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Retailers Leak New TiVo HD Specs and Price

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wed Jul 18, 2007 03:06 PM
from the tastes-great-less-filling dept.
Media Television Hardware Hacking Hardware
Brent writes "Retailers goofed and posted most of the specs of the forthcoming TiVo Series 3 Lite, which Ars says may be called 'TiVo HD' at launch. A comparison with the standard Series 3 shows that for a savings of $300, you only lose the OLED screen (do you need a screen on your TiVo?), the glowing remote (which you can pickup for $50 anyway), THX certification (worthless) and 90GB of storage. Looks like it may be a TiVo hacker's dream."
+ -
story

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[+] Tivo HD Released Into the Wild 228 comments
B.Gud writes "Tivo has launched the new 'Tivo HD' DVR, validating what was learned from retailer leaks last week. The new unit is available for orders and will ship in early August, but the good news is that Tivo is going to activate serial ATA later this year, and that TivoToGo support is coming as well. From the article: '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.'"
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Retailers Leak New TiVo HD Specs and Price 50 Comments More /

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  • Hackers dream? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by pegr (46683) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:09PM (#19906039) Homepage Journal
    Why, did they unTivoize the GPLed software?
    • So, What's to stop someone from buying a 750Gb HDD and replacing the 160Gb drive?

      I'm a little amazed that this isn't more hackable; more DVD writers, more memory, more tuners. WTF?

      After all this time, I expected much more. Maybe I should just try to build a PVR. God knows that with the low price of memory, the new multi-core processors, the low cost of disk storage and the new GPUs with vector processors, I should be able to get something worthwhile going. Too bad I don't watch more TV.
      • Typically you have been able to add additional storage space, if I understand things correctly. The Tivo S3 Lite just doesn't come with as much as it's big brother does.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by cayenne8 (626475)
          I'd never buy another Tivo....they don't offer the lifetime 'service' any longer.

          I'm not gonna buy a unit...and then have to pay a monthly 'fee' to use it for the rest of its useful life.

            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by Kazymyr (190114)
              Yes, and you could pay a wad of cash upfront and get lifetime service. I know, I have 2 tivos with lifetime. I don't pay anything monthly on them. But they stopped selling that 2-3 years ago.

  • What? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Constantine XVI (880691) <trash.eighty+slashdot@NOsPAM.gmail.com> on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:12PM (#19906075)
    What exactly makes it a "hacker's dream"?

    • Re:What? (Score:5, Funny)

      by wawannem (591061) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:14PM (#19906103) Homepage
      well, the summary didn't mention the poster of Natalie Portman that comes with it.
    • What exactly makes it a "hacker's dream"?

      Well, hackers are poor and... well... That's Slashdot, you and your reasoning.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by phildawg (1104325)
      What makes this so great and a hacker's dream is because the features it loses that cannot be purchased were worthless. The main reason for the Tivo HD is strictly to be able to record at that quality level. A normal tivo cannot do that.

      So what you lose here that cannot be replaced is THX-certification which doesn't mean anything because who has a THX professionally installed, setup, and configured home sound system? The OLED display is no big loss.

      The losses that people would miss are the glow in the dark

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by phildawg (1104325)
        I just wanted to say I goofed on the HD numbers. I originally looked into the Series 3 Tivo HD when it was released as I own 2 normal tivo's currently. I thought it had a 300GB hard drive and it was roughly a 10:1 ratio on space. I now see that it's a 250GB hard drive and the new version will have a 90GB hard drive. My point is still very true and even more so with this knowledge. If 250GB = 30 hours, then 160GB = 17 hours, 1TB = 120 Hours.

      • Re:What? (Score:4, Informative)

        by HTH NE1 (675604) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @04:19PM (#19906949)

        the 30 and 21 hours of HD quality recording really is a setback, but fortunately you can record programs at lower quality on the HD Tivo's.
        Only as long as you have the alternative to record HD programs in SD quality on an alternate SD channel carrying the same content. HD can only be recorded in HD. Last I checked, HDNET had no SD alternative. Also, the PBS stations in my area have different programming on the HD and SD channels (e.g. Doctor Who is only on the SD channel).

        There's also no IR or serial control by which to use a down-converting cable box on the Series3 platform. For cable programming, you either can record analog and unencrypted digital channels, or you use CableCards.

