John Robb shares his thoughts on the potential of personal video recorders like Tivo.
Kevin Werbach replies "...some good observations, but [John] doesn't go far enough. When personal video recorders reach critical mass, they will draw on more raw material than traditional TV programming. Add direct-to-PVR programming, downloadable movies, video of the grandkids, independent programs, and enhanced music content, and you start to get an idea of where things are going."
I agree with Kevin. PVRs should ultimately become the hub for digital media. One angle that John and Kevin don't cover is the potential for these PVRs combined with P2P infrastructure and broadband to drive video-on-demand services. In my brief encounter with the interactive TV space, I recalled that the most difficult and costly part of a video-on-demand system's operation was the backend to serve/broadcast and scale. The infrastructure costs where/are completely out of line with the price consumers would pay. In theory using P2P, video-on-demand providers could distribute the load to the edges and orchestrate the transfer of video from PVR to PVR. I order "Out Man Flint" that is delivered from a neighbor's PVR, while my PVR delivers "Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" that Dave ordered. The provider simply tracks, orchestrates and bills for movies being delivered.
Management of digital content, such as archiving to clear up disk space or storing a movie purchased as a DVD, does need to be adequately addressed to complete the experience. Case in point is the Sony CMT-L7HD that was reviewed in the NY Times recently. This device allows for the storage and their play back of music digitally. However this device lacks network connectivity or the ability to work with your PC or a portable playback device such as the iPod. Jenny Levine writes "...it's short-sighted because no one is really going to buy this paperweight. Why would I when I don't even buy CDs anymore?" Having close to 1000 legal CDs, I concur. (More discussion and insights on the Sony player can be found in this slashdot thread.) The issue of this form of interoperability and holistic management of digital media assets is best summed up Mark Canter in his comment to John's post: "Nobody is going to make a choice between their TV or their PC. They want both and they want them working together."
On a related note for the do-it-yourself hacker types, the New York Times ran a comparison of PC expansion cards for turning your PC into a PVR. Also John Robb points to this link on Tivo modifications via Michael Mussington.
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