It’s been rumored for weeks, and it’s now here! The new, lower cost HD TiVo for cable is announced, and we expect to have stock and begin shipping on August 1. You can preorder one (in a variety of sizes) on our HD TiVo for Cable page.
The new unit is called the TiVo HD. It’s similar in a lot of ways to a TiVo Series3, but it does have some important differences. Based on what we know, here are the differences:
CableCARD slots on the front – Might make life with a difficult cable installer a bit easier. Since the eject button is something you can see rather than just feel in most cases, this should work better in general.
Composite outputs – The newer unit has only one set of composite video and L/R audio out. Probably not an issue for most since the composite doesn’t carry HD, and if you need secondary audio, it would likely be via optical out. Also, these connectors provide one-way analog signals and can easily be multiplied with a splitter.
Front Digital Display – The newer unit omits the digital display from the front. This is a pretty nice feature of the original Series3 unit. It shows what shows are recording currently. It also functions as a clock.
THX – The new unit has no THX certification, and the unit is likely to be louder than the original Series3.
Remote – The original Series3 TiVo ships with the TiVo Glo backlit, programmable remote. The newer HD unit ships with the standard TiVo remote.
Buttons on the unit: The new HD unit has only a format button on the front, while the TiVo Series 3 has navigation buttons as well.
Full info here on our TiVo Series3 v. TiVo HD comparison.