This article is very intersting and talks about the future of DVR and Tivo and how Cable companies are ready to take on Tivo.

What do you guys think of this article?

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...valsoutruntivo

I think that, as the article implies, the handwriting is on the wall for Tivo and ReplayTV in the mass consumer market unless either can strike a deal with a cable company (which seems unlikely). ReplayTV's technology will probably be able to find a niche market in the higher end Denon and Escient brand names owned by its parent company D&M. I'm not sure where Tivo will go.

And it'll be a major crime if either TiVo or ReplayTV go away. I've tried just about every DVR you can name from TiVo to Replay to Dish to Cable and the cable/satellite software can't hold a candle to the name brands.

Nothing that already hasn't been discussed here. Both TIVO and Replay are in trouble unless they can cut deals with satellite and/or cable companies.

1. Got to cut a deal. $13.95 or whatever a month is too much for most, myself included, on top of already high cable/satellite bills.

2. Get rid of requirment for phone line. This is where the partnerships come in. I don't have landline or broadband so anything I bougth would have to work from the cable or satellite with no extra hookups. DirectTivo can already do this, it just needs a phone line for the initial setup and any updates in the future.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040802/media_tivo_stocks_1.html

More bad news for Tivo.

The one thing that annoyed me about the article is they mentioned how satellite subscribers would choose Tivo over another DVR, and they mentioned home networking options as one of the reason. I wish we had some home networking options.

I don't know if they can do #2, but #1 is the reason I haven't jumped on the TIVO bandwagon yet. I know it's part of their business model, but I just don't like it.

#1 for me. I just bought and hooked up my first machine this past weekend. I got one that includes free basic service. I will probably try out the subscription, but it should be a lot less than $13.

#2 - I don't have a phone line near my system either. Fortunately a 25-30ft phone cable is included. I just have to fish it above my ceiling tiles in my free time.

On a side note, I hooked it up to my Voom machine and it seems to be recording the HD signal. Thought they weren't supposed to. But if it continues to do so: .

They aren't suppose to. Are you sure the VOOM receiver isn't displaying the signal at 480i? What type of connection do you have between them?

I have a HD-DirecTiVo and can output an recorded HD picture to my VCR by switching over the TiVo display to 480i.

Although there's really no point in that.

It's 5 dollars a month on top of satellite, and it's free in my package. I agree that 13 for cable use is too high since you don't even get 2 tuners.

You are not recording at HD quality. You are recording downconverted 480i video. There is no way to record HD on a non-HD Tivo. Such boxes generally don't even have the necessary inputs (i.e. component or DVI), much less the other hardware required to record HD. However, downconverted video will still look really good even when recorded by a non-HD DVR.