D-Bone
Jul 24th '07, 04:29 PM
Today's the day TiVo launches its "mass appeal" $299 "TiVo HD" aimed at HDTV fans. The new TiVo certainly has appeal, but whether or not that appeal can overcome the monthly $12.95-$16.95 service fee?well, that's the question at the top of everyone's list.
The official name is indeed "TiVo HD," as expected. While not particularly inspirational, the new name gets the message across: this is the TiVo for HDTV (despite there being two earlier but very expensive units). While the TiVo HD is really a refined Series 3 under the hood and not a half-breed, the branding and the push make it clear that TiVo is hoping that the TiVo HD sees the successes of which the Series 3 could only dream. Given that the TiVo HD operates more or less just like the Series 3, this is going to be a compelling unit.
TiVo is accepting orders now on its web site and says that units will arrive in retail stores in early August. I won't repeat all of the technical specs, which are covered in detail here. Suffice it to say that it's the machine we thought it was, loaded with dual tuners, support for two CableCARDs (or one MCard!), a 160GB drive (180 hours recording SD, 20 hours HD), and HDMI. It really makes the Series 3 look weak. Or put another way, it makes the Series 3 into the boutique device it really is.
Read More: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070724-tivo-hd-series3-lite-gets-official.html
The official name is indeed "TiVo HD," as expected. While not particularly inspirational, the new name gets the message across: this is the TiVo for HDTV (despite there being two earlier but very expensive units). While the TiVo HD is really a refined Series 3 under the hood and not a half-breed, the branding and the push make it clear that TiVo is hoping that the TiVo HD sees the successes of which the Series 3 could only dream. Given that the TiVo HD operates more or less just like the Series 3, this is going to be a compelling unit.
TiVo is accepting orders now on its web site and says that units will arrive in retail stores in early August. I won't repeat all of the technical specs, which are covered in detail here. Suffice it to say that it's the machine we thought it was, loaded with dual tuners, support for two CableCARDs (or one MCard!), a 160GB drive (180 hours recording SD, 20 hours HD), and HDMI. It really makes the Series 3 look weak. Or put another way, it makes the Series 3 into the boutique device it really is.
Read More: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070724-tivo-hd-series3-lite-gets-official.html