TV on demand, the digital way

By PAUL BRISLEN

Wellington IT consultant David Zanetti doesn't mind working late any more. He used to object, not because he doesn't like to work, but because he'd miss the start of his favourite TV show.

"I hated getting home after it had started and having to wait till the end for the video to finish recording."

So Zanetti did what any self-respecting geek would do - he solved the problem himself by building his own digital video recorder.

Now he watches the beginning of the show while his recorder tapes the end.

Zanetti, and others like him, have caught on to a trend that's taking the British and American television markets by storm. Users are signing up in droves for services from companies such as Tivo and Replay TV - and that's worrying TV network executives who see a future where viewers decide what to watch and when.

Welcome to the world of Tivo, the personal video recorder.

Tivo machines record TV programmes onto a hard drive and make the VCR obsolete. No more tapes, no more recording over shows, no more running out of room ...

American users pay US$10 ($15.30) a month for a subscription to the service, and receive an electronic programme guide which, say proponents, is child's play to use.

Best of all, the Tivo monitors your viewing pattern and will record programmes for you that may fit your viewing habits.

Tivo in the US has also signed a deal with TV ratings company Nielsen Media to provide anonymous viewer data to get a better idea of who's watching what.

Tim van der Hulst couldn't wait for Tivo to come to New Zealand, so he bought one online and set it up himself.

For around $275, van der Hulst said you can buy a Tivo box and have it shipped to New Zealand.

You need to tweak the software to make it work in the New Zealand TV environment but once that's done, it's all systems go.

One of his favourite features is the "season pass".

"Being able to record every episode of a show is pretty cool."

Users scroll down a list of programmes to the one they want to record. A click of the button records that show, a double click records the whole series without the user having to do any more. Couch potato heaven.

But there's the problem. Without an electronic programming guide, all you've got is an expensive video recorder, says van der Hulst.

TV companies in New Zealand and Australia are reluctant to give away the information for free.

Van der Hulst said Sky TV used to offer its programming schedule online in a way that made it easy for him to "scrape" the data for his Tivo.

Now, the Sky TV website has a disclaimer warning users against using an automated process to get at the data. Looking at it is fine, it would seem, but copying it is wrong. Van der Hulst can't understand why - to him and others like him it simply makes watching TV easier.

"Some forward thinking networks do provide listings in a downloadable format. The BBC for example. It's prehistoric to think they should be trying to obfuscate that information. All that does is discourage people from watching it."

TV3 chief operating officer Rick Friesen has no problem with viewers looking at the listings on TV3's website, but says the company retains the copyright.

"We sell it to newspapers and others so, yes, it's our copyright."

Sky TV, which has been promising to introduce a service in New Zealand for nearly five years, is still no closer to bringing one to market.

Spokesman Tony O'Brien said Sky TV was evaluating the various options but would not be moving into that space for at least 12 months.

Zanetti took a different route and built his own device, buying hard drive, motherboard, graphics cards, processors, chassis, and installing Linux and Myth TV, a free application that turns a PC into a digital recorder.

"You can do it for under $1000 but I spent a bit more.

"In fact, it's amazing how much I've spent to get free TV."

Zanetti has ended up with a machine that is closer to the "unified digital entertainment" machine than to a digital TV recorder.

He says he can watch TV online, record TV shows on Sky or the free to air channels, even play games online with the machine.

Best of all, it's far easier to use than a video recorder.

"It's no effort to record a programme. You don't have to bother with that awful interface that comes with a VCR."

Even non-technical friends and family found the machine a breeze to use and he is watching more TV than before - "because it makes it easier to use, because I can watch programmes that I wouldn't see otherwise. It's great."

The main TV providers in New Zealand have no plans to
introduce a Tivo service any time soon.

What Tivo can do

* Record up to 12 days of TV.

* Record a whole TV series over months with one push of a button.

* Show the start of a programme while recording the end

* Learn your viewing habits and record shows you didn't know you wanted to watch!

Tivo

MythTV

OzTiVo Forums