Word: tivo
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DIGITAL VIDEO PLAYERS Now that the digital music player has gained mainstream acceptance, daring manufacturers are trying their luck with digital video playback devices. Think of it as TiVo on the go. Plug it into a cable box or VCR to record shows, then watch them wherever. The 20GB Archos AV320 ($600) started the ball rolling, and the next heavy hitter could be RCA's RD2780 Lyra A/V Jukebox ($449), left, due in October. The heat is on as versions of a joint design by Intel and Microsoft, above, are slated to be produced and sold next year by Samsung...
While it should nab its millionth customer by year-end, Tivo is not the market leader--EchoStar's Dish Network has more than 5 million customers. But like another consumer darling, Apple computer, TiVo has popular, sexy products. TiVo's best asset, though, is Ramsay. On the day of the "devil" panel, he proved he was unflappable and more than convincing: another panelist, then president of digital media for NBC, now works for him. --By Laura A. Locke/San Francisco
...devil?" That was the opening zinger posed to panelist Mike Ramsay, CEO of TiVo, as he appeared before a group of TV-ad executives last September. It was the question everyone wanted answered. TiVo's personal video recorders (PVRs) let users download their favorite shows and zip past commercials--and traditional marketers are running scared. By 2007, half of all American TV viewers will own PVRs--and 20% intend to skip...
...even if TiVo has been devilishly effective at giving viewers what they want--or eliminating what they don't--the firm has gone through tough times. Last year Ramsay, 53, radically changed the business model to address new market realities. "We built this company when capital was virtually free," recalls board member Randy Komisar. With less money to spend on marketing, Ramsay helped TiVo refocus its strategy on reaching profitability faster while closely managing growth. TiVo broke even in January and is now near profitability...
Result: my TiVo can now record 80 hours of TV at the best-quality rate or 145 hours at the lowest quality. That isn't anything like the limit--you can get up to 344 hours on the 320-gigabyte drive--but it's enough to record every single West Wing ever broadcast. And maybe I'll have space left for a nice long Russian movie...