TiVo to Let Users Record Shows Via Cellphone 172
Carl Bialik writes "Verizon Wireless plans to offer a new service called TiVo Mobile that will allow its customers who also have TiVos in their homes to schedule TV shows for recording when they are on the go, the Wall Street Journal reports. ' A customer might use the service to impulsively schedule a sitcom for recording after the show is recommended by a friend at a party,' says the WSJ, adding, 'Verizon Wireless executives said the service, to begin this summer, is expected to cost less than $5 a month, in addition to normal cellphone-service charges and TiVo subscriber fees, which are $12.95 a month.'"
and orb (Score:1)
yea, I read engadget too.....
Re:and orb (Score:5, Interesting)
not to mention all of these packages get guide data for free rather than forcing you to lock in to a monthly plan.
personally i built an htpc and use beyondtv as a replacement to my series 2 tivo because
a) i want high resolution output
b) i don't want to pay monthly fees
Re:and orb (Score:2)
Re:OT (Score:2)
Re:and orb (Score:2)
My first MythTV was just that...around $300. I have since upgraded but it wasn't because it couldn't handle it. Case/motherboard combo was about $125, PVR-150 was $70, and I used an old video card. The rest of the $300 was just buying things like a remote control.
You can also use an X-Box for a frontend and spend way less than $300. That is perfect for setting up a remote frontend that can be run on any tv in the house.
Re:and orb (Score:2)
Re:and orb (Score:5, Insightful)
WTFITBD?
The hell I'm going to pay for a specialized app on a phone that has internet access already.
Standards are there for a reason, if a phone can access normal web pages it can do hundreds of things, if it has a bunch of nickle and dime apps that raises your bill it's a POS and your provider is screwing you.
If your phone can only view "mobile pages" there are scripts that you can run on your own webserver that'll strip everything but the actual info and serve you that.
Re:and orb (Score:2)
A bit obsessive (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:A bit obsessive (Score:3, Insightful)
Some scenarios where this feature might come in handy:
1. You are out with friends and they mention a new show to you.
2. You are out and realize you forgot that your show is on a new night this week - and tonight is the night.
3. You are out and see an advertisement for a new show. You can write it down and hope you don't forget to enter it in later, or you can just enter it in right now.
4. You are out with friends and one
Re:A bit obsessive (Score:2, Informative)
Yawn (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Yawn (Score:1)
Re:Yawn (Score:3, Informative)
Obviously, this isn't really news to techies and/or hackers but the general public is clueless as to what's available to them. Heck, I've told friends who great the Tivo DVR is but only til they get one with some new service, do they then tell me that they'd not want to be without a DVR... I guess that is why mar
Where's the advantage? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:5, Insightful)
Because if you do it that way, Verizon doesn't get $5/month out of you! (Alternate: Because when you signed up for Verizon, they disabled the web-enabled part of your phone when they installed their ugly red user interface and branding onto it, but will re-enable it for $5/month.)
Oh, wait, you're looking at it from the customer's perspective. Never mind.
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
Instead they come to places like
Oh wait!
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
If a company can produce a network that has the coverage of verizon without all the crap, they will make a mint with all the verizon customers switching to them (thank god for mobile number portability)
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
You believe those ads?????? The dude from Weezer knows nothing about mobile technology.
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
I believe all the people (here and elsewhere) who say that coverage is the one thing keeping them on Verizon.
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:3, Insightful)
This is one of the fundamental reasons why you are sometimes better off with public infrastructure. Instead of five networks covering the dense areas and barely one covering less dense areas you just pay once for building the entire network and then let the service providers battle it out on services.
Having the service providers own the infrastructure is like having oil companies provide the roads and cars. Imagine hav
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
Personally I just record stuff by the season. Anything else that I "miss" won't be a big loss.
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2, Interesting)
iDVD? (Score:2)
Even better, just call someone... (Score:3, Insightful)
Why pay to have a cell phone do yet one more thing.
Later,
-Slashdot Junky
Re:Even better, just call someone... (Score:2)
Even better yet, stop trying to record a specific program on a specific network at a specific time, and just download the show via BitTorrent at any time, starting a couple hours after it first airs.
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:3, Interesting)
The Advantage of Open Architecture (Score:3, Interesting)
Just as we'd have had caller ID in 1970 if POTS was an open network architecture.
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2, Insightful)
Exactly. Yet another example of the kind of "innovation" that gave us NTP vs RIM.
Email, IM, PC, phone, TV, tivo, mp3, web, P2P - Pick two buzzwords, write a press release.
The real question is: why do journalists (and bloggers) propagate this clueless marketing, instead of debunking it ?
AC
Re:Where's the advantage? (Score:2)
Why do you hate America?
