TiVo CEO To Step Down

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To be totally honest, I thought TiVo's CEO would have stepped down long before this.

Rogers will relinquish his role as chief executive on January 31, 2016, the end of TiVo's fiscal year, the San Jose, California-based company said in a statement Tuesday. Rogers will stay on with the company as non-executive chairman of the board.
 
Company full of lawyers. Hopefully they'll get back to enhancing their product, more than once every 10 years. Really seems like they are willfully pissing away the mantle they held for so long, they just didn't do anything with it.
 
TiVo, like Blackberry, was too reliant on what they had and not innovative enough to stay ahead of the game.
Now everyone who has cable/satellite TV has/can get DVR. There is no use for TiVo anymore.
 
the-one1 said:
There is no use for TiVo anymore.
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Not true, grabbing one of their refurb units with lifetime service for like $300 on sale is great for use with a cablecard and much cheaper than renting the Time warner DVR. Renting a box for the lifetime of your cable is crazy when you consider how much you give them over a few years.

That said I agree they need to innovate and are not as good as they once were.
 
the-one1 said:
TiVo, like Blackberry, was too reliant on what they had and not innovative enough to stay ahead of the game.
Now everyone who has cable/satellite TV has/can get DVR. There is no use for TiVo anymore.
Click to expand...

Not true. NO ONE does DVR like Tivo. It's the only one worth a shit IMHO.

Now, how Tivo has gone all these years, losing so much money, is totally baffling to me. The cost of the hardware alone should keep them profitable. The high subscription fee's should have them fat and happy.

It makes NO sense.
 
Man I loved Tivo back in 1999 when it dialed out on a modem and got a schedule of what I wanted it to record off of dish...

1999!
 
There are plenty of DVRs on the market over here in the UK, and no subscription is required.
 
TechLarry said:
Not true. NO ONE does DVR like Tivo. It's the only one worth a shit IMHO.

Now, how Tivo has gone all these years, losing so much money, is totally baffling to me. The cost of the hardware alone should keep them profitable. The high subscription fee's should have them fat and happy.

It makes NO sense.
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I think the problem was/is people don't know or don't care for the extras Tivo provides. You have tech nerds that make their own cable card setups and then you have the lay person that takes what dish/directv/Comcast/Timewarner gives them. I think Tivo found themselves in a doughnut hole of users so to speak, sad as they have some good products.

Now you have cord cutters with streaming devices. Honestly, I had no idea it existed until this thread. The Roamio gets good/great reviews, but is still lacking compared to Roku in streaming selection. Don't get me wrong Roku is the king of streaming selection so I don't expect 100% parity there.
 
Silentbob343 said:
I think the problem was/is people don't know or don't care for the extras Tivo provides. You have tech nerds that make their own cable card setups and then you have the lay person that takes what dish/directv/Comcast/Timewarner gives them. I think Tivo found themselves in a doughnut hole of users so to speak, sad as they have some good products.

Now you have cord cutters with streaming devices. Honestly, I had no idea it existed until this thread. The Roamio gets good/great reviews, but is still lacking compared to Roku in streaming selection. Don't get me wrong Roku is the king of streaming selection so I don't expect 100% parity there.
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this...people don't care, they just want the service and they get it all from one source and they supplied them hardware. People don't want an extra service on top of the service they have. they'll gladly pay the cable provider for the DVR because it is convenient.
 
In my experience, the extra's that Tivo provides don't work all that hot or seamlessly, though they look great on paper. They just aren't worth the cost and the interface, while pretty, is slow and clunky by today's standards.

They just don't seem to invest any money into R&D or engineering in general.
 
the-one1 said:
TiVo, like Blackberry, was too reliant on what they had and not innovative enough to stay ahead of the game.
Now everyone who has cable/satellite TV has/can get DVR. There is no use for TiVo anymore.
Click to expand...

I can't speak for every DVR out there, but the ones that currently come with Cable are fucking shit compared to DirectTV Tivo units from 10 years ago. It's not even close.
 
Bigbacon said:
this...people don't care, they just want the service and they get it all from one source and they supplied them hardware. People don't want an extra service on top of the service they have. they'll gladly pay the cable provider for the DVR because it is convenient.
Click to expand...

But mostly because they don't know how much better TIVO is. I don't have cable, so I don't use any of them anymore, but if I get Cable and a DVR, I'll just buy it from Tivo. If you get a lifetime schedule, TIVO will pay for itself over time and the guide/search options are far better than Motorola.
 
TechLarry said:
Not true. NO ONE does DVR like Tivo. It's the only one worth a shit IMHO.

Now, how Tivo has gone all these years, losing so much money, is totally baffling to me. The cost of the hardware alone should keep them profitable. The high subscription fee's should have them fat and happy.

It makes NO sense.
Click to expand...

