It Wasn't a Surprise to Me
Tonight’s Tivo – vs- Dish Network ruling did not surprise me in the least, but to me I feel sad that it has come down to this.
I honestly believe that Dish Network’s work around does not infringe on Tivo’s patent, however I do believe that this one should have been settled a long time ago. This case has done nothing positive for Dish Network but give them bad press. This bad press causes people who are thinking about satellite services not to go with Dish Network and causes customers with Dish Network to wonder if they made the right choice.
In the past I have sat down and talked with Charlie Ergen about the entire Tivo ordeal and he was willing to fight the fight as he felt that he was in the right. It was a gamble, but what do you expect from a man who is a known gambler.
Dish has said they will appeal the ruling and will seek a stay which is not a surprise to me, but honestly enough is enough.
I have said this many times but will say it again, Dish needs to work a deal with Tivo which will give Dish Network customers the peace of mind they need. A deal with Tivo will not only settle this overdrawn battle but could also bring Dish and Tivo new customers.
It is my opinion that Dish Network has the best DVR’s on the market, but imagine how much better they would be if customers had the option to have them powered by Tivo.
There is money on the table here for both companies for the taking, but at this time I only see one company needlessly throwing money away. And that company is Dish Network. They might be right in the fight, but does it matter? As it seems the only losers here are the Dish Network customers.
I don’t know about you, but the next thing I want to hear between Dish and Tivo is that they have reached a long-term deal.
CruiseCast Launches
Tonight AT&T issues a press release stating that their new CruiseCast Service was now available nationally.
I got to see AT&T’s CruiseCast in person back at CES in January and was very impressed with what I saw. However I got to admit I was a little disappointed with the actual channels being carried at launch.
CruiseCast carries 22 video channels however I was disappointed to see a number of the channels were “mobile” versions of the channels and not the full version of the channels you get at home.
The cost of the equipment is $1,299 but the monthly charge of $28 is very reasonable even with the mobile versions of some of the channels, and besides the 21 video channels CruiseCast also offers 20 satellite radio channels at no extra charge.
For over the road truckers and families that travel a lot this new service from AT&T could be a godsend.
celticpride commented:
I would seriously consider leaving directv for dish if they added tivo to their hd dvrs.
DishDunce commented:
The criticism was cited decades ago regarding Lotus Corp., that they would rather litigate than innovate. Charlie, are you listening?
TivoS2 and VIP722 Owner commented:
My Tivo was definitely more polished and less buggy than my VIP722, but the VIP722 has some great features that Tivo should look to license. Namely the TV1 and TV2 output. Having one DVR store all my content and being able to access it in any room while someone else is doing the same is priceless. C'mon Dish and Tivo. Can't we all just get along? I'd love to see a merger.
HDRoberts commented:
"It is my opinion that Dish Network has the best DVR’s on the market, but imagine how much better they would be if customers had the option to have them powered by Tivo." - How would having Dish load Tivo's inferior software make Dish DVRs better?
jerryez - How do you know that? Tivo will likely want $2/month or more. That is more than what Dish has paid.
riffjim4069 commented:
Dish was right to put up an initial fight, but this battle was over long ago and only served to hurt Dish Network customers. A long-term licensing agreement makes perfect sense. However, I would caution Tivo to look at Dish Network's long-term (15-year franchise agreement) with VOOM before putting pen to paper. Charlie has a history of breaking contracts and winding up back in court...so be careful. Be very careful.
jerryez commented:
A licensing agreement would not have cost as much as Dish has lost in the two court rulings.
Cpme on Dish. give it up.
Tyralak commented:
Um, no thanks. I'd rather not have my DVRs ruined. I don't want them "underpowered by tivo." I prefer the superior Dish software to that clunky tivo garbage.
rey commented:
the tivo issue was one of the many things that made me switch from dish to direct.i didn't want to be part of a company that is always involved in some kind of dispute.
Mainer commented:
You know Scott, maybe, just maybe all of Charlie's chances at a deal have passed him by.
