The Incomplete Gamer

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 are 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.