TiVo Inc. on Tuesday unveiled an HD DVR unit for $299 – about $500 less than its predecessor – possibly bracing for network-based DVR service.
While TiVo has essentially become a verb for recording movies and TV shows, the company will face strong competition from cable operators and telcos if Cablevision Systems Corp. gets a ruling barring its nDVR service overturned.
“This is a critical move for TiVo and they're smart to be aggressive at this point in the market evolution,” said Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corp. “By moving strongly into the space, TiVo is making it clear that they want to be a player even with the carriers getting into the TV business and that they are determined not to be overtaken by other home electronics companies who may jump in.”
In recent months, Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Verizon and others have claimed they will launch a nDVR service if Cablevision succeeds in its quest. Movie studios and content companies have sued successfully to block the Cablevision service.
The cable giant contends, as have others, that a network-based, or remote, DVR service would cost less as they would only need to maintain servers in their networks and would not be susceptible to the storage limits and support issues with hard drives in in-house DVRs.
The new TiVo HD unit is also a digital cable ready set-top box that works with any cable provider in the United States. It also enables movie and TV downloads from Amazon.com.
TiVo plans to have the new unit on retail chains’ shelves in August.
“The Amazon link is particularly smart for them; store for play is the easiest way to get broad collections of video content distributed on a personalized basis because it can be made to work over pretty much any broadband service,” added Nolle.
TiVo HD offers 20 hours of HD or up to 180 hours of standard definition content. The new TiVo HD DVR allows users to record two HD channels at the same time, while watching a third previously recorded show. The box sports a built-in Ethernet jack and two CableCARD slots and USB ports.
The video viewing pioneer and innovator also appointed Clent Richardson as chief marketing officer last week. He had held similar roles at T-Mobile U.K. and Nortel.
TiVo said Richardson “has a particularly strong background at the intersection where hardware and subscription services come together.”
Richardson also has been vice president, worldwide developer relations and worldwide solutions marketing for Apple as well as a strategy consultant for AOL.
But given his background, it appears the new CMO has also accumulated strong experience in working for and with wireless and wireline carriers internationally.
Cablevision Systems Corp. www.cablevision.com
CIMI Corp. www.cimicorp.com
Comcast Corp. www.comcast.com
TiVo Inc. www.tivo.com
Time Warner Cable www.timewarner.com
Verizon Communications Inc. www.verizon.com
