Tivo and Vista Media Center aren't compelling? It's the price of these solutions that scare people away. The most I think people are going to pay for an STB is the equivilent of 24 months of rental.
If we assume $7 per month for a HD 2-way digital box and $12 per month for a HD-DVR (right out of my Comcast rate guide). The most you could charge for a plain STB is probably $168. The most you could get for an HD-DVR is $288. I don't think you can build something "compelling" for that much. The Tivo HD comes close but you have that $10 a month service fee + cablecard charges on top of it that I think turns the average consumer off on that solution. VMC has no monthly charge other than cablecard but is at minimum a $1,000 solution and that is only going to attract high-end consumers.
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Tivo and Vista Media Center aren't compelling? It's the price of these solutions that scare people away. The most I think people are going to pay for an STB is the equivilent of 24 months of rental.
If we assume $7 per month for a HD 2-way digital box and $12 per month for a HD-DVR (right out of my Comcast rate guide). The most you could charge for a plain STB is probably $168. The most you could get for an HD-DVR is $288. I don't think you can build something "compelling" for that much. The Tivo HD comes close but you have that $10 a month service fee + cablecard charges on top of it that I think turns the average consumer off on that solution. VMC has no monthly charge other than cablecard but is at minimum a $1,000 solution and that is only going to attract high-end consumers.