So last week, after a 3 year wait, TiVo FINALLY announced a new product offering in the way of the TiVo Premiere and the Premiere XL. The problem is that it presents very little in the way of innovation.
I think most people agree that cable company DVR’s are horrible. I was an avid TiVo subscriber from the initial launch. The smooth user interface, great remote and features such as season passes were amazing. The cable company DVR’s leave a lot to be desired. However, they are essentially free and the user experience continues to get better. I currently pay $11.95 for a Comcast Motorola HD dual-tuner DVR. That’s it. No cost for the box, just $11.95 a month. The TiVo Premiere requires a $299-$499 (depending on hard drive size) investment for the box, a $13.95 monthly service fee AND you still need to rent a cable card from your service provider to obtain HD content on it for about $7 a month. Not to mention that you have no access to your cable companies OnDemand programming when using a TiVo.
Another thing that threw me off about the new TiVo box is its lack of wireless networking. What?! Do people actually still use home landline telephone service? Yes, there is a wireless adapter available for an additional $100.00. That brings your initial out-of-pocket costs to right around $600.00, and that is before any monthly service fees!
TiVo does have several things going for it. First, they just announced this beautiful new remote. It features bluetooth and a slide out QWERTY keyboard. Anyone who has done a search on any DVR can instantly recognize the beauty of this. But get this, it is not included in the box! The price has not been announced yet, but I’m guessing it will be in the $100.00 range. That just brought your total to $700.00. You could buy a car for that much money, or an iPad, or groceries for half a year!
The new TiVo Premiere interface. The new box provides support for Netflix and Amazon Video on Demand. Well, so did the old TiVo boxes. Nothing new here, except that they make it a bit more apparent. Honestly, I don’t see myself using these features a whole lot. I prefer the iTunes store on my Apple TV over Amazon’s offerings and until Netflix offers me more that a few obscure documentaries and B-Movies for viewing on demand, that is a lost cause as well.
Yes, TiVo is slick, beautiful, well functioning and somewhat innovative but they just cannot compete on the pricing field. Comcast is currently offering DVR boxes running the TiVo software in several test markets and I dream of the day when that program rolls out nationally. For now the price and lack of OnDemand access limit what this, or any other TiVo product will be able to achieve.
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