TiVO Premiere gives us a glimpse of what may be to come...

[zantarous]

This may explain why we are not getting the Premier box http://hd.engadget.com/2010/03/09/th...fast-as-the-s/

The processor in the Premier is 3x faster the the Tivo Series 3. So could it be that the box we get specs won't be as good?

[batchain]

Originally Posted by zantarous

This may explain why we are not getting the Premier box http://hd.engadget.com/2010/03/09/th...fast-as-the-s/

The processor in the Premier is 3x faster the the Tivo Series 3. So could it be that the box we get specs won't be as good?

Unlike DirectTV, Comcast, or TiVo Series 3 boxes, the Virgin boxes will be powerful enough to support TiVo Series 4 software. Unlike the TiVo Premiere, the Virgin boxes will also support MPEG-4 and the DVR will most likely have more than 2 tuners. If the specs were not good enough they would have announced plans to base Virgin's software on TiVo Series 3 same as DirectTV. According to TiVo, the Virgin boxes will be support the very latest Series 4 software which suggests, as a recent newspaper article noted, they will either meet or beat Premiere specs.

[zantarous]

I think you mean the paper "speculated" on the box being meeting or exceeding it's specs.

[TheDon]

Originally Posted by zantarous

I think you mean the paper "speculated" on the box being meeting or exceeding it's specs.

Berkett himself has said we'll be getting the new flash-based UI, therefore the boxes it'll be running on meet the specs for it.

[greeninferno]

Lets hope virgin get this right and fully test the thing properly.

It won't matter one jot what the box is capable of if it all grinds along at a snail's pace.

[clinteastman]

12 things to expect from Virgin Media's next-gen box

Nice article.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by tvtimes

I very much doubt that Virgin will release a box that exceeds tivo's capabilities. I mean Tivo is the biggest pvr giant and they spend millions and millions creating the best possible and revolutionary tv. I can't see a small UK cable company beating improving and adding more than what tivo already has done.

I wouldn't really call VM a small UK cable company. Maybe a few years ago this would have been true, but certainly not anymore.

Originally Posted by clinteastman

12 things to expect from Virgin Media's next-gen box

Nice article.

I noticed though they mention about all VM boxes should be HD. They must not be aware of the new V HD box thats just about to launch.

[zantarous]

Originally Posted by TheDon

Berkett himself has said we'll be getting the new flash-based UI, therefore the boxes it'll be running on meet the specs for it.

I seem to recall him saying they signed Tivio after a demo of the flash UI. Just because the boxes are less powerful doesn't mean it will not be flash based. Just remember companies never build a machine to customers wants but more to a budget.

[zantarous]

A little bit from Tim Rogers http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/11/t...-virgin-media/

[mertle]

might be cheaky but anybody got specs list of the new boxes I seem to remember we got hold of V+ before it got released.

Not sure but are they going Cisco box they getting and seem to remember cisco mentioned they was going to put a face recognising cameras in the new boxes in USA so it could service adds by monitoring individual habbits. I doubt virgin will want the camera think laws in the uk would not allow it.

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by Stephen

I wouldn't really call VM a small UK cable company. Maybe a few years ago this would have been true, but certainly not anymore.

What i meant is VM are small fry compare to the likes of Tivo. Tivo are giants in the industry with a hell of a lot of more money.

[TheDon]

Originally Posted by tvtimes

What i meant is VM are small fry compare to the likes of Tivo. Tivo are giants in the industry with a hell of a lot of more money.

You're having a laugh right?

Tivo's revenue last quarter was a mere $68.5 million. VM's? $1.5bn

Tivo are also losing money hand over fist, on that $68.5m they lost $10million They aren't a giant, not by a long stretch.

Tivo have no money, VM's OCF dwarfs Tivo's by huge margins. The new boxes they've bought out are pretty much their last throw of the dice, gone are the days when everyone had a Tivo, providers own DVRs have come on huge amounts since the days of Tivo dominance, and couple that with the issue of them needing addons to work with SDV, and it being pretty buggy, they aren't the force they once were.

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by TheDon

You're having a laugh right?

Tivo's revenue last quarter was a mere $68.5 million. VM's? $1.5bn

Tivo are also losing money hand over fist, on that $68.5m they lost $10million They aren't a giant, not by a long stretch.

Tivo have no money, VM's OCF dwarfs Tivo's by huge margins. The new boxes they've bought out are pretty much their last throw of the dice, gone are the days when everyone had a Tivo, providers own DVRs have come on huge amounts since the days of Tivo dominance, and couple that with the issue of them needing addons to work with SDV, and it being pretty buggy, they aren't the force they once were.

VM are in £6bn of debt though. Just because their operating costs are more doesn't mean they're a bigger company. Tivo are the biggest and most innovative pvr company in the world. Tivo are across the globe and like i said Virgin Media are a small UK cable company. Tivo's reach far out weighs Virgins.

[TheDon]

Originally Posted by tvtimes

VM are in £6bn of debt though. Just because their operating costs are more doesn't mean they're a bigger company. Tivo are the biggest and most innovative pvr company in the world. Tivo are across the globe and like i said Virgin Media are a small UK cable company. Tivo's reach far out weighs Virgins.

Higher operating costs, higher revenue, higher free cash flow, higher cash at bank, lower debt to turnover ratio (that's VM btw).

Everything about VM is in better shape than Tivo. You claimed Tivo have more money than VM, I've just told you they don't, not by a long shot. Tivo are in debt to a far higher percentage of turnover than VM are.

They might have a well known name, but they aren't some giant of a company. They have nearly half the subs they used to have, they have been in a steady decline for years as more and more people just use their providers STBs, hence why they've not started hooking up with providers to issue their boxes direct.

Don't get me wrong, they're good at what they do, but they aren't a multinational giant that put VM into the shade, and if you compare businesses it's VM that ends up looking like the giant "with a hell of a lot more money".

[BenMcr]

Although recent legal cases in the US have improved TiVo's prospects

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10463960-265.html

TiVo's stock price shot up 55 percent on news of the ruling, which could ultimately see the company receive nearly $300 million from EchoStar.