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TiVo Announces DVR-SuperAdvance

Posted by timothy on from the so-next-week dept.

mark0 writes "TiVo has announced the TiVo DVR-SuperAdvance. The PC World review says, 'Familiar TiVo interface; DVR can record not-yet-broadcast programming; potentially useful as a wagering aid,' though, '[it is] expensive; access to programming is limited; footage is displayed in standard definition only.'" Hopefully, TiVo will supply a review unit.

75 comments

  1. Hurry up by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let's get these stories out of the way. April 1st is the worst day of the year for Slashdot. And that's saying a lot because none of them are particularly any good.

    --
    Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
    1. Re:Hurry up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And yet, here you post, day after day, year after year, your username blatantly stolen from a more talented poster who has long since retired. How *do* you do it, PF? Actually, I'll answer that for you: you do it wrong, my friend. You do it very wrong!

    2. Re:Hurry up by chenjeru · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Agreed. And on that note, any chance this could get modded to +5 insightful?

      --
      Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. - Will Rogers
    3. Re:Hurry up by RichardJenkins · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yet here you are again.

      Seriously though, being in the UK where prime time US shows are typically broadcast at least a couple days (and sometime a couple YEARS) after their American airdate, a MythTV box integrated with a bit torrent site really does provide a DVR that shows programmes before broadcast.

    4. Re:Hurry up by MrCrassic · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      To all of those that can't stand one day of media humor:

      If you're after real news, why not go check out Google News or something? While Slashdot does miss the mark sometimes, it provides mostly serious and very insightful articles day in, day out. One day of silliness isn't going to kill anyone.

    5. Re:Hurry up by h4rr4r · · Score: 0

      Is rightbias.com a joke site?
      Or are some people really that dumb?

    6. Re:Hurry up by Miseph · · Score: 0

      With headlines that actually say things like "Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is seeking a vote this year on legislation that would increase the income tax rates on some Americans who earn as little as $104,425 per year" (emphasis mine) I would sure hope so. I'd like to believe that nobody, no matter what their position on progressive taxation, would actually claim that anyone making over $100,00 a year isn't making a great deal of money... but apparently in their world that's not very much at all.

      Oh, yeah, and the GP is an idiot I wouldn't take him too seriously.

      --
      Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
    7. Re:Hurry up by Cube+Steak · · Score: 2, Informative

      To all of those that can't stand one day of media humor:

      We can stand humor, but none of these "joke" stories have been funny in the least bit.

    8. Re:Hurry up by MightyYar · · Score: 0

      It's poorly written, but I read the article and they clearly meant, "Americans who earn as little as $100k, rather than the $250k promised by Obama."

      Not that I'm defending the site, mind you, but it seems that they aren't quite so dense as that headline implies. Now, their "Culture Watch" section on the other hand...

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    9. Re:Hurry up by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      [...] hey, it's the same reason Eskimos enjoy blubber; it's the only fucking thing available at the Arctic buffet, okay?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    10. Re:Hurry up by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 1

      So why do you think I'm an idiot?

      --
      Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
    11. Re:Hurry up by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 1

      My user name wasn't stolen, it was plagarized. Stolen means that the rightful owner no longer has use of the property that was stolen.

      --
      Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
  2. Wagering aid? by hedwards · · Score: 1

    I doubt this would be so useful as a wagering aid. For one thing most sports are broadcast live and for another thing should you actually do so successfully and somebody caught you, that'd be illegal.

    1. Re:Wagering aid? by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Of course if I read further down it would be obvious that this wasn't talking about a net attachment.

    2. Re:Wagering aid? by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      Actually there's a not insignificant delay with all live broadcast sports. This used to be easily verifiable by taking a small, battery powered, portable TV to a game, but now you need one that has an ATSC tuner.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    3. Re:Wagering aid? by iced_773 · · Score: 1

      Well then don't use it for wagers. I could care less about sports betting - I'll use one to watch the next season-and-a-half of Lost. And maybe catch the new Star Trek movie afterward. It's gotta be on "SyFy" sometime in a couple years!

      Now if only I can find the $$$ needed for it...

    4. Re:Wagering aid? by fm6 · · Score: 1

      If the wrong people caught you, it being illegal would be the least of your problems.

    5. Re:Wagering aid? by hedwards · · Score: 1

      You misunderstood. I was saying that you couldn't do it for that reason. I thought that it was a service to show things like the office a bit early. Which now that I think of it would be brilliant.