  • *sigh* no satillite connectivity... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Itninja (937614) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:13PM (#19906085) Homepage
    I would we willing to pay an extra $300 for a Series 3 that could record HD from my satellite service (Dish Network). Having been a Tivo user for nearly 10 years, I finally had to dump my Tivo and start using the Dish Network ViP622 HD-DVR. It's not bad, but the user interface is no where near as tight as a Tivo. maybe someday Comcast will grace me with cable in my area...
    • What exactly prevents it from recording HD?

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by dgatwood (11270)

        Satellite TV boxes put out analog (component) and/or digital (DVI/HDMI) uncompressed hi-def video. To record that, you need A. a component capture device (relatively cheap/easy) or DVI/HDMI input hardware (also relatively cheap/easy), and B. real-time hi-def compression hardware (expensive/hard). That last one pretty much puts the skids on any attempt to do an HD PVR for satellite without building it into the satellite receiver.

      • My HD satellite box (before I bought the DVR from them) only outputs via HDMI or s-Video. The Series 3 Tivo cannot take HDMI input (at least not in this picture [zatznotfunny.com]). And of course s-Video cannot display a true HD picture.
    • Comcast's HD DVR is about the worst piece of shit I've ever had the dubious privellege of using. It's what I use today (HD DVR - nuff said) but it's just a shoddy piece of shit.

      Part of it is plain ol' network issues - blocking, freezing and the like whenever we get a new neighbor who installs their cable.

      But the actual DVR unit will lag occasionally, or get stuck in rewind/ff, and just skip to the end on occasion. I would never buy such a unit and think it's pretty much awful. I probably won't spring fo

      • Comcast's HD DVR is about the worst piece of shit I've ever had the dubious privilege of using.

        I have a Comcast rented Motorola DVR6412-III, and completely agree with you. I'm on my 4th unit with them in only 3 months already,

        but

        Comcast is supposed to start making TiVo software DVR models available as their DVR rental unit in just the next couple of months. While it will take a while to filter through their system, I'm doing my best to be first in line when these arrive.

  • Finally! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mjpaci (33725) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:16PM (#19906129) Homepage Journal
    I've been waiting for the T3 to drop in price to something my better half won't cringe at. That $700 price point was murder. Also, I am so freakin sick of the cruddy Motorola DVR that Verizon rents me that I am just peeing my pants with this pseudo press release. It will actually cost less for me to have a Tivo than that crappy DVR. (not factoring in purchase price, of course, so it will cost more, i just won't let myself believe it)

    --mike
  • yum! gimme gimme gimme!!

  • Still doesn't change a big price difference (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rsborg (111459) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:27PM (#19906307) Homepage
    Disclaimer: I'm currently owner of a Tivo Series2, unhacked, unmodified, connected to a SDTV, 5.1 receiver, and receiving analog cable (so I don't have to futz around with the channel blaster or deal with a cable box). I pay approx. $55/mo for this.

    That said, if I'm going to get a new Tivo, I have to deal with a lot of new issues:

    1. $$$: A new HDTV-compatible receiver and display
    2. $$: Cost of upgraded Cable services
    3. $: Cost of cable-card rental fee (x2 if I want to record 2 channels at a time)-or- dealing with the channel blaster again (yukk!)

    So in addition to the upgrade to HDTV, I will have to shell out probably another $30-$50 a month, which I really don't see as being necessary, and for what? HDTV? Forget it.

    On the other hand, this news [arstechnica.com]seems promising, if Comcast doesn't f$ck it all to hell.

  • With the rising popularity of HD, Tivo is losing a LOT of customers. I know they lost me earlier this year. I had been a Tivo user for over 4 years. But when I upgraded to HD, I had two options. I could pay my cable company $7 a month for their DVR, or give Tivo $800 AND another $10 a month on top of that for their DVR. Guess which I chose?

    I loved the Tivo interface and all the neat extra features it came with. But I didn't love it THAT much. Even the Tivo rep couldn't bring herself to argue against it wh

  • I actually love my Windows 2005 MCE box -- 4 tuners. The problem is CableCard compatibility is impossible. It just doesn't work. I'm ready to give up the system I've perfected (other than encrypted HD and CableCard), for a box like the Tivo.

    I had the original Tivo the week it came out, and I do miss it. TWF (The Wife Factor) is a big one, and she misses the Tivo also. Just to keep her happy I'd pay $30 a month if I had to for Tivo (2 phone calls from her a month about a broken TV is pricier than it sou
  • I'm thinking a few hundred GB to start - what was the drive type again?

