TiVo Gets With The (Web) Program: Premiere DVR Debuts

The TiVo. Everyone knows the name, and everyone knows the purpose, but for whatever reason, the name that's associated with "DVR" isn't in too many homes. Many consumers simply opt to grab the DVR that is offered to them by their cable or satellite provider, mostly because it's cheaper on a month-to-month basis, and it's also a lot easier to get setup. A dedicated TiVo box is a separate purchase, and it still requires a monthly fee even after you pay the up-front price of the box itself. TiVo still has legions of dedicated fans who wouldn't use anything else to record their television programs, and this week the company is introducing their first new set-top box in years: the TiVo Premiere.

As you might expect, the highlight of this box is its ability to go online and pull down content from the world wide web. Much like many of the Blu-ray players on the market today, this unit can stream Pandora Internet Radio, and the tweaked user interface takes a good thing and makes it even better. TiVo calls the Premiere a bunch of things: "it's your new cable box, movie box, web box, and music box; it's the one box that gives you access to everything you want to get on your television and all with one remote. It's a true one stop shop for entertainment." There's also a brand new remote being offered as an optional accessory, and the slide-out QWERTY keyboard should be awesome for those who search listings on a regular basis.


Users can use the box to find content from YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Blockbuster on Demand and your local programming lineup, and since Flash is supported, you'll never have to worry about not being able to watch Flash videos. There's also an on-screen meter for showing how much capacity remains, and the TiVo Premiere box has up to 45 hours of HD storage space. If that isn't enough, the Premiere XL box holds up to 150 hours of high-definition or up to 1350 hours of standard definition programming. TiVo Premiere and TiVo Premiere XL boxes will be available in retail nationwide in early April, and they are available for pre-order today for $299.99 and $499.99 respectively.