TiVo Premier and Premier XL announced

Last week, TiVo announced the long-awaited update to their TiVo HD named the TiVo Premier and Premier XL. I still have my trusty Series 2, but it’s been getting a little long in the tooth lately and couldn’t really keep up with all of the new ways of getting media and TV shows these days. I have been experimenting with other services and HTPC setups, but I think the Premier might bring me back into the TiVo love-fest once again.

I discovered the TiVo maybe 4 years ago and got my first one, a single-input Series 2 and had a blast upgrading it myself and tripling the storage on it. When we set up the bonus room for the kids and had a TV in there, I decided to get a dual-tuner Series 2 for the main TV room, and move the single-tuner model into their bonus room. Networking them together, I could share their “Dora the Explorer” and “SpongeBob” episodes so that whichever TV they were watching they could watch any recorded show. I fell in love with the Season Pass feature, as it was a “set-and-forget” setup that recorded every show they (and my wife and I) wanted to watch without having to worry. When they updated the software to make the “Kidz Zone”, basically having a parent-moderated list of shows they could watch instead of every show (as much as we love “Lost”, probably not appropriate for my 6 year old to stumble on), we were sold on TiVo. We played a little with the Amazon on Demand feature, and things were great.

Fast-foward (or commercial-skip) a couple of years, and our TV watching habits have changed, though. Even the kids don’t watch as much anymore, which I’m actually grateful for. One reason was as the TVs we had got bigger, standard definition programing started to look antiquated in a way. Standard def either stretched the screen to fill (making the resolution even worse) or couldn’t take advantage of the wide screen. We had a High Definition antenna to pick up local stations, and then also found that we get high-def local channels over the digital cable feed. Problem was, we couldn’t record those channels. Once you start watching any television in higher definition, it’s really hard to go back to the standard def signals.

We started to get more and more of our television off the web. Hulu or other network sites for new episodes (since they only show the latest 5), iTunes, Amazon on Demand, we would wind up watching more and more off my laptop while I helped Teri with her eBay stuff. It’s convenient watching on my laptop, but sometimes, you just want to watch on the big screen TV and get that couch experience again. But as I went back to the TiVo, and its recording resolutions, it just felt so last-generation and hard to get excited about. I looked at upgrading to the TiVo HD, but there really didn’t seem to be a pressing reason to get that over the current system we had – a lot of money outlay for, truthfully, just being able to record high-def programming. While I still love the TiVo interface (and it’s easy enough that my kids can use it without any issues), it started to feel like it hadn’t kept up with the times. I tried a few other options – Windows Media Center now rules in the bonus room, primarily for the ability to have the entire DVD library on the hard drive in there so we no longer scratch discs. I tried XMBC and Boxee, and actually have been using Boxee on my old Macbook Pro that we keep as a spare (iPhone remote-control FTW!), but to tie up a computer for that seems to be overkill. I was excited for the Boxee Box, but you’re limited to what the web services (Hulu, network web-sites, etc) let you see, with this week’s exodus from Hulu of “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” show. I was always wishing that something would come along that could do what my trusty TiVo could do but be updated for the times.

Enter the TiVo Premier and Premier XL. This is a pretty comprehensive redesign of the hardware and software, which is something TiVo really needed to do in order to stay relevant in today’s internet-media world. Let’s start with the hardware. The box itself is thinner, and does away with one of the legacy inputs that was carried over from the Series 2 dual-tuner units. One input is still the trusty old coax cable, though it can interpret digital channels and HD channels now instead of just analog before. But instead of the second composite video (also analog) input, they now have the CableCard slot. The intention is for this new TiVo to completely replace the cable box that you rent from the cable company, integrating it into the TiVo itself. Dealing with a Series 2 system, and having to use the old-school “IR-blaster” method of controlling the cable system, this would be a welcome change. I know, I know, the Series 3 / TiVo HD units had cable card inputs too, but as I said those systems themselves didn’t really give any other compelling reasons to upgrade. So, as it works, you trade in the cable decoder box for a CableCard and have them come out and install it in your TiVo. One bonus, as I’ve found out contacting Cox Communications (our cable company here in Phoenix), the CableCard is also cheaper to rent – the cable box we have is something like $10.95/mo and the HD box is $12.95/mo, while the CableCard is $2/mo. Sounds like a winning proposition to me, being thinner and getting rid of the cable decoder box at the same time will save a ton of room in my entertainment center, and I always love having to deal with less equipment and fewer cables.

The base model Premier has a 320GB hard drive and can hold 45 hours of HD programming. The Premier XL increases that storage to 1TB, and 150 hours of HD programming. As with the Series 2/Series 3/HD models, you can expand that as well through the eSATA port on the back, though I think that’s still limited to the Western Digital MyDVR Extender product. At least the price on that seems to have come into line with other external hard drives, so I can live with that. The Premier XL also adds full THX certification (like I have anything like that in my entertainment setup right now…) and the deluxe backlit remote. Now, earlier in the week with the initial announcement there were showing that remote sliding down to reveal a QWERTY keyboard that would make entering in information for searches SO much easier. Looking at the product page today, though, there is no mention of that remote – it’s only listed as a backlit remote, so I’m not sure if that changed and the new keyboard remote will be something extra to get after the fact. TiVo didn’t build wireless into the device (come on, TiVo, really?) but there’s still the 100mb Ethernet connection on the back. If you want to get your 802.11 b/g on, then you’ll still need to have an external USB wireless adapter. But if you’re thinking of streaming hi-def content to or from this box, you probably want to be on the wired connection anyway.

The software and user interface is where the Premier really shines, though. Updated for the High-Def and internet age, it takes advantage of larger screens, allowing them to keep the same familiar TiVo feel while adding some visually appealing show artwork and picture in picture functionality. Netflix streaming and Amazon on Demand have nice shiny interfaces now, all while keeping the TiVo feel. Search is expanded to include Netflix, Amazon on Demand, and Blockbuster as hits, and the Swivel Search that TiVo introduced a while back incorporates that as well. So, for example, I’m watching “Fringe” and I say to myself, “I just love Walter . . . John Noble, I wonder what else he’s been in?”.  I can use the Swivel Search on his name (all while keeping the episode I’m watching playing in the picture in picture area) and see all of the movies and TV shows that he’s been in, as well as direct ways to watch them. Say I see “The Return of the King” as one of the movies he’s been in, it will show me the cable listings of when it might be on so I can set it to record, it will show me I can purchase or rent it from Amazon on Demand, or stream it from Netflix or Blockbuster. All in the same place, all without even having to leave the show I’m watching. And when I do watch it, none of this 4:3 analog ratio on my 16:9 TV . . . shows and movies can play in their hi-def glory through the HDMI connection. Heck, the Premier XL is even THX certified for both audio and video (like I have anything close to that kind of a setup in my meager entertainment system). Add the ability to encode and upload videos to the TiVo itself (I know this worked on my series 2, although a little buggy – have to test it on the Premier), and I’ve got my all-in-one entertainment center that I’ve always wanted with the perfect interface.

The TiVo Premier is $299 while the Premier XL will set you back $499. If you’re a current subscriber to TiVo, check your Upgrade page, you get a special deal that makes that XL look reaaaal shiny at $100 off. You can pre-order now (I’m going to) and they start shipping in early April.

TiVo Premier Product page

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