    And is it pin-controlled, software set, or hard-wired?

    Gotta have some place to put my Red Dwarf and Darkworld episodes ...

  • OT Recommendations (Score:3, Informative)

    by asphaltjesus (978804) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:36PM (#19906449)
    I've configured both knoppmyth http://www.mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html [mysettopbox.tv] and mediaportal for win32 http://www.team-mediaportal.com/ [team-mediaportal.com].

    Each has their caveats. Knoppmyth works better once you get it rolling, but there's lots of fiddly work to get it going. Lots of fiddly work. Once it's up its rock steady. It manages powering down/sleeping between scheduled shows much better than win32.

    MediaPortal is easier to set up. Buggy interface though. Not show-stoppers but whacky things that make it hard to use. For reasons I haven't investigated it uses some kind of proprietary file type to store the shows. If someone knows how to set it up to make an mpeg that would be great. http://www.team-mediaportal.com/ [team-mediaportal.com]
  • I'm a TiVo Series 1 user who doesn't consider anything on cable worth coughing up $30+/month for, so I get all the TV I need over the air. Given the imminent demise of free programing data for MythTV, and the continuing absence of those legendary digital-to-analog converters the Feds promised us, this may turn out to be my best option for when the analog transmitters go dark. If only I could transfer the "lifetime service" from my Series 1 to one of these... Still, it's cheaper to pay TiVo for an EPG than
  • THX cert means little if your speakers/TV aren't also in a room that is THX certified. Unless you are a serious audiophile, it's like having heated car seats when you live in Florida. Cool feature, but not worth an extra $500 when you will probably never use it (hear the difference).

    The smaller HD is a bummer, but if the units are as easy to upgrade as the older units were, it's easy to image/re-image onto a larger HD.

    So, upgrade the HD in the Lite and the only "functionality" you give up over the Sta

  • My Tivo Series 3 Perspective (Score:5, Informative)

    by Hangtime (19526) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:50PM (#19906619) Homepage
    I just purchased my Tivo Series 3 (the wife and I are Tivo nuts and we just bought an HDTV so it was required) and here's my notes so far.

    1. Cablecard installation sucks. Make sure when you talk to the provider that they ALWAYS bring 2 Cablecards. It just took for times for TimeWarner to actually get cable going. None of this is Tivo's fault as much as its lack of understanding on the cable company side. The problems are in two places: one - firmware upgrades can take FOREVER, it literally took my 3 days to update the Cablecards, two: provisioning the TWC head-end folks have not quited figured this out yet and it took the guy talking to a friend to get the cards provisioned correctly. So when they come out make sure they try to flash the cards before they leave HQ and know someone on the other side that knows how to provision.

    2. The lost 90 GB is not much of a problem. Tivo Series 3 have an eSATA connection that can be enabled through a backdoor code (see http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.ph p?t=350510 [tivocommunity.com] on how to do so). Then you get yourself a $50 enclosure and $300 1 TB drive and your rocking for approximately the same price.

    3. I wish the OLED wasn't even there and I had $50 back. You can't see it half the time and its so small its tough to read from across the room.

    4. THX: I don't have a home theater (working on that but gotta be a little more frugal now) so I wouldn't worry about it.

    The $300 price point is the magic number and when it comes in watch out because these will start flying on the shelves.

    • Re:My Tivo Series 3 Perspective (Score:4, Interesting)

      by HTH NE1 (675604) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @05:37PM (#19907797)
      1. Also, CableCards seem to be really picky about how many splitters there are in the cable. My TWC really wanted the TiVo to be the only thing connected to the wall, but could tell from my setup that that simply was not feasible. I did determine that one splitter was blocking some frequencies and had to ditch it.

      2. eSATA port is unconfirmed. (BTW, I hate that people selling cables try to sell "internal eSATA cables". I almost bought the wrong kind because they haven't learned that the "e" stands for "external".)

      3. Even if you can't read the OLED display from across the room, you can still tell from a glance (on a unit not in Standby mode) whether what's recording on a tuner is a scheduled recording of yours or not (Suggestions are not named on the OLED; scheduled recordings are).

