Rupert, you clever bastard...

[kosmo vinyl]

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
   

Originally posted by vansmack:
  One thing at a time.  
 
 TiVo Series 3 is a huge leap - put simply, it means that with the new TiVo, every cable and non-cable subscriber alike can record 2 shows at the same time, like DirecTV subscribers have been able to do for sometime. Only this box will record your shows in High Definition or standard definition.  You no longer need a separate set-top box from your cable company plus a TiVo.  It might actually save TiVo from going bankrupt.  For those that currently have a Comcast DVR - you'll see what I'm talking about when TiVo powered DVR's are delivered to your homes in March (hopefully).  The software is so much more powerful then what you have.
 
 It also has MP4 codecs for internet playback.  It will be interesting to see how they incorporate this, but expect Yahoo or Google to offer TV on demand via the internet from the major networks to your TV through your TiVo for $1.99 a show.  
 
 Combine that with TiVo to go features available to non-DirecTV TiVo's (sending shows to your PC for burning, reading your MP3 files on your computer for playback through your stereo) and  this box is the ultimate media center.

so wait, I will be getting a new DVR from comcast? i dont have to ask for it or anything? i can already record two hd programs at once [/b]

this would definitely kill my need for a media pc, unless apple hits one out the ballpark thier first time out.

[ratioci nation]

Originally posted by vansmack:
  Not yet.  I expect this to push the Comcast/TiVo DVR stuff back a little bit.  Originally, TiVo was expected to put Series 2 type DVRs with Digital Cable scramblers in the homes of Comcast subscribers.
 
 But with the FCC requiring Cable Cards from the major companies by 2007, I expect this new TiVo to be the answer.  It doesn't make any sense to roll out Series 2 type DVR's for 3-6 months just to turn around and roll out Cable Card powered DVRs in mid to late 2006.
 
 So I'm guessing that Comcast will offer to put TiVo Series 3 DVR's in the homes of HD subscribers in the same fashion the offer DVRs now - $5 a month or whatever it is.  But not until the fall.
 
 The March thing was what was supposed to happen on the Series 2.  If you're HD, don't bother and wait for Series 3.

dvr is $10 a month here, i am happy with the current dvr, so in no rush for a new one, thanks for the info

[vansmack]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  this would definitely kill my need for a media pc, unless apple hits one out the ballpark thier first time out.

Me too, surprisingly.  I do too many things on the PC to record TV on my hard drive at the same time.  And you can forget about burning a DVD and recording TV.  As a matter of fact, you cn forget about editing and recording.  I've just upgraded to 1.5 gigs of RAM and it still kills performance.
 
 That's why this TiVo is so exciting.  I'm even considering leaving DirecTV, although the lure of the Steelers in High Def is a very inticing one.  But that's all that's keeping me at this point and daily use of the TiVo to go features may outweigh the 10 times a season I don't have the Steelers on Monday Night/ESPN/Game of the week....
 
 And if Apple doesn't add Cable Card technology to any media unit, I wouldn't even consider it.

[Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface]

Originally posted by vansmack:
   

Originally posted by Julian, faux celeb-porn CONNOISSEUR:
  That's ridiculous. There's no way I'd pay that much.

If you don't have HD, I wouldn't recommend it either.  Would $299 be worth it to you to reocrd two shows at the same time?
 
 Or what if Comcast offered you one for $10 a month? [/b]

I do have HD but that's not the issue. I already invested $250 in the Tivo I have. To get an upgraded tivo isn't worth the cost jump. Sure, I'd like to watch one thing while taping another. If that cost me another $250? Sure, I'd sell my series 2 and go for it. But I just don't see the additional features worth the $$. I'll wait and see the price though.

[vansmack]

More Cleverness.....my favorite is the last line.
 
 http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-comedy6jan06,0,3436991.story?coll=la-tot-promo&track=widget
 
 From the Los Angeles Times
 
 Comedy Central Is Serious About Internet
 
 The cable channel adds eight Web-only shows, betting the online audience will grow.
 By Chris Gaither
 Times staff writer
 
 January 6, 2006
 
 For those who find humor in the plague, there's the Internet.
 
 At least that's what Comedy Central hopes as it introduces its 2006 slate of new shows today for its online channel MotherLoad.
 
 The eight Web-only shows are another sign that big media companies increasingly see the Internet as a viable way not only to promote their on-air shows but also to launch shorter programs ill-suited for TV.
 
 The MotherLoad lineup includes such series as "All Access: Middle Ages," billed as the inside story behind the coolest crusades and "most awesomely bad plagues," and "Golden Age," which finds out what happened to retired cartoon characters. (For Jerome, a gumdrop from the concession-stand ads before movies, it's substance abuse.)
 
 MTV Networks, Comedy Central's parent, has been hunting for filmed and animated shorts. After failing to capture viewers with online video offerings during the dot-com boom, big media are jumping back in.
 
 "This side of the business has been dormant for six, seven years," International Creative Management agent Michael Rizzo said. "Now the studios have come into it with a much more mature eye."
 
 The numbers are still small. During its best week, in early December, MotherLoad attracted 109,000 viewers. "The economics are different because TV is a very mature business, and the dollars are bigger," said Jason Hirschhorn, chief digital officer for MTV Networks. "But online is becoming â?¦ lucrative."
 
 Comedy group Littleman Creative is developing its second MotherLoad show, the Middle Ages parody. Possible episodes include "Worst Breakups: Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn." One thing member Nick Kroll discovered: People like online comedy.
 
 "People seem to be desperate for content," he said, "because they're terribly sad at work."