TivoHd
Latest
TiVo launches "3 months free" promo
If your holiday shrubbery was missing that TiVo HD you wanted, here's a chance to reclaim some happiness. From now until February 17, if you pick up a TiVo HD and sign up for 1 year of monthly service (at $12.95/month), TiVo will give you the first three months of service for free. The ad on the TiVo site might confuse you -- it reads "TiVo HD DVR + 1 year TiVo service @ $12.95/mo... Total $299.99;" you're in fact getting the TiVo HD and 3 months of free service on a $12.95/month contract for that $299.99. Still, it's not too shabby: over the first year, you'll actually come out slightly ahead of a comparable package combined with a multi-service discount! Speaking of which, sorry -- this deal cannot be combined with a multi-service discount.[Via TVSnob]
WeaKnees takes TiVo HD units to 2TB
Earlier this year, we saw that WeaKnees was offering up TiVo HD boxes with enough storage to hold a staggering 144 hours of HD content, and now the company is aiming to make a few holiday wishes come true by more than doubling that previous number. You heard right, TV packrats can now order up a TiVo HD Series 3 DVR from WeaKnees that can hold 292 hours of HD programming (or 2,800 hours of SD content). The DVR itself will house a 1TB SATA hard drive and come bundled with a 1TB external drive, and will cost you a whopping $1,599 (after $200 rebate, no less) to claim one as your own.
Hands-on with HD TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing
It seems as if we've been waiting a lot longer than a year for TiVo to add two of our favorite features to the Series3, and while complications with CableLabs haven't exactly made the process possible before now, we're elated that TiVoToGo and Multi-Room viewing are finally a reality. Both new features had to be enabled via TiVo.com by logging into our account and enabling transfers, and we've detailed the process below: Log into TiVo.com and under Manage My Account, enable transfers on each of your TiVos. Wait 24 hours for the TiVo to phone home or force a call Check System Information page on your TiVo and verify that TiVoToGo has a value of a,a,a and not i,i,i. If all else fails, force another call and reboot. You've waited long enough, so click on through to take a look at these two long-awaited features in action.
TiVo temporarily reinstates $400 lifetime subscription for Series3, HD
Call it a quick holiday cash-in targeted at current TiVo owners if you must, but you're not about to kill our buzz about the fact that TiVo's resurrecting the greatly missed Product Lifetime Service (aka lifetime subscription) for Series3 and HD owners -- temporarily, anyway, and for realsies this time. As of today -- but only through January 2nd, 2008 -- current TiVo owners can upgrade their Series2 to a Series3 or HD with lifetime, or simply upgrade the service on their current S3 / HD -- equipment aside, the service will set you back $399. Sorry though, you can't transfer service between boxes, and if you're buying a new TiVo for the lifetime you have to use it under the same account. In other words, it doesn't look like they're leaving any loopholes open on this one. Pricing details after the break.
TiVo HD vs. Series3
Now that TiVo has finally added all the great features TiVo owners have come to love, we suspect that a lot of people will be upgrading to HD. But with two different models to choose from we figured we'd try to help make your decision easier by spelling out the differences between the TiVo HD and the Series3. %Gallery-8914%
TiVo Series3 and HD FINALLY get TiVoToGo, MRV, eSATA drive, other new features
TiVo let on that November was going to be the month that both TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing became a reality, and now with only a week to go it's finally here. But that's not all TiVo's taken the occasion to announce: in addition to being able to stream shows between your TiVos (MRV) and copy programming from a TiVo to your PC (TiVoToGo), TiVo has also announced (hack free) eSATA drive support along with Western Digital's My DVR Expander, which, for $199, will expand your TiVo with 500GB of space (a good 65 hours of HD). Another new feature included with this release is progressive downloads, which means you won't have to wait for TiVoCast and Unbox videos to finish downloading before you can start enjoying them. Instead, the TiVo will figured out how much of a buffer is required for uninterrupted viewing and let you start watching as soon as possible. While most of these features have been a long time coming, we can only imagine how excited TiVo owners are to know that the wait is over -- assuming they've already signed up for the priority list to received the 9.2 update.
TiVo Series3 and HD get (official) external storage support
TiVo is rolling out system software 9.2 to those HD-friendly Series3 and TiVo HD boxen, which brings official eSATA external storage at last. Of course, the adventurous among us have been able to pull this off with a pretty simple Series3 hack for ages, but official support means a whole lot more users are going to be taking advantage of that extra room for hiding away Gossip Girl episodes and all their other CW faves. The rolling update hasn't hit everyone's boxes yet, but keep your fingers crossed -- the update should also address some of those 9.1 bugs, and allows for progressive playback of Amazon Unbox downloads as they download.
TiVo offers lifetime service transfers to the HD... if you've got $199
Really want to get that new TiVo HD DVR, but annoyed that TiVo stopped offering a lifetime service plan for it or start going month to month? Well guess what, once again TiVo is sorting you out with a transfer of your lifetime service to the TiVo HD -- for $199 -- if you make your purchase and let them know before November 8th. That's right, all you have to do is qualify your current unit, get your new DVR, then give the boys over at TiVo-central a call to let them know which credit card to swipe. Sure, it seems like you're dropping yet another two-hundred big ones on "lifetime service" when you would think they'd just carry it over for free (or a small fee), but no one ever said life was fair.
TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing coming to HD TiVos in November
It looks like it's finally going to happen, the Series3 and the TiVo HD are finally going to catch up to their SD siblings and get upgraded with the most highly anticipated TiVo features. We know all to well how complicated CableLabs can make it to bring 3rd party CableCARD products to market, and as a result we've been waiting over a year for the Series3 to get the ability to transfers shows to our PC and between TiVos. And while CableLabs has never specifically forbid these features, until recently they've made them impossible to implement. According to a post over at TiVoCommunity.com by Bob "TiVoPony" Poniatowski, a TiVo product marketing rep, both TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing are currently in beta and will be available to both Series3 and TiVo HD owners in November. Naturally, Bob reminds everybody about "the first rule of beta club", so we'll just have to take his word for it -- until it leaks, anyway.
