TWC Ditching DVR?

[Bebop]

http://www.cedmagazine.com/cedailydirect/2005/0305/cedaily050331.htm#2

[summerfun]

It won't work. They said no Fast Forward. That is 50% of the reason for having a DVR. I would never except that.

You cannot force people into a product. If the cable company stops providing DVR, then we will just go to TIVO or some other product.

[gparris]

What with the investment TWC has in the DVRs - the 8000 SD and HD series, now the 8300 SD and HD series, I don't really think TWC will ditch them.
Actually, most of us like the commercial-skipping feature, though it doesn't quite eliminate them, just fast-forwards them - sometimes the commercial(s) are more compelling than the show being watched and you go back to see it. I don't think the "condo" approach will sell with customers being forced to watch commercials. however.  
As for the approach to not having a DVR, the current "I-Control" or On Demand feature, though a nice feature, it does not load the programs accessed as fast or efficiently as your home DVR in my experience, though the addition of this feature is nice as an added feature, but not the only feature (no DVR).
Then comes the issue of maintaining off-site (not in your own home) of what who watches what-something I believe TWC does not or cannot monitor on our current DVRs- this could be a problem doing outside-the-home "condo"-ing as per the article.
If the DVRs were to be eliminated, Tivo or some other company would come back full-force to replace such a ludicrous system, I am certain...people like the home DVR  and its abilities...that is why TWC has so many subs for it now...and counting.
Nice article, though.

[kjnorman]

Time Warner Cable's service would disable the fast-forward feature so viewers could not skip past commercials. That's partly to avoid complaints from the TV channels on which the programs air, Britt said. The service would work only for programs that programmers have agreed to include, because copyright laws are involved, he said.

So what is the point of the service is you can not skip or fast forward through the commercials and you can only "record/watch" programs that the programmers have agreed too.

That does not sound like a DVR type service to me :bang: , it sounds like a reason to stay with satelite!

[Bebop]

Even Tivo has restriction on fast forward in their latest and greatest software upgrade. First they eliminated the 30 seconds skip and now pop-up ads when fast forwarding.

[mhz40]

I didn't read anywhere that DVR's are being eliminated... only that two cable  companies are "preparing to offer DVR-like services without the DVR box."

Specifically about TW's plans, "Time Warner Cable would allow viewers to start an individual TV show over from the beginning, as long as the viewer presses a "start over" button before the program is over, Britt said. The company expects to test the service in Columbia, S.C., later this year."

I interpret this as time shifting a program back to the beginning while it's still airing live on the source channel, not storing it for later playback ala DVR.  IMO, a pretty cool idea for those not interested in a full-blown DVR.

MHz40 {fart}
(Man, I love that fart-guy smilie!  Someone needs to add a little steam coming out of his ears...)

[gparris]

Tivo needs the revenue for the ads and the pop-ups as it clings to the possiblility of Directv getting its own DVRs and Comcast, though adding Tivo operability to its DVRs, only on the high end as an option, not an exclusive. This does not mean that Tivo is dying, just finding other revenue options (and irritations for subs) and thus doing this.

[jkane]

Even Tivo has restriction on fast forward in their latest and greatest software upgrade. First they eliminated the 30 seconds skip and now pop-up ads when fast forwarding.

What?  :confused:  Where'd you hear that?  I have 7.1 and it has all the features the previous releases had plus some very cool new ones.  Skip forward works just like it used to.

Maybe what you are refering to is that every time you get an upgrade, you have to reprogram the 30 second skip forward since it has NEVER been a "standard" feature.  It has always been a hack.  A simple hack, but a hack none the less!  You press 5 remote keys in sequence while on the playback screen and it beeps 3 times.  Then the skip forward is there.