Buy From Amazon With Your TiVo 50
PunkOfLinux writes "From The NYTimes comes news that TiVo and Amazon have reached an agreement to allow consumers to purchase products from Amazon through their television sets using their TiVo remote control. TiVo will launch the new service to consumers by merchandising products related to several high-profile programs, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Colbert Report, and Burn Notice. Broadband-connected Series2, Series3, and TiVo HD DVRs will be able to take advantage of the new feature." This sounds like the latest incarnation of the dream of television executives who in the early '90s talked about the "information superhighway," before it was clear that the Internet was going to fill that role. What they envisioned was "interactive TV," i.e. buying stuff with your remote.
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And soon, Tivo subscribers as well.
What's with this news? (Score:1)
This sounds like the latest incarnation of the dream of television executives who in the early '90s talked about the "information superhighway," before it was clear that the Internet was going to fill that role. What they envisioned was "interactive TV," i.e. buying stuff with your remote.
Well, the Apple TV does just that. You use iTunes to buy movies and songs with a remote control. In other words, it's not really a bad idea if they manage to figure out how to do this well.
Re:What's with this news? (Score:4, Informative)
Well, the Apple TV does just that. You use iTunes to buy movies and songs with a remote control. In other words, it's not really a bad idea if they manage to figure out how to do this well.
I'm pretty sure they are talking about buying things other than music and movies. I been able to get music (via MusicChoice) and movies (via Amazon Unbox) on my HD Tivo for quite some time.
Not that I do...
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I'm pretty sure they are talking about buying things other than music and movies.
My point was that the concept is good. I know they are talking about more than just music and movies.
Re:What's with this news? (Score:5, Funny)
I'm pretty sure they are talking about buying things other than music and movies.
Yeah, like if you like how the killer used the reciprocating saw to dismember the body on CSI:, buy it now with a ThumbsUp on your TiVo remote.
I'm not shitting you: one of the CSI shows had product placement of a reciprocating saw as a dismemberment tool, first shown prominently in the episode (matching blade marks to bone), then the exact same model was advertised during a commercial break.
I won't like it if it means pop-ups during the show. And I own 8 TiVos (7 subscribed).
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Meanwhile it seems that the web is ahead of the curve. A story about ATM scammers implanting an Asus Eee PC in an ATM to record card information [dasho.co.uk] is followed by information on where to find deals on Asus Eee PCs.
No links on where to buy blank credit cards though. But according to this movie [imdb.com] novelty cards, magnetic tape, and glue work just as well.
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I'm pretty sure they are talking about buying things other than music and movies. I been able to get music (via MusicChoice) and movies (via Amazon Unbox) on my HD Tivo for quite some time.
Well... yes and no.
You know how some ads have those little popups in the upper-right-hand corner? That chime and display when you're fast-forwarding through them?
Now TiVo owners will get those during shows too.
So when Stephen Colbert holds up a copy of I Am America And So Can You, a little pop-up will appear with a link to buy it on Amazon.com.
Apparently you won't be able to browse Amazon.com from your TiVo (except, of course, for the parts you already can), just receive Amazon.com ads through it.
Which I wo
Re:What's with this news? (Score:4, Interesting)
You say I am an Apple fan boy, but I really am not. In fact, I really dislike the iPhone and I can't stand OSX. Just because I point to Apple doesn't mean that I praise them.
Re:What's with this news? (Score:4, Insightful)
Never underestimate the addictiveness of immediate gratification.
It happened a couple of times that I've been browsing the 'App Store' and just thought "I need that!" and bought it.
Combining TV watching, aspiration to own 'stuff on TV', with credit card information (on Amazon), and the ability to buy on a whim, we should see this take off.
Comcast Entry (Score:4, Insightful)
If you press something like 888, you get localish car sales. I think there's one for real estate too. Granted, you can't press BUY NOW, because you'd really need to hide the remote from your children...
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TiVo's idea is not to distract you from what you're watching, but just to pair up items plugged on popular shows with items Amazon sells, and throwing something like a "Press ThumbsUp for more info." to see the price, sign in Amazon account info, and get a 1-click purchase in.
Re:Comcast Entry (Score:4, Interesting)
Last time I was bored at my friend's house, I calculated that in less than 15 minutes I could charge off around USD $2000 in porn using just the remote.
Cars aren't so scary compared with trying to resell pay-per-view porn.
Fortunatly... (Score:1)
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My Series 1 SA doesn't get this (much) spam!
BTW & FYI, check to make sure your Series 1 fan is operating properly. It looks like I'm going to have to replace the fans in two Series2 units, so the older Series1 units may be reaching end of life and start overheating or even failing to restart if the fan doesn't get up to speed.
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Note (Score:2)
You've been able to play Amazon Unbox videos for quite a while now, but until now, you went to Amazon, and to it to download to your Tivo. I personally think that is easier than going through the remote.
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You've been able to buy the Videos straight from your TiVo, you just needed to know the pass code you set up when you pair the TiVo with your AmazonUnbox account.
Mel Brooks dream come true (Score:2, Funny)
TiVo will launch the new service to consumers by merchandising products related to several high-profile programs
Yogurt: Moichandising! Moichandising! Moichandising! Where the real money from the movie is made! Spaceballs: the T-shirt, Spaceballs: the Coloring Book, Spaceballs: the Lunchbox, Spaceballs: the Breakfast Cereal. Spaceballs: the Flame Thrower... [fires a short blast from flame thrower]
Dinks: Oooooohhhh!
Yogurt: The kids love this one. And last, but not least, Spaceballs: the Doll, me.
"May the Schwartz be with you!"
Yogurt: Adorable.
