Customers hot about TiVo reboot glitch
April
18, 2001 by Richard Shim, ZDNet News
A
software bug causes some set-top boxes to reboot repeatedly though the company
says it recently began uploading fixes.
A
TiVo software glitch is causing some set-top boxes to reboot repeatedly, CNET
News.com has learned, though the company says it recently began uploading fixes
to customers.
The problem affects
only TiVo subscribers who have DirecTV receivers and service. TiVo confirmed the
problem with its digital video recording software and said it began uploading
the fix to customers earlier this month.
This
is the second time in less than a week that reports have surfaced of problems
with digital video recording software. The technology is just starting to catch
on with consumers but apparently isn't ready for prime time yet.
TiVo
spokeswoman Rebecca Baer said only a small group of subscribers have been affected
by the problem, though she wouldn't specify how many.
"It
seems that there are isolated incidents of people having problems," Baer said
Tuesday afternoon. "The problems are tied to WishLists and searches for actors
with single names" such as Madonna or Cher.
TiVo's
service allows people to digitally record TV shows onto a hard drive. Its WishLists
let subscribers program TiVo to search for shows with certain actors or directors
and automatically save the programming.
According
to research firm Gartner, 35 percent of TiVo's 153,000 subscribers were using
DirecTV receivers at the end of January.
Subscribers
have been posting complaints to Web forums for several months. The problem originates
in TiVo's software, version 2.0, which was released when DirecTV receivers first
began shipping in late 2000. The glitch causes the set-top box to reboot repeatedly,
preventing viewers from watching their saved programs.
The
DirecTV receiver with TiVo service is a set-top box that picks up satellite television
and allows viewers to store the programming onto a hard drive. TiVo provides the
digital video recording service, which is billed in combination with DirecTV subscriptions.
The combination service costs $22 to $83 per month. Hughes, Philips and Sony sell
the DirecTV receivers for $399.
One
owner of a DirecTV receiver with TiVo service who had replaced his original unit
with a new one wrote on a Web forum: "Over the course of last week, I added a
large number of wish list items…Yesterday, the rebooting started on this replacement
unit."
Another person wrote:
"It started the reboot-every-20-minutes thing. It doesn't matter what I'm doing;
it will just reboot--very annoying obviously."
TiVo
isn't the only interactive TV company facing software glitches.
As
first reported by CNET News.com last week, an unrelated software bug was discovered
in set-top boxes with Microsoft's UltimateTV service. UltimateTV combines elements
of Microsoft's WebTV--a television-based e-mail and Web surfing service--DirecTV
satellite service and digital video recording.
Gartner
analyst Mark Snowden said such problems do not bode well with consumer electronics
buyers who--unlike PC buyers--may be less familiar dealing with upgrades.
"Those
in the PC world have been conditioned to expect that things don't work out, but
consumer electronics is a whole different world," Snowden said. "People expect
things to work on a TV."
Baer
said that unlike the UltimateTV bug, the problems with the TiVo boxes have occurred
with a small number of people and are already being taken care of. The company
is uploading the fix with its updated software--version 2.01--to batches of customers
through May. The update is for all set-top boxes with TiVo service, including
so-called stand-alone boxes.
After
initially trying to sell the digital video recording service in stand-alone boxes,
companies are beginning to realize that digital video recording needs to be combined
with other features to attract subscribers.
"Set-top
boxes with integrated features are the part of the future for TiVo, and DirecTV
will play a major part of that future," Snowden said.
The
company expects 50 percent of new TiVo subscribers this year will use DirecTV
receivers. In a software update for DirecTV receivers planned for this summer,
TiVo will activate a feature allowing viewers to record a show on one channel
while watching a different show on a separate channel.