Nah, you're right, it's a stupid model. By their own example, it'll be an impulse decision. Why would I pay up front in anticipation of that?
sounds like this thing that works on ALL carriers (Score:2, Informative)
Re:sounds like this thing that works on ALL carrie (Score:1)
transcoded on the fly to the appropriate bitrate and format
free
or... don't waste $5 a month (Score:5, Informative)
Wow... $5 a month?
Expensive (Score:2, Interesting)
Anyway, my point is they'll try this service
Then someone else (Apple?) will do it for free successfully and Tivo/Verizon will run around claiming they were first. No they wasn't. They did it all wrong.
This is what happens when you charge an exo
MythWeb... (Score:5, Interesting)
There's no reason why you couldn't access your MythTV from any laptop or PDA that has some basic web access. I often, as the summary suggest, record a show on an impulse, when someone mentions it to me. This is an awesome feature that I'm sure TiVo users would love to have. However even at 5$/month it seems overpriced to me. This should be included for free as a "value added" that would encourage people to buy TiVo and and sign up for Verizon.
Re:MythWeb... (Score:2)
Re:MythWeb... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:MythWeb... (Score:2)
For me the quality loss of myth isn't aceptable (hr10-250 HD tivo's) and that is not going to change untill firewire recording from digital cable becomes possible. M
Re:MythWeb... (Score:2, Informative)
Being in the UK I'm not fully clued up on the US situation, but I understand you guys can get direct Digital feed into the PC via ATSC cards and (I think) Cable Cards , thus no quality loss and no encoding overhead. Here in UK we can use DVB-T cards, and Satellite cards. We cant get a direct cable feed into the PC without going via analogue th
Re:MythWeb... (Score:2)
Re:MythWeb... (Score:2)
That's cool. Sounds like DVArchive [wikipedia.org] on ReplayTV [wikipedia.org].
Re:MythWeb... (Score:2)
I tried to get Myth going but after 2 days of screwing around trying to all the hardware drivers working to the point where I could even start to install Myth, I gave up. So restored my Windows install to the machine, and had GB-PVR up in 10 minutes. It works very well.
Re:MythWeb... (Score:2)
Yeah, but on that one set of $400 hardware, you can have a TV, DVR system, dvd player, cd player, mp3 player, web browser, file server, print server, web server, etc. (And all without the machine even breaking a sweat.) The total capability is easily cheaper than buying separate components for just a few of these.
Cool but.... (Score:2)
... for "less than" $5/month? USD? I dunno... I can't think of a TV show so great (that I haven't already heard of) that I'd need to pay a monthly fee to remotely record it before I got home. Maybe a small fee per use or something, for those times you are away for an extended period or something...
TFA says that TiVo allowed you to schedule via the web - did you have to pay
Japan (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Japan (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Japan (Score:2)
Re:Japan (Score:2)
Did I mention that this functionality is essentially free? Not a "less than 5$ a month" slow-bleed "service".
Funny what suplier competition does for the consumer...
and I can do it for free without cable! (Score:2, Interesting)
For some time, I have had a media box set up at home (behind the couch) running Azureus [sourceforge.net]. Combine that with Hamachi [hamachi.cc], Firefox [mozilla.com], the ConQuery [mozdev.org] extension and the WebUI [sourceforge.net] plugin for Azureus, and I am a right click away from downloading any torrent I want whereever my laptop is. Tivo's got me beat though, because I can't do it from my phone (yet...).
On the other hand, I've got Tivo beat because I can do what I want with the media I get this way.
TiVo from the cell (Score:1)
Although I can't fancy seeing me paying 5 dollars a month for this functionality. (Disclaimer: I don't have a TiVo)
I'd be more apt to be able to log into a web interface and do it. ( i don't know if you can do that now )..
Hopefully one of the OpenSource Guru's has a free way to do this not long from now.
Re:TiVo from the cell (Score:1)
Re:TiVo from the cell (Score:2)
Especially since TiVo (and other DVRs) have automatic recording of a show. You say "I want to record 24" and TiVo gives you the option of getting a "Season Pass". MythTV has "Record at any time on this channel" or similar option.
That being said, I did get a call a few months back from a roommate when I was out of town. She had just found out that th
$60 a year? (Score:2, Insightful)
$5 / Month?!?!? (Score:5, Informative)
You can also do it for free at tivo.com
Totally ridiculous.
RTFA (Score:2)
The service works with a small software program Verizon Wireless customers can download to their handsets that will communicate back to their TiVo digital-video recorders.
Has nothing to do with SMS at all.
And anyone who can download apps to their phone has WAP.
