In article <h7ydnewxpqHwr5HYnZ2dnUVZ_qqdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
Linonut <linonut@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Anyway, the TV follows Microsoft's typical path in its forays into new
> endeavors. Cobble together a piece of crap, get someone to buy it, then
> gradually fix it over the course of years until it is somewhat usable.
> Much like their course with Windows.
Except that is not the path Microsoft has followed in this area. This
is the path they followed:
1. They started with something that was OK, but not as good as the
competition. (First version of Microsoft UltimateTV vs. Tivo). (I went
with UTV over Tivo, because UTV had PIP, which I thought I really
wanted).
2. They improved it until it matched the competition. (First update of
UTV after I got it fixed the things where it lagged Tivo, and put it
ahead in some areas).
3. They had a beta then of the next version, which had some very neat
features, but then they closed the UTV division, merging it in with, I
think, the XBox group. The speculation was that they were going for a
unified gaming/TV/entertainment center device. They did do one more UTV
update a few months after this merge, which included the minor features
from the beta (e.g., interface improvements). Although disappointing
that the cool stuff was gone, it did put the UTV ahead of the Tivo in
most areas.
I didn't follow developments in this area for the next couple of years.
Recently, I switched to Comcast, and the HD DVR they provided has some
Microsoft software in it. The guide software is Microsoft's. Not sure
about the "on demand" software and the actual DVR software.
Feature-wise, this software is primitive. It is way behind UTV, and way
behind Tivo. It's one saving grace is that it is much much much faster
than the UTV software.
--
--Tim Smith
|
|
