Apple to acquire TiVo?

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 40
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    I could see a really interesting product here.



    Tivo box connected to:



    Cable Modem

    Satellite TV

    DSl



    You then can access your Tivo/Apple box via the web and "order" your movies via Itunes music store. Remotely from work or directly from a TV interface.



    Download times would be on the order of say 2 hours. Then you have the option of saving for a period of time or burning to DVD for extra.



    This solves some of the time to download problems.

    Also all of your music can be centrally stored on the set top box and accessed via your networked (bonjour/rendevous) computers. Keeping only the music you want on the laptop for example or being able to serve to your laptop remotely a song or a movie that you own. This frees up laptop space and allows all members of a household to share the common music photos and movies.



    It also puts .mac out in front as an internet service. Bundle that with Tivo and you have the winner. The all purpose media appliance.



    boom!
  • Reply 22 of 40
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,439member
    Quote:

    I have absolutely no idea why people think an Apple Tivo would somehow be better then Tivo. Tivo is easy to use, good interface, and an overall good box. How does Apple make it better? Just by slapping a logo on it? You "Apple makes god machines" people need to get a grasp on reality.



    I don't think that's it I just think that people realize that DVR tech is being commoditized and that Tivo cannot survive by "only" offering this function. Tivos leave a lot to be desired. They still don't have ethernet(USB networking blech) and they don't have two tuners. They are underpowered and I've used the HMO option at my mothers house and it's NOT intuitive. What could Apple do? Well pretty much integrate iLife right into the core. iLife + DVR would rock. Add a DVD burner and would you really need anything else but an amplifier?



    Apple has all the ingredients to make it work.
  • Reply 23 of 40
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    TiVo's real strength is in its software, the harware is ubiquitous. The company will not be able to go on in its current state.



    And TiVo is probably too small to survive from software alone.



    TiVo needs to team up with a bigger company so its software can thrive and grow, otherwise we'll say "remember TiVo."



    Save for the iPod Apple doesn't really make limited function consumer devices like a TiVo. Music is a far different medium than TV.



    If Apple did buy TiVo it would be for the software, not to make a TiVo box. TiVo already does that and it isn't working.



    The maximum value of this venture would be for Apple to sell a separate DVR application that integrates into OS X, and can turn any Mac into a DVR.
  • Reply 24 of 40
    it could work, Apple+Tivo = Aivo !! Hey.. wait, sounds too much like Sony's Aibo.... Hey, wait, a robot dog that also records your TeeVee programs ... good boy..!



    um.. oh yeah Steve must have a strong strategy in place in dealing with content providers if he is going to go and buy Tivo, otherwise, all rumors fall apart.



    Tivo probably works fine for now. But Apple+Tivo will make Tivo better, come on, just admit it !!
  • Reply 25 of 40
    in your ravenous thirst for domination all of you Noobs have obviously forgotten that Steve hates TV.
  • Reply 26 of 40
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nathan22t

    in your ravenous thirst for domination all of you Noobs have obviously forgotten that Steve hates TV.



    Yes, but Steve LOVES Movies....



    Pixar anyone?



    Or that Sony Rumor??
  • Reply 27 of 40
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,914member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by sunilraman

    Tivo probably works fine for now. But Apple+Tivo will make Tivo better, come on, just admit it !!



    That is what I thought was implied when I said



    Quote:

    I have three Tivos and while in many ways they are wonderful they all have one major shortcoming:



    They are not made by Apple.



    Don't forget, Tivo has a deal with Netflix to develope an online movie service. Can't see any reason Apple wouldn't want to continue down that path.



    Apple's name alone doesn't make things better, but Apple the company does.
  • Reply 28 of 40
    jimzipjimzip Posts: 446member
    I think a couple of people are forgetting something.



    Steve Jobs said this only last year: "People watch TV to turn their brains off. People use their computers to turn their brains on."



    And, in fact, it's Microsoft that looks more likely to aquire TiVo:

    http://www.microsoft.com/athome/morefun/default.mspx



    Click on the Movies and TV link.

