I have missed some things in my list, any thoughts?

This post was originally pulled 9/29/2008, but since the TiVo Premiere has been announced now I figured I could put it back up.

I got an invitation to take a survey on consumer electronics yesterday.  I went to take it this morning and found that the survey was sponsored by TiVo which definitely got me interested.  As it went on the survey showed videos and screenshots of a fairly different interface from where TiVo is today with their 9.X software line.  I will sprinkle the screenshots through my post and you can watch the three videos here Video 1, Video 2 and Video 3.

The biggest change is something that seems to be in every other DVR now which is being able to watch Picture in Guide while navigating the Menu.  This is a feature that every Motorola based Cable / FIOS DVR and DirecTV DVR has had for quite a while.  The excuse from TiVo has always been performance of the menus which is already bad getting worse when the processor has to deal with video at the same time.

The next interesting feature is a line of pictures across the top as you can see in the next few screenshots:




The top line of pictures is a combination of recent, suggestions, favorites and ads.  The first screenshot is just an example layout.  Then in the second shot you can see they added an ad for a BMW.  The third shot is navigating the top bar and showing the fly-out that gives you more detail and then would allow you to watch, record or download.  The last screenshot is the ability to control what shows up on the top bar which I think is a really powerful idea.

Another new idea seen on the main menu is the ability to categorize shows by viewer.  That is such a simple idea that makes so much sense.  Just simply having a larger folder that shows can be placed in so that my shows don’t clutter up other peoples lists and vice versa.  It appears to be some idea of community as well with a “Connect with family & friends” button which seems to be taking the idea of thumbs up and genius lists to the next level.

In Video 2 it shows searching for movies and being able to download them.  The current TiVo software can do this with Amazon, however the screenshot below shows not only Amazon but also Netflix and Blockbuster Total Access.  Also it is showing all three as being in HD.  Having all these sources available seems like a great variety potential.

The last big interface change that I saw was also in video 2.  It is a cross between Microsoft’s Media Center interface and Apple’s Coverflow.  Either way it is a much nicer more visual interface than the current TiVo one.  You can see a screenshot below but it is much better in motion in Video 2.

Who knows if any of this will ever be released.  It shows some good ideas I think and hopefully it is the way TiVo is looking.  They need to leap back ahead with features instead of just being a little more refined version of the cable / satellite DVR’s.

In an effort to drum up publicity for this summer's big screen release of The Simpsons movie 11 7-Eleven stores were converted to Kwik-E-Mart stores.  It just so happens that one of these stores is on the way from my house to Roger's.  On the 4th of July I stopped there and got a Squishee (Slurpee) and took some pictures.  All the ones I took are in this set.

While on a few days off at the end of last month I decided to upgrade my DirecTiVo and my HD DTiVo hard drives.  In both cases I wanted to maintain my existing recordings and simply add additional storage.  I ordered 2 Seagate DB35.3 320 GB and 2 750 GB hard drives.  Due to some mixups I actually ended up with 3 of the 320 GB.  I started by attempting to upgrade my HDVR2.  I used the boot CD available from MFSLive.org.  The copying process went just fine, however the TiVo wouldn't boot properly afterward.  I posted a note to the current developer of the MFS tools on TiVo Community.

While waiting for an update on the HDVR2 I moved on to the HR10-250.  For this TiVo I was going from the original 250+400 GB to the new 750+750 GB.  The process took about 5 hours.  Once it was complete the TiVo booted fine.

In the middle of this I went to the Fantasy Football banquet.  While there I mentioned what I was doing to Travis, he told me he had a broken SD-DVR40.  He gave it to me.  The only thing not working in it was the original 40 GB HD.  I upgraded it to two of the new 320 GB drives.  I used InstantCake from DVRUpgrade as a base image.  It worked well.

A day or so later I found out there was a bug that was causing the problem with the HDVR2 upgrade.  I was able to workaround it and upgrade with the last of the 320 GB drives and the 400 GB from the HR10-250.  This was up from the original 40 GB and a 160 GB (using 137 GB).

