About DVRs

The digital video recorder, while intended to support security surveillance systems, has become a billion-dollar component of the television industry. The introduction of the TiVo and its user-friendly format in 1999 brought DVRs to a consumer market and drove television advertisers and cable and satellite providers to evolve with the market.

The product has become so ingrained in popular culture that the words TiVo and DVR have morphed into verbs (i.e. "I Tivoed that," or "Did you DVR that show?")

History

The Foxtel IQ DVR

The boom of video cassette recorders (VCR) in the 1980s and 1990s brought the ability to not only view feature films at home, but record live television for later viewing. The natural evolution of this technology was to introduce a means of pausing live television or rewinding a live program to catch something the viewer had missed. In 1999, two companies unveiled these devices at the international Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. ReplayTV and TiVo were the first hard-drive based digital recorders released to the consumer market. The popularity of the TiVo device is a result of its easy-to-use interface and software, which synchronizes the unit with the specific cable or satellite provider's channel lineup. As a result, cable and satellite companies have gotten into the DVR market, leasing the devices to subscribers for a monthly fee.

Significance

The TiVo logo

The explosion of TiVo sales has helped eliminate VCRs from the home entertainment marketplace. DVRs typically use a user-controlled program guide to set their recording schedule. VCRs rely very much on people programming start and stop times, which often lead to errors in time and channel programming. In addition, the integration of a cable or satellite receiver with a DVR eliminates clutter in a home entertainment center, combining two boxes into one.

DVRs were not solely to blame for the demise of the VCR. The expanded availability of digital video disc (DVD) players, which provided a high quality viewing experience for movie watchers, played a dominant role in the death of the VCR.

Function

The backside of a Series 2 TiVo

DVRs function very much like a VCR, but with a hard drive taking the place of a tape. A video signal is carried by a pair of cables which run from the wall to the converter box. The lines each carry a unique video signal, which is what allows a viewer to watch one program while recording another. (If the setup includes a TiVo or a separate DVR, another pair of cables will go from the converter box to the DVR.) One cable will leave the back of the DVR and run to the television, providing the audio and video of the broadcast.

When a program is being recorded, the DVR compresses and saves the streaming video into a digital movie format. This provides a buffer when pausing, rewinding and putting a program into slow motion. It also maximizes the space available on the hard drive.

Features

A TiVo rating screen

The basic features of a DVR are the same from platform to platform. Each allow you to record programs for playback, pause live television and rewind to a specific segment of the broadcast. The majority of recorders permit advance scheduling from 1 to 2 weeks and have the option to record an entire season of a particular show.

DIRECTV, which calls its product the DIRECTV Plus DVR, manages recordings and groups them by title. TiVo's recorders provide suggestions based on recording habits and user input. Viewers can rate their favorite shows and the TiVo software uses the trends to develop a list of shows that the viewer may enjoy.

TiVo also has a host of interactive features, including music, video and photo sharing, and a function to transfer recordings to iPods or DVD.

Considerations

While cable and satellite companies will lease their DVRs at a monthly rate, TiVo's business model was originally based on lifetime memberships. Consumers would purchase their TiVo and then a license from the company for $249. This provided lifetime access to the service. In 2006, TiVo ceased their lifetime membership program, joining cable companies in charging a monthly fee for use of their service.

Considerations

A major turning point for TiVo was the introduction of their dual tuner recorder. Series 1 and 2 were single-tuner units, which meant that a viewer could only record what they were watching. As cable and satellite providers released dual-tuner modules, TiVo came under pressure to do the same. The Series 2 DT recorder was released in 2006 and quickly followed by the Series 3 release that year. This allowed viewers to watch one show and record the other or record the show they were watching as well as another program.