TiVo Premiere, er, premiere week continues! And, last night, I was a guest on the EngadgetHD podcast dedicated to TiVo’s launch. Unfortunately, as with my write up, we had a difficult time focusing on what the Premiere offers… versus what it lacks. Of course, we’re not representative of the broader consumer market and have the advantage of being über-geeks, being able to roll our own Windows Media Center alternatives. But what about the typical TV-viewer? Are they willing to pony up for an improvement over the cable-co DVR experience? They haven’t demonstrated it recently…
Which brings up the TiVo Premiere Paradox, a title I’ve swiped from ‘doormat’ on the TiVo Community. (Sorry. Thank you). What is it exactly that holds folks back? For the majority, it’s probably a combination of education and motivation… in realizing there’s an alternative to the cable co and figuring out how to get it done. An upfront fee and an additional, ongoing subscription (beyond the cable-co’s fees) are probably also a barrier to entry. Whether or not it really costs more, long-term. Also, the competition is catching up to TiVo in many cases. Exceeding them in others. (With whole-home DVR and access to free on demand content being the most obvious examples.)
An interesting comment from that Paradox thread, by ‘eisenb11’, that I identify with:
So will I buy the Premier? Maybe. I’m leaning towards it, but it’s going to be begrudgingly and not in a totally excited manner, like when the Series 3 came out.
My response, keeping in mind that I actually reviewed the Series3 for Engadget back in the day:
Yeah, it’s crazy to think back on how much I paid for the S3 and Lifetime. Without TiVoToGo and MRV even! And was excited about it. Compared to how I feel now. Somewhat let down. I’m not sure the Premiere is a big enough splash to get people to defect from their cable provider’s hardware. Or their connected Blu-ray player. Or Roku. In some strange way I feel sad for TiVo. It obviously wasn’t their intent to let many of us down. And I’m not sure they saw this reaction coming. But potential exists… they’ve got smart people, they’ve got solid relationships, they’ve got plenty of cash and probably more on the way. So I’m hopeful that they’ll surprise and impress me over the next 12 months. In the meantime, I’m playing the field a bit more – digging Moxi’s extender and will build a Ceton HTPC whenever that card hits.
So, as we discussed on the EHD podcast last night, I’ll most likely be purchasing a Premiere once the review period concludes. Given what we do here on ZNF. But will you?