Comcast to market new video recorder

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Date: August 30, 2004 8:52:30 PM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Subject: Comcast to market new video recorder

Comcast to market new video recorder

By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff  |  August 29, 2004

Starting tomorrow, Comcast Corp. will begin marketing an enhanced
cable box to New Englanders that will accelerate a revolution that is
changing television-watching habits, and the television industry
itself. The Motorola box, which includes a TiVo -style digital video
recorder, will allow millions of subscribers to watch shows on their
own schedule and skip through the advertisements.

Although the technology has been available for a few years, most
notably from industry leader TiVo, the adoption of the digital video
recording by the region's dominant cable provider signals that this
disruptive technology is about to go mainstream.

The Comcast digital video recorder, built around a large hard drive,
will be able to store 50 hours of regular programming or 10 hours of
high-definition format shows, while also letting people pause and
rewind shows as they are broadcast live. Comcast will charge $9.95 a
month for the system with no upfront installation charge, a steep
discount from TiVo, which charges at least $99 for a stand-alone
recorder plus $12.95 for monthly service.

About 5 percent of US households now own digital video recording
systems, a figure that is expected to rise to 22 percent by 2008,
according to The Yankee Group, a Boston market research firm. Even
though the numbers are small, industry executives expect growing DVR
usage to roil the $58 billion US television advertising market, as
increasing numbers of consumers, particularly the most affluent who
are most likely to rent the devices, get the power to program their
own television viewing, and ignore the traditional 30-second
television spot.

...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/08/29/ 
comcast_to_market_new_video_recorder/


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