• TV
  • MOVIES
  • MUSIC
  • SHOWBIZ
  • SOAPS
  • GAMING
  • TECH
  • FORUMS
  • Follow
    • Follow
    • facebook
    • twitter
    • google+
    • instagram
    • youtube
Hearst Corporation
  • TV
  • MOVIES
  • MUSIC
  • SHOWBIZ
  • SOAPS
  • GAMING
  • TECH
  • FORUMS
Forums
  • Register
  • Login
  • Forums
  • Entertainment Services
  • Online Entertainment Services
Homechoice Take Note!
bennat
22-05-2006
Just read this;

Freeview to launch PVR service
Monday, May 22 2006, 16:08 BST - by Neil Wilkes

Freeview has announced plans to launch a new branded PVR service this September.

'Freeview Playback' will offer similar features to Sky's 'Sky+' service - already available in 1.5 million homes - such as recording TV shows to hard disk and a live TV pause.

Although Freeview-compatible PVR boxes are already available, the use of the Freeview brand is expected to significantly drive take-up.

"Freeview's success to date has been based upon offering viewers a simple way to get digital television," said Cary Wakefield, Freeview's general manager.

"Working with the industry, Freeview is committed to delivering a strong brand to increase consumer awareness of the benefits of digital TV recorders and to make the technology easy to understand. The launch of Freeview Playback is crucial to driving consumer understanding and uptake."

When will HC wake up and realise Replay is NOT the way forward and people want and will subscribe to platforms that offer PVR! Once this is complete then NTL, SKY, TELEWEST, and FREEVIEW will all offer PVR and HC will offer Replay! Hmmmmm know which i would rather!
dronkula
22-05-2006
Freeview already offer PVR's. 'Freeview Playback' is just probably going to be a marketing campaign for these (as Freeview itself doesn't actually produce set top boxes, they just market ones produced by others).
Peter We
23-05-2006
Due to the complexity of content licensing I doubt that any service can provide the flexibility of a PVR, never mind a Tivo. I'm thinking of jacking my Tivo to 750Gb, thats 370-750 hours of anything, saved for viewing for as long as I like.
bennat
23-05-2006
Originally Posted by dronkula:
“Freeview already offer PVR's. 'Freeview Playback' is just probably going to be a marketing campaign for these (as Freeview itself doesn't actually produce set top boxes, they just market ones produced by others).”

The point is though is that now freeview will activly market the PVR option most will find this quite an attractive offer! What i am saying is that HC in my view have got to scrap the poor Replay service and offer a PVR box soon or they will lose out.
aprec
23-05-2006
A PVR is only as good as the content you recieve and lets be honest SKY have the edge there.

For the unorganised or plain lazy like me HCs On demand serves a useful purpose despite its lack of licence agreements
masai
23-05-2006
Maybe HC can offer a similer service provided by a PVR but without the need of a STB, instead storing the data on their own servers like they do with the replay service.
bennat
23-05-2006
I would guess that to store all that programming on their own servers would not be feasable?!

I'm not an expert but would it even be technically possible??

What HC need is their current service for those that seem to love it as well as an option to upgrade to a PVR that is compatable and works with HC!
Zapomatic
23-05-2006
I read somewhere that when trialling their current service, every programme from every channel was available going back about 3 days.
Peter We
23-05-2006
A BBC derived system had every programe, every channel for the past week or two. 3.2TB (thats 3200Gb).
Thats getting into the realms of almost affordable. If Homechoice are going to do anything its going to be similar to the TV drive from Telewest or Sky's HD STB with 300Gb.
Rufus Londinii
24-05-2006
Originally Posted by Peter We:
“A BBC derived system had every programe, every channel for the past week or two. 3.2TB (thats 3200Gb).
Thats getting into the realms of almost affordable. If Homechoice are going to do anything its going to be similar to the TV drive from Telewest or Sky's HD STB with 300Gb.”

Yes, but over how many channels? BBC1 & BBC2??

I don't know how many subscribers HC have at the moment but multiply that by 100GB (the average size of a Freeview Hard Disk?) and that's how much disk space you would require to store programs at the server.