TiVo users are suckers (Score:1, Insightful)
You think that's bad? (Score:2)
"How could TiVo be used maliciously?" Bombard TiVo with enough PPV demands and it could start getting expensive. Fill the hard-drive with enough teleshopping or other pr0n, you've essentially managed a denial-of-download attack. America doesn't have anything similar to Open University, but that would be another potentially vulnerable area.
Re:TiVo users are suckers (Score:3, Interesting)
(Back before TV listings became available online for free, people used to spend $3/month for TV Guide just so they'd known what was
A couple corrections (Score:3, Informative)
This hasn't been true for years; in fact, it stopped being true back in the days of the Series 1. Later Series 1 models and nearly all Series 2 models are doorstops without a TiVo service subscription.
(Back before TV listings became available online for free, people used to spend $3/month for TV Guide just so they'd known what was on. Same idea, only more advanced.)
$3 a month for TV Guide? Maybe in 1962.
Re:TiVo users are suckers (Score:2)
Re:TiVo users are suckers (Score:2)
Quote One: They'll pay $13/month for a "service" that is just letting them use hardware they already bought.
Quote Two: I actually don't have cable now and do all my tv watching on DVDs rented from netflix.
Netflix users are suckers (see your own logic above)
Qutoe Three: If something like Apples service ever comes along but has decent quality downloads for $2/episode without commercials and available before or at the same time as the broadcast, I'd be happy.
I've got a service you might
Re:TiVo users are suckers (Score:2)
How so? I pay $18/month to have a company buy DVDs and mail them to me. I cycle through 15-20 discs/month so it's amazing that that even covers poastage and those red envelopes muchless buying the discs. 15-20 discs at blockbuster type stores would be $45-60 and there's not even postage involved.
You pay $13/month so TiVo won't turn off a piece of hardware you've already paid for, and to download a few hundred kb of free data each month.
I've got a
Re:TiVo users are suckers (Score:4, Insightful)
I pay 13$/month because I don't want to screw with my television (+DVR), I just want it to work. TiVo obviously provides me a service for this - the most obvious being the guide data. It is a small price to pay, imho, for the (nearly) worry-free joy that is my TiVo. If the series3 isn't vaporware, I'm all about it.
coincidence? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:coincidence? (Score:2)
Hacking the TiVoSphere (Score:2)
Having your roommate get TiVo $xxx per month. - $xxx.
Having your roommate get cellphone-enabled TiVo for $5 a month - $5.
Hacking your roommate's TiVo remotely via an SMS remote hack - Priceless.
You can buy the Season DVD for that Price (Score:2, Interesting)
On another note, I applaud people who have the audacity to turn off their tv and go out to a party thus living their life, but if the end result is that we're now spending more money to help us make sure we don't miss our tv programming, society has still taken a step backwards.
Mo Money! (Score:5, Insightful)
on top of your verizon plan, on top of the tivo monthly fee, on top of the broadband connection...
(this won't work if your tivo still works on dial-up)
Never mind (as 50 other posts mentioned) the free alternatives...
Just doesn't make financial sense.
tivoweb? (Score:2, Interesting)
Feel the Verizon love (Score:3, Insightful)
So it's no surprising at all that they want to charge for this service. As many people have noted it's easily done already. But Verizon can sell it as a 'select' service you can get, to lure you into getting a 10-year contract. They won't mention the cost, until it is too late. They might also leave off needing a TIVO subscription on top of that. Until you get your bill, and realize how stupid it is.
They do that with their web phones. On some phones (like mine) you can actually change the gateway such that you can surf the net for free, until you realize exactly how painful it is to do with a cell phone, and give up.
Re:Feel the Verizon love (Score:3, Interesting)
Really? Like what? I had that feeling about Sprint. Sprint charges (or at least used to charge) a monthy fee for everything, even SMS. Verizon also allows you to pay-as-you-go, e.g., $0.10/send, $0.02/receive for SMS; $0.25/send for picture messasing. Verizon also allows me internet access from my phone to be deducted from my minutes rather than having to buy a "data plan" which is great for me since I only occasio
Dear editor (Score:5, Interesting)
Please check who is submitting an article before you post it. In this case the article was submitted by a guy using the e-mail "wsjarticles@wsj.com". When the article says "A customer might use the service to impulsively schedule a sitcom for recording after the show is recommended by a friend at a party,' says the WSJ, it's not exactly difficult to put two and two together.
Slashdot is being used as free PR for companies. People have started to complain about this and yet no one seems to take a bit of notice.
Re:Dear editor (Score:2)
Nickel and Dimed... (Score:5, Informative)
Anyone who has compared developing applications for Verizon phones vs. Sprint/Nextel vs. Cingular knows that Verizon is simply not an option unless you have $$$ and enough clout to negotiate access. No feature that Verizon thinks they can get an extra fee for is left unlocked. DRM is built in and all applications are signed so as to grant just the permissions that have been paid for.
