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TiVo Announces High-Def Series3 DVR
prostoalex writes "Catching up with the competition, TiVo is set to unveil a high-definition digital video recorder. The unit will feature dual tuners, 250 GB, and a hefty price sticker: 'The long-awaited product will be $800 and available in mid-September, the company said. Subscription fees for the TiVo service are separate ... TiVo officials attributed its long development time in part to waiting for certain technologies to mature and the lengthy process of getting industry-related approvals, such as for the set-top-box's two built-in CableCARD slots. CableCARD slots allow users to access digital programming from a cable TV provider without the need for a separate receiver. The Series3 HD box also represents TiVo's first major product upgrade since it released its networked Series2 DVR in 2002.'"
The DIY HTPC won't do CableCard, and your inexpensive tuner cards won't do HD. If you want that functionality the expensive Tivo is a good choice.
$800 is just about right for a device of this caliber. It is meant to be leading-edge tech. It is the most advanced DVR out there. The only people who are jumping into the waters early are the people who would gladly fork over that much money to have the latest and greatest - and they will get it.
And for all of the posts bitching about "$800 PLUS subscription!??!?!?", remember that this is a set-top box replacement. You already pay Comcast or [insert other cable behemoth here] $10/month for that POS DVR that they provide with a clunky unreliable interface. $2 more gets you a better interface, suggestions, downloadable content, more guide data, the ability to program over the internet, the ability to download shows to your laptop or other device, the ability to display slide shows, mp3 playback, mp3 streaming, podcast streaming, and so on and so on and so on. And that's not even including the features in the pipeline, like (official) storage upgrades and a ton of other unannounced projects.
For $3 more a month, bring me my TiVo. And as far as the $800 initial fee, if you can't afford it - just wait for the first round of rebates. Or do what I always do, upgrade when they offer unbelievably cheap factory refurb units. Every TiVo I've ever owned has been a refurb - and with proper cable surge protection and a Smart-UPS, my units have never failed me.
The Series3 went for sale a few hours ago on Tivo.com for $799.
According to TivoBlog, some Best Buy stores are taking preorders showing a delivery date of 9/17/06. There have also been rumors over the past few weeks that Best Buy and CircuitCity will have the Series3 Tivo in stock on the 17th or 19th.
Despite the heavy price tag, the need to rent 2 CableCARDs from my local Cable Company, and the expensive $12.95 Tivo monthly fee, I placed my order within a few minutes of Tivo making the change to their website. I bought one of the first 14-hour Tivos when they went on sale in 1999, and in all that time I have not seen another DVR that has a UI as good as the Tivo one. I finally abandoned Tivo in favor of a Cable Company DVR in 2004 when my local Cable Company started to offer HD programming. Finally Tivo is catching up 2 years later.
By the way, you can thank design firm IDEO for many of the UI innovations of the Tivo (and early Macs as well).
EyeTV Hybrid cannot record cable HDTV, period; only over air (don't believe me? read the FAQ). The CableCard provides not only unencrypted cable HDTV channels, but even encrypted channels. I use my EyeTV on my PowerMac as an adjunct to my TiVo, but don't consider it a replacement.
For bi-directional support you're talking about CableCARD 2.0, which Tivo Series 3 will support. Here's more of Ars' coverage of CableCARD 2.0
It's not just "announced". It's available for sale.
"To err is human, to forgive is simply not my policy." --root