TiVo follows up Series 3 with a version for the budget-conscious. It’s the cheapest way to get a TiVo PVR in full HD.
Series 3, the pricey HD PVR TiVo users had been waiting for, has $800 price tag - a pretty large number and it could make a serious dint in your budget? Now TiVo users have an additional option in TiVo HD. At $300 you get 180 GB HDD for 180 hours of standard-def recording or 20 hours of HD. It also has an HDMI output and it’s capable of 1080i. It’s also a nice feature to see TiVo HD includes Dual CableCARD support.
The support for this new device seems positive on the blogosphere. HD Beat has written positively on TiVo HD and the PVRBlog calls it TiVo HD “Series 3 lite”.
You Just Can’t Have Everything
It’s really too bad that TiVo HD hasn't done more isn’t being done with the TiVo To-Go feature. It’s a great idea to have recorded TV shows ported over to computer and playable on mobile devices, but content providers hate this feature. I’m not sure if it’s a political move to have TiVo To-Go not present on TiVo’s budget HD player but there you have it. TiVo HD also has the obligatory useless Sata ports. Every manufacturer says they’ll do something with them soon but I’d be surprised if we ever do. The dumbing-down of technology is a terrible thing.
In the competitive world of PVR it’s good to see a forward thinking company like TiVo hanging on to life. TiVo has had a rough time in the business but the company never fails to come up with interesting products. The company gives us a potent PVR interface that the rest of those cable and satellite subscriber boxes can stand to learn from.
Here’s some product information about TiVo HD from the company's website
Product Overview:
- Controls cable TV with Record, Pause, Rewind, and Fast-Forward in HD
- Records two HD channels at once, while watching another recorded show
- Records up to 20 hours in HD (or 180 hours in Standard Definition)
- Designed specifically for cable customers
- Video output modes include: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
Product Specifications:
- Signal sources: Digital cable, Analog cable, Digital antenna (ATSC) and Analog antenna channels (satellite not supported)
- Outputs: HDMI, Component video, S-video, Composite video, Optical audio, Analog audio
- Video output modes include: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
- Inputs: Dual CableCARD support (2 slots), Cable coax, Antenna coax
- Ethernet connection, USB 2.0 ports (2), phone line, E-SATA
- Works with the TiVo Wireless G Network Adapter
- TiVo Series 3 Architecture
For more specific information about the TiVo HD, visit www.tivo.com.