More on TiVo + Amazon Unbox 

Last week, I tried out Amazon Unbox downloading to the TiVo for the first time. The experience went pretty smoothly, though I'm pretty certain it won't replace Netflix or OnDemand in my usage.

I finally had a chance to actually watch the movie, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The quality wasn't too bad, and I was able to even stretch it out to fill my 16:9 TV. The quality was about what you'd see on digital cable, which is better than what I normally get on TiVo, but obviously worse than DVD. But, for a movie like Idiocracy, it was perfectly acceptable.

Given that I've still got some money left on the initial $15  credit, I'll probably keep grabbing cheap movies where visuals aren't important. There's still slow download times (I've got an older TiVo and an older wireless adapter, so I don't get great transfer rates) that mean this isn't instant gratification. But, it's not a bad thing to grab a movie every now and then to watch when I have some free time.

Honestly, the worst part about the service is probably the Amazon end, where the search and navigation is nauseatingly bad. It's impossible to quickly browse and easily distinguish TiVo-compatible movies from those that aren't available for the TiVo. That's going to be something that needs some refining if this is going to catch on with more than the early adopter crowd. The iTunes Movie Store interface is far easier and significantly more attractive.

iTunes + Apple TV are probably going to defeat Amazon + TiVo in the long run, as the Apple combo has better quality, faster downloads, and a nicer interface. But, since I'm not shelling out another $300 for Apple TV, I'll probably stick with Netflix and BitTorrent, which, for me, is the best of all options.