If you graced us with your presence over the last few days you might have stumbled across our last post – Ten Reasons to Skip Tivo’s Aussie launch. In the interest of fairness, and with less than a day until all is revealed, The Incomplete Gamer brings you Ten Reasons to forget everything we told you before. Some might call that fickle. We like to think of it as balanced coverage.

1. It just works. While we praise and recommend Tivo with an almost missionary zeal, all the while basking in the warmth of its technological wizardry; our two Series 1 Tivo units quietly go about their business recording our favourite shows and listing them for our viewing pleasure on the ‘Now Showing’ screen. Tivo is our best friend, no doubt about it, but it’s the end result – the recordings – that capture our hearts and minds. Like a kettle that boils water or a toaster that toasts, Tivo is a product that does what it was engineered to do but, in the case of Tivo, in an intuitive, reliable and intelligent fashion that very few products, past or present, have managed.

2: The Price is Right. Yes, we know we raised concerns that $700 seemed a little steep. However, it’s worth repeating that once you factor in what will effectively be the equivalent of the US ‘Product Lifetime Service’ Australia’s soon to arrive HD Tivo comes to market in Australia at a price only a few dollars above its US cousin. When was the last time the consumer saw such parity in pricing? Sorry Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo but we don’t see it in the video gaming industry. I’m afraid not Canon, Nikon and Pentax. The Aussie consumer is getting fleeced in that sector too. We’ve heard the reasons for price gouging enough times to repeat them verbatim: ‘Australia is a small PAL market‘; ‘It’s all about economies of scale‘; and don’t forget the ‘tyranny of distance – those shipping containers don’t get here by themselves’.

Which makes the reported $700 price point all the more remarkable. Any less than $700 and we’ll be tempted to buy two and, for good measure, contact our local member to put in a good mention for Tivo on the Australia Day honours list.

3: The Early Adopter gets the Worm spoils. You can wait until Christmas and watch on the sidelines or you can jump in with both feet right now and start reaping the benefits of Tivo ownership. The Americans have been enjoying Tivo for a good nine years already. Forget ‘early adopter’. We’re positively late to the party. Enough is enough. And as any early adopter knows there is a price to pay in missing out on the joys of ownership at launch. The general rule: calculate any decrease in RRP in the first six months, multiply by three and you’ll have a rough monetary (totally unscientific) idea of how much you’ve benefited over your more cautious colleagues and friends.

4. Padding. Shoulder pads? Bad. Padded wordy posts (sorry)? Bad. That extra padding around your waist? Bad. Tivo’s implementation of padding? Good. An electronic program guide (EPG), even one updated daily and with the support and cooperation of all the TV networks, is only one hundred per cent reliable if the Networks stick strictly to advertised start and finish times. But they don’t – as a result of the vagaries of live broadcasts, occasional unscheduled news events, but mainly as a result of deliberate attempts by the Networks to gain commercial advantage. Push the finishing time back and your viewers will be less likely to change to another network if the other networks have already commenced broadcasting the next thirty minute or sixty minute block of programing. Similarly, such sneaky efforts frustrate and discourage the consumer who attempts to record their favourite shows only to discover they’ve missed the first few minutes or worse still, the last five. Enter Tivo stage left. With the proven ability to easily and automatically increase the recording length of individual scheduled recordings, you’ll never be left wondering how it ended.

5. The Power of 7. It’s easy to paint the TV Networks as out of touch, stupid and slow to react to the technological changes sweeping the world. Yes, we could all do a better job of Network Programming than the current hacks. Seriously, how hard is it to sign up an exclusive programming deal with HBO and J. J. Abrams, and then always screen the shows in Prime Time on the same day of the week?

