Two years after launching “Unbox” on TiVo (~$250), Amazon (AMZN) has finally rolled out HD video on demand. I’ve been on the road for work, so while my Roku box ($99) has had the high def Amazon service about 10 days, I haven’t yet actually taken a test drive. Early reports from various sources indicate excellent quality. Movie rental prices seem reasonable at $4-$5/pop. Although television content seems a bit much, especially 30 minute shows (which are closer to 20) clocking in at $3. As Amazon’s library grows, this should make TiVo an even more viable competitor to cable’s two-way DVRs with VOD. And while their HD quality may not equal Vudu’s ($149) high def video, most folks will have less incentive to explore that solution. As both a Roku and TiVo customer, I’m very pleased this day has finally arrived. And I have much less incentive to pull the Vudu (and Blockbuster box) from the closet going forward.

Click to enlarge:

TiVo’s newest form of advertising, which debuted a few months back on Series 2 units, has now begun to encroach on the Series 3/TiVoHD platform. As TiVo proclaimed in December:

Using the TiVo Pause Menu, advertisers can, for the first time, reach audiences with targeted product messages displayed within the pause screen of a Live or Timeshifted program. The feature provides an original solution for advertisers seeking to capture the fast-forwarding viewer. It’s another example of how TiVo offers unique and different solutions for advertisers looking to get viewers to watch advertisements

Software version 11.0c, which seems to consist solely of this “feature,” is currently being deployed to high-def TiVo boxes. I haven’t yet received an “upgrade,” but the initial community response has been mixed.

While most geek bloggers are in Vegas for CTIA, Mari and I are roaming (and Tweeting) around The Cable Show in DC today. One of my first stops, of course, was TiVo’s booth. I tried to pry any additional info from them on future Cox, Comcast, and DirecTV deployments… but came up largely empty. Which isn’t so surprising and I can’t hold it against them, as the (partner) announcements aren’t really theirs to make. However, new to me, are the TiVo-Motorola-Comcast online scheduling capabilities “coming soon.”

Click to enlarge:

In the second half of the year, Blockbuster OnDemand video downloads are set to join Amazon, CinemaNow, Netflix, and Jaman on broadband-connected TiVo units. While TiVo isn’t in need of another video download service, that largely duplicates Amazon Unbox/VOD content, this relationship looks mutually beneficial. TiVo gains a new sales channel via thousands of Blockbuster (BBI) retail locations as Blockbuster lands a platform with an installed user based and recognizable name. (Sales of Blockbuster’s own video rental box have probably been abysmal.) I assume this more substantial engagement will work out better than than a previous marketing relationship.

On Sunday, I spent several hours on the phone with both the TiVo and Digital River (TiVo’s online license key fulfillment provider) technical support teams. After installing generic TiVo Desktop 2.7 software under the Windows 7 Beta, the desktop software would not accept my TiVo Desktop Plus License Key. It kept reporting that I had an invalid key. The only solution TiVo’s support team had in its database was to reinstall the app – which didn’t work. Digital River issued me a new license key which the TiVo Desktop 2.7 app also rejected. After a couple hours and four phone calls we/they all gave up. I was about to try installing the older TiVo Desktop version 2.6.2 when it occurred to me to try running both the installer and the app in Windows Vista compatibility mode. Voila!

Read the rest of this entry at The Daleisphere »

Two months after meeting with Digeo at CES, I’ve yet to receive a Moxi HD DVR ($800) loaner. In fact, three months after initial retail availability, there hasn’t been a single review. And the AVS silence is unprecedented: “Seems pretty sad that no one on an A/V enthusiast forum like this will admit to taking a chance on this unit.” I’ve never seen a flagship product launch go down like this. Although, given Diego’s long history of under-achievement and broken promises, I shouldn’t be surprised.

Over the weekend I surfed on by the Moxi website to learn what, if anything, is going on. And discovered a redesign that spends a lot of time talking TiVo. A Moxi-TiVo comparison is quite natural given TiVo’s status as the incumbent and really the only other retail cable DVR competitor. However, Google reports over 20 pages of TiVo mentions… which seems a bit excessive. Why not stand on your own merits? Some samples:

• The MOXI HD DVR beats TiVo in so many areas
• TiVo tries the same thing, but fails in the effortless department
• TiVo strikes out by putting their fuzzy, elderly menu right on top of the program you’re (trying) to watch
• TiVo serves ads in their pause feature. Moxi’s is free.
• Then there’s TiVo, brazenly asking you for as much as $12.95 a month for the privilege of using something you already bought

As you might expect, Digeo doesn’t point out Moxi’s (current?) video on-demand shortcomings compared to TiVo’s Amazon VOD (soon in HD) and Netflix streaming. But several of Digeo’s jabs are valid. TiVo’s aging UI still isn’t really optimized for 16:9 HDTVs and various tacked on (HME) apps employ (slow) inconsistent interfaces. I’d also appreciate the eye candy of picture-in-guide (PiG).

Of course, Digeo’s key Moxi differentiation is bundling service versus TiVo’s additional fees (monthly or pre-paid) and ad-serving. As far as the total cost of ownership (TCO), Moxi has put together a chart illustrating that Moxi is less expensive over a four year period. However, they point to the TiVo HD XL… with double Moxi’s storage and cite the MSRP versus the street price. (Currently ~$100 less for TiVo; MSRP=street for Moxi.) So, in reality, the costs are comparable for what you get over this time period. As long as Digeo remains in business to serve guide data.

Regarding the advertising, for many of us, one of TiVo’s initial value props was the ability to bypass commercials. Yet, we’re now confronted by ads all over the UI. However, Digeo’s ad-free sales pitch rings a bit hollow… as they’ve hedged their bets with this fine print found in the footer of every relevant page: “Certain current and/or future features/services provided by third parties may contain advertising.” And even the fee-less nature of the Moxi HD DVR may be finite: “Certain future services may be offered at additional cost.” (more…)

After reading my post wondering where Amazon VOD in HD is, multiple sources have confirmed for me that TiVo’s implementation is currently in testing. While I still don’t have concrete timing details, and suspect we’re waiting on Amazon.com at this point, I’m told video quality is outstanding. Additionally, the progressive downloads include surround sound. And if we’re blessed with solid connectivity, both in and outside of the home, we may be able to pull down these titles in less than real time. I get the sense Amazon’s offering a decent amount of HD television programming, but the movie library is still a bit limited – although, it does feature the sort of new releases unavailable to Netflix’s streaming solution. Hopefully this will land sooner rather than later. On my Roku box, too.

Thanks for the great news, moles!