Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Intel Announcement That Mentions TiVo's New Application for 2006

There is an announcement being made by Intel that strongly mentioned a new use for a TiVo unit.
 
Viiv is a new company within Intel that is going to produce a technology that will allow TiVo boxes to move programming from the PC to the TiVo box.
 
This immediately makes IPTV and downloading of television shows a viable option for TiVo owners.
 
With this announcement, I can foresee TiVo being sued by broadcast networks for becoming very Napster-like but with video.  But I would hope that by the time the technology is released that the major media companies will see that any moves involving downloading and transfer of anything viewable on TV is a good move versus one to be decimated quickly.
 
I just wonder where DirecTV will fall into this new equation since as a distribution service provider, DirecTV should not be technically restricted to televisions and home viewing as well.  XM Radio is a great example of how it displaced Music Choice from being a digital music provider to DirecTVXM Radio has aggressively sought to move beyond its initial field of subscribers to being accessible online, within the home, within automobiles, and anywhere else a portable hand unit can be carried.
 
DirecTV should jump on this same bandwagon with both TiVo and XM Radio and push the envelope even faster.
 
But a lot of this new distribution and content accessibility has been introduced by Apple's release of the Video iPod.  So thanks a ton, Apple!
 
One interesting thought that just popped back into my head is the opinion that was expressed on the Motley Fool that Google should acquire TiVo .
 
With TiVo clearly working to become a bridge between television viewing and the online digital realm, I can easily see Google snapping up TiVo.
 
This is a better move than when Microsoft acquired WebTV.

Another thought that now resonates to me is that Blockbuster and Netflix better start making some stronger moves as well as any other company whose business primarily involves hardcopy media such as DVDs.  This goes equally if not double for the recording industry.

Other companies mentioned within the press release include Afendis AG, LoveFilm.com, British Sky Broadcasting, MovieLink, Telecom Italia, VirginMega, Ubisoft Entertainment, Adobe Systems Inc., Ulead Systems Inc., and Sonic Solutions.

So this announcement may preclude Web 3.0 or Web 4.0 after all;) 

Left out of this announcement however are the internet service providers which will be needed for the tons of bandwidth that are going to be needed to keep the system from breaking down and remaining just another lofty digital idea and vision.  Broadband providers need to be kept at the table or quickly ushered to it.

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