    About 1 minute 25 seconds in.



    Just some food for thought.





    Jimzip
  • Reply 29 of 40
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Jimzip

    I think a couple of people are forgetting something.



    Steve Jobs said this only last year: "People watch TV to turn their brains off. People use their computers to turn their brains on."



    And, in fact, it's Microsoft that looks more likely to aquire TiVo:

    http://www.microsoft.com/athome/morefun/default.mspx



    Click on the Movies and TV link.

    About 1 minute 25 seconds in.



    Just some food for thought.





    Jimzip




    actually, steve has made that statement several times in the past few years, even as far back as the original iMac debut. and honestly, any corporate entity these days is fodder for the microsoft money machine. in a way, though, it kinda depends on how much pride the tivo folks have in their brand and product and company atmosphere. there are a choice few people out there who will not put a price on selling their souls to cash out quick. most people can't resist the number of zeros microsoft can write on a check, but others are just crazy enough to go "yeah, but unless i can sleep at night, it's not worth it."



    here's to the crazy ones...
  • Reply 30 of 40
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by WelshDog

    Don't forget, Tivo has a deal with Netflix to develope an online movie service. Can't see any reason Apple wouldn't want to continue down that path.



    hey, i didn't! (see above).



    Quote:

    Originally posted by WelshDog

    Apple's name alone doesn't make things better, but Apple the company does.



    those of us who have watched apple as a company realize that there's more to the logo since steve came back. tivo has gotten backed into a corner, fighting just to keep up with competition on features and price alone, and i think they have lost sight of what made them the awesome product they were in the first place, before anyone else. the apple company attitude might just be the "vision" tivo needs right now to see past the bottom line.
  • Reply 31 of 40
    louzerlouzer Posts: 1,054member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    I don't think that's it I just think that people realize that DVR tech is being commoditized and that Tivo cannot survive by "only" offering this function. Tivos leave a lot to be desired. They still don't have ethernet(USB networking blech) and they don't have two tuners. They are underpowered and I've used the HMO option at my mothers house and it's NOT intuitive. What could Apple do? Well pretty much integrate iLife right into the core. iLife + DVR would rock. Add a DVD burner and would you really need anything else but an amplifier?



    Apple has all the ingredients to make it work.




    No, I was blasting the stupid statement of

    I have three Tivos and while in many ways they are wonderful they all have one major shortcoming:



    They are not made by Apple.




    They're wonderful, but don't have an Apple logo. Like an Apple logo makes everything better (better not tell that to people who own those Windtunnel macs, or the Powerbooks with lame Airport reception, or the people who can't use their monitors with their iMac minis, or the iMac G5 owners with the power supply problems, or the fan problems, or whatever else problems they have. Apple ain't some heaven-sent company that only puts out good stuff, and the only company that does so. They have the rep, but Tivo is pretty Apple-like as it is (easy to use, no complexity involved, etc). Apple ain't going to somehow make it better just by being Apple.
  • Reply 32 of 40
    murkmurk Posts: 935member
    Turns out the whole thing is a mix up. Today's Steve's birthday. He had made the statement that he wanted "a" Tivo for his birthday. The board mistook the quote and thought he wanted Tivo, the company.



    Happy Birthday, Steve!
  • Reply 33 of 40
    I doubt Apple will buy TiVo. It doesn't fit in at all with the "digital hub" idea. If anyone's gonna buy it, it will be Microsoft. They've been touting that Media Center idea forever and here's their chance to buy out their competitor.
  • Reply 34 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally posted by yikes600

    I doubt Apple will buy TiVo. It doesn't fit in at all with the "digital hub" idea. If anyone's gonna buy it, it will be Microsoft. They've been touting that Media Center idea forever and here's their chance to buy out their competitor.



    What kind of hair brained logic is this?