      But I guess they were pranking about seeing things before they happen.

      Historically it definitely was something that you could do. My dad knew somebody way back that would cheat in a similar fashion.

  3. Getting tired of 4/1 already by Adilor · · Score: 2, Informative

    So far, only Gmail Autopilot has managed to impress me.

    1. Re:Getting tired of 4/1 already by esocid · · Score: 3, Informative

      then go to the firehose and vote up some decent stories.

      --
      Absolute power corrupts absolutely. indymedia
    2. Re:Getting tired of 4/1 already by saskboy · · Score: 1

      In this Post 4/1 World, nothing is the same. Slashdot has stories that you can believe in again, because they are sponsored by the tech gadget of the week.

      --
      Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  4. the bad news by tverbeek · · Score: 1

    The bad news is that, due to the processing overhead of the prefetch routines, activating the 30-second-skip hack actually s l o w s d o w n the playback for 30 seconds.

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
  5. Nothing new by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

    They've only got a single unit showing content 58 seconds into the future. I've watched 20 minutes into the future back in 1987 using only a VCR.

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    1. Re:Nothing new by Swizec · · Score: 2, Funny

      In a lot of Europe we can watch american broadcasts several years in advance with a simple broadband internet connection.

    2. Re:Nothing new by mikael · · Score: 1

      When the more senior relatives in my family first tried to navigate the satellite-TV menu's, they kept moving to the night time section of the TV schedule and tried to watch the late-night news roundup.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    3. Re:Nothing new by Stile+65 · · Score: 1

      Can you please tune to CNBC and DVR the stock ticker for me tomorrow afternoon? I want recession spoilers.

      --
      I claim first use of "Error No. 0B" - or "No. 0B error." It'll be the new ID 10T!
    4. Re:Nothing new by ben0207 · · Score: 1

      I did as you asked. Not sure how you're going to act on it though:

      "WE ARE FUCKED! THE END IS EXTREMELY FUCKING NIGH!"

      The finiancial reports have been getting a little melodramatic recently.

      --
      cmd-q.co.uk - some sort of stupid fucking internet bullshit
  6. So this is like .PAR2 files for television? by HouseOfMisterE · · Score: 1

    So this is like .PAR2 files for television? If I have all but one episode of a television series, can I use those to recreate the missing episode? That would be awesome!

  7. When will then be now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Dark Helmet: What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?
    Colonel: Now. You're looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now, is happening now.
    Dark Helmet: What happened to then?
    Colonel: We passed it.
    Dark Helmet: When?
    Colonel: Just now. We're at now now.
    Dark Helmet: Go back to then.
    Colonel: When?
    Dark Helmet: Now.
    Colonel: Now?
    Dark Helmet: Now.
    Colonel: I can't.
    Dark Helmet: Why?
    Colonel: We missed it.
    Dark Helmet: When?
    Colonel: Just now.
    Dark Helmet: When will then be now?
    Colonel: Soon.

  8. Sounds familiar by truthsearch · · Score: 5, Funny

    Colonel Sandurz: Try here. Stop.
    Dark Helmet: What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?
    Colonel Sandurz: Now. You're looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now, is happening now.
    Dark Helmet: What happened to then?
    Colonel Sandurz: We passed it.
    Dark Helmet: When?
    Colonel Sandurz: Just now. We're at now now.
    Dark Helmet: Go back to then.
    Colonel Sandurz: When?
    Dark Helmet: Now.
    Colonel Sandurz: Now?
    Dark Helmet: Now.
    Colonel Sandurz: I can't.
    Dark Helmet: Why?
    Colonel Sandurz: We missed it.
    Dark Helmet: When?
    Colonel Sandurz: Just now.
    Dark Helmet: When will then be now?
    Colonel Sandurz: Soon.

    --
    Developers: We can use your help.
    1. Re:Sounds familiar by need4mospd · · Score: 1

      This was perhaps the only reason to read this story.

  9. TiVo is losing by hamburgler007 · · Score: 0

    I get the impression that TiVo is fighting a losing battle. At their prime a few years ago, most cable and satellite TV providers weren't offering a comparable DVR service. Now, almost everyone offers DVR as a service, and unless TiVo has lowered the price of their devices or service, its cheaper to go through the cable company. I have Time Warner, and I find their dvr service in many ways superior to TiVo. I don't have to have an extra box that requires an IR transmitter that i have to stick on my existing cable box. Not only that, but my DVR box (and I gather most others as well) has two tuners, allowing me to record and watch to separate programs. It seems like it is something Tivo is going to have a hard time competing with.

