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TiVo Teams with Netflix for Instant Movies

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 at 9:10 AM - by

The mail-based movie rental service Netflix and digital video recorder maker TiVo have teamed up to offer Watch Instantly movies through the Internet. The deal will let TiVo and Netflix subscribers stream movies without any additional fees.

Netflix and TiVo are currently testing the movie streaming service in select areas, but plan to extend coverage to all subscribers in December.

TiVo already offers movie rentals through Amazon, along with access to YouTube content and the ability to record TV programming -- the company's signature feature. TiVo's deal with Netflix could make it more difficult for Apple to gain new ground with its Apple TV because Apple's media playback device doesn't offer recording features and can purchase or rent movies and TV shows only through the iTunes Store.

So far, Apple has done little to enhance Apple TV features, and CEO Steve Jobs has referred to the device as a "hobby" more than once. TiVo, however, seems to see home media devices as more than a hobby and with its new Netflix deal is making the gap between it and Apple TV even bigger.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:14 am

Wow--that was stupid!

'Apple has done little to enhance Apple TV?' You apparently know nothing about the device's history...

This move by two weak competitors smacks of fear and still doesn't provide anything approaching the convenience and versatility of Apple TV. Nothing improves TV like Apple TV.

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geoduck said:

member since 30 Dec 2003 with 1922 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:17 am

And the AppleTV falls even farther behind the industry.

When Jobs returned to Apple he cut away whatever was not bringing in a good profit, especially personal and hobby projects. Jobs wanted a lean, focused company with no dead weight. That by his own admission the AppleTV is a 'hobby' project suggests a loss of this focus.

I find the whole moribund hobby/personal project that the AppleTV has become a rather disturbing turn away from what brought Apple back from the brink; a focus on making only products that work well, sell well, and lead the industry in their particular field.

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:58 pm

It makes me think that we've almost crossed the threshhold from physical media to digital. We can buy DRM free songs from many sources now, movie and television downlaods are available from a variety of sources, and we're seeing boxes that pretty much do it all. Whether Apple Tv gets the axe or not, the tipping point, she has been reached, methinks.

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