Besides which, the licencing aspect comes back into it. Rather like a video recorder, the TV companies will turn a blind eye to home recording for personal use, but when a company starts storing programs for users on their own servers I can see them starting to develop Pound Signs in front of their eyes.


(Believe it or not, I started this as a pro-central recording post but I've just convinced myself otherwise... )
overscan
24-05-2006
I think that media companies need to see sense. The way I see it is that if you are able to watch your favourite content from one supplier/channel then you wont be watching stuff from other suppliers/competing channels etc. So, if say C4 let HC store this weeks 'Lost' etc then I would watch that in preference to some other rubbish on the telly, and in my experience from previous sky+ ownership, I usually don't remember to fast forward past the adverst anyway. So they don't even need to be that fearful of lost advertising revenue.
pissedbob
24-05-2006
Originally Posted by Rufus Londinii:
“I don't know how many subscribers HC have at the moment but multiply that by 100GB (the average size of a Freeview Hard Disk?) and that's how much disk space you would require to store programs at the server.”

Wouldn't the number of subscribers be irrelevant? Surely any sane company would just store one copy of a programme in a central location, no matter how many users 'recorded' it...
maddoguk
24-05-2006
Originally Posted by bennat:
“When will HC wake up and realise Replay is NOT the way forward and people want and will subscribe to platforms that offer PVR! Once this is complete then NTL, SKY, TELEWEST, and FREEVIEW will all offer PVR and HC will offer Replay! Hmmmmm know which i would rather!”

Totally with you on this. I have to admit that I don't use HC for digital TV, just as a phone and broadband providor.

I have a Humax freeview PVR for TV and it does the job just the way I want it too. After all, If I wanna watch something later, I wanna watch it later! Why should we care whether its available for 'replay' or not?!
Rufus Londinii
24-05-2006
Originally Posted by pissedbob:
“Wouldn't the number of subscribers be irrelevant? Surely any sane company would just store one copy of a programme in a central location, no matter how many users 'recorded' it...”

Not if you can't record every single programme...
Peter We
25-05-2006
Originally Posted by Rufus Londinii:
“Yes, but over how many channels? BBC1 & BBC2??

I don't know how many subscribers HC have at the moment but multiply that by 100GB (the average size of a Freeview Hard Disk?) and that's how much disk space you would require to store programs at the server.

Besides which, the licencing aspect comes back into it. Rather like a video recorder, the TV companies will turn a blind eye to home recording for personal use, but when a company starts storing programs for users on their own servers I can see them starting to develop Pound Signs in front of their eyes.


(Believe it or not, I started this as a pro-central recording post but I've just convinced myself otherwise... )”


As I say all channels, thats every single Freeview channel. All of them, channels 0-999 are recorded and kept for two weeks.
It was a home PVR, not something that HC or NTL could install at their end because they can't do it, it would be illegal. The only reason its allowed to record for personal use at home is because they can't stop it.

That will change with HDCP and Microsoft's DRM (built in at the hardware level like in the xbox360). Forget about wanting the media companies giving you what you want, its their lifeblood and they will make you pay by every and any way. In the next few years PVR's may well be crushed (for HDTV anyway)
bennat
30-05-2006
On this matter got a response from HC about PVR;

Thank you for your email and I apologise for the length of time getting back to you.

PVR is a very popular technology and it is one Homechoice is looking into but are unable to provide a launch or availability date at present.

Once this feature is fully developed, Homechoice will inform its customers through the usual communication channels.

We hope to give you good news very soon.

Kindest regards,

Customer Care Administration
pissedbob
30-05-2006
Wow, that's a turn up for the books - Homechoice acknowledging they're working on something rather than just launching it with no publicity

Will be interesting to see what transpires..
johnnyrocker
30-05-2006
i seem to remember somewhere that they were actually working on a stb which incorporated its own hard drive?
Peter We
31-05-2006
That would be logical. ADSL2+, HD and PVR. Obviously the Telewest TV drive would be the model design. STB's manufacturers will make similar products for cable\sat\IPTV markets.
VIEW DESKTOP SITE TOP

JOIN US HERE

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Hearst Corporation

Hearst Corporation

DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK

© 2015 Hearst Magazines UK is the trading name of the National Magazine Company Ltd, 72 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9EP. Registered in England 112955. All rights reserved.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Complaints
  • Site Map