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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tivo To Get VOD on Comcast

If you care what kind of car you drive, you might also care what kind of DVR you use, too. There is a difference between a cable DVR and a Tivo. But is it worth the added cost to upgrade?

Until now, it didn't make sense. Tivo boxes could record programs but could not access on demand features from cable. For Comcast, that upgrade is now happening. "Comcast and TiVo have partnered up to offer access to cable TV, broadband content, and Comcast's Xfinity On Demand library through TiVo Premiere boxes." Comcast still needs to come to the house and install CableCards. But no other equipment should be necessary.

The rollout, for whatever reason, seems slow. Only San Francisco is mentioned. Will Comcast and Tivo heavily market in Comcast systems when available? Will consumers upgrade? It seems the time to get this to market is late. With tons more content available digitally over the top, the consumer has already found alternatives that work. Gaming systems, DVD players, and TV manufacturers are selling electronics that easily access the web. Consumers are also watching outside the home using their same over the top subscriptions, Hulu, Netflix, and others. A Comcast - Tivo on demand box is nice, it just seems like they are 2 years late to market. If you already own a Tivo Premiere box in a Comcast market, the upgrade seems a no brainer; but if you don't own a Tivo, an on demand upgrade doesn't seem like enough to switch your DVR.