I now have a total 1500 + 640 + 720 + 250 (Series 3 which will probably be upgraded to 750 or 1000 in the future) = 3110 GB of TiVo storage.  Some might say that is a little overkill and they would probably be right.

On December 13th word leaked out, it was never officially and publicly confirmed, that series 1 DirecTV TiVo's would be eligible for lifetime transfer.  Jerry had taken advantage of the lifetime subscription while it was still available.  I talked with him about if he was going to use it.  He said no and said I could transfer it if I wanted.  While at my parents house I ordered the Series 3 and had it delivered to my house.  As far as I knew the same restriction dates would apply, namely buy by 12/31/06 and transfer by 1/31/07 so I wasn't worried.

When I returned home on 1/2/07 I first dealt with the previous S3 issue as I talked out in story one.  Then I began the process of trying to get my S3 setup.  I am going to quote most of the rest of the story from post I made on the TiVo Community site.

"I called about 5 PM today to try to transfer. First CSR said no DTV transfers, when I pushed him he put me on hold. He came back and said ok it could be done. He then took my old TSN and put me on hold again. Came back and asked for new S3 TSN. It wouldn't let him put it trough so he put me on hold a third time. This time he came back and said the offer was only valid from 12/13-12/31. At that point he said sorry no way to do it. I came here and saw oldskoolboarder's post so I figured I would try again.

Second CSR knew about it right away and took old TSN. Then asked me when I bought the S3, which was last week. I was out of town until today. He said he would need to take some info and transfer to higher level to process. He then got all my info. Several times would come back with small info requests and lots of hold time.

I finally got to tier 2 (I am guessing). At first they couldn't find the old lifetime box. Then they did and got more confused since it was my friends old one. Had to confirm all his info. A new snag the DTV account being transferred from and the new tivo account must be under same name. I said can the S3 be activated under his name? On hold again. My friend has to do transfer it seems, then the S3 can be transferred ownership to me. A little over an hour on the phone and still not done. More to come.

I called back as my friend and tier 1 said no dice since it was passed deadline. Told the above story and was on hold for tier 2. I pushed for case number or something on first call in case this happened and they wouldn't give me anything. Almost another hour on hold again so far. Well the tier 2 said they can't do it (even though last one said yes) and now being transferred to an account specialist. More holding. After 1:20 on hold they hung up while transferring. TiVo must be busy tonight took 15 minutes just to get to human to put me back in queue that dumped me. After another 15 min on hold (30 total for this call) the person who picked up essentially said ok its done.

It took almost 3 hours on the phone and 6-7 CSRs but I think it is finally done. The amazing thing is the variety of answers from all levels."

One postscript to this story is that TiVo has apparently changed their mind yet again on this issue.  Sometime between 1/8-1/10 they changed the policy again and are now allowing the DirecTV TiVo lifetime transfer yet again.  Who knows for how long though.

Shortly after announcing the Series 3 TiVo announced that they would allow the transfer of lifetime subscriptions from older TiVo's to a Series 3.  TiVo no longer sells lifetime subscriptions so the ability to transfer one could save a good deal of money over the life of a TiVo.  When I bought my parents their Series 2 TiVo I also bought them a lifetime subscription, that way I wasn't giving them something that had an ongoing cost  associated to it.

I figured that sometime in the not to distant future my parents would be getting an HDTV and would want a TiVo to work with it.  I decided to get them a Series 3 since I would be able to transfer the lifetime subscription to it.  The catch with the transfer is the Series had to be bought by 12/31/06 and transferred by 1/31/07.  By giving it to them on Christmas I was going to be cutting it close.  I actually bought the Series 3 in November when I had a 12% off coupon.

