REPLAY VS. TIVO
Battle of the video servers, Round 1
by David J. Elrich
LAS VEGAS, January 10, 1999 -- This year's CES is one of the
most upbeat we've seen in years. With HDTV, DVD, digital this,
and digital that, things are jumping in the consumer electronics
world. Also heating up the convention floor is the new concept of
the hard drive VCR, represented by two companies with similar
products but different approaches, ReplayTV and Tivo.
They're similar only on the surface, however -- sophisticated hard
drives and software that allow you to make digital recordings of
your favorite shows. Each also lets you search huge databases to
find your faves -- and in the case of Tivo, an intelligent agent
recommends programs that fit your TV tastebuds.
But there are some big differences between the two, and it's going
to be fun to see which wins out. And don't worry; we've already
asked for review samples to test when the gadgets become real.
Tivo Personal TV Service
"CES was our coming-out party and this is the first public
demonstration of Personal TV," Joe Harris, Tivo's marketing
director, told E/Town. And what is Personal TV, you might ask?
Part of partner Philips' concept, Tivo "learns" your likes and
dislikes when you vote "Thumbs Up" or "Thumbs Down," using
the remote control when you watch a show. Like Amazon, Tivo's
software analyzes these choices, then searches a giant database to
recommend programs for you to record on its built-in hard drive.
Around the end of March, for under $500, you can buy Tivo,
which looks just like a VCR except there's no tape to be seen. It
records up to 10 hours of material you chose or that's chosen by
Tivo. There will be 20- and 40-hour versions available (no pricing
announced). Quality is basic VHS but you change the bit rate to
almost DVD level with a corresponding drop in recording time.
Attention Hollywood -- there's no way for the video to be
outputted, so chill out. A FireWire port exists, but won't be active
until copyright issues are sorted out. Harris admitted Tivo doesn't
want to be in the hardware business and is trying to get TV
makers to build Tivo into their sets. To that end, Philips announced
they'd build such a device in conjunction with DirecTV. In other
words, there will be a Philips set-top box, and perhaps a
Tivo-enabled TV, with a built-in DirecTV receiver, and Tivo in the
near-future.
Beyond recording, Tivo does some cool tricks. Since it's always
caching video on the hard drive, you can do instant replays any
time you want, with slow motion and still frame advance, a nice
toy for sports fans. For instance, if you're watching "Law &
Order" and you're called away by a phone call, you can pick it up
from where you left off while Tivo continues recording. Harris
admitted they hadn't figured a way to fast forward into the future,
but they were working on it -- along with H.G. Wells, we added.
Tivo looks like a promising technology. The only drawback we
see is a $10 monthly fee. Not many services make it when they
ask TV viewers to pay for them (StarSight is a classic example).
Harris emphasized Tivo was much more than that. OK, Joe, we'll
give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's see what happens by CES
2000. For the record, Tivo is a Silicon Valley start-up with big
bucks behind them, including Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.
ReplayTV
Guess what? Paul Allen is also betting on the competing
ReplayTV. We asked Jim Plant straight out what was the
difference between his service and Tivo. "We're free and we don't
pry into people's viewing habits." Plant stressed Replay has a very
different philosophy regarding intelligent agents. "We think this has
the potential to be really embarrassing. Say someone watches
Spice or Playboy at night, then a child looks to see the
recommended programs..." Oops. We'll see if this is an issue or
just some spin against a competitor.
Basically, ReplayTV offers similar services to Tivo. They will have
a number of boxes with different-sized hard drives to digitally
record TV signals at different bit rates (up to 6 mbps, almost DVD
level). The more you spend, the bigger the hard drive (with 28 gigs
the largest) that will record 28 hours of VHS video, less at higher
bit rates. Prices range from $699-$1399.
Plant admitted his company didn't want to get into the hardware
business. They wanted to provide the technology to
manufacturers. Sound familiar? Replay emphasizes that you'll
never miss your favorite show again. Once you pick it, highlight the
onscreen guide and you're done. No muss, no fuss, no tape.
