Snozberry: TiVo Feedback

Don't get me wrong, I love my TiVo - but it's very frustrating think about what it can do, as opposed to what TiVo management currently allows it to do. For an example of unencumbered PVR development, see the ever improving (and ever more tempting) Myth TV project. Below is some feedback I recently provided to the TiVo firm:

Desired features:
1. I wish I could download unencrypted video files from my TiVo.
2. Automatic commercial skipping (30-second skip is not good enough).

Reasoning:
Viewing recorded broadcast video is well within my fair use rights and I would like to be able to watch video on any computer I wish - be it a computer running Linux, Mac OS X, or even Windows. This is absolutely no different than having a VHS tape and playing it on any player I wish.

I am not the first to think/say that, as a firm, TiVo is certainly not going to survive by playing into the hands of the very firms they seek to out-compete in the marketplace (i.e., Timer Warner, Comcast, Cox, and other cable providers). TiVo management needs to re-examine their position in the market and their relationship with their customers (a relationship that is rapidly deteriorating in dissatisfaction).

Looking at the cost of my TiVo, I have been very strongly considering building a Myth TV computer to replace my TiVo. Going this route will provide me with the two functions that my TiVo is more than capable of performing, but TiVo management chooses to prohibit.

Pre-Packaged Feature Request List:
1. Save recordings to digital media (writable DVD, external hard drive, etc.)
2. Skip commercials automatically
3. Restrict Season Passes to a specific timeslot, if show airs multiple times per day/week
- When I change the channel, don't get rid of the stored live TV cache
- Automatic padding (when nothing conflicts, automatically record extra time on either side of any recording)
- Allow Season Passes to record on any channel that airs the program, not just one channel
- Advanced conflict resolution (find alternate airings, enhance visual display of conflicts, etc.)
- 30-second skip button (essentially already present)
- Record two programs at the same time/record one program and watch another live program
- High Definition recording

Comments:
Music and photos on your TiVo is rather stupid; it's a device geared for watching TV and movies. Focus on the functions that will make it more enjoyable and easy to watch TV. Do not succumb to the failed idea of a digital hub/convergance device. Make TiVo good at what it's primarily used for and then move from there.

Fair use law is on your side.

Posted by reds at March 8, 2005 01:21 AM