Seven’s partnership with Tivo is the first real sign that an Australian TV Network recognises that while the internet has the power to reshape and transform television viewing, the Networks can actively redefine their role in the new world order beyond simply creating internet portals with limited and tightly controlled video content. If intelligent PVR’s are the future of TV viewing (and Seven is clearly betting that they are), then Seven will be committed to ensuring that Tivo is, and remains, the best PVR on the market. Forget concerns that Seven has somehow crippled the Tivo. Seven would no more do that than harm Gold Logie winner Kate Ritchie.

6. Gerry Harvey. Sure we were concerned that Harvey Norman had stitched up an exclusive three month window to sell Tivo. But these reservations don’t extend to billionaire Gerry Harvey (Harvey Norman co founder and Executive Chairman), one of Australia’s most successful retail operators. Now Gerry is fond of the horses. With over 600 thoroughbred horses in his stables he is reported to be one of the largest breeders in the world. Clearly Gerry believes he’s onto a sure fire winner with Tivo, and based on the wealth Gerry has amassed and the success he has achieved, it would be a brave man who bet against him.

7. The Fallacy of the ‘Commercial Skipping’ Function. We’ll know more about this come Tuesday but there’s been much concern that somehow Channel Seven will cripple the Tivo’s ability to skip commercials, and that without a dedicated 30 second skip function, the Tivo will be dead in the water. Not true. The Incomplete Gamer’s Series 1 Tivo’s are all capable of the 30 second skip trick, but the fact is we don’t use it. We find the on-screen Fast Forward function just as quick, easy, accurate and effective.. Our Incomplete Gamer tip: They won’t remove the Fast Forward button.

8. What Bugs. PVR’s might be an emerging market sector in Australia but the HD Tivo that is about to launch a frontal assault on your lounge room is a third generation PVR – nine years in the making. Its upgradeable firmware is less about removing bugs and more about an evolving powerful operating system that provides a richer feature set with every revision.

9. A great Month to Queue. No one said you could only line up in one queue this month. Yes the Apple iPhone is launching this month, but we can’t think of a better bit of kit to share the limelight with our beloved Tivo. And not just because Apple, like Tivo, has built it’s success on innovation and usability. The synergy goes much deeper. If you want to take advantage of your iPhone’s excellent portable video playing capabilities you’ll need some content to take on the road. Tivo’s Tivo Desktop Plus software will seamlessly copy, convert and transfer your recordings to your device of choice including the iPhone.

10. But Wait..There’s More. In less than 24 hours, the time for speculation will be over. We’ll know exactly what we’ll be getting, when we’ll be getting it and how much we’ll be forking over for the privilege.

One last bit of advice. Don’t buy Tivo for Tivo’s sake. Don’t jump onboard the Tivo bandwagon simply because Sex and the City’s Miranda loved her Tivo (It always new what she wanted.) Tivo has become an American cultural icon for one simple reason. Plain and simple, Tivo is one of the best Digital Video Recorders on the market.

DISCLOSURE: The Incomplete Gamer loves Tivo; unashamedly, unreservedly, absolutely. We’re even on record as such. Tivo’s built a reputation on three features. It boasts what is quite possibly the world’s most user-friendly interface. Not only is the UI intuitive, it’s incredibly powerful as well. Combine those features with a reputation for reliability and you have one solid Hard Disc Recorder.

It’s coming. Seven promised Australia that Tivo would launch ahead of the Beijing Olympics and that’s precisely the plan according to recent reports, although at this rate it looks like Tivo might be taking up it’s position on the starting blocks Harvey Norman shelves, not much before the Opening Ceremony commences. The Gadget Guy reports that online sales will commence on July 15, followed by in-store sales commencing July 28. We’ll know more come the official launch this Tuesday according to the good folks at Hydrapinion.

The big question of course, is not so much when it will launch, but rather should you join the ranks of the early adopters and take up your place in the front the Tivo lovers queue at your local HN Superstore? Today, The Incomplete Gamer gives you ‘Ten Reasons to Skip Next Months Tivo Launch in Australia’. Tune in Monday and we’ll argue the affirmative with ‘Ten Reasons to be First in Line’.