REPLAY VS. TIVO
Battle of the video servers, Round 1
by David J. Elrich
LAS VEGAS, January 10, 1999 -- This year's CES is one of the
most upbeat we've seen in years. With HDTV, DVD, digital this,
and digital that, things are jumping in the consumer electronics
world. Also heating up the convention floor is the new concept of
the hard drive VCR, represented by two companies with similar
products but different approaches, ReplayTV and Tivo.
They're similar only on the surface, however -- sophisticated hard
drives and software that allow you to make digital recordings of
your favorite shows. Each also lets you search huge databases to
find your faves -- and in the case of Tivo, an intelligent agent
recommends programs that fit your TV tastebuds.
But there are some big differences between the two, and it's going
to be fun to see which wins out. And don't worry; we've already
asked for review samples to test when the gadgets become real.
Tivo Personal TV Service
"CES was our coming-out party and this is the first public
demonstration of Personal TV," Joe Harris, Tivo's marketing
director, told E/Town. And what is Personal TV, you might ask?
Part of partner Philips' concept, Tivo "learns" your likes and
dislikes when you vote "Thumbs Up" or "Thumbs Down," using
the remote control when you watch a show. Like Amazon, Tivo's
software analyzes these choices, then searches a giant database to
recommend programs for you to record on its built-in hard drive.
Around the end of March, for under $500, you can buy Tivo,
which looks just like a VCR except there's no tape to be seen. It
records up to 10 hours of material you chose or that's chosen by
Tivo. There will be 20- and 40-hour versions available (no pricing
announced). Quality is basic VHS but you change the bit rate to
almost DVD level with a corresponding drop in recording time.
Attention Hollywood -- there's no way for the video to be
outputted, so chill out. A FireWire port exists, but won't be active
until copyright issues are sorted out. Harris admitted Tivo doesn't
want to be in the hardware business and is trying to get TV
makers to build Tivo into their sets. To that end, Philips announced
they'd build such a device in conjunction with DirecTV. In other
words, there will be a Philips set-top box, and perhaps a
Tivo-enabled TV, with a built-in DirecTV receiver, and Tivo in the
near-future.
Beyond recording, Tivo does some cool tricks. Since it's always
caching video on the hard drive, you can do instant replays any
time you want, with slow motion and still frame advance, a nice
toy for sports fans. For instance, if you're watching "Law &
Order" and you're called away by a phone call, you can pick it up
from where you left off while Tivo continues recording. Harris
admitted they hadn't figured a way to fast forward into the future,
but they were working on it -- along with H.G. Wells, we added.
Tivo looks like a promising technology. The only drawback we
see is a $10 monthly fee. Not many services make it when they
ask TV viewers to pay for them (StarSight is a classic example).
Harris emphasized Tivo was much more than that. OK, Joe, we'll
give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's see what happens by CES
2000. For the record, Tivo is a Silicon Valley start-up with big
bucks behind them, including Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.
ReplayTV
Guess what? Paul Allen is also betting on the competing
ReplayTV. We asked Jim Plant straight out what was the
difference between his service and Tivo. "We're free and we don't
pry into people's viewing habits." Plant stressed Replay has a very
different philosophy regarding intelligent agents. "We think this has
the potential to be really embarrassing. Say someone watches
Spice or Playboy at night, then a child looks to see the
recommended programs..." Oops. We'll see if this is an issue or
just some spin against a competitor.
Basically, ReplayTV offers similar services to Tivo. They will have
a number of boxes with different-sized hard drives to digitally
record TV signals at different bit rates (up to 6 mbps, almost DVD
level). The more you spend, the bigger the hard drive (with 28 gigs
the largest) that will record 28 hours of VHS video, less at higher
bit rates. Prices range from $699-$1399.
Plant admitted his company didn't want to get into the hardware
business. They wanted to provide the technology to
manufacturers. Sound familiar? Replay emphasizes that you'll
never miss your favorite show again. Once you pick it, highlight the
onscreen guide and you're done. No muss, no fuss, no tape.
