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tarjan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 11, 2006
259
12
Wow guys, I am amazed that not a single post here about cablecard support, or at least the lack thereof. At least my searches came back with nothing, so my apologies if my rant repeats previous ones.

Lets take a look at the tivo s3, while it is definitely an awesome unit, the cost is well out of the realm of possiblity for the masses compared to its featureset. What it has going for it are an absolutely KILLER interface and the support of hundreds of thousands of franticly dedicated consumers. There are rumors of links with amazon for on demand, and the ability to use a cablecard or m-cablecard for multiple full hdtv resolution channels is amazing. I'll have to admit that I have been tempted to pony up the money because the stock fios dvr is.. crap, but I had to put that money towards a pair of semi-custom shoes due to my crap feet.

Apple tv is closer to being affordable, but with the combo of low hdtv resolution and limited programming I think the market will be limited. Look at how many people are switching from directv and dish to fios because of the really bad resolution (1280x1080 or lower with additional compression) and you will see what I am talking about. Maybe apple is using the ATV as a low cost way to dip their toes into the water, but I think they may be hurting themselves by not jumping in full force. All they need is a sexy and speedy interface with the ability to plug in hundreds of gigs of storage and they could hit the market hard. We all know that apple REALLY knows interface design, so this should be no problem. Come on, I already have a mac mini that does my home theater stuff, and it has the power to do everything a tivo does, we just need to get support for an m-cablecard and hdmi and we are set.
 
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