Seven hopes we'll grow to love TiVo

THE Seven Network has imported at least 20,000 TiVo digital video recorders as it seeks to take on the rival pay-television product Foxtel iQ.

And the network will try to team with internet broadband providers to ensure users of TiVo have unmetered downloads for its future movie service. Unlike the Foxtel iQ, consumers who buy TiVos must connect it to their broadband internet connection to be able to access the full array ofservices.

But TiVo general manager Mark Hughes said while the TiVo connected through the internet, it was estimated to use about only 5Mb of capacity for each user a month.

"The amount of information (users) would download on a daily basis from their internet connection is minimal," Mr Hughes said.

"At most the typical user won't use more than 5Mb per month, which is a handful these days."

Mr Hughes is employed by Seven, which created a subsidiary company to buy the Australian rights to TiVo and market the device here.

Now Seven has underwritten the cost of bringing TiVos to Australia.

Asked how many TiVos Seven had imported, Mr Hughes said: "Enough that if all the 15,000 to 20,000 people waiting for their Foxtel iQs turned up at Harvey Norman tomorrow, we could satisfy them all."

He said Seven's investment in TiVo was "not an insignificant sum. But compared (with) setting up a pay-TV operation, it is insignificant."

At this week's TiVo launch, Mr Hughes said Seven would soon announce a similar arrangement to the Amazon movie service offered by TiVo in the US. "Before that we'll be pushing some short-form video of maybe five to 10 minutes to the boxes.

'But within six months, possibly a little longer, I would expect to be providing a movie download service as well."

Mr Hughes agreed downloads would use internet capacity but said "you are in complete control".

But to prevent TiVo users being swamped by excessive download fees from their internet service provider, Mr Hughes said Seven would seek to team with broadband ISPs.

"That's one of the solutions we are looking at," he said.

TiVo had yet to decide if it would also charge separately for a downloaded movie.

"With the business model around movies, we are still looking at how that would work," Mr Hughes said.

He maintained it was easy to connect the DVR to the internet.

"It's no harder then setting upa Nintendo Wii," Mr Hughes said.

Seven's internet joint venture Yahoo7, meanwhile, relaunched this week with a new-look home page and features.