TiVo Series 3 beta box snapped in the wild!

It wasn't exactly a well kept secret that TiVo was beta testing its Series 3 boxes in select markets, but up until now there wasn't a man or woman brassy enough to break the NDA and snap some shots of the damned thing. Behold, the Series 3 in the wild! Unfortunately it doesn't yet seem to have TiVoToGo, and from what we hear the cable company had to go through four CableCARDs to get the damned thing working properly (no comment on whether it was TWC) -- but all that's irrelevant. If you're half as excited as we are about this thing then you're pretty mofriggin' stoked. Click on for some more shots of this thing running on some lucky bastard's rig.

Wait, seriously, two CableCARDs? This is better than we thought!

Hubba hubba.

[wiggi @ Aug 22nd 2006 11:15PM]

About time this thing materialised, my lifetime giftcard is just aching ti be used.

[Bigglare @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:13AM]

Once this hits the street, Bye bye COMCRAP cable.

[enicideme @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:15AM]

Its about time that Tivo might actually BEAT expectations, instead of continually dropping the ball.

[enicideme enic @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:17AM]

About time this thing came along and actually BEAT expectations, as opposed the the usual Tivo role of coming out with kind-a good stuff, but not quite as good as they should have been.

[Jason Anderson @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:33AM]

Please for the love of Pete get these things out there! This Comcast PVR is a POS. My GOD what a POS! Crashes all the time! Stops recordings mid-stream! And the interface just. plain. sucks!

I MISS MY TIVO! And my old one looks like crap on my HDTV.

[me @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:46AM]

i have that same cable box lol

[other_beta_tester @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:59AM]

TiVo has been so cool to everyone in the beta. I can't believe that anyone would have violated the NDA so blatantly, and in a way that leaves them so identifiable. Shame on you leaker...

BTW: Anyone who keeps their S3 covered in filth and fingerprints like that should be removed from the beta just on principle.

[Evan @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:20AM]

there it is --- hdmi. love it!

[Ray @ Aug 23rd 2006 4:47AM]

Glad to see I'm not the only one dieing for this box. We were just bitch'in at the Comcast box tonight trying to watch an hour of the Closer. It took 3 reboots and restarting the show from the beginning 6 times. And POS was said a lot!

[Ed @ Aug 23rd 2006 7:59AM]

I'm guessing that their cable company is Cablevision

[Vince @ Aug 23rd 2006 8:23AM]

Good to see a Series 3 setup by Cablevision. Gives me great hope when I finally get one.

[Bigglare @ Aug 23rd 2006 8:29AM]

Where's 1294? The original digital connection? The one mentioned and sponsored by the same DTV legislation?

[purle @ Aug 23rd 2006 9:16AM]

I hate my cable company. Does anyone know if this Series 3 can work with a satellite set top box? If so, can it still record two things at once?

[Ryan @ Aug 23rd 2006 9:22AM]

I did not see Ethernet on the back of the box, but it still has a modem. Come on Tivo how hard would it be to add Ethernet instead of having to buy a usb to Ethernet adapator.

[ChrisStyle @ Aug 23rd 2006 9:39AM]

If it is using two CableCARDS why does it nead the Cablevision box and IR repeaters? I thought the CableCARD removed the nead for a cable box?

[T. Cole @ Aug 23rd 2006 9:41AM]

Does anyone know if this Tivo Series 3 can record two HD programs at once? If it does, put me on the list!!!

[ravedog @ Aug 23rd 2006 9:50AM]

"Does anyone know if this Series 3 can work with a satellite set top box? If so, can it still record two things at once?"

DirecTV w/ Tivo in HD.... been around for about 22 months.

[purle @ Aug 23rd 2006 9:56AM]

Thanks ravedog, I have one of those already. As you may know, DirecTV currently broadcasts local channels and will broadcast future channels in mpeg4, which the DirecTV Tivo can't recieve.

What I am asking is whether I can still use DirecTV (or Dish) with the new Series 3 and still record two programs at once. If anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it.

[magoo @ Aug 23rd 2006 10:24AM]

The Series 3 only works with companies that provide CableCARDs. Therefore it won't work with DirecTV or Dish.

It will work with Verizon Fios however, which is what I'm waiting for.

[CBell @ Aug 23rd 2006 10:46AM]

Series 3 does NOT work with satellite. It's for cable or OTA and that's it. TiVo guys say going forward they are firmly in the cable camp.

[Jeremy Eagan @ Aug 23rd 2006 11:09AM]

I'm betting that the cable box and repeaters are for his/her humax tivo recorder and are not hooked up to the HD tivo. I don't even see a IR port on the back of the HD tivo.

[John Laur @ Aug 23rd 2006 11:37AM]

The TiVo series 3 is not required to have IEEE1394 (aka Firewire). The legislation specifying the firewire requirement applies only to STB's provided by cable companies.

