Re: Tivo
 

Rattus - you know with Sky when you stop subscribing the recording functionality packs up? So although you 'own' the Sky+, when you stop giving them the money you've got a very expensive FTV receiver, nothing more.

This isn't a million miles away from VM. And they'll *always* sort your box out for you.

Re: Tivo
 

Very true when I cancelled Sky Hd my box recording feature didn't work a bit naughty if you ask me.

Re: Tivo
 

You have to subscribe to the service to enable it to work.;)

Re: Tivo
 

There are advantages of "owning" the equipment though, like the ability to upgrade the HDD if you choose. You can always sell the box on too, to someone else who's subscribing.

I see what you are saying, and i'm more than happy to pay an increased rental for an improved box, just as i was with TVdrive back in the day. I just don't like the idea of large upfronts for equipment I do not and never will own.

Re: Tivo
 

Well i'm a bit sceptical about the iplayer HD.

Whenever i've tried to access HD VOD i always get the 'high demand....' error.

Is there anyway for them to fix this or is it just too many neighbours on virgin VOD?

As for the Tivo Vivo i don't think i'll be an early adopter sadly, did that with the V+ and paid £10 for ages, then they wanted another £50 to stop the £10 payments. They finally stopped it on their own.

Re: Tivo
 

If they price it too high then those who are primarily looking for more disc space to accommodate HD recordings will take matters (and a screwdriver) in their own hands and start fitting their own 1Tb drives. It may breach T&Cs but there's a lot of frustrated folk out there who want more V+ capacity NOW.

---------- Post added at 07:58 ---------- Previous post was at 07:57 ----------

Report the HD VOD problem to Customer Services: it's most likely a local contention issue and they can address this. We had a few probs, one call later and it was all resolved.

Re: Tivo
 

Just read about plans to bring Spotify to the VM platform, I wonder if this will be part of the offerings that Tivo brings?

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/3624...-spotify-on-tv

Re: Tivo
 

I would have thought it was more a VM broadband extra than VM TV, but you never know.

Re: Tivo
 

Hmm. It specifically talks about the TV platform though Nialli. I would have thought this was possible with the existing WeeChange middleware but a shiny TiVO app would be more than welcome.

Re: Tivo
 

I can't understand everyone's willingness to pay more than they do currently for a service that should have been provided years ago.

Yes, this will raise the bar on Sky+ , but have Virgin/TW/ntl customers not already paid by having to suffer the useless in comparison V+/TVDrive for years (which has always been blown out by Sky+).

What extra functionality will you actually get from a new box?

It'll have 3 tuners - we have that now
It'll have more recording space - hardly a massive upgrade, this could be done to the existing box/platform at low cost
It'll have a new EPG - should have been dealt with years ago, always been trumped by Sky
You can watch YouTube on your telly - not exactly worth paying for
Live updating EPG - Sky have had this for years, and its criminal cable still don't
Spotify on your telly - not exactly worth paying for (you'll prob have to pay Spotify as well!)

TiVo is good (I used to have one) - the suggestions engine is great. But at the end of the day its still just a PVR - I don't see why I should pay extra each month for it when I never have since Sky+ dropped the subscription charge years ago.

And paying up front - again why? We are always told we rent the equipment from Virgin, so its being paid for by your monthly service subscription, no? A £2/300 upfront charge for one of these would be scandalous - its not groundbreaking new hardware. Charge for the engineer visit if you must, but why should I pay for something I don't own?

---------- Post added at 13:01 ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 ----------

That's when a PVR was new technology, and the gadget heads were all over them. Sky used to charge for Sky+ back then, and TiVo were selling in this country.

Now its yesterday's news, and they are almost considered the norm. Where is the justification for the charge?

Re: Tivo
 

Well... Sky charge £249 just for the 1tb version of the current Sky+HD...

http://www.sky.com/shop/boxes/1TB

No pricing has been announced by VM, yet, so I'm not going to start speculating, but it will be a premium product, offering a lot more than Sky+HD or V+HD.

Re: Tivo
 

Thats exactly my point - I don't buy all this hype. What will make it so much better than Sky+ / V+ ? Suggestions - old news. Spotify / YouTube - not a game-changer. On-demand - thats a network benefit, not the STB.

I don't see it bringing anything other than an incremental update to what is currently available. Certainly not to the level to deserve a premium price-tag.

And, as we are forever reminded by VM employees on here, your buying your Sky box - hence the price tag.

Re: Tivo
 

It's not necessarily VM employees who remind you of that..

Any discussion of features could be a little premature as we don't yet know what they will be including.

Tivo has some nice features, and from what I have seen (on demo videos) bears little resemblance to the Series 1 software we have on UK Tivos. One feature I would like to see over here is the ability to control your device via the web (which Sky does have) and the ability to download recordings to your mobile (which Sky does not).

Re: Tivo
 

I think when VM do launch the TiVo service and set top boxes you will be really surprised at how much better it will be. If you have seen any videos of series 4 in action I think it will be similar to that.

Re: Tivo
 

Agreed 100% - long overdue!

Also agree, but won't this make the rights holders squeal? Have seen Tivo2Go in the US, but won't the rights holders try to nullify this kind of feature? They don't like people keeping permanent copies of their stuff, especially when they can flog the DVD or iTunes download to make some £££.

---------- Post added at 12:49 ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 ----------

Better than what?

V+ - couldn't really be much worse.
Sky+HD (with its new broadband on-demand offering?
YouView (by the time TiVo comes to market properly this will really be gathering pace ready for launch)

I just think we shouldn't be accepting this will cost a fortune (in case the market researchers are watching). It should be priced aggressively rather than making it a niche 'techies' product.