PVR Wire

1. I just bought a tivo less then a week ago, and if this happens i will return my tivo :(

Posted at 9:48AM on Sep 15th 2005 by John

2. I will give up on TiVo when they stop giving it away for free. (more on how you can get free / cheap TiVo in a moment)

I have had TiVo for almost 2 years, and the problem for me with this is not it being reported as false positive, is the fact that they bent over for the MPAA / FCC Flag rules before they have even been mandated. There is no real hope for TiVo to turn back and go away from it now.

I also use the cable companies MOXI DVR which is far more capable and used to be cheaper per month. So why keep TiVo? For the TiVo to go option, and photo playback in my home theater.

FREE / CHEAP TiVo : When TiVo to go software came out, I had a terrible time with it handling simple channel changes on my digital set top box. I called to cancel and they said well, what if we give you free service till the new software is updated. FINE! When the update finally happened, I had already got the cable co box. So I called to cancel... the phone guy then "Talked to his manager" and reduced my TiVo bill to $4.95 / Mo.

Until I find a TV tuner card that gives a nice picture on e-bay, I will stick with this alternative.

Karlisimo

Posted at 10:58AM on Sep 15th 2005 by Karlisimo

3. if this becomes an issue, i'll drop tivo in an instant. i'm a big tivo fan, too. but tivo is dead wrong if the they think people are going to pay for a service that restricts, rather than enhances, their viewing freedom.

Posted at 12:26PM on Sep 15th 2005 by glitch p-udding

4. I've had TiVo since 2001 and now am considering dropping it due to this copy protection issue and the fact that they have yet to release a stand-alone/cable HD recorder. MythTV with an HD tuner is starting to look like a pretty decent alternative. Let's hope that TiVo doesn’t sell out their customers to the entertainment cartels and does the right thing here...

Posted at 11:27PM on Sep 16th 2005 by Tim

5. If they hadn't built this "feature" in to the OS, then there would have been no way for it accidentally to trigger. No matter how you slice it, it makes them look extremely bad.

Posted at 1:55PM on Sep 15th 2005 by Michael Pate

6. You know, a couple of weeks ago I was researching what it would take to step up a Myth TV system. I wanted and easy solution to play Xvid files on my TV as well record shows. Since I had just bought a shiny new Series 2 in April, I decided to stick with TiVo.

But believe me, all my research is fresh in my mind, and I certainly wouldn't miss the monthly fees I pay TiVo.

TiVo has long tried to straddle the line between pleasing its users and pleasing Hollywood. I thought they were leaning back towards the users side of the line, but obviously I'm wrong.

On the bright side, since this new "feature" is only in the software amd not the hardware (I think?), I'm sure there will be a hack around this if the need arises.

Posted at 3:06PM on Sep 15th 2005 by Radioscott

7. Whenever something like this comes out it seems like everyone turns into Chicken Little.

The sky is not falling.

This is required by the standard MacroVision license, and it is not specific to TiVo. ReplayTV signed the updated license a year before TiVo. The same features are on the cable company DVRs. This is totally pervasive in the industry, it is hard to find a VCR, DVR, DVD Recorder, etc, that *doesn't* have a MacroVision license. To legally do DVD you need a DVD Forum license. That license requires you to support CSS. And CSS requires a MacroVision license.

Conversely it is illegal to place these restrictions on broadcast content. So no one needs to worry themselves about this hitting their standard content. This was a glitch, despite some of the conspiracy loonies who think it was some deliberate test. There are other ways to test this, it isn't like TiVo never has beta users and special content (think Showcases).

Unless you're going to build your own MythTV or FreeVo box, don't be too quick to run from TiVo to something else. It is unlikely a normal user will ever see this in typical use, it is nothing to get worked up over.

Posted at 3:53PM on Sep 15th 2005 by MegaZone