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AnchorDesk

John Morris and Josh Taylor
Why digital video recorders should be big business (but aren't)

John Morris and Josh Taylor
Contributing Editors, AnchorDesk
Monday, July 30, 2001
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TiVo is now mainstream enough to warrant a passing mention on that beacon of pop culture, HBO's Sex and the City. But the fact is that in the two-plus years since their introduction, digital video recorders (or if you prefer, DVRs, personal video recorders, or PVRs), still haven't caught on as much as manufacturers had hoped. Or, in our humble opinions, as much as they should have.

The first units based on the TiVo and ReplayTV services were already vastly superior to VCRs. Simply let the DVR know what shows you're interested in, and it will record them whenever they're on. TiVo was more than happy to record other programs that it thought you would like based on your personal preferences (you help it learn your likes and dislikes by pressing a Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down button on the remote). Subsequent versions of the services have helped to put even more distance between them and their VCR brethren.

YET DVRS HAVE FAILED to get much beyond early-adopter status. There are many possible reasons. At $200 to $500, they are still too expensive. They require monthly, annual, or lifetime subscriptions, depending on which model you choose. And perhaps consumers are concerned that they are too difficult to use. That's ironic, given that DVRs are so simple that even your dimwitted relatives who still have their VCRs flashing 12:00 could figure out how to use all but the most advanced features.

And if there weren't already enough reasons to trash your VCR, Microsoft has come along with its first entry in the DVR space, UltimateTV (read the ZDNet review). Currently, UltimateTV's biggest edge is that it uses both tuners in satellite receivers from Sony and Thomson Multimedia, meaning you can watch one program while taping another, or even tape two shows at the same time. Interestingly, satellite receivers from Hughes, Phillips, and Sony that are compatible with TiVo also include two tuners, but the TiVo software doesn't support the second one. (The company says it is planning a software update within a few months that will enable this feature.)

Thus far, UltimateTV service is available only with DirecTV satellite receivers, so if you can't get a dish (and if you live in a high-rise apartment building, your chances may be slim), you're out of luck. And if you're waiting for a two-tuner, non-dish-based system, don't hold your breath. The reason companies can put two tuners in satellite-based systems is that there's no need to convert the digital satellite signal into analog--it remains digital throughout the process. However, non-dish units need to work with a wide variety of services, including a collection of different cable boxes (analog and digital), so they need to include a fairly expensive analog-to-digital converter. If there were two tuners, there would need to be two converters.

GIVEN THE COMPLEXITIES involved, we're betting that we'll see additional bells and whistles--like two tuners--in co-branded units from cable companies before we see them directly from consumer electronics companies.

While we remain big fans of ReplayTV--the MyReplayTV feature that lets you program the unit from a Web site is a nice addition--we're waiting to see what their new owners, Sonicblue (the folks behind the Rio portable music players) will do with the service. We assume that after the deal closes, which is expected any day now, we'll see some new convergence products that merge Sonicblue's audio and video product offerings--say a combo digital audio/video unit that both plays MP3s and records your favorite shows.

The bottom line? If we were buying a new unit now, and we could install a small dish, we would probably opt for UltimateTV. The two tuners more than compensate for what we think is a slightly inferior user interface, and as we've already seen from TiVo and ReplayTV, all three of these companies will continue to copy the best-of-breed functionality from one another. If we were going for a unit without a satellite receiver, we would probably go with TiVo. Either the Sony or Philips will do, but if you happen to have a Sony VCR, get the Sony model to take advantage of an easy back-up to video tape function. The good news is you can't really make a bad choice.

Are you one of those early adopters with a DVR service? What do you like and dislike about DVRs? And why hasn't this technology taken off? Tell us in TalkBack.

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