After giving it to my parents on Christmas day I transferred the lifetime subscription even before opening the box.  Later I hooked it up to my brother's new HDTV.  It booted up fine but within minutes rebooted and kept rebooting.  I tried a couple of things and eventually called TiVo.  They suggested I unplug it and wait two hours.  I reluctantly did so, it actually booted longer that time but again it went into a reboot loop.  My best guess is it was a heat issue and as soon as it heated up it would fail.  I tried to undo the lifetime transfer however I couldn't once it had started.  I was told to just call back once I swapped the box.  Since I was flying out the next morning at 6 AM I had to leave that task to my mom.

I didn't have the receipt with me, didn't think I would need it.  I left my mom my Best Buy card and the info on when and where I bought it.  She went to Best Buy during the craziness of post Christmas.  She was able to return it easy enough and get store credit since it had been so long since I bought it.  The only problem was that Best Buy had none in stock at that store or any others nearby.  She went to other stores to find a replacement and had no success.  She went back to Best Buy and I think they essentially placed an online order for the exchange price so that she could have a receipt showing a purchase prior.  It wasn't easy but it got done.

The new Series 3 was delivered on 1/2/07.  My brother unboxed it and tested it.  Once we were sure it was working I called TiVo to migrate the account to the new box.  Also sometime around this time TiVo extended the deadlines a month, so it wasn't as much of a rush it seems.  At least it got resolved.

Last week on Thursday I went to Best Buy to get a TV.  I had done some looking and decided on the Westinghouse LTV-27w7 HD which is primarily available at Best Buy.  I wasn't getting this TV for me it was mostly a present for Kelly.  She had a 19-20" old school TV that was getting worse and worse.  The picture would bounce even while watching a DVD then the color started to be off.  I say it was mostly for Kelly since I will also enjoy using it while at her place.

Anyway the real reason for this post was to tell the story of getting the TV at Best Buy.  I had waited until the TV was no longer on sale and was officially lowered in price, which allowed me to use a coupon for it.  I had a coupon for 12% off some items.  The coupon neither said it was or wasn't for TV's.  I asked one of the sales dudes, actually one from the store in a store Magnolia.  He said it should work so I said to get me one.  We went back to the Magnolia register to ring me out.  The coupon didn't work.  However the manager in that are worked with me and gave me 10% off anyway.  I could live without the 2%.

Karri told me that she had a similar experience at Best Buy.  She wanted to buy a receiver for Jerry and mentioned to a rep that she wanted to wait for a 10% off coupon.  The rep gave her 10% off anyway.  I have also heard from others that they have essentially haggled the price with managers.  I guess it can't hurt to ask.

Needless to say Best Buy made me a happy customer again, which they have done more often than not and it is why I spend my money there.  Hopefully they continue to upgrade their stores and stay on the right course.

I am in the process of watching the premiere of MNF with a regular season game.  I am watching it on TiVo so I just saw the Clinton Portis TD.  I wanted to mention the production values on the program and some other notes.

The opening was really well done I thought.  It may be semi-special for the opening but still.  It was a two partner.  The first part was a short film with a special agent running through Washington DC.  The agent is being chased and finally makes it to the ESPN truck.  The MNF intro DVD is inserted and then the normal intro started.  The second intro started with the governator Arnold picking up a helmet and unleashing an emp like blast to begin to change the city (fictional computer generated not DC).  The city then changes into a massive football stadium with high rises becoming seating and roads becoming yard markers.  It was really well done and I can even except the massive GMC advertising embedded in.

They later had the standard MNF intro by Hank Williams Jr.  It is still better than Pink on Sunday Night Football, but it just seems to be aging.  It was short thankfully.  It had a wide range of rockers from Little Richard, Steve Van Zandt and Joe Perry.

The picture quality of the game is really amazing.  I watched a bunch of games on Sunday Ticket HD yesterday and this just looks better.  It may be that DirecTV is allocating more bandwidth to ESPN HD or it may be the ESPN production itself, either way it looks good.  The graphics for scores and other stuff is done quite well.  It seems ESPN has just invested more in HD than some others have.

