TIVO Premier
 

Want.

Cool. I might need to upgrade my HDTivo.

Gawd do I want! Sadly, I just purchased a TiVo HD XL five weeks ago.
%$&@#!

Wow, the article says TiVo didn't post a profit until 2008 and hasn't been able to sustain since. For a brand that's become the "Band-Aid" and "Kleenex" of its product type, it's shocking.

Definitely WANT that qwerty remote, at least.

I still have a series2 with an [old skool] lifetime subscription on it. Trying to nurse it along until I get a bigger TV, then I can upgrade everything.

I'm digging the Netflix streaming capability since I was looking at getting a Rouku awhile ago (and never did) and the internet streaming would be awesome, if it works like I think it will (you can watch Hulu and other streaming TV shows on it).

A few months ago that would have been very attractive. But we have since connected a PC directly to the TV, and upgraded to an HD video card. Gives us pretty much all of that functionality, and more. It might be slightly clunkier than having it all in one box with TiVo's excellent interface, but not $300 less.

I was looking into doing this, but I'm not sure my TV or the PC I want to use can handle it. Can you point me in the right direction for info? Or tell me what I need? Ya, I know it's a stupid question coming from someone in IT. I fail.

The only thing special I added to ours was an HD Video card with an HDMI output. I got this one. Good price at ~$50 (I actually got it on sale for $35), no moving fan so no noise issues, and unless you plan on doing any serious gaming, perfectly good picture quality for viewing video content.

You can even set it up to be dual-monitor so you can watch TV and do other stuff at the same time.

Mind you, we're not using the PC as a DVR, sticking with TiVo for that. Can't help you much there. MythTV has a good rep, but it's somewhat of a pain to get running on Windows. SnapStream is a Windows option, no idea if it's any good. Nor do I know how well any of those options work (or if at all) with cable box vs. cablecard.

What I was thinking of doing was just using the PC to stream Netflix and Hulu onto the TV. I have a fairly old desktop that would need an upgrade in RAM and perhaps a new video card. But I wasn't planning on using it as a PC anymore (or a TIVO).

In my head I think I just need to get a cable to go from the monitor output on the computer (serial) into the monitor input on the TV (S-Video) and maybe a different video card. My TV is the same one I've had for years. I'm not concerned about HD at this point.

Well, as a current TiVo user, I can get a 20% break on a new box. But, as they always do, I cannot transfer my lifetime subscription.

Other than SCHEDULING a recording of internet material, I don't really see what more I would be getting (other than expanded choices of internet material). I can already search for and play You Tube material and get NetFlix movies. What am I missing?

That says to me Hulu, and possibly other TV sources (perhaps it will include network's own sites). There technically is already a video podcast feature on TiVo, however you can't search with and, and CP and I have never been able to get it to work right. And "radio" probably means Pandora, live365, and such. Again, some of that already exists to some degree on TiVo, but with very inconvenient interfaces.

The magic would happen if they manage to provide all of that with the quality and ease of navigation that their primary features already have. If they can do that, they've got something. Again, not enough for someone like me, who already has all of that functionality on my TV screen via the ultimate interface - a web browser. But knowing how great it is to HAVE that kind of we content available on the TV screen, instead of having to gather around an office chair or a laptop, I definitely can see the draw.

On a slightly related note, Hulu is losing Cobert and the Daily Show. You will have to go to their respective websites to watch online.

Wait, you can already stream netflix through TIVO? Grrrr. I'm so confused :(

That might be a series 3 feature only.

I agree, it sucks that you can't transfer the Lifetime Subscription, but in addition to getting 20% off the cost of the new hardware, as an existing Lifetimer, you can get $200 off the cost of a Lifetime Subscription for the new unit. I know it's not ideal, but it's something.

Isn't the new lifetime subscription only 3 years?

No. There's a 3 year and a lifetime. But the lifetime is not transferable to a new box.

Geez... when I got lifetime on my Series 2, Lifetime was only $200 and I believe it was $360 on my Series 3. Now, it is $599 (before the discount). In other words, they raised the price by $240 and generously offer a $200 discount :rolleyes:

2nd ETA: The article in the link says that:
This is not correct.

If I upgrade from my Series 2 (which has a Lifetime), they do not offer a machine discount, but the Lifetime is discounted by $200 from $399 to $199.

If I upgrade from my Series 3 (technically, a "TiVo HD") (NOT Lifetime), they offer a 20% machine discount, but the Lifetime is NOT discounted and stays at $399.



It isn't clear from TiVo's site as to whether you are transferring the lifetime or getting a new lifetime


ETA: (I deleted my original ETA as it was factually incorrect)

FYI, here's a comparison chart between the different TiVo models.

http://www.tivo.com/what-is-tivo/com...lder-dvrs.html

One thing about the new Premier

When they first introduced the Series 3 (note: this is a separate unit from the "HD"), it was THX certified (as is the Premier XL - but oddly, not the vanilla Premier). They later came out with the less feature oriented (but still robust) "TiVo HD".

I have a feeling that they will come out with a lower price-point version of the Premier at some point - just speculation on my part.

It's not the premier, but http://sellout.woot.com has a tivo HD XL for $180 today. FYI

They had that one a few weeks ago too. It works out to be $20 more if you are a current TIVO subscriber and go for the Premier upgrade w/lifetime vs. the HDXL and lifetime. The standard Premier only holds 80 hours HD, so it just depends how much stuff you record/keep.

It's tempting though, since the HDXL has been around for awhile and has the bugs worked out.

This is what passes for the latest TIVO in Australia.

Note there are no ongoing fees, just the once-off purchase price ($699.00)