Podcasts come to TiVo, but can't leave your lounge room
You can now listen to Nova and Vega's podcasts on your TiVo, but as Adam Turner discovered, there's a catch
TiVo seems determined to be more than just a Personal Video Recorder, which is understandable considering the kinds of competition it faces. TiVo's new Blockbuster video download service shows a lot of potential, but I'm not so sold on the podcasting idea.
You can now stream Nova and Vega's breakfast and drive time podcasts directly to your TiVo, but there's no way to copy them off the TiVo to a portable device. You need to sit there in the lounge room and listen to them on your television.
"Radio is loved by Australians and until now the radio experience has been quite separate from the TV experience," says Robbee Minicola, CEO of Hybrid TV (TiVo's Australian backer).
"This new podcast service is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how we want to bring radio into the home...both on the TV and more importantly played through TV sound system. dmg took a chance with us to experiment and deliver this service, that's what this new world is all about - partnerships that let the consumer win. This new service is just another surprise for our customers when they turn on their TiVo...automatic, free and no worries about subscription."
Am I the only one who thinks this is a little weird? It's not as if TiVo is the only way you can access podcasts from Nova and Vega.
In my mind, listening to podcasts is all about time management and multi-tasking. Why would you want to listen to a 30 minute podcast in the lounge room when you could be off doing something else, while listening to the podcast on an MP3 player or even a portable computer? To me, and I suspect many other people, listening to podcasts is the kind of thing you do while you're driving, exercising, gardening, cooking or even in the shower. You don't want to sit in front the television, staring at a blank screen.
Personal Video Recorders are great for people who are time-poor, letting them watch television when it suits them. Unfortunately time-poor people don't want to sit still to listen to a podcast.
TiVo should be applauded for expanding its content offerings, but it'll have to do better than this to win people over. I know there's more content coming from the likes of the ABC, lets hope it's a little more innovative than merely streaming a podcast.
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