Hog Wash it dosen't do it better sorry it a failed in my book
TiVo shot them in feet with this carp 1-year commitment and a $75 early termination fee so bit me TiVo and very carpeee Limited Warranty 90 Days Free Labor or One 1 Year Product Exchange.
Come on $1000 DVR box w/lifetime service better pray that the box dosen't carp out after 1 years or there gose you lifetime service you have fork out another 600 clams for service on a new or even used box it.
The reason way there losing so much money is eazy
1: It to over price as non upgrade device amd still a bit limited
2: There much cheaper option out of TV ATSC Tuner with $0 subscription with WMC so all you need is PC and Windows 7 and few tuner or 3rdparty PVR/DVR software which is unlimited tuners but you EPG from Schedules Direct it $25 a year for it.
3: There only one option for CableTV
It cheaper just to pick a pair of SiliconDust HD HomeRun PRIME (3-Tuner) Access premium cable subscription channels using CableCARD and used your PC with WMC and most case you don't need WMC unless premium subscription like HBO then you do other then that you can used what ever software that support the HD HomeRun.
4: Thing are changing more and more stuff is moving to online steaming so one it good then bad as you know ISP are add in data caps oh my god now we SOL hehehe we can't beat them we can't joint them we may as just leave them with the middle finger emoji lol.

Note: I don't sure what the max tuner limit are on Windows Media Center is on ATSC or CableCard devices
 
I've been using Tivo for 10 years. I've been cord-cut since 2009. I started with a Series 2, now I have a Roamio Basic and a Roamio OTA. And I'm going to sell the TivoHD w/Lifetime which still works and still commands a respectable price after eight years. And like others here, I also use STBs and SVOD services. I don't watch live TV anymore.

zaniix said:
That said I agree they need to innovate and are not as good as they once were.
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I think they have innovated. A lot.

  • Multiple Tuners (up to six)
  • Season Passes that integrate both DVR recordings and SVOD options
  • Tivo Mini: You can access recordings or tuners from any Ethernet/MOCA connected TV in the house. The ultimate cable box avoidance device.
  • SVOD integration: (NFLX, HULU, AMAZ, MLB, YT) to be blunt I prefer using the Tivo than the Roku and FireTV I also own. There's simply a faster CPU in the TiVo than in a STB.
  • On-board transcoding/streaming to IOS devices. (higher end Roamio/Bolt DVRs)
  • Much smaller form-factor than previous gen
  • Much simpler HDD uprgade/replacement- no more WinMFS agony.

I used to do the WMC route with the Silicon Dust HD HomeRun network tuners. I dumped that after some pretty unforgivable fail-to-records in 2010. Not ever going back.
 
The DVR I got while I was briefly with Comcast about 5 years ago was a crackerbox with a GUI from the 1990s. To turn closed captioning on or off, I needed to restart the DVR and access the secret admin menu. The Tivo I got (the Premiere XL, the one just before the Roamio) was heaven in comparison.

I'm aware that there's online streaming stuff but I'm not convinced it's worth bothering to change everything to set that up when what I have now works so well. I also remain concerned about closed captioning support - that's a deal-breaker issue for me because I'm hard of hearing, and it's why I never signed onto Netflix which dragged its heels on supporting CC for years (I don't know if they're still like that).
 
evilsofa said:
I also remain concerned about closed captioning support - that's a deal-breaker issue for me because I'm hard of hearing, and it's why I never signed onto Netflix which dragged its heels on supporting CC for years (I don't know if they're still like that).
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I'm not going to say they're 100% compliant with CC, but they are much better than they were five years ago. Roku had a feature where it would briefly enable captions on the 10 second back replay- and turn it off again. I've never seen it not work with Netflix content.

The bigger issue is CC quality/accuracy. That's more the content owner's (producing studio) responsibility than Netflix's.
 
TechLarry said:
Now, how Tivo has gone all these years, losing so much money, is totally baffling to me. The cost of the hardware alone should keep them profitable. The high subscription fee's should have them fat and happy.

It makes NO sense.
Click to expand...

HD Homerun Prime cost me $119 about 3 years ago. It doesn't require a monthly or lifetime service fee, just a one time up front cost. This also allows me to use a 3 TB HD for video storage compared to the cable company's DVR and fees or a TIVo and fees. Total cost is $119 up front $1.50/month for the cable card. I can't imagine anything touching that.

Bottom line is that the HD homerun has saved me over $900 in 3 years compared to cable box/DVR rentals. Getting 2 TIVo's with service probebly would't come close to that, though I haven't examined TIVo's prices in a long time.
 
Without getting all detailed and sounding like a troll, there is a LOT more that goes into delivering content to multiple TVs than $119 cable card tuner (you should investigate that $1.50 fee, you might be able to get that waived to save more pennies).

I loved my Windows Media Center setup. An HD Home Run with two tuners in an old $300 PC. It delivered content to multiple TVs using an XBox 360 as an extender. Fantastic Solution!

Then one day Comcast decided to encrypt everything and the Cable Card tuners were still not released. I was left with a pretty useless box, so I turned to Tivo. After using Tivo for a few years -- I'll never consider anything else. They just keep adding things, and making my old hardware work better.

