TiVo having tough time in Canada, looking for options
by Darren Murph 
posted Sep 15th 2008 at 10:08PM
TiVo waltzed into Canada all Maverick like last November, with no carrier support, no partnerships and (for all intents and purposes) no hope of success. The Canadian television market is a bizarre one, and given that the Series2 that's available there now can't record HD, TiVo is (obviously) having a hard time gaining traction. Analysts in the country assert that it is "impossible for a third-party PVR maker to gain any traction in Canada without having a major television provider as a partner," and while that may not sound precisely "fair," it isn't far from the truth. Joshua Danovitz, general manager of international business for TiVo, has proclaimed that a deal with Canadian providers could be an option, and that it was also looking at "regulated access to high-definition signals." Even though Canada doesn't have a superabundance of high-def stations just yet, we'd say TiVo better find a way to record the ones already out there. And fast.
Filed under: DVRs, Set-top boxes, Cable, Satellite
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gus @ Sep 16th 2008 2:43AM
Same story in Australia, virtually doomed from the start
Quentin @ Sep 16th 2008 1:38PM
OMG! I would buy a TiVo tomorrow (scratch that, today!) if it would record HD signals in Canada. I have the Motorolla PVR from Shaw and it's absolutely atrocious! GIVE ME HD TIVO, PLEASE!!!!!!!
halloweenboy @ Sep 16th 2008 1:58PM
Ya, if TiVo could record satellite HD signals, I'm sure they'd have much better results. Since they're getting back together with DirecTV in the U.S., they should be able to work something out with Bell (or StarChoice if you swing that way).
drainbamage @ Sep 16th 2008 8:51PM
As a salesperson I have to say that its not very appealing for people(at least that is on the far west coast) to pay for digital cable service from Shaw and add on another subscription fee for TiVo. It's more practical for the average consumer to buy a HD-PVR in the longer term from Shaw or one of the satellite providers then go with TiVo. For myself I saw almost no effort from TiVo to even get a foothold in this market so i cant really say i didnt see troubles brewing. had they shown interest in the market i'd gladly sell such a solid unit(my DCT-3416 kicked the bucket last week after six months of shaky performance)
oh and TiVo, it also helps to bribe salespeople in canada with shwag.
kat_1_ @ Nov 21st 2008 10:34PM
I had a Standard Def Tivo for almost a month while toying over the idea of getting HD. I LOVED it- I would have kept it if it didn't conk out on me.
I now have Rogers 8300 HDTV PVR(extended with a 1.5TB hard drive), and it doesn't hold a candle to the Tivo. Other than receiving HD - the Tivo was easier to search for tv shows and movies. The Tivo was also easier to use- more efficient, and MUCH better interface. You could transfer shows to ipods/ computer, you could organize the recordings by file, you could search based on actor for movies/tv... I miss my Tivo!!!
If Tivo HD doesn't come to Canada - if either Bell or Rogers steps up their game and gives us a better product, I'd switch in a heartbeat. Half a heartbeat.
pacific @ Dec 7th 2008 6:53AM
Recently bought a TIVO2, to replace the VCR. We are using it with Starchoice. Works fine, easy setup. Can only record one channel at a time, but so what, the VCR was the same. Cost $100 a year for sub +200 for the unit, but worth it. Still cheaper then the units provided by Shaw and Starchoice (~$500), over 3 years. I can also transfer recorded shows to Laptop. Perfect as I work on ships.
My daughter (6) has just about got here fill of Arthur |(thankfully), there are at least 3 new recording made everyday, and she can watch them at more appropriate times then broadcasted.
Sad to think Canadians had to wait 10 years for this. Buy one.
No HD yet but, so what really. I still run good quality Sony CRT, cheap too.
Cheers