TiVo Gets In Deeper With Sony

mickeyreznor writes: "TiVo and Sony have entered into a seven year deal. The deal will result in TiVo's software being incorporated into Sony's electronic products. This deal might be good for TiVo, who've seemed to have been struggling financially to date. I'll just have to see how much more sony products cost with TiVo included." This is good news for anyone with a TiVo.

FP

[Anonymous Coward]

How is this good news for tivo owners?

Re:New product idea..

[_Mustang]

And why would you say that as if it were a joke? All we've been hearing lately here on /. is news about the "next big thing" being the entertainment center *doohicky* that allows gaming, television and full net access.Dangit if that isn't exactly where Sony is headed and that much sooner by adding TiVo capabilities to their next PS - the one with the onboard storage.

Re:FP

[unitron]

Just what I was wondering. Sony is heavily involved in the content providing business as well as the hardware to play the content on business. Sounds like it'll just increase the likelyhood of copy controls being introduced in future versions of the Tivo software and hardware. I want something that's tied to no one's desires but mine. (Able to work with lots of different program listing services, lots of different file formats, easy to transfer files to and from other devices, easy to write your own control software for, easy to expand storage, etc.)

It had to happen...

[saridder]

Sony had to do this because you know MS will merge the X-box and ReplayTV in the next few years. I'm suprised TiVo wasn't bought out completely by Sony. At what point does the web and/or and ethernet card get built in also, creating the ultimate All-in Wonder.

Re:FP

[Tim Macinta]

How is this good news for tivo owners?

For one thing, it means that TiVo is likely to stay in business for quite sometime. A TiVo recorder would be lot less useful if there no company providing the update service that TiVo provides. The updates give you schedule listings and software upgrades. Without the update service, a TiVo recorder is only slightly more useful than a VCR - with the update service a TiVo recorder becomes indespensible to most people who have used one.

Re:Mixed

[Gaijin42]

This deal doesnt give Sony any control over Tivo, they just get to use the technology. So if Sony puts in restrictions on how you can use the built-in-tivo, just dont use it.

You can always plug in an external unit.

And since all the networks and whatnot are already tivo's main financial backing, any content control incentives are already in place.

This is why Tivo doesnt have skip commercials. Because networks make their money on commercials, and therefore won't let tivo skip em.

Ultimate TV and ReplayTV dont have that restriction.

Re:New product idea..

[timbck2]

No, no, no, no, no. Only someone who's never seen TiVo would think of it this way. Trying to get all these capabilities out of a PC today with the ease of use of TiVo would be impossible. I'm not a gamer, so I can't say anything about that.

Re:New product idea..

[JofCoRe]

And would that mean that I couldn't play a game while I recorded something on my PSThreeVo?

If they do end up combining something like this, I hope they take into account that people may want to be able to multitask it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be particularly useful... for me at least.....
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Re:New product idea..

[spudnic]

It's just not the same. Like the guy above said, you have to have one to appreciate it. And yeah, you could probably throw in $300 and get something that would work but why? For the same price you could get a unit that is a sheer pleasure to use and not tie up your computer at all.

I understand the hack value of pulling something like this off on your pc, and that's cool. It might work in your dorm room or in your bedroom at your parents house, but as a component in the home entertainment system of the average family, there is just no way to make this work. They won't put up with the headaches.

People make money to spend it on things that they enjoy and make their lives easier. This is hard for a student or someone just starting out to understand. Sometimes it's just better to get the right tool for the job and don't sweat it.

Re:Building a bare-bones DVR with Linux?

[Anonymous Coward]

well that's funny. i can telnet to my tivo, and change it's options from here.

oh, and it's got 200 gigs.

:)

www.9thtee.com

Television lock in is why Sony/TiVo match well.

[AtariDatacenter]

[reduced version of an essay I have yet to rewrite]

Why is TiVo so delicious? Especially for a game console manufacturer who wants to adopt services? The answer is simple. The DVR locks itself into your television experience as a layer between your remote and your programming. How so?

Once you have a TiVo/UltimateTV/ReplayTV, you are always working within the software environment. That is, it is not like a game console where you say, "Now I am going to play video games. Okay. Now I am done. I am going to switch it off and watch TV." The DVR is an always-on computer television appliance. It does a good job of integrating itself into the television... people without TiVos don't think about turning their TiVo off to do something else. [How? The primary reason is that it takes over the remote control. If you can get people to use YOUR remote control to operate their home television with YOUR appliance, you can put anything in between that you want.]

Match that with a game console, and online services, and you see why it is so attractive. An online service that is "always on" makes itself far more easier to adopt than something you turn off and on.

This is the future and, for this reason, television computing will become pervasive. WebTV isn't it. Game consoles aren't it. It is the DVR which will allow companies to sink their services into the "home television computer".