TiVo : Other "forum" pushing for Horizon box

[Itshim]

I see a number of posting on DS pushing for a Horizon box, seems that this "side" has no interest in it. My wife loves it. Me, I would want it if it wasn`t my main box these days

[denphone]

Morning Itshim and nice to see you on here again and the answer to your question is its not a question of whether or not people are interested in it as everybody has differing opinions as we all know but the fact is the TiVo has been here for a period now and the vast majority of customers love it unless of course they are on the other side of course but the fact remains is one a lot of money has been spent rolling the TiVo out and at least half of Virgin's customers must have one in their household now and two why change something that has been a glowing success because if you roll out new boxes that's going to cost quite a bit to roll out with no promise that it will be a success either.

[oliver1948uk]

For me, the downside of TiVo is the lack of real time updated programme guide. VM said it may come eventually. Does the Horizon box have this?

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by Itshim

I see a number of posting on DS pushing for a Horizon box, seems that this "side" has no interest in it. My wife loves it. Me, I would want it if it wasn`t my main box these days

The Horizon box seems very good in some ways (eg the multiple tuners) but there is too little recording space. If they could upgrade Horizon to provide 1 or 2 TB of recording space, I would certainly be interested, but not until.

[GrimUpNorth]

Originally Posted by denphone

Morning Itshim and nice to see you on here again and the answer to your question is its not a question of whether or not people are interested in it as everybody has differing opinions as we all know but the fact is the TiVo has been here for a period now and the vast majority of customers love it unless of course they are on the other side of course but the fact remains is one a lot of money has been spent rolling the TiVo out and at least half of Virgin's customers must have one in their household now and two why change something that has been a glowing success because if you roll out new boxes that's going to cost quite a bit to roll out with no promise that it will be a success either.

Thing is though Den, that LG have put plenty of their money behind Horizon while Tivo is a product they've 'aquired' with VM. Add that to the fact that the Tivo will have an ongoing licensing fee then I think we can all see that with the roll out of Horizon continuing in new markets the days (years?) of Tivo will be numbered. If LG thought Tivo was such a good product then surely they'd either of been using it already, or would be cutting their losses with Horizon and moving to Tivo. Neither of these seem to of happened or be happening. One of the nails in the Tivo coffin in my eyes is the complete lack of UI development, performance improvement or bug fixes - but I'm still in the 'should have put a 1TB drive in the V+' camp.

Cheers

Grim

Originally Posted by Itshim

I see a number of posting on DS pushing for a Horizon box, seems that this "side" has no interest in it. My wife loves it. Me, I would want it if it wasn`t my main box these days

I think many customers are still awaiting the natural replacement for the V+ box. TiVo isn't it, it's something higher. I want a V+ with a bigger HDD, and a better interface. Extra tuners would be welcome but nothing more, no wish lists, no undelete facilities and certainly no subscription money going to TiVo Inc.

TiVo is fantastic, but only for those that want it. What VM needs is a modern PVR for those that just want to record Corrie while they're watching the football in the HD world.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by JustaBloke

and certainly no subscription money going to TiVo Inc.

Why is that an issue?

TiVo is fantastic, but only for those that want it. What VM needs is a modern PVR for those that just want to record Corrie while they're watching the football in the HD world.

TiVo does exactly that. No-one is forcing you to use all the additional features.

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Why is that an issue?

TiVo does exactly that. No-one is forcing you to use all the additional features.

Ben. Bundling the TiVo tax into 'Collections' might fool some, but not everyone.

Your second point: If we turn off all the additional features, what are we being forced to pay the TiVo tax for (and we are)? Also you're incorrectly assuming that people have the slightest idea WHY their hard drive is filling up with SH** they haven't asked to be recorded, never mind how to stop it. TiVo is a high end product that is being forced on people who don't need or want it. They just want to be able to record Easties in HD while they watch the Tennis in HD. Nothing more.

So the Horizon box looks interesting...

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by JustaBloke

Ben. Bundling the TiVo tax into 'Collections' might fool some, but not everyone.

The V+HD box has a 'tax' if you aren't on XL (and there used to be one there too), it just happens to go back to Virgin Media. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a 'tax' on Horizon compared with TV prices not including it.

Your second point: If we turn off all the additional features, what are we being forced to pay the TiVo tax for (and we are)?

See above.

