Multichannel breaks down the current state of affairs for multiroom viewing (MRV), covering the various vendors, pricing schemes, and thoughts on consumer acceptance. They speculate Dish may have the largest distribution of MRV-capable products, though general home penetration is low and consumers show little interest. Given the topic I am somewhat surprised TiVo’s MRV didn’t get more coverage, though they did point out critics (which ones?) feel the Home Media Option (HMO) “falls short.” The article is a light on the technology and doesn’t cover the future of HD MRV — who approves it, who will offer it, how will it work?
Multichannel News writes: Of the estimated 12 million U.S. households with a DVR, only a fraction have more than one such set-top, and the number of homes with some form of networked DVR system is even smaller. But equipment providers say cable providers in general have shied away from aggressive promotions of the technology. I would say quite candidly that the market enthusiasm has been quite light, said Clark.
A TiVo spokesperson declined to comment on whether the new TiVo Series 3 DVRs would include a multiroom playback capability.