TiVo HD still having macroblocking issues
TiVo might just have a issue on their hands. The TiVo HD launched late last month and almost immediately, it required a software update (8.1.7b1-01-2-652) to fix pixilation issues caused by Scientific Atlanta CableCARDs. Well, some users are still having the same issue two weeks after the update. TiVo has in fact responded via TiVoCommunity.com and indicated that they are working on a fix. No word on when this update will hit the street but hopefully the 3rd time will do the trick. [Via TiVo Lovers Blog]
WeaKnees now offering upgraded TiVo HD units
While cramming a larger hard drive into a vanilla Series 3 unit is all fine and dandy, WeaKnees is getting with the program and offering up upgraded TiVo HD boxes to those who just can't ever find enough space. Reportedly, the firm will be selling modified TiVo HD boxes "with up to 144 hours of HD capacity," and these beefed up iterations promise to record programming from traditional broadcast antennas, digital and analog cable, as well as the HD over-the-air broadcasts exactly like the factory-equipped counterparts. More specifically, interested customers have the option of getting 32, 43, 70, 107,or 144 hours of HD capacity depending on their budget, so be sure and hit the read link if you're ready to take the plunge.
TiVo HD update
It's been just over a week since the launch of TiVo's HD DVR for the rest of us; and it hasn't been all peaches and cream. Initial shipments of pre-upgraded models from Weakness and the like were delayed because TiVo modified the MFS file system and it wasn't until recently that a crafty hacker released a new tool that supports the format. But that's not even the worst of it, as many early adopters with Scientific Atlantic CableCARDs were reporting pixelation problems on the second tuner. Well, TiVo was quick to respond and the TiVo HD got it's first software update yesterday which addresses the problem. So if you don't have it already, force a call and make sure you're running version 8.1.7b1-01-2-652. Read -- Expanding the TiVo HDRead -- TiVo HD updateUpdate: According to TiVo Lovers Blog, 8.1.7b1-01-2-652 just isn't doing all that much, especially for Scientific Atlanta CableCARD and S-Card users. Still having issues? Shout it out!
TiVo HD review roundup
A critical eye is peering in on TiVo's personal-flotation-device known as the TiVo HD, a $300 entry-level option into the company's DVR world, and we've got the roundup to prove it. The box, which TiVo hopes will attract thriftier (read, any) users to the previously pricey platform, features HDMI and component outs up to 1080i, dual CableCARD and M-Card compatibility, and Series3-style ATSC and NTSC tuners. It appears that the general feeling on the little black box is positive, with almost everyone loving the price-point, the CableCARD functionality, and all the standard TiVo amenities, though we wouldn't go so far to say that everyone is a 100% pleased. Most of the reviews take issue with the device's sluggish UI, lack of TiVo ToGo, and the tempting, yet inactive eSATA port (which the company says it's planning to activate down the road). Browse on over to the read links for the full reviews. Read -- PC Magazine (4.5 out of 5) Read -- CNET (7.7 out of 10) Read -- PC World (88 out of 100)Read -- TiVo Lovers (Megazone's massive unboxing and review)
Q&A with TiVo's Jim Denney about TiVo HD on Engadget HD
We got a chance to pick the brains of TiVo's VP of Product Marketing, Jim Denney; deeper insight into the TiVo HD (and some choice tidbits about the future of Series3) over on Engadget HD, check it out!
Q&A with TiVo's Jim Denney about TiVo HD
We were able to get a few minutes with TiVo's VP of Product Marketing, Jim Denney, whom we poked and prodded some additional details out of about the TiVo HD and TiVo's future plans for Series3 owners. Here's what Jim had to say: This is the lower-end HD TiVo model we've been hearing about. There will be "no more HD TiVo models this year," so if you're not into the TiVo HD, tough noogies. Unlike the Series3, the HD will have out of the box M-Card (multi-stream CableCARD) compatibility. eSATA will launch deactivated. "We hope to activate it some time later," but when he would not say. Same with the external drive TiVo's obviously going to sell for the thing. TiVoToGo and multi-room viewing "will not be released with the HD," but TiVo is actively working on restoring functionality, which will come to the Series3 shortly before HD. TiVo is also working to ensure TiVoToGo will not be resolution-restricted, only copy-flag restricted. (Read: TiVoToGo will work for SD and HD content.) Regarding not having THX, Jim let us know that it still meets TiVo's requirements for AV fidelity, but that part of keeping costs down meant not submitting it for the THX certification approval process. More after the break!
TiVo HD launches
Ah, right on time the TiVo HD launches, and with all the expected features and highlights. Users can expect: HDMI / component out up to 1080i Dual frontal CableCARD slots (plus M-Card compatibility! slots are behind the gray plastic bar), single ATSC tuner, analog NTSC, etc. (Same deal as Series3 though, only two tuners can record at the same time.) No frontal display, Glo remote, or THX cert, still no support for multi-room viewing, TiVoToGo, and TiVoToComeBack $300 price tag %Gallery-5168%
TiVo HD makes brief appearance on TiVo's website
It's not much, but for the desperate throngs waiting to TiVo in high def without having to fork over nearly a grand for the Series3, the brief appearance of the $300 TiVo HD on TiVo's site earlier this afternoon was a little bit of glory... until the listing got pulled. We don't know who you are, anonymous-and-possibly-reprimanded TiVo web guy, but rest assured you just caused a million anxious DVR-loving hearts to skip a beat.
