After attempting to sell a cutting-edge DVR last year that records HD/SD content at a premium price of about $800, and in the face of mounting DVR competition from cable and others, TiVo this week began offering a scaled-down version of its HD DVR (dubbed “TiVo HD”) for less than half its first model’s original price points.
The new $300 unit, detailed on TiVo’s Web site, can capture up to 20 hours of HD content, 180 hours of SD, or a combination thereof. (The original TiVo HD DVR accommodated up to 32 hours of HD.) TiVo said the new unit can be pre-ordered and will be shipped to subs within two to three weeks from now—which is about the same time it will start shipping to mortar-store retailers. TiVo, whose brand name has become widely synonymous in America with “recording TV shows,” is allowing subs up to three years to pay off the new unit.
While this stripped down version of TiVo’s first HD DVR will be able to directly download HD and SD content from online movie and TV services, along with a few other convenient tasks, it does not have THX-certified (audio) like its more costly predecessor and is primarily designed to work only with cable systems.