    1. Re:TiVo is losing by Darknight · · Score: 1

      I get the impression that TiVo is fighting a losing battle. At their prime a few years ago, most cable and satellite TV providers weren't offering a comparable DVR service. Now, almost everyone offers DVR as a service, and unless TiVo has lowered the price of their devices or service, its cheaper to go through the cable company. I have Time Warner, and I find their dvr service in many ways superior to TiVo. I don't have to have an extra box that requires an IR transmitter that i have to stick on my existing cable box. Not only that, but my DVR box (and I gather most others as well) has two tuners, allowing me to record and watch to separate programs. It seems like it is something Tivo is going to have a hard time competing with.

      A) "DVR Service" != TiVo
      B) If you find Time Warner's "DVR Service" superior to TiVo, your opinions are clearly not to be trusted.
      C) Many (Most? All?) TiVo's no longer require an IR blaster; they can be hooked up serially or have tuners built-in.
      D) Have you ever actually seen a TiVo?
      E) DirecTV and TiVo are allegedly partnering back up again towards the end of this year for a dual-tuner HD DirecTiVo that should be the shiznit.

      --
      ________________________________ ___ _________ __ _______ _ ____ __ _ __ Darknight / _ \___ ____
    2. Re:TiVo is losing by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      I have Time Warner, and I find their dvr service in many ways superior to TiVo.

      Yeah, well Time Warner rigged their cable boxes so that TiVos can't reliably change channels according to schedule, and that bug has persisted for years without remedy since they put the "mystro" software on their Scientific Atlanta boxes. (Series1 units are SOL, having to stick to straight analog cable; Series2 have to employ padding to try to avoid the guide data update on the cable box's information bar that wipes out the digits while the TiVo is still signaling a channel change.)

      So far my TiVo Series3 has been fine with its two CableCards installed (after some signal strength problems were resolved), though I'll need TWC's SDV Adapter Box by April 16th to continue using it. Who knows how they'll manage to bugger it up this time.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    3. Re:TiVo is losing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "If you find Time Warner's "DVR Service" superior to TiVo, your opinions are clearly not to be trusted."

      They may or may not be superior, but they're a *lot* cheaper. For one thing, Time Warner doesn't charge for the box, and you're not even locked into a cell-style contract. you can quit at any time.

      On the other side, the rental fee for the box is *less* than Tivo's subscription fee for listings, so you never recoup the initial price of the Tivo box vs. the cable co's box.

    4. Re:TiVo is losing by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      But (1) your Tivo (and its recorded programming) survives if you move and change cable providers or go entirely OTA, (2) can get stuff off the net/Netflix too [I haven't personally used that], and (3) can have lifetime service (tied to the box, and the most likely thing that goes wrong is the hard drive, which can be easily replaced)... so the box *can* become cheaper than any cable box in the long run. (Though for digital _cable_ channels, you will need 1 or 2 cablecards [depending upon Tivo & cablecard type], but that is still MUCH cheaper than a cable box.)

    5. Re:TiVo is losing by bryce1012 · · Score: 1

      (2) can get stuff off the net/Netflix too [I haven't personally used that]

      This one feature is well worth the price of admission... more selections would be nice, but they're improving that quite nicely.

  10. Super scary EULA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    If you fail to keep your service paid up, they have the right to go back in time and kill your parents.

  11. Stupid. Work on backup instead. by markdavis · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but this just sounds incredibly stupid.. a feature I (and probably 99% of people) would NEVER use on my TiVo.

    I do wish they would concentrate on features that matter. Instead of worrying about 30 seconds in the future, why not plan for months or years in the future..... For example, why is it that I can't backup my programming of my TiVo HD to a USB drive? Like many customers, I have spent many, many hours customizing channels, season passes, ratings, searches, and other settings. When the hard drive fails, it will all be lost forever.

    Knock on wood- my TiVo HD has never failed yet, but all my other TiVos have, over the years, because hard drives fail.

    This is not to say they don't add nice features... I just streamed a movie from Netflix in HD to the TiVo HD and it was better looking than Cox Cable's HD! Neat.