      4. I wish earlier models included an Emmy symbol the year TiVo was awarded one.

      I'm waiting for my $300 rebate, but I won't use it to buy another one. Eight TiVos are enough for me right now. (Heh, my first two 14hr Series1 TiVos also had $300 in rebates, making them cost -$0.01 after rebate, not considering taxes on pre-rebate price.)
    • Why limit it to TV? I'd like an "unSuck" button for a lot more than just TV. Sort of like the "easy" button, but without the gigantic mess.

    • Re:Neato keen and all but meh (Score:5, Funny)

      by feepness (543479) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:56PM (#19906683) Homepage

      Very nice, albeit still not enough to justify me getting one. Mind you the reason why I haven't is not an issue with the TiVo itself - more of a matter of nothing being on television worth watching anyway. If they add a "unSuck" button you can count me as the first person in line.
      Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own a Television [theonion.com]
    • You're a step ahead of me... I'm still trying to justify cable!

      Seems like all of the good shows can be purchased by-the-season these days. If you don't mind being the last guy around to see "Lost", then this is a big money and time saver.
    • According to TFA, about 10 hours.

      Me, I'd like to see a 500GB or larger drive (if that "hack" is possible, I'd be game). 160GB or even 250GB is meager in my opinion.
      • I'm sure the fine folks at weaknees.com will have a high capacity version. They already have a Series 3 with a 1TB disk -- $1399, stated capacity 144 hours HD.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by LMacG (118321)
          90GB is the difference in disk capacities between the current Series 3 and this new unit. The capacity stated in TFA is 20 hours HD.

          And TiVo "jumped on the HD bandwagon" several months ago, when the Series 3 first came out.
    • 20-30, guessing based on mythtv specs +/- some improvements from tivo.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by OldeTimeGeek (725417)
      From TFA, about 11 hours. The "Tivo Lite" will have a 160GB (holds about 20 hours) disk rather than the 250GB (which holds up to 31 hours) disk on the existing Series 3.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Kamots (321174)
      It doesn't have 90 GB of storage.

      It loses 90 GB of storage.

      As to how much HD content it can store, RTFA. (31 hrs for the expensive one, 20 hrs for the new one)
    • As has been addressed in prior comments, as well as TFA...the new device will have 160GB, which is a 90GB loss in comparison to the current Series-3. A literal reading of the summary gives that information as well, though I can see where a quick skimming would lead one to the wrong conclusion if s/he couldn't be bothered to actually read the article before commenting on it.
    • It has a 160GB drive, giving an estimated 21 hours of HD recording. The reason for the smaller drive is most likely to that they can still maintain a market for the much more profitable Series 3 Heavy at $799 + monthly programming fees.

    • Re:Losers! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ArsonSmith (13997) on Wednesday July 18 2007, @03:36PM (#19906441) Journal
      Let me help you out and parse it with bullet points: ... you only lose:
      *the OLED screen (do you need a screen on your TiVo?)
      *the glowing remote (which you can pick up for $50 anyway)
      *THX certification (worthless)
      *90GB of storage

      Now, why didn't 'you' parse the submission right?
    • A bigger problem, the Tivo Series 3 has 2 Cablecard slots. this tivo3 lite does not say anywhere that it can use the cablecard. (I hope it can and I simply missed it.)

      On most cabletv plants lack of a cablecard make a HD recorder pretty much useless. you do not have component in or hdmi in record ports and most unscrambled QAM content on cableTV lines is pretty paltry. Some places even have the OTA HD channels scrambled which is a violation of FCC law but the cable operator doesn't give a flying fart.
    • So you're just posting in a TV-related thread to be smug about your rich and fulfilling non-TV-polluted life then? Gotcha.
    • I doubt it the cable card people nurfed pretty much all the useful features. I'm sticking with my series 2 SD and HD tivo's at least I can move content back and forth and between them. Having a weeks worth of general hospital automatically sync to the ipod has a big WAF potential.
    • I've had a tivo for years and refuse to take the HD boxes that comcast are trying to peddle.

      TivoToGo is the killer feature for me. I honestly don't care if it's only SD quality, i just can't justify "upgrading" to something that's missing features.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by mkraft (200694)
      First off, popup ads were never implemented. TiVo tested them on a few people, found they didn't work well and scrapped them. I don't know why people always bring this up since there hasn't been a popup ad on a TiVo in over 2 years. There's far more ads on the cable box Comcast gives me (they're all over the guide), than I ever see on my TiVo.

      Second, TiVo is the best known DVR out there and the most successful purchasable one there is. When Comcast starts selling their own HD DVR that's as good as Ti

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