The Cellar - View Single Post

Undertoad · 05-07-2003, 07:42 PM

It's true, you don't have to subscribe. Subscription is $12.95 per month; there's also a "lifetime of the unit" plan, but that's the wrong choice for almost everyone.

The quality of the system is in its user interface, including the remote. The user interface is just outstanding. When I introduce the TiVo to new people, I merely hand them the remote and tell them to start with the big top button. From that starting point, they can intuitively learn and understand the whole thing in about five minutes.

The software would not be as great without the live program data backing it up. It would be nice if they were to open the interface so that competitors could offer program data. That won't matter when, in about three years, the price of all the hardware components of the TiVo is about $100 and open source software to operate it matures.

05-07-2003, 07:42 PM	#12
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	It's true, you don't have to subscribe. Subscription is $12.95 per month; there's also a "lifetime of the unit" plan, but that's the wrong choice for almost everyone. The quality of the system is in its user interface, including the remote. The user interface is just outstanding. When I introduce the TiVo to new people, I merely hand them the remote and tell them to start with the big top button. From that starting point, they can intuitively learn and understand the whole thing in about five minutes. The software would not be as great without the live program data backing it up. It would be nice if they were to open the interface so that competitors could offer program data. That won't matter when, in about three years, the price of all the hardware components of the TiVo is about $100 and open source software to operate it matures.