Nero Launches TiVo for your PC...

Nero, the wonderful company that brought us Burning Rom, possibly the best overall DVD/CD burning software for the PC, has launched a new product called LiquidTV.  It (Full package) is priced at $199 plus subscription fees after the first 12 months.  The software alone can be had for $99 but sub fees still apply after the first year and are $99 per year.

The one MAJOR failing I see is the TiVo subscription crap.  Even though this is software for your PC that you buy outright and install on your hardware, the typical TiVo fees are still charged.

Most of the reviews are rather pleasant but consider the following:

• VMC or MCE are “free”. They came with your Windows install and they also do not require any form of subscription. Even if you needed to buy a new OEM license of Vista Premium, it is only about $130.
• SageTV is $80 for the media server software. There are no subscription fees. Additional client licenses (For PCs) are only $30. A media server license and an HD extender is only $250.
• BeyondTV is $70. There are no subscription fees. Client licenses are $30.
• BeyondTV and SageTV are client/server modeled which is far better than VMC/MCE and Sage has hardware extenders for both SD and HD televisions.

TiVo is renound for its interface but like so many players in the PVR business, there is not a lot of focus on “whole home PVR/content delivery”. Also, with so many other PC options that have no fees involved, this is a REALLY tough sell. There are flocks of people moving to BeyondTV and SageTV from all of the free and Microsoft options because they are much more superior overall.

If this software is to succeed, I say it MUST lose the fees.