Completing the cycle of (virtual) life (Score:2)
The last piece of the puzzle, completing the cycle of virtualization, will be Wii integration, so that we can look back fondly on the days when we were able to go to the store to buy it, pull it off the shelf, and ca
No thanks! (Score:3, Insightful)
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And spelling out book titles with a TV remote? (Arrow to letter > Select Letter > Arrow to next letter > Select Next Letter). No thanks!
TiVo should have been supporting wired HID-compliant USB keyboards since the Series2 first came out instead of still not yet now. The Ouija boards still annoy me when I need to get to a letter in the first column and I accidentally push Left one too many times.
I don't need a Bluetooth module or IR keyboard support. Just a simple long-wired USB keyboard will do fine. Even the Series2 with a USB-Ethernet or USB-WiFi dongle installed has a spare port.
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You're lucky. On my parents' series two Tivos all menus are agonizingly slow, especially the guide. All interaction with the Tivo is painful. It's almost like using MythTV except with a working TV guide and without any of the additional features offered by MythTV.
Also the local network applications do not work on one of the Tivos.
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I've used Unbox on TiVo, and it's the most ridiculously slow download I've experienced since I forgot to switch a modem from 300 baud to 1200 once back in 1987.
I thought, "I really want to watch this movie, so it's probably worth the four bucks, I'll just download it now," and I ordered it. Then (after paying) I read "Please allow up to 12 hours for your purchase to download." Then I went to bed. Angrily.
Yeah, more Ads! Sign me up! (Score:3, Insightful)
I've never really considered using something like MythTV or MS Media Center, but damn - if they can't stop adding useless crap Ads and things to the TiVo I will have to look pretty hard at an alternative.
zap Oprah with my TIVO remote (Score:1)
I would pay $10 per zap if they built this feature into my TIVO.
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we could all coordinate our zapping and try to send one enormous zap and see if she bursts into flames.
Burn Notice (Score:2)
I'd love a new coffee maker like Michael's mom got. :D
Is there a market for un-branded TV+Internet purchasing? I'm working as part of an open source effort to bring more applications to a particular embedded TV device (not a TiVo), and would love to hear about things you would/might be interested in purchasing via your television :)
Thanks in advance for any (serious) feedback!
Been buying stuff 'on TV' for years... (Score:2)
...at hotels, that is. A meal the next day, tickets to a local event (though I prefer getting them at the front desk as they are often authorized to give a discount that does not appear via the in-room entertainment system, as well as offering/suggesting amenities, etc.), canceling any housekeeping the next morning if I pulled an all-nighter, etc. Oh, and of course, movies (no, not those.)
The technology has existed for ages; it's just been a matter of getting a widespread-enough set-top box into homes -no
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The problem here (Score:2, Insightful)
I would always get the feeling to be tricked. On the internet I can search around for good deals, reliable companies and products and sellers which have their reputation.
On a TiVo I would always wonder what the companies did pay to get the place, whether the product is realy as good as it is and worth that money and wheather TiVo is tricking me again into something. I would never trust it. And I would get annoyed by it.
And more over: I don't have a TV (only a screen attached to my DVD player)...
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"no one has ever gone broke by underestimating the intelligence of the American public."
Nuff said. :)
This will suffer from unrelated products... (Score:2, Interesting)
I see you are watching "History of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre", can I recommend "A Box of Semi-sweet dark chocolates in a red-velvet heart-shape
I, for one, hate this (Score:1, Troll)
Or, rather, what I presume it will be: thumbs-up icons appearing on screen at random moments during programming. That's right -- you pay TiVo for the privilege of having obtrusive advertising on during the show!
I've said this for years: TiVo long ago decided that their customers were the advertisers, and not their users.
That didn't stop them from charging their users, however.
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Re:I, for one, hate this (Score:4, Funny)
No no...
"Biggs, they're all over me."
"Stay there, Luke, I'm coming."
"I can't shake 'em, I can't shake 'em!"
Luke turns to camera: But I could if I were driving a Scion TC with Turbo! Scion TC!
This Just In (Score:3, Funny)
You can buy stuff online, from online stores via devices that give you online access!!!1!
Really Tivo? (Score:1, Funny)
I just got a tivo a month ago based on everyone's rave reviews.
Frankly, I'm hugely disappointed in that every new "Feature" is just another way for me to buy more stuff.
- Podcasts!: Want to get the ones worth watching? You have to upgrade the pc software for 30 bucks.
- Amazon Unbox!: Wow. Now I can buy an old movie that HBO won't even bother showing.
- Now this: Amazon Unbox 2.0: Now I can fight the slow menus to buy a book. I can use that book to read during the long pauses between when I select an opti
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I've almost given up on Tivo like I have given up on Palm. They just don't seem to be doing anything to move the product forward. I'd like to say it was because they got too big, but they're not. For a device that costs $129/year to use, I've come to expect more than just updated schedules. Especially since I have an extra Tivo that I just wanted to use for downloaded content.
I bought the Tivo
I don't know which is scarrier... (Score:2)
Take it a little further.... (Score:4, Interesting)
A friend of mine worked at a marketing agency where she worked with a prototype system similar to this, howeverit was even more interactive. At any given time during a show, you could:
1) Hit the pause button
2) Point the remote at the TV which controles a mouse like cursor (think Wii Remote)
3) Point to car\shirt\bag\etc that happened to be on the screen at the time
4) Click it and be directed to a 'buy it now' interface
The idea is that companies would pay the show for product placement adding to the revenue of the show and ... dare I say... eliminate the need for commercials.
The only problem I foresee with this approach is increasingly blatant product placement within shows which WILL get to the point of being distracting, much like commercials are today.
Next up (Score:1)
TV people never did get it... (Score:2, Interesting)
what should have been done originally (Score:2)
Commerce is what interactive TV is for. Humans are creatures of merchandising, not web browsing or java games for their own sake. They want to be part of a corporate merchandising story.