JimDenney
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TiVo's Jim Denney responds to Engadget!
We can't say we were expecting any sort of response to our state-of-TiVo piece yesterday, but we just got a note from VP of Product Marketing Jim Denney. It's not long, but he says that TiVo takes comments like ours "very seriously," and that TiVo's always looking to build on customer feedback. Sure, uh, we're glad to help, but we'll be even happier to write about a new TiVo that actually changes the game -- let us know, won't you? Full letter after the break.
Q&A with TiVo's Jim Denney about TiVo HD on Engadget HD
We got a chance to pick the brains of TiVo's VP of Product Marketing, Jim Denney; deeper insight into the TiVo HD (and some choice tidbits about the future of Series3) over on Engadget HD, check it out!
Q&A with TiVo's Jim Denney about TiVo HD
We were able to get a few minutes with TiVo's VP of Product Marketing, Jim Denney, whom we poked and prodded some additional details out of about the TiVo HD and TiVo's future plans for Series3 owners. Here's what Jim had to say: This is the lower-end HD TiVo model we've been hearing about. There will be "no more HD TiVo models this year," so if you're not into the TiVo HD, tough noogies. Unlike the Series3, the HD will have out of the box M-Card (multi-stream CableCARD) compatibility. eSATA will launch deactivated. "We hope to activate it some time later," but when he would not say. Same with the external drive TiVo's obviously going to sell for the thing. TiVoToGo and multi-room viewing "will not be released with the HD," but TiVo is actively working on restoring functionality, which will come to the Series3 shortly before HD. TiVo is also working to ensure TiVoToGo will not be resolution-restricted, only copy-flag restricted. (Read: TiVoToGo will work for SD and HD content.) Regarding not having THX, Jim let us know that it still meets TiVo's requirements for AV fidelity, but that part of keeping costs down meant not submitting it for the THX certification approval process. More after the break!
TiVo VP Jim Denney talks Desktop 2.3
Engadget columnist and correspondent Dave Zatz caught up with TiVo's VP of Product Marketing, Jim Denney, to ask him few questions about TiVo's new lawsuit bait, their Desktop 2.3 software announced yesterday. Check it out!As we reported yesterday, TiVo Desktop 2.3 has been released for Windows with a few new tricks up it's sleeve. Enhancements include scheduled series downloads and MPEG-4 to MPEG-2 video transcoding for a variety of portable devices. While we've been using unsupported methods for massaging video onto the iPod and PSP, official support is now provided at a cost of $24.95. TiVo's going with the soft sell and won't be issuing a press release, so we hit up Vice President of Product Marketing Jim Denney for the details.PricingWe'd prefer TiVo didn't charge for the new conversion features, but recognize MPEG codecs don't come cheap. For example even Apple will sell you (partially-working) MPEG-2 playback in QuickTime for $19.99 and Microsoft offers zippy MPEG-2 decoding, free or otherwise. When asked about TiVo Desktop's $24.95 price point, Mr. Denney responded that they have attempted to find a sweet spot -- balancing TiVo's "real costs" including software development, "royalties for technology," and support with providing "value to the end user."PiracyMr. Denney clued us in to the "proactive steps" TiVo has taken to prevent piracy. In addition to the already existing (and easily bypassed) PC .tivo file encryption, Denney confirmed the unencrypted converted video includes a watermark "embedded in the file" (you can't see it) that references a subscriber's account. Additionally, TiVo feels by limiting transcoded files to a low resolution of 320 x 240, they further protect the rights of content owners while providing appropriately sized video for portable devices.