‘Ten Reasons to Skip Next Months Tivo Launch in Australia’

1: Sticker Shock.

Forget 1 Reason. Try 700. With a rumoured RRP of $700, at first glance the Australian HD Tivo is not quite the bargain its US cousin is. Stateside, the HD Tivo is currently selling on Amazon for only US$229.97. However Tivo comes to Australia with no ongoing subscription fees. Tivo offers the same deal in the US in the guise of ‘Product Lifetime Service‘ which will currently set you back a further US$399. Total damage for the US version converted into Aussie dollars – A$656.26. The good news then is that for once we’re not a victim of price gouging. The bad news…we’re still facing a steep admission price. While charging on-going subscription fees would have been a hard sell in the Australian market for a Tivo boasting only free-to-air content recording capabilities, the up-side of such a pricing model would have meant a lower priced HD Tivo.

2: Channel Seven.

You can argue that Tivo’s partnership with industry heavyweight, Channel Seven, is a good thing but you’d be wrong. Sure, Tivo might face an even bigger struggle to establish a foothold in Australia without one of the big three commercial television networks onboard, but we can’t help feel a little uneasy at this unholy alliance.

Tivo may be a cultural icon in the US, but it has never been a ‘friend’ of the US broadcasters. The fact is, broadcasters weren’t too keen on us taping programs, skipping ads and time shifting our viewing back in the days of The Rockford Files, The Streets of San Francisco and Beta VCRs. Luckily for them, their fears of substantial revenue losses were unfounded. Half of us couldn’t program a VCR and the other half couldn’t be bothered. However, when Tivo successfully married hard disc based technology with an intuitive interface, timeshifting became mainstream and the TV network’s fears were realised.

Why then, if timeshifting is the natural enemy of the TV Network, has Channel Seven climbed into bed with Tivo? How will Channel Seven protect its advertising revenue streams if its audience heeds the call and embraces Tivo? Has the Australian HD Tivo been crippled in order to protect the TV networks advertising revenues?

3: Harvey Norman. According to the above-mentioned reports, Harvey Norman have secured an exclusive deal to sell the HD Tivo for the first three months come launch day. It’s a great deal for Gerry Harvey to be sure but we’re not convinced it’s in the best interest of you, the humble consumer. Choice means competition. Harvey Norman have the market all to themselves, meaning we are unlikely to see any discounting on the Tivo price for at least 3 months. As we noted above (1. Sticker Shock) it’s already keenly priced. Blame The Incomplete Gamer’s Scottish heritage if you must, but we’d love to see the HD Tivo front and centre in a JB HiFi catalogue with the words ‘madness!’ next to the price!

4: Beijing Olympics. Sport sells Big TVs. The bigger the sporting event, the bigger the sales spike. We’ve seen it in recent years with the FIFA World Cup. Sony have just announced plans to once again give away PS3 consoles with purchases of Bravia HD televisions in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics. There’s no doubt in our minds that TV sales will spike upward across the globe in the lead-up to the games. What we’re not so sure about is whether there really is any great synergy between an Olympics telecast and a Tivo or any PVR for that matter.

Firstly, sport demands to be watched live.

Secondly, any one who has ever watched domestic Olympics coverage knows well that as a result of time zones and commercial considerations much of the Olympics telecast is delayed. Our Aussie men’s basketballers may well be playing the US at 3pm, but don’t hold your breath waiting for a 3pm broadcast window. The flip side to the delayed telecast is that as a result of the parochial nature of the broadcast and the near 24 hour nature of the coverage, you are going to see every highlight 3 or 4 times at least, even if you don’t plan to. By all means buy an HD TV before the Olympics but don’t kid yourself that you need a Tivo to record the action. You don’t, and you know it!

