BetaNews Thoughts on TiVo at CES

January 8, 2007, 7:15 PM by Nate Mook

Nate Mook, Editor in Chief, BetaNews: TiVo gave us a thorough demo of their software for Comcast's HD DV-R, but wouldn't let us touch the remote. Apparently, it's still a work in progress and we weren't able to see how the performance compares to Comcast's default software. However, TiVo vice president for product marketing Jim Denney said the company was working hard to improve the speed of the interface.

Tim Conneally, BetaNews: Denney indicated that TiVo isn't interested in joining the push for the so-called "connected home," but rather is focusing on the two forms of entertainment people actually use: video and music. It will be interesting to see how the company fends off competition from Microsoft, which just yesterday announced a new IPTV version of the Xbox 360 that will be offered to cable providers as well.

Nate Mook: We weren't very impressed with the guide. It's the standard Comcast guide with improved graphics, but it was slow to navigate and could not be overlaid on live TV. However, the Video On Demand features seemed to work well, and definitely benefited from TiVo's involvement. Advertising wasn't yet implemented, but TiVo said that would be added at a later stage. Comcast will likely offer the TiVo software as an optional downloadable upgrade, but pricing has not yet been determined.

Tim Conneally: TiVo also showed us their new music-oriented feature, which enables Real Rhapsody customers to stream music directly to their TV. In addition, TiVo has added support for TiVoToGo for Mac, which is enabled through a partnership with Roxio. Unfortunately, TiVo customers must pay $99 for Toast in order to take advantage of the "to go" functionality. Unlike the Windows TiVoToGo offering, there is only one level on the Mac, and no free viewing just on the PC. TiVo said it picked Roxio as a partner because it needed help with the architectural differences between the PC and Macs.

Nate Mook: TiVo's Jim Denney also said the company was working hard to bring TiVoToGo and multi-room viewing to Series3 customers, although no timeframe has been established as of yet. Much to our dismay, Denney noted that only analog and over-the-air content will be supported by the features, as digital and HD broadcasts have certain copyright issues that TiVo has not resolved. The company said it is currently working on a software update for Series3, which is in limited alpha testing and will likely ship to customers in the Spring.