Flash forward to the Bolt -- you can get a years service and the hardware for $300... thats not really that bad of a deal for a 4 tuner box that just works, no tinkering necessary. And as much as I like tinkering, I want to do it on my time, not when the wife breaks something and has to watch her shows...
 
The Tivo Roamios are great devices. I'm not sure about the Bolt yet with their new pricing policies but there were some great Roamio deals before the Bolt debuted.

Prior to Windows 10, Microsoft's abandonment of WMC, and the Rovi guide switch disaster -- Tivo may have come in second to WMC but no longer. If you have cable, Tivo is the best DVR period. You might be able to build a better OTA DVR but probably not a less expensive one with the same capabilities and form factor. The Rovi guide data was the last nail in the coffin for WMC and WMC was the only other choice besides Tivo for DRM encrypted channels.

The satellite DVR's are comparable to Tivo but don't have the same hard drive expansion options and PC integration.

The worst thing about Tivo's is their greed related to data collection and horrible software design. Their software relies too much on communication with the Tivo mothership across the Internet and can create performance problems where there should be none. Communication issues over the Internet can create delays in basic Tivo menu operations which shouldn't have to access the Internet at all.
 
Taco said:
In my experience, the extra's that Tivo provides don't work all that hot or seamlessly, though they look great on paper. They just aren't worth the cost and the interface, while pretty, is slow and clunky by today's standards.

They just don't seem to invest any money into R&D or engineering in general.
Click to expand...

You have not used a Roamio. The Roamio is NOTHING like the Tivo of old.
 
canna said:
HD Homerun Prime cost me $119 about 3 years ago. It doesn't require a monthly or lifetime service fee, just a one time up front cost. This also allows me to use a 3 TB HD for video storage compared to the cable company's DVR and fees or a TIVo and fees. Total cost is $119 up front $1.50/month for the cable card. I can't imagine anything touching that.

Bottom line is that the HD homerun has saved me over $900 in 3 years compared to cable box/DVR rentals. Getting 2 TIVo's with service probebly would't come close to that, though I haven't examined TIVo's prices in a long time.
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I'll take a look at one of these. I wonder where it gets it's programming info from. For free.

Most every other DVR that has provided free programming info has gone out of business.
 
mlcarson said:
The Tivo Roamios are great devices. I'm not sure about the Bolt yet with their new pricing policies but there were some great Roamio deals before the Bolt debuted.

Prior to Windows 10, Microsoft's abandonment of WMC, and the Rovi guide switch disaster -- Tivo may have come in second to WMC but no longer. If you have cable, Tivo is the best DVR period. You might be able to build a better OTA DVR but probably not a less expensive one with the same capabilities and form factor. The Rovi guide data was the last nail in the coffin for WMC and WMC was the only other choice besides Tivo for DRM encrypted channels.

The satellite DVR's are comparable to Tivo but don't have the same hard drive expansion options and PC integration.

The worst thing about Tivo's is their greed related to data collection and horrible software design. Their software relies too much on communication with the Tivo mothership across the Internet and can create performance problems where there should be none. Communication issues over the Internet can create delays in basic Tivo menu operations which shouldn't have to access the Internet at all.
Click to expand...

The last paragraph I can certainly agree with. Everything else about The Roamio is pretty awesome. And it it's really quite fast.

I have a Roamio Pro and a Premier XL4. The performance difference is night and day.

I have 10 recording channels, and still have conflicts. But that's where the real Tivo Treat comes in. The box itself will figure out how and where to get any shows that are missed due to conflicts. I don't have to fart around with it.

Basically, you make sure to prioritize ALL broadcast channel shows (NBC, Fox, CBS and ABC) at the top since they don't typically re-broadcast the same night.

Then any season passes/recordings you have for other cable channels, which almost always re-broadcast new shows that same night, Tivo will automatically record later if the initial showing has a conflict. I love this and no other DVR does it better. Most not at all.
 
I didn't know Tivo was considered irrelevant. I have a romio, and have a Tivo mini in the bedroom. Think both are awesome.
 
Tivo has had a great interface but they are courting smart people who are actively moving off of TV services, combined with $150 a year for service on top of the $300 bolt that cant even use Dish? Keep smoking that crack...
 
TechLarry said:
You have not used a Roamio. The Roamio is NOTHING like the Tivo of old.
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I bought into Tivo when the Premier was released, and I fell in love with it but I could see the flaws. The slow interface was the biggest flaw I found. I should never click and then have to wait for something to happen.

The interface was all flash at this time. A couple years back, Tivo gutted all the flash components and did a re-write in Haxe. This made a world of difference.

I would imagine that any complaints about the device being sluggish are remnants of the old UI that was flash based.
 
What is TiVo?

I'm sure I've heard that name. Do they sell cable boxes or smth? Prolly I've been living in the past. I thought cable TV died already.
 
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