5: iPhone. Launching the Tivo within days or weeks of the Apple iPhone’s launch in Australia is a little like holding your birthday party on Christmas Day. If you’re lucky, people might remember your birthday but don’t expect them to turn up for the party. It was bad enough that Apple announced the iPhone 3G back in June. For it to launch on July 11 was a disaster for the Tivo camp. There won’t be a hotter, sexier, more in demand consumer electronics device released this year and possibly the next. We’re not suggesting for one minute that Tivo and the iPhone compete against each other. We’re talking two clearly different product categories, but in the battle for newspaper inches, broadcast bites, and the ultimate competition for your hard earned money, Tivo just lost.

6: Cable TV or the lack of it. We’re a very different market to the States. Tivo was born into a mature and competitive Cable TV market. American consumers were blessed with an abundance of providers, networks and channels. The more channels, the more content. The more content the greater the need to timeshift. The more Cable (subscription) content, the greater the financial incentive to timeshift. Tivo was a solution both for the consumer wanting to watch what he wanted, when he wanted and the consumer who couldn’t watch everything live, simply because there was too much good content being broadcast at the same time. Australia’s a different market altogether. Pay TV has much lower penetration in Australia. More importantly, Foxtel has the market to itself. If you’re a Pay TV subscriber then Foxtel have their own smart pvr solution (see 9: Foxtel iq2). If you’re not signing up to Foxtel and content to watch the free to air fare then your need for a Tivo just isn’t all that great. It might be driven simply by a desire to timeshift, but with less channels and less competing content you are far less likely to timeshift out of necessity.

7: Sony PlayTV. If you already own a PS3 then you have very little need for a Tivo. Come November this year Sony will launch PlayTV. This PS3 accessory with twin HD tuners will turn your PS3 into a PVR and multimedia powerhouse. Throw the Playstation Portable into the mix and you have a solution that will see you watching Live TV or recorded videos whenever you a
re near a Wi-Fi internet hotspot. Sony’s PS3 offering is a reminder of how crowded and innovative the market is becoming, and the tough road ahead for Tivo.

8: Bugs. There’s a price to pay for being an early adopter and it’s not just your hip pocket that suffers. You’ll be joining an exclusive group of punters for Round 2 of the Beta Testing..only this time you’ve paid for the privilege. “Rubbish”, I hear you cry! “Surely Tivo have ironed out the bugs by now? This is a third generation product, already out over a year in the US. The bugs, if there ever where any are surely all long gone?” We’d love to share your enthusiasm. Truth be told we are one of Tivo’s greatest supporters (See disclaimer below) but this Oz flavoured HD Tivo has been tweaked for the local conditions. Wait for Christmas and avoid the potential headache.

9: Foxtel iq2. If you’re a Foxtel subscriber now, think you might be a Foxtel subscriber any time in the next 2 years then Tivo is the wrong choice. Plain and simple. You’ll need Foxtel’s iq2 to tape all that high definition digital goodness, and if you’re already a Foxtel subscriber you won’t even miss the small additional monthly outlay.

10: But wait..there’s more. Tivo has always sold itself on its ease of use. It is warm and cuddly and simple to use. You’d expect you’d find everything you need in the box to get your Tivo up and running in minutes…but if early reports are to be believed, you’d be wrong. It won’t come with a wireless networking solution out of the box. You’ll either have to run network cable to your router/modem or pony up another $100 for a wireless USB stick. Tivo just got harder to set up and more expensive.

Not convinced? Still on the fence? Tune in tomorrow and we’ll argue the affirmative with ‘Ten Reasons to be First in Line’.

DISCLOSURE: The Incomplete Gamer loves Tivo; unashamedly, unreservedly, absolutely. We’re even on record as such. Tivo’s built a reputation on three features. It boasts what is quite possibly the world’s most user-friendly interface. Not only is the UI intuitive, it’s incredibly powerful as well. Combine those features with a reputation for reliability and you have one solid Hard Disc Recorder.