Compare this to Cingular and international gsm providers, who have no DRM and allow access to the phone hardware (bluetooth, gps, ringtones, other content)and the network via java. You own the hardware, you pay for network access, and use it as you will. No getting billed for every single permutation of features like with this Tivo app.
Verizon considers each application a billable "feature" in and of itself, while more open providers bill for network access and leave applications to open hardware and software.
The later architecture allows anyone to get in on the game, while the former restricts access to those that pay up. You can bet that development companies who pony up for access will need to make a return asap, and so will be pushed towards making applications that maximize return quickly. This will only lead to fewer experimental ideas attempted, and fewer niche applications being developed.
If \.'ers want to support more open cell standards I'd suggest looking into Cingular, who at first advertised themselves years ago as "the company the support self expression" - of course no one got it. I hear their network has gotten much wider since the AT&T merger so they are worth a shot.
"the company that supports self expression" (Score:2)
$5.00/month Saved can = (Score:2)
not the typical tivo use case (Score:3, Insightful)
i am a long time tivo user and advocate. the idea that someone would pay $5 / month for the ability to schedule shows from their verizon phone is absurd. i can say, since i've had access to the web-based equivalent (free) service (about 1.5 years), i've used it probably twice, and once was just to see how it works. it's just not the typical tivo use case.
this is like every other service offered on cell phones. cell phone companies are trying to build a proprietary internet for cell phones only and nickel and dime us to death with fees. you pay for bandwidth, and you pay again for the content! well, it's not working. proof is the state of the celluar web today. nothing but toy content that you try once and then can't believe you actually paid for it.
Re:not the typical tivo use case (Score:3, Insightful)
this is like every other service offered on cell phones. cell phone companies are trying to build a proprietary internet for cell phones only and nickel and dime us to death with fees
Which is what makes me nervous about the ATT/Bellsouth deal. My experience with Internet access on my phone reflects your statement. A few sites allow free access, but the mobile provider has set up toll gates everywhere in an attempt to get more $$$ from the customers. What really drives me nuts is my the inability of the ha
But I thought the point of TiVo was... (Score:3, Interesting)
I have no TV reception, just a big screen and a stack of DVDs but I always planned on getting HDTVoIP when Verizon rolls its Fiber service to my area as long as I could TiVo it.
Tivo, while good, is not God (Score:2)
Well, how would it know if you never tell it?
In this scenario, you're told by someone about a show you didn't know about. If you didn't even know you wanted to see it before that, how could Tivo??
Tivo is great, but it's not that great.
So what? Where's that HDTV unit (Score:2)
However, their lack of HDTV support is a tragedy. As far as I know, they only have announcements to show for their effort, not counting the "prototype" that was just displayed at the last CES. Yes, they have forces working against them (its called competition!) -- but they should have put out the HDTV unit long ago. Instead, all I can use is my cable co's weak-ass DVR (Motorola DCT-6412).
And that is why I don't care a
Don't need a Tivo for that (Score:3, Insightful)
Tivo & High Def... am i wrong here? (Score:2, Interesting)
could also be useful for... (Score:2, Interesting)
Your model is busted (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
TiVo's Season Pass Feature and Doctor Who... (Score:2)
If anyone is planning on recording the new-to-America *Doctor Who* episodes starting on Friday, March 17, 2006 from 9pm-11pm on the SciFi Channel and plan on making a Season Pass for the show, read this...
TiVo is "correctly" labeling the show's information with the BBC's original airdates from last year instead of the American premiere dates as being "new". Consequently, if you set the Season Pass to only record "first run" (aka "new") episodes, your TiVo won't record them even when they are first shown he
This is the model ISPs want too (Score:2)
They make tons of money for charging you for each thing you do, rather than just charging you for data access.
This is where the wired ISPs want to go as well. Rather than just charging you for data access to the internet, they want to figure out how much you'
Re:MythTV has web front end (Score:2)
If you want to see what your TiVo has already recorded, you can even talk to it through a web browser. Just need to get to it through https, and have your media access key handy.
Re:MythTV has web front end (Score:3, Informative)
Re:RTFA damn it! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:RTFA damn it! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:RTFA damn it! (Score:2)
Re:RTFA damn it! (Score:2)
Wouldn't it be cheaper just to upgrade to a WAP cell phone?
Right Analogy, Wrong Company (Score:2)
No, that was ReplayTV [wikipedia.org]. Tivo was like Replay's dim younger cousin, always eager to play nice with "The Man".