TiVo

Slightly off topic (ok, I have posted a total of three things to date, so who can say what is on and off topic…), I am going to rant about Tivo.

I love my Tivo. It has completely changed the way that I watch TV. And made me watch a lot more of it than I used to.

But really, I have to ask at this point if Tivo has any idea what it is doing.

For one thing, it has the worst UI I have ever used. Sure, it is pretty. But searching for a TV program to record is painful; setting a Season Pass schedule is painful. Deciding how long I want to keep a show is painful. Even seeing what shows I have recorded is somewhat painful. And don’t get me started on Tivo suggestions! Picking TV shows at random would yield better recommendations!

Now Tivo has a remarkable idea – let people buy movie tickets and check the weather!

Huh? Everyone I know who has a Tivo also has a PC with a broadband connection. Sure, this may not be everyone, but I bet there is a huge overlap. Why on earth would I look at Tivo, using their incredibly hard to use interaction model, when I could just go to my PC and look it up on Yahoo? For goodness sake, weather? Isn’t that what the Weather Channel is for?

This is not why I bought a Tivo. One of these days, they maybe should do some classic marketing work – hire some people to ask customers what they want. I can’t imagine the first thing they said was “Weather” or “Movie Tickets”.

What people want is control and quality. Look at iTunes. It is successful because Apple knows how people will use their service. What do I want from tivo? To be able to watch my TV shows on my PC or PSP (without the eternal download times and clunky Tivo Desktop software). To watch the Daily Show that I Tivoed while in my hotel room (why don’t hotels carry Comedy Central?). To watch a show I tivo in my bedroom in my living room. To actually get good recommendations of other shows I might like! To record HD! To get rid of my cable box but still record HBO.

At some other point I will write about their new ad search offering. Interesting concept, but I want to wait to see how they actually do it.