Bye, bye TiVo
We had a lot of fun with the TiVo in the Living Room, but just a few weeks ago it got replaced by a MediaCenter PC.
There were too many things that started to bug me about the unit and I felt that TiVo is losing ground very fast. Here are a few of the reaons why it got replaced:
- Lack of innovation: While the TiVo unit itself was a marvelous innovative device when it first appeared, there has been no significant improvement to the service since it first appeared. Granted, the Home Media Option was added, but can you name anything else?
- Home Media Option looks stale: When it first hit the unit, the Home Media Option was a tremendous addition and I enjoyed it in it’s infancy. But now things are starting to bug me and I don’t see a solution in the near future (why do some MP3 files crash the server? why is the UI for photo sharing so boring? why is there no official support for MP3 streaming servers? why is the pc server such a resource hog? etc. etc.).
- Lack of TiVo-blessed extensions: Yes, you can buy kits to increase the storage space of the unit. Yes, you’re going to lose your warranty if you do that. Why can’t TiVo offer blessed extensions? Why can’t I hook up a USB disk drive withouth the need to hack the kernel? Why should I have to buy a new unit if I want more storage?
- Lack of HDTV support: If I can trust predictions out there and if what I saw at CES in Las Vegas really comes true, then 2004 will be the beginning of a major HDTV upgrade wave. Where’s TiVo? Well, they announced one HDTV implementation for almost 1000 US$. Give me a break …. Too late, too little, too expensive.
- All those “We are so cool” ads: Over the past few months it seemed like every update contained another “Tell your friends how cool TiVo is” ads. It seemed like they were trying so hard to get the word out and make sure that the TiVo user was preaching the advantages of the service to friends and families. I can’t help it, but those ads had the opposite effect on me: they looked like a cry for help and just bugged me.
Bye, bye TiVo - for the moment we are keeping the second unit, but I think it won’t be too long before it will be replaced as well.
Sad, but true.