Comments on: TiVo HD XL Unveiled – 1TB of Storage

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:38:40 +0000

This is a fine extension to the Tivo line.

I too find no value in the THX certification, but whatever. Those of us who want to can just go buy a box from WK or do the upgrade ourselves. I assume that market is limited though, and most people would rather just buy the box from their retail store.

I think the glo remote is worth the money myself.

There are LOTS of things I wish Tivo would do of course, and if they don’t do them over time, I probably won’t be hanging around forever, but I’ll wait and see.

The obvious problem for me with this box is that we’re still waiting for the tuning resolvers to see how the SDV solution plays itself out, and this box is kinda expensive and depends on that. I’ll probably just sit on my hands till that situation resolves itself.

As far as network support, I don’t understand why Tivo doesn’t already have MoCA support, i.e. network support over cable. Would let you move shows from one Tivo to another at a good clip without having to rewire your house or depend on the potentially flakey wireless you might have–at the very least it would be higher speed. Since this is supported in all the new Mot and SA STBs it can’t be particularly expensive to add…

By: Dan Schneider

Dan Schneider — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:43:51 +0000

The MSRP may be too high for the new TiVo box, but wait until the street price settles it down. It should be an interesting high end alternative. I just added the expander to my Series 3 and am loving the increased size and not worrying about a future software update breaking any part of a custom install.

I agree, and am waiting impatiently for Unbox HD.

I don’t think there’s much difference, time-wise between streaming and copying (and watching in progress) for multiroom TiVo viewing.

Lastly, I agree vehemently with the last comment. I should be able to access my own video content easily on my TiVo – no $25 charge for AVI files, no monkeying around with a new service for accessing someone else’s home video content over the web. Customize a nice space for MY Home Videos from the PC to the home theater via the TiVo. That would further make it “part of the family”.

By: Ivan Y

Ivan Y — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:52:13 +0000

@ Dave – not only do they need HD VOD provider, but also access to more streaming sites (Hulu, network sites), and ability to easily access user library of video content. Why TiVo hasn’t turned into an all-in-one media box is beyond me.

Also, at this point TiVo’s interface shouldn’t really be called simple — way too much text on the screen and some menu names are questionable (why is To Do list in “Find Programs to..” folder?).

By: Roger

Roger — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:02:56 +0000

Personally I always expected Fall 2009 for “series 4″ true2way. I am just hoping direcTV development doesn’t push that back. I guess its more likely that cable companies and poor standards will push it back.

I’m more impatiently waiting for my tuning resolver.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:24:05 +0000

I like what Moxi was doing with Internet widgets (before they pulled the plug on that retail line) and Verizon’s also doing some interesting things like that. The one thing I’m noticing as a trend is richer interfaces with more advanced options/functionality. Of course, TiVo prides itself on it’s simplicity and reliability.

As soon as Verizon wires my neighborhood for FiOS TV, I’m replacing at least one TiVo. I might need multiple FiOS boxes since they stream HD content room to room. Real-time. Something I’ve rarely seen with my TiVo units on my LAN. Amazon Unbox needs to go HD on TiVo soon too, in order to compete with VOD/PPV.

By: Frank Furter

Frank Furter — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:10:54 +0000

Hate to start TiVo bashing (well, not really…), but moves like this pretty much sum up their business plan. They haven’t really done much to retain or attract new customers in years. I’m sorry, but YouTube and this horrible ‘feature’ called Swivel Search are kinda pathetic.

I’ve been a TiVo user for 9 years. BUT, I’m sorely waiting for the new kid on the block. I’ll jump ship in a minute. Kinda like being stricken to using Quicken on the Mac. What a POS. Just waiting for the next greatest thing…..

By: John

John — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:00:10 +0000

IMHO, anybody who wanted a 1TB TiVo HD probably already upgraded theirs already. How can TiVo expect to ever be profitable by selling something that costs MORE than what people are used to paying already? I really question whether there is a very high demand for this product at this point considering the lack of any truly new features.

By: Ivan Y

Ivan Y — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:39:42 +0000

So this is basically a Series3 in HD enclosure? The price is at least $100 too high. The add-ons are less than $200: $150 for the drive (could be found for less) + $50 for Glo remote. So the question would be — is THX certification really worth $100.