  12. All I want is one channel... by hwyhobo · · Score: 1

    ...I want it to super-advance stock market tape on CNBC.

    --
    End anonymous moderation and posting on /.
  13. time travel? by Essequemodeia · · Score: 1

    Anybody else think that as soon as we turn on the first time traveling machine a shit-ton of people are gonna immediately show up and ask to be taken to our leader?

  14. Super Advance to tomorrow, please. by cpuh0g · · Score: 2, Funny

    I want to super advance to tomorrow so I don't see any more April Fool stories.

  15. My TiVo Commercial by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dark Helmet: Go back to then.
    Colonel Sandurz: When?
    Dark Helmet: Now.
    Colonel Sandurz: Now?
    Dark Helmet: Now!
    [badoop]

    Dark Helmet: Go back to then.
    Colonel Sandurz: When?
    Dark Helmet: Now.
    Colonel Sandurz: Now?
    Dark Helmet: Now!
    [badoop]

    Dark Helmet: Go back to then.
    Colonel Sandurz: When?
    Dark Helmet: Now.
    Colonel Sandurz: Now?
    Dark Helmet: Now!
    [badoop]

    Announcer: [V.O.] With TiVo, you can play with live TV.

    Colonel Sandurz: Now?
    Dark Helmet: Now!
    [badoop]

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  16. Is April fools over yet? by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

    To be honest these posts are getting a bit shit now.

  17. Available for Free Already? by TyIzaeL · · Score: 1

    I have a little mini TV in the other room that is only used sometimes. Once time, I had the TV on in both rooms, and I noticed that the high-def feed had a constant six-second delay versus the standard-def feed on the mini TV.

    1. Re:Available for Free Already? by Chlorine+Trifluoride · · Score: 1

      ohhhh snap

  18. Already been done ... by krou · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Spaceballs got there ages ago.

    Lord helmet: Have you found them yet?
    Corporal :No, Lord Helmet, they're still not on the scanner.
    Lord Helmet: Well, keep looking for them.
    Colonel Sanders: Pardon me sir, I have an idea. Corporal, get me the video cassette of Spaceballs the Movie.
    Corporal: Yes, sir.
    Lord Helmet: Colonel Sanders, may I speak with you please?
    Colonel Sanders: Yes, sir.
    Lord Helmet: How can there be a cassette of Spaceballs the Movie? We're still in the middle of making it!
    Colonel Sanders: That's true sir, but there's been a new break through in home video marketing.
    Lord Helmet: There has?
    Colonel Sanders: Yes, instant cassettes, they're out in stores before the movie is even finished.
    Lord Helmet: Nah...

    --
    'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
  19. Didn't April Fools end at noon? by Shabbs · · Score: 1

    I thought this crap ended at noon?

    --
    Mark
    1. Re:Didn't April Fools end at noon? by tepples · · Score: 1

      Noon in which time zone? The Internet is global. Besides, an AFD story published on its own web site before noon still has to wait through Slashdot's queue.

    2. Re:Didn't April Fools end at noon? by eball · · Score: 1

      We all wish. April 1st is the only thing in the world that makes me miss pre-internet days. Back then, April Fools Day was limited to jokes within the realm of "They removed 'gullible' from the dictionary." Now it's just a huge waste of time, with false news and dumb gimmicks all day long. I really hope the Internet, in its entirety, grows out of this soon.

    3. Re:Didn't April Fools end at noon? by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      It's not noon yet in some obscure island of Micronesia.

      (where they probably don't even do April Fools...)

      --
      No sig today...
    4. Re:Didn't April Fools end at noon? by Shabbs · · Score: 1

      True. Clearly EST is the ONLY time zone that matters... ;) Heh heh.

      I remember last year they started pouring in a couple of hours before midnight EST.

      This year they seemed to lag quite a bit.

      Meh. It is what it is.

      --
      Mark
  20. Why not?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have the opportunity to download a show or a movie before it's initial release, either for a charge or for promotion. There are a number of "movie advance screenings" and "sneak previews," why not stick it in a Tivo and charge a premium or generate a buzz?

    ohhh..wait..someone would upload the torrent. Bad idea.

  21. April fools or not, I like it. by senorpoco · · Score: 1

    I for one would be willing to pay a huge sum of money to record shows at an inferior quality so I can view them at my convenience, probably after the normal broadcast date.

