Will Windows Vista replace TiVo?
Matt Heinz
Five years ago, I got TiVo. It changed my life.
One year ago, I got the DVR box from Comcast. It captured HD programming, and recorded two programs at once. The TiVo box went downstairs, to our second TV, and was used far less often. But I kept my TiVo subscription, so I could continue to record several season passes and “keyword” searches that my wife and I cared about.
Two weeks ago, I bought a new computer with Windows Vista Home Edition. Through Windows Media Center (a very cool feature of Vista), I can watch live TV, pause it just like TiVo, record season passes and search for keywords – just like TiVo.
But instead of paying a monthly fee, Windows Media Center is free. I only pay for the cable package from Comcast (which I was paying for anyway).
I cancelled my TiVo. It changed my life five years ago, but newer technology may have passed it by.
As Windows Vista and the Windows Media Center gain traction and market share, what will be the impact for TiVo? And how will TiVo respond?
Innovative companies change our lives with products we can’t believe we ever lived without. But sooner or later, competitors catch up and eat away at the innovator’s relevance.
Some companies respond. Others slowly fade. I wonder what fate awaits TiVo?
