Foxtel iQ2 users will soon be able to record two channels while watching a third, but does anyone care?

The new functionality will come as part of an automatic download which will began rolling out this week, and all iQ2 subscribers should be able to access the four tuner functionality by December. Only three tuners are at the viewer's disposal, the fourth reserved for trickling on-demand movies to the hard drive, so they start instantaneously.

To celebrate the occasion, Foxtel pulled out some research claiming that of those homes using a "PDR" in Australia, 76 percent of families experience fewer arguments over what to watch. Yes I said PDR - personal digital recorder. It seems Foxtel is afraid to even use the phrase "PVR", lest you notice the 800 pound gorilla sitting in the corner that is TiVo.

This seems like a reasonable statistic, but Foxtel revealed some other figures which I found more interesting. Foxtel has experienced "dramatic take-up" of the iQ2 with over 50,000 units already installed, according to executive of product and sales, Patrick Delany. Foxtel has around 1.5 million retail and wholesale customers. Lets say a million of those are retail customers who can sign up for the iQ2. Based on Foxtel's own figures, this means only 5 per cent of customers have upgraded to the iQ2. This doesn't sound like a dramatic take-up to me. Even if you allow for the fact some people would be iQ1 owners who don't see the need to upgrade, it would seem the vast major of customers don't share Foxtel's belief that the iQ2 is a life-changing device.

It seems it hasn't been smooth sailing for TiVo either, with claims Harvey Norman only sold 3,000 units per week for the first two weeks. Considering the pre-Olympics hype, this has to be a major disappointment. Extrapolate that out to six weeks and there's still less than 20,000 TiVos in Australian lounge rooms. Even this is generous considering sales probably slumped after the Olympics.

I have to say the advertising from TiVo and Foxtel wouldn't inspire me to buy them - rather their hypocrisy inspires me to yell at the television. The TiVo ad with the guy shouting "we're not going to take it" makes me angry - as if Seven's TiVo is some kind of saviour when it's Seven's bastardry that we need saving from. The Foxtel ad has a woman talking about giving her children the best, while we watch them frolicking in a playground. Foxtel wouldn't seem so appealing if the ads were more realistic, showing kids sitting on their fat arses watching 50 channels of crap and contributing to the obesity epidemic (disclaimer: the author sits on his fat arse all day watching TV, but at least he gets paid for it).

From the sales figures it appears Australians don't see the need for a PVR in their lives. They probably figure they don't need to watch any more television, but I've found using a PVR means you actually watch less television because you only watch what you're interested in rather than whatever crap happens to be on. It looks like the iQ2 and TiVo need to change their approach if they want to win a place in Australian lounge rooms.