Last night at an over-the-top Applesque launch event, TiVo announced two new TiVo DVRs for cable, ATSC antenna and Verizon FiOS (but not for DIRECTV or AT&T Uverse).
TiVo is calling this one “THE ONE BOX TO RULE THEM ALL.”
The big pitch is that the Premiere “elegantly combines access to cable programming, movies, web videos, and music all in one box.”
TiVo’s goal with the Premiere is to integrate content from cable and the Internet into one user-friendly device. A brand-new HD interface (based on Adobe® Flash) will make it easier and prettier to find shows and content.
TiVo’s massive press release contains a load of features of the new interface. For example, with a mandated broadband connection (no phone modem allowed, at least not until a modem adapter is released), you can find programs from YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, or Blockbuster On Demand, plus options from the Web.
Not sure if TiVo paid KB for this one, but they boast of “Six-Degrees of Separation” using the new interface. According to TiVo, Premiere will settle debates over “where have I seen that actor before?” If you have a favorite actor, for example, you can view entire entertainment resumes and cast lists. And so on.
We haven’t yet tried it yet, but TiVo has incorporated a “30-second scan” feature, which let’s you blitz through 30-seconds in a second or two. We’ll wait to see whether the “real” 30-second skip can continues, but we’ve heard hints that it will still be there.
FINALLY, the Premiere will include an on-screen disk space meter that shows how much room is left to record and the ability to watch TV from within the Guide.
Ok, so what about capacity? What about upgrades? We fully intend to offer upgraded units once they are stable. Until then, The TiVo Premiere box has up to 45 hours of HD storage space or up to 400 hours of standard definition programming capacity. The TiVo Premiere XL box holds up to 150 hours of high-definition or up to 1350 hours of standard definition programming.
3D Glasses?! If you look carefully, you’ll see product shots that show glasses in the XL box. Sorry, not 3D. They are “THX Optimizer Blue Glasses” (aka cheap calibration mod or Halloween costume, take your pick), that are “designed for adjusting Color and Tint settings.”
More Accessories as well: TiVo is releasing a new (more-expensive) wireless N adapter in May. Later this year, TiVo will release a QWERTY remote using Bluetooth. Also, we expect to see a phone adapter for those unable to connect to a broadband network.
For the latest and greatest info, keep reading the blog, and to pre-order a TiVo Premiere, visit our website.
3 replies on “TiVo® Launches the Series 4 TiVo Premiere”
The Blue glasses are an old TV pro trick. High end studio monitors will have a “Blue” button, which cuts out all the colors but blue. This does the same thing.
You bring up the blue filter (or put on the blue glasses) and then put color bars on the monitor. You should see a pure alternating white-black-white-black pattern. (Or, blue-black-blue-black, with the glasses.) If you don’t, adjust the hue/tint until you do. Then, you turn the color up until the dividing line between the dark and light starts to blur, and then turn it back until it juuuust gets sharply defined again.
Boosh. Now you’ve setup the color and hue.
I noticed that the TIVO Premiere only has one CableCard slot for a single M-card. The previous HD box had two. I currently have an HD box with two S-cards installed. I contacted my cable company (CableOne in Boise, ID) and they do not carry M-cards. Anyone else have this problem? Did TIVO blow it by not having a second slot?
From the markings on the back panel it almost looks like they left room for a second slot but made a last minute change.
Is there any way to make the premiere work with an IPTV signal from the cable provider?