Multiroom DVR options coming to SA8300 boxes and Dish and DirecTV as well:

[LonghornXP]

Now I don't know about Dish Network but I have said that DirecTV has been working on multiroom DVR options besides Tivos HMO. This could include adding middleware such as Vooms Ucentric or an overhaul shift to NDS but I've heard about options ranging from all NDS, Ucentric and even Moxi. But I finally found a direct quote stating this and as such I will post it for you all. Also this is from multichannel news and as such I'm posing this for information only. The quote I'm talking about is the very last quote and the article is dated as of July 2004 and I haven't heard anything different now as before. All I'm hearing is they are testing different options and will test and roll them out when they feel they have to do so. I'm thinking this means until digital cable rolls theirs out they won't roll theirs out. Same thing with Dish but it will happen sooner rather than later.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA437285.html?display=Top+Stories



"Once cable subscribers get a digital video recorder, they are less likely to drop cable for satellite, according to Scientific-Atlanta Inc.

The set-top vendor commissioned CENTRIS (Communications, Entertainment and Technology Research and Information Service) to analyze 100,000 consumer surveys between 2002 and 2003, and the firm found that DBS penetration in cable markets that had deployed DVRs was 2.5% less than in cable systems that hadn’t rolled out DVRs.

“It’s very encouraging for cable. It looks like DVR is a very exciting product to slow the growth of satellite in those markets,” said Scientific-Atlanta director of strategic planning and business development Dave Davies.

Davies said S-A plans to share the research this week with cable operators attending the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing Summit in Boston.
SUMMIT BRIEFING

S-A wouldn’t reveal which cable systems Centris analyzed in its study. The company’s DVR customers include Time Warner Cable, Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc., Adelphia Communications Corp., Cox Communications Inc. and Canada’s Rogers Cable.

Similar to the race to sign high-speed data subscribers — in which researchers have found that consumers often stick with whichever technology they buy first, be it DSL from a telephone company or a cable modem — S-A’s research shows the battle to put DVRs in subscriber homes is key.

For their parts, both EchoStar Communications Corp. and DirecTV Inc. are aggressively marketing their own DVRs.

It takes DVR owners some time to fine-tune the equipment to record their favorite programs, which also may help reduce the number of DVR subscribers that would drop cable for satellite, or vice versa.

“Once you get a DVR and you have 40 hours of recorded shows on that DVR, to switch to another service provider’s DVR, you’re going to have to return that box and lose all the shows you recorded,” Davies said.

Improvements in the technology, such as the rollout of multi-room DVRs, which allow subscribers to record a program on a DVR in the living room and access it from a digital set-top in another space, could also help reduce churn.

S-A is field-testing a new multi-room DVR. EchoStar and DirecTV are also rolling out their own multi-room products."

 

[charper1]

This is why people need to buy and support stand-alone DVRs (heck, stand-alone devices in general). No need to worry about who's DVR it is, the rental aspects, or having all their devices in one box *that's a PC). Anyway, they work equally well with any satellite or cable. ReplayTV has supported multi-room sharing 4 generational releases ago. No added fee or add-on equipment to buy.

 

[LonghornXP]

But SA DVRs can't quite give a one box simple solution that can record two shows at once while recording in DD5.1 sound. Also my house does not like wireless technology and with that said having a DVR with multiroom viewing that uses the existing wiring is great. Now for those with cable who have 4 rooms with a digital cable box they would have to buy 4 Tivos and buy the service for each of the 4 and even at a discount rate of 6.95/month for the extra 3 Tivos that still adds up. Now you had having to buy wireless networking hardware and setting it all up and having it work and you have a customer that says why bother. But if that same customer can call up their cable company and order a DVR with multiroom service they could just have a BHN installer come out and unplug their old box and plug in the new one and leave. The customer can playback DVR recordings just using their regular digital box in the other rooms without having to worry about anything.

I hate to say this but that is something Tivo can never match no matter what they do. People want simple and they want it to just work and companies like cable companies and sat companies can do this much better than Tivo can. Fact is people aren't like us that can deal with networking everything and a DVR from the cable or sat company with multiroom options would be cheaper on a monthly price than having 4 Tivos and no hardware cost upfront either. How can Tivo ever match this by themselves. Now Tivo software with multiroom added from DirecTV via Ucentric or middleware would work just fine but again its not a SA Tivo.

 

[charper1]

People always goes to easy, not better, like lambs. When those all in one boxes go down, you lose everything and they are RENTALS correct? So doesn't it all equal out in the wash.