REPLAY VS. TIVO
Battle of the video servers, Round 1
by David J. Elrich
LAS VEGAS, January 10, 1999 -- This year's CES is one of the
most upbeat we've seen in years. With HDTV, DVD, digital this,
and digital that, things are jumping in the consumer electronics
world. Also heating up the convention floor is the new concept of
the hard drive VCR, represented by two companies with similar
products but different approaches, ReplayTV and Tivo.
They're similar only on the surface, however -- sophisticated hard
drives and software that allow you to make digital recordings of
your favorite shows. Each also lets you search huge databases to
find your faves -- and in the case of Tivo, an intelligent agent
recommends programs that fit your TV tastebuds.
But there are some big differences between the two, and it's going
to be fun to see which wins out. And don't worry; we've already
asked for review samples to test when the gadgets become real.
Tivo Personal TV Service
"CES was our coming-out party and this is the first public
demonstration of Personal TV," Joe Harris, Tivo's marketing
director, told E/Town. And what is Personal TV, you might ask?
Part of partner Philips' concept, Tivo "learns" your likes and
dislikes when you vote "Thumbs Up" or "Thumbs Down," using
the remote control when you watch a show. Like Amazon, Tivo's
software analyzes these choices, then searches a giant database to
recommend programs for you to record on its built-in hard drive.
Around the end of March, for under $500, you can buy Tivo,
which looks just like a VCR except there's no tape to be seen. It
records up to 10 hours of material you chose or that's chosen by
Tivo. There will be 20- and 40-hour versions available (no pricing
announced). Quality is basic VHS but you change the bit rate to
almost DVD level with a corresponding drop in recording time.
Attention Hollywood -- there's no way for the video to be
outputted, so chill out. A FireWire port exists, but won't be active
until copyright issues are sorted out. Harris admitted Tivo doesn't
want to be in the hardware business and is trying to get TV
makers to build Tivo into their sets. To that end, Philips announced
they'd build such a device in conjunction with DirecTV. In other
words, there will be a Philips set-top box, and perhaps a
Tivo-enabled TV, with a built-in DirecTV receiver, and Tivo in the
near-future.
Beyond recording, Tivo does some cool tricks. Since it's always
caching video on the hard drive, you can do instant replays any
time you want, with slow motion and still frame advance, a nice
toy for sports fans. For instance, if you're watching "Law &
Order" and you're called away by a phone call, you can pick it up
from where you left off while Tivo continues recording. Harris
admitted they hadn't figured a way to fast forward into the future,
but they were working on it -- along with H.G. Wells, we added.
Tivo looks like a promising technology. The only drawback we
see is a $10 monthly fee. Not many services make it when they
ask TV viewers to pay for them (StarSight is a classic example).
Harris emphasized Tivo was much more than that. OK, Joe, we'll
give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's see what happens by CES
2000. For the record, Tivo is a Silicon Valley start-up with big
bucks behind them, including Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.
ReplayTV
Guess what? Paul Allen is also betting on the competing
ReplayTV. We asked Jim Plant straight out what was the
difference between his service and Tivo. "We're free and we don't
pry into people's viewing habits." Plant stressed Replay has a very
different philosophy regarding intelligent agents. "We think this has
the potential to be really embarrassing. Say someone watches
Spice or Playboy at night, then a child looks to see the
recommended programs..." Oops. We'll see if this is an issue or
just some spin against a competitor.
Basically, ReplayTV offers similar services to Tivo. They will have
a number of boxes with different-sized hard drives to digitally
record TV signals at different bit rates (up to 6 mbps, almost DVD
level). The more you spend, the bigger the hard drive (with 28 gigs
the largest) that will record 28 hours of VHS video, less at higher
bit rates. Prices range from $699-$1399.
Plant admitted his company didn't want to get into the hardware
business. They wanted to provide the technology to
manufacturers. Sound familiar? Replay emphasizes that you'll
never miss your favorite show again. Once you pick it, highlight the
onscreen guide and you're done. No muss, no fuss, no tape.
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