TiVo users will be able to purchase and download movies from Amazon via their set top boxes starting today.
TiVo users have been able to purchase or rent movies from Amazon Unbox since March. Previously this required users to make the purchase on the Amazon website. From today, TiVo Series 2 and 3 users will now be able to browse and buy movies without having to use a computer.
The NY Times noted that TiVo has developed a safeguard so users don’t accidentally order movies, by requiring a five-digit password to complete a transaction
The service contrasts with Apple TV, which requires the use of iTunes to download, buy and then sync content to an Apple TV unit. Apple TV has already been written off by some as a failure amongst the sea of recent Apple success stories; given the continued improvement of competing offerings, it’s probably not a call without some merit. Certainly one would question the need for a stand-alone Apple TV style device that doesn’t record TV nor play DVD’s, when there are a wealth of alternatives, from TiVo style units, HD DVD players, and network DVD players that provide a superior service for a similar or lower cost.
Probably not a good idea to call the Apple TV a done deal until we see what Steve’s got up his sleeve. He stated in a recent interview that, now that the iPhone has been released, it’s time for the Apple TV to “get a little attention”. Guess we’ll see soon enough.
“it’s probably not a call without some merit”
couldn’t have not said it better myself…
I love Apple and long on Apple, but this is definitely killer. Humans want to avoid as many steps as possible, this does it. The only difference btwn this and a cable box is that the cable only does new releases.
What Apple may have going for them is the integration with YouTube. That makes it more of a consumer box, allowing people to share their home videos with friends and family.
You have Youtube, internets and more on the Wiiiii!
Sorry, I love the new Nintendo. I hope they eventually allow us to hook up external hard drives to those usb 2.0 ports with music and movies.
what if you want to play movies, TV shows, movie trailers, podcasts, photos, and YouTube videos from your computer on your TV? In 40GB and new 160GB models starting at $299, Apple TV brings iTunes and more to the big screen.
http://www.mp4-...e-tv-converter/
jackie113
A Windows MCE box or a well portioned Network DVD player (I own a Zensonic Z500) can do most, if not all of those things + they have obvious extras such as DVD players and HDMI 1080p output
I have to say that Apple TV is pretty sweet. Instead of paying a cable bill, I just buy which shows I want to watch and watch them when I want, commercial free. The “commercial free” thing is what got me onboard.
Thank you very much for the post. TechCrunch is one of the absolute best resources on the web. It is a must read. Thanks for the great work.
Yeah, if you’re going through a video conversion step, just about any $50 DivX capable DVD player does all that stuff and upconverts as well.
Anyway, suffice it to say I don’t see any features on AppleTV that would add anything to my day.
The Unbox direct connection from Tivo, though, is a pretty nice idea and surprising that it beat Apple to market. Getting two companies to agree and work out the details, when Apple has the hardware and software under control for AppleTV, that is just surprising.
Do AppleTV users really have to use a separate computer to buy programs? Ouch.
yeah – I suppose AMazon and Tivo had this planned from the creation of unbox …
Definitely something that would have been on the cards…I am not surprised at all. Given the competition in the space you can also expect to see more partners solidifying their alliances in the coming months.
Well, the screen on my laptop died, so I’ve got to use it for something, but even a new low-end laptop costs less than some of these devices.
Apple, seems to target those whose primary interaction is the personal computer not the TV. The Ipod (though not the iphone?)also requires this sync, but I agree, that with a TV people expect not to get up from the couch.
So what happens if you have a hardware problem or need to upgrade? You lose all your movies?
Dan – it looks like purchased movies and TV shows can be redownloaded from the Amazon locker.
http://www.amaz.../gp/video/tivo/
“If I delete my Unbox videos from my TiVo DVR are they gone forever?
Amazon Unbox stores your purchased videos in Your Media Library for re-download – so your videos don’t have to take up all the space on your TiVo DVR.”
hey. anyone heard of this site: http://www.julib.com
i just subscribed and just wanted some feedback.
I think this is a great idea. This is better than PPV and you don’t have to worry about losing a purchased video like you do on a PVR. I for one have been waiting on the fence for such an item. I looked at the Apple TV and decided to wait. It doesn’t appear to me to offer any added value to my home entertainment system and just adds another piece of hardware and more cables. Can someone explain why I should buy an Apple TV? I don’t look at pictures on my TV or have any desire to look at YouTube low res videos on my TV. (I have a 1080p LCD). I would love to see Apple come up with a product that can do the following:
#1 record and pause live TV scheduled remotely from your Mac
#2 play physical DVD’s using a Blue Ray or HD DVD player
#3 Cache purchased shows from Itunes and play them at 720p.
I know that many people have used the Mac Mini for this purpose, but if all of the rumors are true, it may soon be extinct.
How is Tivo going to dig itself out of its biggest problem? Cable services providing DVRs for free with no service fees.
Dan you don’t loose your movies or shows, you can just re-download them all from amazon.
I have spent almost a couple hundred on movies and tv shows already. This feature was already on the tivo boxes, they just hit the switch to let folks connect directly to amazon to get new movies and junk.
They just need to get a ton of more movies and added, they are lacking bad and the search filtering really sucks. you can jump over to the tivo community and see it’s been a normal hot button for some.
I have both a Tivo and DVR from Comcast, and I gotta say that I end up using the Comcast DVR much more often because it records in HD. I know that Tivo has an HD DVR, but it’s very expensive. Until I can get the same quality video on my TIVO, I’m not sure I’d ever use unbox.
Additionally, Comcast offers dozens of free movies and lots of my favorite HBO shows on-demand.
Making visual entertainment even more available than it already is — TiVo certainly caters to the needs of its patrons.
TiVo to it’s DirecTV TiVo users: screw you
they’ve completely forgotten about us
I think it’s a pretty cool feature as long as they allow you to download the movies again in case you lose them as people stated. I can’t wait for the day when everything is digital and can be downloaded instead of relying on cable.
Tivo doesn’t compete with cable or satellite, they enable them to provide better service.
Comcast will have tivo-enabled PVRs by the end of the summer.
DirecTV intentionally cripples the tivo service, dont blame them.
Buy tivo shares b/c they will be acquired.
Apple TV is weak…. and old news. In fact, I’ve had Apple TV since 2002, WAAAY back when it was called “S-Video Cable.” I’ve recently upgraded to the new version of that technology, “HDMI Cable.”
ImTOO DVD to Apple TV Converter is powerful easy-to-use DVD to Apple TV Converter software which helps you convert DVD to Apple TV MP4 (MPEG-4) format and convert DVD to Apple TV audio formats MP3, AAC, WAV
http://www.appl...dvd-to-apple-tv
“The service contrasts with Apple TV, which requires the use of iTunes to download, buy and then sync content to an Apple TV unit.”
How is this contrasting?
Amazon Unbox requires a TiVo.
They are not the exact same services but if you are gonna compare/contrast, then use proper examples.
Doesn’t TiVo (unlike iTunes) have a monthly charge?