The calling of the game seems to be going well.  Tericho is a good play by play guy and Theisman is a pretty good color and football technical announcer.  So far Kornheiser seems to be doing well.  He is interjected nicely and even seems to be fitting in.  I didn't watch any of the pre-season games and from what I have heard Tony was rough at times.  He is a good add-on of a person between the average fan and Theisman in football knowledge.  He asks questions that many people watching might ask.  He also reads emails which seem to add a new twist.

In the middle of the second quarter Jamie Foxx joined the other guys in the booth.  Usually when some random star does this the result is some thinly veiled commercial for a project.  However as far as I could tell Foxx was not pimping anything.  Also Foxx was really good in the booth.  He played high school football and then played a character in Any Given Sunday as well.  He knows his football and was a really entertaining addition to the booth for about 20 minutes.  There was some talk and joking about Tom Cruise who was in Dan Snyder's owners booth next to the broadcasting booth.

The half time show appears to be at least partially about 9/11.  I will probably not watch much of it.  Don't need it from ESPN or any other TV channel really.  The half time show is sponsored by Lexus, too bad they didn't take the opportunity to show a HD commercial.

That gets me to halftime.  I may add some final thoughts at the end of game, if I am still awake.

Currently in TiVo boxes from DirecTV, DirecTV's internal DVR and many cable DVRs provide dual tuners for a single fee. This means that you can usually record two things simultaneously as well as being able to watch a third pre-recorded program or movie. Under current systems you can only watch one thing at a time from a given set top box and as result the providers only charge a single fee. In the near future this may change however and I have yet to see anyone talk about it. I want to pose some scenarios and theories in hopes of getting discussion going.

With the upcoming Windows Vista Media Center Edition there will finally be an ability to use CableCard enabled tuners to receive digital and premium cable. It has also been announced that there should be a DirecTV add-on to allow that content to get onto a Vista MCE. TiVo also soon will have their TiVo Series 3 out that can use dual CableCard 1.0 cards or a single CableCard 2.0 card to receive cable content directly rather than through a separate cable set top box. I would hope that the MCE computers will have the ability to have two or potentially more tuners in them just as they do today with NTSC and ATSC tuner cards.

A common use of MCE machines is to enable people to watch content on other TV's in a house via Media Center Extenders, Xbox and Xbox 360's or potentially other devices more remotely. With a TiVo you could also have multiple TiVo's pulling shows of a single TiVo, traditionally you would have each TiVo with an input signal to record but it isn't required. Both MCE and TiVo also have the ability to transfer content to computers and portable devices. This brings up interesting scenarios where you could have a single recording device with an input signal and multiple viewing devices. Traditionally the satellite and cable providers have charged based on number of viewing devices, now that model will most likely have to change it would seem.

Will the providers take a step backwards and start charging on a per tuner basis or could it be even worse and they will limit the number of tuners a recording device has or the number of viewing devices that can be attached? There is all sorts of talk about HDCP and what it means to directly attached viewing devices, but what about all the potential viewing devices that are attached remotely via a network or USB in the case of portable devices. I would imagine someone is thinking about these pricing and usage policies but I haven't seen anyone talking about it yet?

For me at my house I could in theory lower my DirecTV bill. If I built or bought a Vista MCE machine and then installed 2 or more DirecTV tuners I could then use Extenders all over the rest of the house and save the montly fees for all my DirecTV STBs. For me it doesn't mean much, but for someone who has 4-5 STBs it could save them $5-30 a month. I don't know if the cable or satellite providers really would like that. It even goes farther with tools like Orb or portable media centers. Another more frightening scenario for the providers is an apartment building or dorm where one device with 4 or even 6 tuners tunes and records content and then 10, 20 or even 30 viewing devices share that recording device to watch content. Most likely a given MCE device couldn't handle that many inputs and outputs today but with RAID and Gigabit Ethernet it isn't that much of a stretch of the imagination.