Hasta La Gadget!

If the minature box doesn’t give it away then the word “Premiere” certainly does. That’s the first in the wild shot of TiVo’s inaugural Series 4 shifter riding the shelves of Best Buy. We’re told that the units are definitely in-house but are being withheld from shelves until March 28th (not the 27th as originally rumored but ahead of the official “early April” date) with a list price of $2,000 to prevent enthusiastic clerks from breaking the street date. So don’t go in demanding a $149.99 take home price (MSRP is $299) this morning just ’cause you saw it on Engadget, ok?

[Thanks, DS]

TiVo Premiere spotted in Best Buy with March 28th retail date originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

TiVo’s announcement of TiVo Premiere represents the most significant user interface overhaul for the device in years. Based on Adobe Flash and optimized for the high-definition screens that are likely to be paired with CableCARD programming, the new user interface blends together live, recorded, and broadband content. That presentation is more akin to what we’ve seen from Windows Media Center, and less like TiVo’s Series3 that segmented programming sources by type. TiVo has also beefed up its search capability, bringing it up to par with that of its only significant retail DVR competitor, Digeo’s Moxi.

The new interaction widens the user experience gap between TiVo and your average cable or satellite DVR, and TiVo has two other features that set it apart. First, no doubt reacting to the Moxi competition, TiVo long ago reinstated its lifetime service option that was so popular in the product’s early years. However, those who have opted for this plan through TiVo’s major platform upgrades over the years have endured more lifetime sentences than many a felon.

Continue reading Switched On: Thumbs up, thumbs down at TiVo Premiere

Switched On: Thumbs up, thumbs down at TiVo Premiere originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve had TiVo firmly on deathwatch since 2005, and although the company’s shares have recently surged with the launch of the TiVo Premiere and another legal victory over Echostar, things are still looking somewhat bleak: the Q4 numbers are in, and everyone’s favorite DVR company just posted a $10.2m loss. Why? For the same reason that’s plagued the company for five damn years now: it’s hard to sign up new subscribers when the cable company offers a similar good-enough product for less money, especially when TiVo can’t access cable VOD. And let’s be brutally honest here: we love TiVo and we’re more than excited to get our Premiere review units, but we don’t think a revised interface is going to stem the tide — almost every feature of the Premiere is available on the TiVo HD, after all. We’ve offered up our suggestions on how to re-energize the company in the past — that new QWERTY remote is a great start — but until TiVo stops playing ball with the same cable companies that actively try and cut it off at the knees and starts going for the jugular with features and pricing, we don’t think things are going to get any better.

TiVo posts $10.2m loss, remains on deathwatch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yes, there’s a certain other patent brouhaha in the news right now, but we’re not lying when we say these lawsuits take years to fully resolve. Take TiVo’s endless time warp patent lawsuit against EchoStar, which started in 2006 and involves just a single patent: the court of appeals just today affirmed the $200 million contempt judgment against EchoStar from September. Of course, EchoStar is going to appeal to the full appeals court — it always appeals — and if that doesn’t work we’d wager that this case will eventually be appealed to the Supreme Court for a second time. Don’t worry, everyone keep can keep recording Idol — this shouldn’t affect TiVo or DISH Network customers at all. Statements from both TiVo and EchoStar after the break.

Continue reading TiVo’s $200m damages award in EchoStar case affirmed, EchoStar to appeal (again)

TiVo’s $200m damages award in EchoStar case affirmed, EchoStar to appeal (again) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo, the box that pretty much changed the way we watched TV, was getting a little old. But that’s OK: The new TiVo Premiere looks like it might do the same thing all over again.

The new, hi-def Series 4 box, the smallest TiVo so far, not only shifts live programming like any other DVR, it also sucks in movies and TV from across the internet, letting you access Blockbuster, Netflix and Amazon content, YouTube and (this is huge) video podcasts. You can also stream music from Rhapsody and listen to radio on Live 365.

In short, the Premiere is the one set-top box you’ll need to access almost any content out there, all with the TiVo features you already know and love. Better still, the Swivel Search feature has been extended to search the internet, so in a few clicks you can track down movies featuring, say, a favorite actor and be streaming them to your TV.

There are two Series 4 models (and you’ll have to buy one — series 3 boxes cannot be upgraded): the Premiere with a 320-GB hard drive for $300, and the $500 Premiere XL with 1 TB, THX-certification and a backlit remote.

There are some oddities. Neither model has Wi-Fi built-in, which for a machine so obviously designed to connect to the internet is a rather cheap-looking omission. You’ll have to buy an 802.11b/g USB dongle for another $60, and the widescreen, HD interface is built on Flash which, although as a lot of content out there is still in Flash this isn’t so odd.

The original TiVo put an easy-to-use, almost telepathic DVR into the homes of regular people, essentially killing rigid TV schedules. It looks like the new Premiere could be the box that fulfills the promise of bringing internet content into your living room. And the podcast support, hidden under the label “web videos,” essentially puts a zillion amateur and niche shows onto the TV, bypassing the networks entirely. This could be the most disruptive product we have seen in years.

Both Premiere models will be available in April.

TiVo Premiere [TiVo]