    It doesn't fit in at all with the "digital hub" idea



    Really? So a Tivo that plays back video(iMovie) and plays back photos (iPhoto) and music files(iTunes) somehow doesn't fit in with Apple's Digital Hub strategy. I guess next you'll tell me pigs can actually fly



    Why would microsoft buy Tivo after spending over a billion dollars on UltimateTV and now Media Center technology? Microsoft's rich but they would have to explain "very" well why they spent 400 million dollars on a product that duplicates what they already have.



    Come on people don't but a bloodvessel thinking too hard. Apple needs to play in this space regardless on whether they create a homegrown project or buy Tivo. MS is already there.
  • Reply 35 of 40
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nathan22t

    in your ravenous thirst for domination all of you Noobs have obviously forgotten that Steve hates TV.



    UHG. steve jobs does not hate tv. the comment about turning your brain off when you go to watch tv is not saying tv is fucking stupid and a waste of time, it's saying they have different usage and interaction with the user than a computer. Jobs makes his living right now off of the entertainment industry....movies and music. I really think the last thing he'd do is be a dipshit and say I hate tv, fuck it.
  • Reply 36 of 40
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by applenut

    UHG. steve jobs does not hate tv. the comment about turning your brain off when you go to watch tv is not saying tv is fucking stupid and a waste of time, it's saying they have different usage and interaction with the user than a computer. Jobs makes his living right now off of the entertainment industry....movies and music. I really think the last thing he'd do is be a dipshit and say I hate tv, fuck it.



    Thank you. The capacity people have to misconstrue what Jobs really means is nearly limitless.



    He didn't say they built a PDA and decided not to release it. (Myth 1)



    He didn't say he hates TV. (Myth 2)



    Quote:

    Well, we've always been very clear on that. We don't think that televisions and personal computers are going to merge. We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.



    Well, they want to link sometimes. Like, when you make a movie, you burn a DVD and you take it to your DVD player. Someday that could happen over AirPort, so you don't have to burn a DVD -- you can just watch it right off your computer on your television set. But most of these products that have said, "Let's combine the television and the computer!? have failed. All of them have failed.



    The problem is, when you're using your computer you're a foot away from it, you know? When you're using your television you want to be ten feet away from it. So they're really different animals.



  • Reply 37 of 40
    Quote:

    Originally posted by applenut

    UHG. steve jobs does not hate tv. the comment about turning your brain off when you go to watch tv is not saying tv is fucking stupid and a waste of time, it's saying they have different usage and interaction with the user than a computer. Jobs makes his living right now off of the entertainment industry....movies and music. I really think the last thing he'd do is be a dipshit and say I hate tv, fuck it.



    'nut...you can be a prick sometimes but you do have good ole fashioned common sense most of the time. %100 point on point here. If I never heard "Steve Jobs hates TV" again I wouldn't mind.
  • Reply 38 of 40
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    'nut...you can be a prick sometimes but you do have good ole fashioned common sense most of the time. %100 point on point here. If I never heard "Steve Jobs hates TV" again I wouldn't mind.



    thanks....i think
  • Reply 39 of 40
    The iLife integration with Tivo could be really cool. Just like iMovie now has a quick edit option to automatically create a movie from the clips on your camera, an update to iDVD could automatically burn tv shows to DVD: Select the TV show(s), select the theme, and click "Burn". Commercials could be automatically removed, replaced by chapter stops (since commercials are often placed near important parts of an episode). Pretty much no thought is required by the user, and you get a "professional quality" DVD, with only a couple clicks on your click-wheel remote.



    Would this functionality be on the Mac (with the TV shows beaming from the Tivo over Airport), or on a Tivo with built-in SuperDrive? A Tivo-SuperDrive-iLife combo would be an all-in-one solution, meaning you'd only need to add a TV (and an amp, if you want decent sound). Plus, you wouldn't have to leave the living room to do anything. Of course, having the Mac handle most of the iLife stuff would keep the Tivo simple and cheap.
  • Reply 40 of 40
    http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=879



    And that's all I have to say about that!
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