I got 3 SA ReplayTV DVRs with lifetime service each were $199 and my 54g wireless home network cost me less than $150 to fully install and setup was about 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon.

So DVRs or not I was going to install the network for 2 PCs and visiting laptops. The DVRs became an added bonus 2 bridges at $50 each and one DVR is hard-wired. Bang! All done. I can move or save my shows anywhere on my network and if any DVR goes down full service by ReplayTV and nothing gets lost nor do I do without that TV because its NOT an all-in-one box.

The ONLY thing SA units have NOT caught up with is dual tuner feature, but I have that covered with the 2nd and 3rd DVR.

HD-DVR is of no issue right now because of the lack of content one would need to record, and even if you do find something worth of saving in HD, there is a HUGE hole in the ability to off-load it (in HD) from the DVR. So it therefore is hogging drive space. You can however save it down to an SD format I assume, but whats the point in that after you took the trouble to record it in HD?

 

[LonghornXP]

People always goes to easy, not better, like lambs. When those all in one boxes go down, you lose everything and they are RENTALS correct? So doesn't it all equal out in the wash.

I got 3 SA ReplayTV DVRs with lifetime service each were $199 and my 54g wireless home network cost me less than $150 to fully install and setup was about 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon.

So DVRs or not I was going to install the network for 2 PCs and visiting laptops. The DVRs became an added bonus 2 bridges at $50 each and one DVR is hard-wired. Bang! All done. I can move or save my shows anywhere on my network and if any DVR goes down full service by ReplayTV and nothing gets lost nor do I do without that TV because its NOT an all-in-one box.

The ONLY thing SA units have NOT caught up with is dual tuner feature, but I have that covered with the 2nd and 3rd DVR.

HD-DVR is of no issue right now because of the lack of content one would need to record, and even if you do find something worth of saving in HD, there is a HUGE hole in the ability to off-load it (in HD) from the DVR. So it therefore is hogging drive space. You can however save it down to an SD format I assume, but whats the point in that after you took the trouble to record it in HD?

I'm tempted to put you on my ignore list just for being so one-sided and I never ever like to do this because I do like to listen to all sides. The fact remains that if you think that we as in you and I are the public mass market you need to look at the world much more closely. The fact is most people and families don't have the knowledge or nohow to setup a home network and keep it going. Even if they pay to install it what would they do when there are problems and most areas and families will have problems. Do they just deal with it or pay again to have someone fix it.

Now your lifetime service is for that box so what happens in 5 years when the cost to fix it exceeds the cost of replacing it. You would end up paying another 400 bucks including lifetime service. Again the fact is that most people do want something easy that they don't have to worry about and that is the fact you can't see if it hit you smack in the face sorry to say.

You are acting like you are the 95% of people and you are less than 10% of the people who would go through all the trouble to do this. Right now Tivo has HMO but besides that they don't have 5.1 playback or recording...they don't have 2 tuners and they need another box. Now what happens if say Moxi comes out with great and I mean great software that can do everything Tivo does and maybe better. Now add that your cable company can offer this in a one box solution for less money than the Tivo service fee. Now add the fact that this Moxi has two tuners and 5.1 surround playback and recording. Now add that that box can do sharing from room to room and do it better no matter what type of house you live in without having to buy or setup or even maintain a wireless network. How could you say that wouldn't be as good as the Tivo. Just so you know I've seen the new TV Guide iGuide software that will be rolled out via Comcast and I've seen the multiroom ability as well as the recording ability and I will say right now that with just a little bug fixing and GUI tweaking it will be better than Tivos software.

Its different yes but it does exactly what Tivo software does and does it better including name based recording as well as dealing with time slot changes. I'm saying today that the new iGuide is better. Only time will tell but for Tivoers its going to be a hard sell simply because its interface is different even though its faster and has the same ability. Its like a Windows user trying to learn or go with Mac. Once they go mac they will love it like myself but getting them to try it for longer than a week is the challenge but once they do they don't regret the switch for one second. Change is our biggest problem that makes something new and better succeed. People don't like change even if its for the better.

 

[charper1]

Ifs, whens, what happens when?

and its still a rental.

You are correct that I am less than 10% of the total in the "know", and that is because the remaining 90% are never given the information to know & learn to see just how easy it is and that costs are about the same in the long run. The idiot-proof all-in-one solution is always jammed down their throats and in a years time wears out it's welcome too.

Go ahead and put me on ignore. I just think all sides should be heard. I have tried or used all the units that are currently availible and selected what I THINK works best all around, for all situations, and then I report that, so other users can decide for themselves, instead of the constant barage of "it's the latest and it's all-in-one, so it must be the best.".