Maybe Not Everyone Wants A DVR
from the so-much-for-that-idea dept
For years, people have been saying that those who don't have TiVos just don't understand them -- because everyone who does would never want to give it up. Well, perhaps that's not entirely true. A study done by Disney, where they gave a bunch of people DVRs found that nearly 43% returned the device after the experiment was over, saying they had a bad experience with the installation or that the price was too high. Of course, Disney interprets this to mean that they have more time to rest on the laurels of the 30-second spot. There are plenty of more interesting lessons to be learned -- but Disney appears to take the one most convenient for them (the one that says "status quo is good..."). Another read on this would be, people need DVRs to be more user friendly. They don't say what brand was used, but many are especially difficult to set up and use. Second, the pricing is a real problem. The plans are often complex, and not everyone sees the value at the pricing level. However, should DVRs get easier to use and cheaper they still will present a serious threat to the standard 30-second spot, and the smart broadcaster should already be thinking about alternatives -- rather than convincing themselves that the tide can be held back.
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Was it TiVO or something else?
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Re: Was it TiVO or something else?
I'm a TiVo user and have always been fairly impressed by the ease of set-up and user interface. When I visit friends and family who have DVRs from their cable company or dish provider I'm amazed by how difficult to use their DVRs are. My sister has Dish Network and hates the DVR she has. I can't say I blame her. My own limited experience with the thing leads me to believe the interface designers went out of their way to make it harder to use.
On a somewhat related note, Disney do appear to be taking some steps to stick it to their compeition among customers who use DVRs. ABC's two hit shows this season are "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives." Both shows, based on the showings of the past few weeks, start and end one minute beofre and after the hour, respectively. So the shows are 62 minutes long as opposed to 60. The impact this has on viewers like myself who use TiVo is that you cannot record any show before or after these programs on any network and still program these shows. Not without some tweaking. Your other alternative, of course, is to watch the shows in real time, which then has you watching the commercials, too.
Are Disney ABC waging war on people who use DVRs?
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Is there anything to see?
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Re: Is there anything to see?
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WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!!!
Maybe there was something about this experiment that caused more people than you might expect to return their DVRs, but that 57% is A KILLER!
- Precision Blogger
http://precision-blogging.blogspot.com
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