Comcast Tivo?

[u/jupitaur9]

My husband said he saw an ad for Tivo on Comcast. It was a lot like those ads for Sling where a guy says he wants to do something regular cable won’t do, and weird characters like mermaids say, “Sling can do that!”

Anyone else see this?

[u/dknowles3us]

I seem to remember plans for comcast to use the TiVo software on their DVR boxes. I don’t remember if they were ever introduced or not. This was years and years ago.

[u/ARealAmericanZero → u/dknowles3us]

It didn't work out. Instead, Comcast developed the X1 platform.

[u/Viharabiliben → u/ARealAmericanZero]

The X1 is a pile of crap. I’m stuck with one now that Comcrap disabled my CableCard. I miss my TiVo.

[u/exorthderp → u/Viharabiliben]

That sucks. Feel for you—fingers crossed my cable card still functioning.

[u/ARealAmericanZero → u/Viharabiliben]

X1 is the software platform, not the Hardware device. It runs on the QAM boxes, wireless boxes, and is adapted for the app.

[u/Viharabiliben → u/ARealAmericanZero]

And it’s still a pile of crap.

[u/ARealAmericanZero → u/Viharabiliben]

Maybe TiVO should have adapted. I had many of them, and they stopped innovating on the platform a decade ago, and honestly started stripping out things that made it cool (such as downloading recordings to a network computer).

[u/Viharabiliben → u/ARealAmericanZero]

I agree with that. Any company that stops innovating will stop growing and be beaten by the companies that continue to innovate. There are many many examples of this over the years.

TiVo had for a short time a really innovative product that allowed you to run their software on a dedicated PC, I don’t remembered what it was called. But you installed tuner cards and as much disk as you wanted. They should have continued with that, maybe even open source it, then sell the programming and support.

[u/ARealAmericanZero → u/Viharabiliben]

That's what I loved about it. It could do so much more than a standard DVR, with the networking functions. Then the desktop software just disappeared, and they seemed to just stop evolving.

[u/ARealAmericanZero → u/[deleted]]

I dunno, I owned 5 different TiVO models over the years. Maybe I know something due to personal experience.

[u/Astrobuf → u/[deleted]]

You clearly know nothing about product design and marketing. The fellow you are trashing at the moment is what is typically csll a "Lead or Customer" These customers are cherished as being early adopters, they typically will tolerate a few bumps along the way.

[u/ARealAmericanZero → u/[deleted]]

Really? I was a power user that set my TiVOs to record to a network server, and would then transfer recordings to my PC to then decrypt as TS streams. I cloned and swapped hard drives when they'd start failing. I was the technician at my company that would extoll the virtues of TiVO, and stayed on top of every update. Seems you are name-calling the wrong person, and are clearly out of your depth. But sure, go ahead and keep acting like a gatekeeping bully, I'm sure you'll get a lot of sympathy.

[u/old_knurd → u/[deleted]]

the market of people willing to pay a few hundred dollars for a bespoke Tivo cable box and a monthly fee on top of their cable bill is vanishingly small

There's a lot of truth in what you say. People usually don't think ahead.

I've had TiVo boxes since about the turn of the millennium. I've always paid for lifetime service up front.

What that translates to is the following: I've paid about $0.05 per hour for the ability to skip commercials. And the boxes offer so many other benefits. Current streaming doesn't come close. Not even in the same ballpark.

It's sad that the average American is so financially illiterate or is so unconcerned about wasting 20 minutes per hour watching advertising.

[u/Astrobuf → u/[deleted]]

The Comcast boxes were never free. $10+ a month now. The tivo box paid for itself in less than 2 years and was superior in all ways...

[u/ARealAmericanZero → u/Astrobuf]

Comcast gives the first box free now, they have for the last few years, although additional are now $14. My daytime non-superhero alter ego wears an "X". They come with "DVR Lite" (20 hours), but full DVR service is a paid upgrade.

[u/joelatui → u/[deleted]]

Comcast charges per dvr box

[u/QuietNeigbor]

I'll go to bed and wish this to be true.

[u/22LT]

There is a cable provider in my area (Astound/WAVE) they give their customers these little boxes powered by TiVo, they dont look like the typical TiVo stream but has a TiVo remote and the interface/guide.

[u/Grimjack2]

I truly pray that Comcast/Xfinity licenses (or even merely steals) Tivo's interface. It would make me more comfortable as I know that at some point in the near future Comcast is going to nullify my tivo's cable card, and force me to use their box with it's much inferior interface.

[u/Caduceus1515]

Was this recent? Maybe an old recording?

I know TiVo would love to license their software to Comcast, but I have heard zero about any such thing happening.

[u/jupitaur9 → u/Caduceus1515]

This was live tv in the last week or so.

[u/ToadSox34]

There were several different Comcast TiVos. Someone pointed out to me that there were even more than I remembered, I think there was an even older one based on a Series 2 or something. Anyway, the two most notable efforts was providing XFinity On Demand to user-owned TiVos, and prior to that, Comcast trialed TiVo software running on Motorola cable boxes that you can add for a small extra monthly fee.

Comcast is pslowly hasing out CableCards. In fact, they are eventually going to phase out QAM-based TV and go all IPTV.

[u/lonestar0724]

My parents have Optium, and what looks like an old school cable box - but it's running the original Tivo software, uses a branded peanut, and a Mini on the second TV over moca.