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The mystery between the inertia of prospects and the evangelical zeal of TiVo users can be explained by the differences in how the product and services are perceived by each group. The early adopter young men who often want to be the first to own any new, technologically advanced product are the outliers and will quickly move on to the next device. For TiVo to hold onto these early adopters, the gaming and sports aspects of the system need to be communicated very clearly and passionately. Setting aside these young men who are early adopters of new, proven technologies, the differences between the inertia of prospects and the evangelical zeal of mainstream users can be defined by each group‘s perception of value. Prospects are seeing the TiVo as innovative, yet utilitarian in its value; they are not associated emotions and urgency with the product and its solution as a result. Conversely, the passionate users who have an evangelical zeal for the product are equating it with the ability to collaborate, communicate and connect more effectively than ever with their families. These passionate zealots of the product have found a way to make time slow down and use it to their advantage. To them, TiVo is a mechanism for making the world stand still long enough so they can enjoy their families and have a chance to relax. It allows them to control the pace of their lives more effectively. This is why the comment of one respondent regarding the use of TiVo on a radio is so relevant. The idea of hearing a great program on the radio or song and then "TiVoing" it is similar to saying the digital content will be saved for another time. Prospects however don't see this; the value of the system and services are more utilitarian in their minds, focused on the aspects of just recording shows and playing them later. The prospects fail to see the emotional connection of the product to their lives, hence the lack of purchase.
In terms of conflicting hypotheses, the greatest is the push and pull between utilitarian versus passionate perception of the product. The marketing is sadly pushing more of a utilitarian view throughout the case; it fails to capture the passion and enthusiasm of the most positive users of the system. Another conflicting hypothesis is the need that many have to time-splice their days and get as much done in as little time as possible. The conflicting hypotheses of this area include the lack of time families with children perennially have relative to the abundance of time that young, single relatively affluent men have to explore the full range of features the TiVo has. The time continuum is another major area of hypothesis testing as well. Finally there is the issue of the actual experience of using the device as well. The evangelists will be more than willing to put up with any kind of marginal performance form its navigation, with the early adopters often finding the navigation of initial screens like a game to be solved and won. For the mainstream user however, these screens can be exceptionally challenging and difficult to overcome. And the mainstream customer is where TiVo could have taken off.