April 25th, 2006
The new TiVo is out! Well, sort of.
TiVo sent me email today about a new "Early release" offer, and I thought "Finally, the Series 3 is out!"…
But alas, it’s only an 80 hour Java enabled dual-tuner series 2, with built-in wired Ethernet. Wireless Ethernet (who wants to run wires anymore?) is $50 more, and service starts at $19.95 a month. Yawn.
Can someone explain to me why it has taken so many years for the Series 3 to be released? Series 3 will have two critical features that many competitors already have - the ability to record from digital cable, and the ability to record high definition TV.
I’ve stuck with TiVo for so long because:
- Their interface is extremely useable,
- They keep adding new features to it (it’s not a dead platform),
- It supports an open interface for server-side Java programs, and
- I purchased a lifetime subscription years ago (muahaha).
I have two TiVos, one in the living room, and one in the bedroom, connected with WiFi. Generally I’ve been very happy with it but the wait for digital cable and HD has been frustrating. Especially after having purchased a nice 70" rear-projection Sony TV almost 2 years ago, with nothing good except some rabbit-ear OTC HD to show it off. My local cable provider would be happy to sell me a DVR, but user reviews have scared me off of it. Why can’t I have my TiVo cake and eat cable HD too?
Ed Burnette is a professional developer and author of several articles and books about computing including Hello, Android: Introducing Google's Mobile Development Platform, 2nd Edition. For disclosure of Ed's industry affiliations, click here or to view his full profile click here.
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| 04/26/06
