REVIEW DATE: 07.24.07
$250.00 - $300.00
Editor's Note: TiVo recently released the Fall 2007 Service update for TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD DVRs. This update enables the eSATA port for use with approved external hard drives like the Western Digital MY DVR Expander, which adds additional recording space to your TiVo. The update also includes recent Rhapsody and Amazon Unboxed enhancements, multi-room support, and the long-awaited TiVoToGo support. I was able to verify the My DVR Expander support (check back soon for my review), as well as TiVoToGo to both Windows PCs (with Tivo Desktop 2.5 Plus) and Macs (with Roxio Toast 8).
TiVo fans and fanatics rejoice! The TiVo HD gives old and new TiVo users the HDTV quality they want without the steep $800 price of last year's TiVo Series 3 HD. That's because it's basically the "TiVo Series 3 light" that has been rumored since the arrival of the Series 3. Understandably, a few Series 3 (S3) features have been left out to make the TiVo HD more affordable. Even so, most users won't miss them. This is the high-def TiVo you've been waiting for.
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Late in 2006, TiVo released its Series 3 HD. Although the S3 was innovative and groundbreaking, its price was a little high. TiVo will still offer the Series 3 HD to users willing to pay for its larger hard drive, OLED front-panel display, and THX certification for use with home theater systems. More frugal shoppers should check out the new TiVo HD. It retains most of the functionality of the fancy S3, but with a much more palatable $300 price.
Like the S3, the TiVo HD uses built-in tuners to record over-the-air ATSC HDTV, unscrambled QAM cable broadcasts, and premium channels, with the help of two CableCARD tuners. The CableCARD concept is similar to that of SIM cards on cell phones: You can rent the CableCARDs from your cable provider and insert them into whatever video-capable consumer electronics device you own. The CableCARD (like the SIM card) identifies you as a paying customer, so you'll get the level of service you paid for. In theory you could pop your CableCARD into flat-screen TVs, TiVos, other DVRs, and Windows Vista MCE PCs to access your standard and premium programming quickly.
You'll need to get the CableCARDs from your local cable company or FiOS TV provider. Renting one is usually cheaper than renting an entire DVR; the cost is generally $4 to $10 per month for two CableCARDs compared with $10 to $20 for a HD-capable DVR. But you'll still have to pay $8.31 to $19.99 per month for the TiVo service.
The TiVo HD is the same size as the S3. Clad in a glossy black and brushed-metal exterior, its box-shaped chassis is designed to fit into the average TV cabinet or home theater setup. It's about the size of a larger DVD, Blu-ray, or HD-DVD player, and the connections are in the back where you'd expect them.
The new unit retains the component-video, HDMI, S-Video, and composite-video outputs of the S3, as well as the thus-far disabled eSATA port for future hard drive expansion. It comes with a 160GB hard drive, good for about 180 hours of standard-definition TV recorded at "Basic" quality and 20 hours of HD content. This is less capacity than the S3, which has a 250GB hard drive that can store 300 hours of SDTV and 30 hours of HDTV. Dual USB ports support the TiVo's Wireless G network adapter, but this DVR is not enabled for external hard drives. (Not yet, anyway. Given that the TiVo community is an enthusiastic and technically savvy one, I'm sure that user-friendly hacks for the eSATA and USB ports are in the works. )
The TiVo HD did give up a few of the bells and whistles that the S3 model boasted. For example, it lacks the S3's THX certification, but that's a high-end feature designed for the hard-core videophile who needs to make sure his/her home theatre looks and sounds perfect. One feature you may miss is having a backlit programmable remote (handy for navigating in a darkened room and controlling other home theater components). The TiVo HD comes with a non-backlit but otherwise excellent remote that looks just like the Series 2 remotes of the past eight years. The Series 3 HD's backlit remote, the TiVo Glo, is available separately for $49.
As mentioned before, the TiVo HD has less space for recording programs: 180 hours of SD TV shows isn't bad, but you'll find yourself deleting those HD videos sooner, because there's space for only 20 hours of them. Last but not least is the removal of the front OLED display and navigation buttons. The navigation buttons are a nice feature, especially if you lose remotes. Ultimately, though, the buttons and OLED display aren't all that necessary.
Anyone familiar with a recent Series 2 or S3 TiVo will find most of the same navigation and viewing features here. Amazon Unbox now lets you order and download TV shows and movies directly to your TiVo (you once had to do the ordering from your PC, an unwelcome additional step). TiVo's Swivel Search function lets you find programs using tags (like searching a blog) or even with a "If you like this" feature, which uses TiVo 's suggestion engine to find new stuff to record. Swivel Search even searches online content on Amazon Unbox. KidZone creates a kid-friendly environment so that you can shield your children from more adult programming while letting them search for something to watch.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2161819,00.asp
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