TiVo HD XL DVR: 150 hours of HD recording, $599.99, available now
TiVo Unveils the Ultimate DVR for Digital Cable, Ready to Record More HD Content than Ever
TiVo is launching something extra special at this year's CEDIA show, the TiVo HD XL, – a brand new premium DVR that comes with extra large recording capacity
Exclusive THX Certification Ensures Audio and Video Excellence
Alviso, CA -- September 04, 2008 – TiVo Inc., the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), announced today the launch of the TiVo® HD XL Digital Video Recorder. Available online today, the TiVo HD XL box offers more recording capacity than any other DVR available, be it satellite or cable. Boasting 150 hours of high definition television recording capacity, the HD XL has enough space to appease even the most devoted entertainment fans. The TiVo HD XL is also THX® Certified to ensure it delivers accurate and exceptional sound and video playback in your home theater.
"With so much HD content now available, we felt it was vital to offer consumers an easy way to record as much television programming as they'd like to watch at a later time without ever having to worry about capacity," said Andrew Morrison, Director of Product Platforms at TiVo. "What is great about the XL is it gives content lovers plenty of room for all the programming they love, saving them from having to decide if they need to prematurely delete a favorite movie or a big game memory when space gets tight. Satellite or cable DVRs simply can't match it."
On top of increased recording capacity, the TiVo HD XL DVR offers all the innovative broadband features that TiVo lovers have grown accustomed and addicted to. Users can download thousands of movies & TV shows directly to the TV, browse and watch endless YouTube videos, listen to thousands of songs from Rhapsody, or view hundreds of music videos from Music Choice.
Features exclusive to TiVo HD XL include the 150 hours of HD recording space, THX certification, a Series3 premium backlit remote control and an included HDMI cable.
Similar to TiVo HD, dual tuners allow subscribers to record two different shows in HD at the same time, while watching a third pre-recorded show. The TiVo HD XL is designed to fit seamlessly into the most discerning home theater systems, compatible with HD digital cable, analog cable and over-the-air digital HD (ATSC).
As with the TiVo HD, the TiVo HD XL box delivers the best in high definition entertainment, allowing the consumer to experience TiVo's acclaimed service features, such as Season Pass™ recordings, Universal Swivel Search and WishList® searches, in sharp, vivid high definition images. Extensive video analysis and performance testing by THX ensures content will always record and playback at the maximum quality and resolution.
"TiVo pioneered the DVR category, and they are maintaining that position with the new high performance, high capacity TiVo HD XL," said Dr. Michael Rudd, Chief AV Architect at THX. "As more consumers adopt high definition programming, they will expect their recorded content to reflect the same level of quality and consistency as the original broadcasts. With a Terabyte hard drive, the TiVo HD XL lets users enjoy more HD movies, sports and other programs in high definition than ever before, and THX certification ensures that the quality is always superb."
The TiVo HD XL box joins the existing TiVo product line, and is available online today for $599.99 at www.tivo.com. Other retailers that will unveil TiVo HD XL as early as next week include Magnolia Home Theater, Amazon, and various other high-end retailers and customer installers.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John @ Sep 4th 2008 2:16AM
Alright, I'm about to have a heart attack if TiVo released a new DVR w/o SDV support. I'll be damned if I have to pony up $600 plus subscription plus have another damn box hangin' out the back of it just so it can talk to my cable company. Don't even get me started on tru2way, which ought to be there also if this thing wants to remain relevant beyond a year. Nice curt press release, but TiVo hasn't even posted this news on their own website. I'm holding my breath but I'm fearing the worst.
Second, what's with the casing. Totally cheap! Just like the TiVo HD, not even an upgrade in the LEDs???? I hope there is some difference in the display, cuz otherwise TiVo just finally decided to slap a larger hard drive in the TiVo HD to call it a new product. Maybe tweaked it to get THX certification, but I assume a check will do that also. No thank you, I'll keep my Series3 which actually looks the premium price it cost, and attach any eSATA drive I come across to work with it.
Finally, I think TiVo totally missed a humongous opportunity to give themselves a head start by not tying this into the Olympics somehow. With all the coverage NBC was putting out, how could TiVo not get this product out in time to capitalize on its biggest selling point: the ability to record more than 32 hrs of HD programming! I'm stunned, major missed opportunity. Could have ran special commercials along with NBC in the run-up to the Olympics, and had this in stores around the 4th of July. Somebody fire the marketing department!
I gotta give it to the DirecTiVo announcment from yesterday, it sounds a whole hell more compelling than where TiVo is going solo at the moment. Maybe my tune will change once we know if this thing is SDV and tru2way compatable, but I'm not liking the looks of the press release.
boulderhorn @ Sep 4th 2008 9:09AM
I pay 5 dollars a month for my comcast HD DVR box... sure it has less recording time and the menus are crappy, but for $60 bucks a year i think i'll stick with the cheapo unit... which gets an upgrade (for free) every 18months or so.
I suppose if you have a lifetime Tivo subscription that this might be a good choice as an upgrade but wow $600 is a lot of $$$ to watch some tv.
Eric @ Sep 4th 2008 9:10AM
SDV support will be done via an external tuning resolver supplied by your cable company. You don't want that built into your DVR, or you could be locked into a single head-end type.
mntwister @ Sep 4th 2008 10:02AM
Wow, very high price. When I signed up with Dish Network, I got the 622 dvr which takes about 35-40 hours of high def. This costs 5.00 a month and the dvr was free with installation (no fee like Directv charges). Then I paid a one time fee of $30.00 and that enabled the external hard drive feature. I now have 3 500gb hard drives full of hd movies and some specials (number of hard drives you can use is unlimited), much cheaper this way.
The only problem with storing movies like this is that any drive can fail at any time. I had a friend lose a Seagate 750gb drive full of programming, and Seagate could not repair it, thus my preference for owning a hard copy on and and blu-ray.
Justin @ Sep 4th 2008 10:33AM
Tivo Series3 HD DVR can be bought refurbished for $349.99 and it has THX. You can get some external hard drives and increase your storage. So other than the internal larger storage what's the difference?
swilson23 @ Sep 4th 2008 11:12AM
Future support and upgrades.
andrew @ Sep 5th 2008 7:10AM
This TiVO might be expensive but there is no comparison between TiVO and the cable companies crap boxes. You have to live with one for about a month to truly understand.
Jon @ Sep 5th 2008 9:15AM
Seems like a big jump for just a bigger hard drive, slightly different remote, and the George Lucas tax. I upgraded my ordinary TiVo HD with a bigger drive and got a Harmony One remote for a similar cash outlay. It's not THX certified, but then I have given George Lucas enough money on other THX stuff to know I'm not missing out.