  22. CNBC opted out by tepples · · Score: 1

    The article states that CNBC opted out of letting TiVo advance its broadcasts.

    1. Re:CNBC opted out by hwyhobo · · Score: 1

      Figures.

      --
      End anonymous moderation and posting on /.
  23. Re:Stupid. Work on backup instead. by Joce640k · · Score: 1

    What's to stop you pulling the hard drive out and making a backup?

    --
    No sig today...
  24. Ok, now this is just getting sad. by Nekomusume · · Score: 1

    The current run of slashdot articles is reminiscient of having a drunk wino santa puking all over you during a date on christmas.

    You're seriously killing the mood. Either put some actual effort into it, or give up.

  25. Thiotimoline by fm6 · · Score: 1

    Somebody please link an article with more technical detail. I'm guessing that it involves a special circuit manufactured using Thiotimoline.

  26. Re:Stupid. Work on backup instead. by markdavis · · Score: 1

    >What's to stop you pulling the hard drive out and making a backup?

    Because

    1) That would void the warranty
    2) It is not easy
    3) It requires a large drive
    4) It would take forever, because it is not backing up just the settings
    5) It can't be used to restore settings to another TiVo because of DRM & serial numbers
    6) It requires taking the system down

    I am sure there are lots of other reasons I didn't think of right now...

    I want to plug in a USB key (prob 1GB or larger is enough), click a few buttons on the remote, and a few minutes later have everything that makes the TiVo my TiVo on the key (except the video, of course). Then if my TiVo fails, when it is repaired or replaced, I put in the key and say "restore from key" and wham, I am back in business!

    I simply don't understand why there is still no such option!

  27. Re:Stupid. Work on backup instead. by mattack2 · · Score: 1

    If you turn on some of the net features, apparently some of your data is backed up. Yes, vague reference, but I've seen people on tivocommunity talk about season passes 'coming back' after replacing a broken Tivo. (You have to turn on the features because otherwise it would be a privacy violation, and people freak out about that... No need to tangent about "they already get completely anonymous info" from your Tivos.)

    Anyway, the warranty is pretty darn short anyway.

    You can download your *recordings* over the net and save them on another hard drive.

  28. Might actually be possible for me by Ken_g6 · · Score: 1

    I live in the Mountain Time Zone, so everything broadcast on the east coast is tape-delayed one hour. So if Tivo could live-stream east-coast TV, this could actually be possible for me. It would work even better on the west coast.

    But I'm guessing they won't actually do that. :(

    --
    (T>t && O(n)--) == sqrt(666)
  29. Screw this! by binarybum · · Score: 1

    Ha Ha suckerZ! I was pre approved for the SuperAdvanced DiscoverCard - "the card that actually pays U late fees" and used it to pre-advance purchase the DVR-SuperAdvance HD! U foolz will still be watching the office season 12 in standard definition where you will barely even be able to see the subtle details in Steve Correls wrinkled face that make the situational humour work while I'm watching Top Model 2021 where I can make out each sulcus of Tyra Bank's petrified brain in a jar as it passes jealous judgment upon reincarnations of her own narcissism.

    oh yeah, my version also gets C-SPAN superadvance channel ..BTW - vote Krador in 2016

    --
    ôó
  30. Keep it TiVo, and give me commercial skip instead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So it skips ahead 58 seconds. Do we all shout hooray now, or wait for a single event before we throw our money to this innovation? Seriously, that's their innovation? I can skip 3 hours ahead by watching EST shows in the PST time zone.

    Something truly useful would be automatic commercial skip like the old ReplayTV's had, auto commercial muting / volume leveling (I'm talking to you Billie Mays!) or perhaps program sharing over Internet.

  31. Will there be a Tivo Super Advance SP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    with built-in backlight and clamshell case?

  32. Oh FFS. by Squozen · · Score: 1

    I bet this story is hilarious... if you're five.

    I hate April 1 - being in Australia I have to suffer this bullshit for TWO days instead of one.

  33. Re:Stupid. Work on backup instead. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hah, I for one really want this feature.

    1. Record the next lottery draw.
    2. Watch it now
    3. Buy ticket (with the winning numbers, if you must know)
    4. ????????
    5. Profit

  34. Tivo actually did something like this last year by Control-Z · · Score: 1

    I was able to download season premieres before they were broadcast.