However a nice little cable card in/firewire out (dump the C5 down the drain while you're at it) box would certainly be welcome -- cable tuner for MythTV anyone?

[jeff spiccolli @ Aug 23rd 2006 11:44AM]

"I did not see Ethernet on the back of the box, but it still has a modem. Come on Tivo how hard would it be to add Ethernet instead of having to buy a usb to Ethernet adapator."

-just above the 2 usb connectors (it's even labeled above it)

[Dave Zatz @ Aug 23rd 2006 12:09PM]

Bigglare, I don't believe firewire is required for non-cable company boxes.

[Chris RF @ Aug 23rd 2006 1:18PM]

firewire isn't even required for cable company boxes. The only requirement is that the cable company make available to you a box w/ firewire.

Of course, then the content protection system means that you are unlikely to be able to record anything other than your local stations over the firewire connection.

Still, it can come in handy if you live somewhere where you can't actually recieve the OTA broadcasts of your local stations.

[Wry Cooter @ Aug 23rd 2006 2:42PM]

Geez, some of you guys are lucky if you have an actual CHOICE in cable providers. I never lived in any area where there was more than a 5 percent overlap (if that, at best) in territories.

Face it, for most of the nation, cable is a monopoly, unless you are willing to MOVE to switch providers.

[dick @ Aug 23rd 2006 4:24PM]

Ethernet connection is right above the HDMI.

they need to start shipping these asap.

[Wembley @ Aug 23rd 2006 4:32PM]

Gimme gimme gimme!

Now now now!

[Scott Johnson @ Aug 23rd 2006 4:58PM]

This is so sweet!!! There is hope after all! Now if only the crappy cable system in Dallas would get a picture quality better than OTA signals.

[Daking @ Aug 23rd 2006 5:48PM]

i got a tivo a while ago and it worked for about a year. then, next time i tried to use it, the screen was just white. i restaarted it and saw it reboot with all the tivo logo and stuff. then it turned white again. im pretty sure the wires are in right. anyone have any advice?
thanks

[BenNLC @ Aug 24th 2006 4:53PM]

Something tells me that my cable company (recently became Time Warner Cable, although still running old Adelphia hardware in socal) is not going to be able to tell me clearly if they can provide a "dual feed" cable card, or if I will require two "single feed" cable cards. I'm sure this will lead to 5 customer service transfers and talks with at least 3 technicians before I'm inevitably lead to the wrong answer. Tivo will need to pressure cable companies to educate their service reps on the proper answer to this question, even though Tivo's product obviously takes a bite out of the cable company's own DVR revenue. Catch-22 if you ask me.

[O @ Aug 24th 2006 5:09PM]

I don't think that not having a cable card will preclude you from using the S3. As I understand it, the cable card gives you access to premium channels that you subscribe to as well as the channel line up. Assuming (and this is an assumption) that the S3 works like the prior models, the program guide will be available via download so the only thing you would miss are the premium channels.

The other part you will miss unless you have a type 2 card are pay-per-view movies and on-demand, which are not supported by the type 1 cards.

[cable and satellite-less @ Aug 29th 2006 2:19AM]

For someone like me who can only receive HD locals via a set-top HDTV Receiver and antenna (old skyscraper not wired for individually-billed cable, and adjacent building blocks aim of satellite dish), could i plug my current cable (which is provided by an old government dish on the roof) into the "Cable" input and plug the HD antenna into the "Antenna" coax input. I currently have a Series 2 that works fine with my building's cable system, but i must switch to a different TV input to watch HD locals from the HD Receiver. Basically, will this duplicate a set-top HD receiver without access to CableCARDs?

[Seth Brundle @ Aug 29th 2006 3:22PM]

If you Comcast people think the Comcast HD DVR sucks, you definitely havent tried a Cablevision HD PVR - I just switched coasts and boxes, and OMG does the Cablevision Scientific Atlanta suck!!

That said, I'm way more angry at TiVo for taking 6 years to launch an HD PVR then I am at either Comcast or Cablevision - at least they *have had* a solution for a couple years.

Actually I didnt think the Comcast Motorola box was that bad at all. I never touched my SD TiVos after I got it.

[patrick @ Sep 6th 2006 7:44PM]

I think TiVo's arms were tied since they probably had something ready to go for CableCARD 1.0. But then the playing field changed...and it was back to the drawing board for them.

Also, remember that it was recently that the FCC mandated CableCARD acceptance, and that was for 2.0, which wasn't even standardized yet at the time of the announcement.

So essentially, TiVo had to wait out for a lot of other "stars to align" to get the ball rolling on their S3 box.

I'm sure they wanted to be a STB replacement, and not an enhancement.

Now, I've read that you won't be able to do VOD with the S3? I thought the CableCARD spec supported everything a STB does, albeit in the space of a card.

That doesn't sound right. I want a S3 to REPLACE my crappy DCT6412; I don't want that thing anywhere in sight when I bring my S3 home. AND I want VOD.