Also you're incorrectly assuming that people have the slightest idea WHY their hard drive is filling up with SH** they haven't asked to be recorded, never mind how to stop it.

Your hard drive doesn't 'fill up' with anything you haven't set TiVo to record. Suggestions don't count towards your available space, nor do they stop planned recordings from happening

Originally Posted by BenMcr

The V+HD box has a 'tax' if you aren't on XL (and there used to be one there too), it just happens to go back to Virgin Media. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a 'tax' on Horizon compared with TV prices not including it.

See above.

Your hard drive doesn't 'fill up' with anything you haven't set TiVo to record. Suggestions don't count towards your available space, nor do they stop planned recordings from happening

Ben, without doubt you are a mighty VM sales droid and I know I am never, ever going to change your opinion.

However. As an 'early adopter' with a house full of the latest, most desirable tech. I need a PVR but don't want to waste my money on a TiVo subscription that would give me nothing I need over my V+ subscription. Of the 3 TiVo families I know 2 of them have relegated the box to the bedroom, the other has no choice as it's their only box. All of them don't like it.

I'm so pleased I swerved it. I registered for early updates (early adopter who spends far too much on tech). It's popular with forum types, but not in the wider community.

VM needs to address the needs of the wider community. I'm not saying that TiVo shouldn't be available to those that want it, but the Horizon box seems to address a wider need.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by JustaBloke

VM needs to address the needs of the wider community. I'm not saying that TiVo shouldn't be available to those that want it, but the Horizon box seems to address a wider need.

Considering that according to LGI's last results, 44% of VM's TV base is on TiVo, and 14,000 added weekly, I don't think it'll be long before it's over 50%, so TiVo will be the 'wider community'.

And I can't see either VM or LGI wanting to have three different techology systems running on the network (Liberate, TiVo and whatever Horizon runs on), it would be a support nightmare.

In regards to Horizon 'addressing a wider need', you seem to focusing on 'won't have a TiVo tax'. There is zero guarantee that it would be cheaper than TiVo.

Originally Posted by JustaBloke

Ben, without doubt you are a mighty VM sales droid and I know I am never, ever going to change your opinion.

However. As an 'early adopter' with a house full of the latest, most desirable tech. I need a PVR but don't want to waste my money on a TiVo subscription that would give me nothing I need over my V+ subscription. Of the 3 TiVo families I know 2 of them have relegated the box to the bedroom, the other has no choice as it's their only box. All of them don't like it.

I'm so pleased I swerved it. I registered for early updates (early adopter who spends far too much on tech). It's popular with forum types, but not in the wider community.

VM needs to address the needs of the wider community. I'm not saying that TiVo shouldn't be available to those that want it, but the Horizon box seems to address a wider need.

When all else fails, use ad hominem attacks and unverifiable anecdotes......

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Considering that according to LGI's last results, 44% of VM's TV base is on TiVo, and 14,000 added weekly, I don't think it'll be long before it's over 50%, so TiVo will be the 'wider community'.

And I can't see either VM or LGI wanting to have three different techology systems running on the network (Liberate, TiVo and whatever Horizon runs on), it would be a support nightmare.

In regards to Horizon 'addressing a wider need', you seem to focusing on 'won't have a TiVo tax'. There is zero guarantee that it would be cheaper than TiVo.

Indeed. I've never claimed that VM aren't railroading customers into TiVo, they are. But they're unhappy. I'm sure your stats are correct though.

If Horizon isn't cheaper than TiVo then you're right, it won't be a viable alternative and won't address the wider audience. I'm not a supporter of Horizon particularly, I'd just like to see an upgrade for my V+ box.

[neilo]

If Horizon boxes are LG's own, then there is no doubt in my mind that at a point in the near future, they will be pushing them on to us and TiVo boxes will go.

Originally Posted by Hugh

When all else fails, use ad hominem attacks and unverifiable anecdotes......

Nothing else is failing Hugh so there's absolutely no need for you to intercede unless you have anything to contribute to the debate, which is being held in good spirit and with respect.

---------- Post added at 16:21 ---------- Previous post was at 16:18 ----------

Originally Posted by neilo

If Horizon boxes are LG's own, then there is no doubt in my mind that at a point in the near future, they will be pushing them on to us and TiVo boxes will go.

I agree to an extent. They will (hopefully) become mainstream but I think that TiVo will still be offered as an option to those who want to pay extra for the stuff that it does.