Several people on TiVoCommunity have reported that their new Series 2 dual tuner TiVo has been rebooting at random times.  Nobody seems to have a solution to this problem however, if enough people call TiVo I’m sure that it will get fixed.  TiVo is normally pretty good about getting out a fix ASAP.

Like any “first” generation device there are bound to be problems.  Hopefully it’s not a hardware problem and only a software fix is required.  Stay tuned if you are having this problem….

I just got back from a five day business trip where I wasn’t able to access this website using the hotel’s internet connection.  For some reason, it appears as though the hotel was blocking my site and several others.  Strange!

In any case, here’s what happened over the past couple of days.  I guess it’s better to be late then never :).

• Gizmodo hands on review with the dual tuner Series 2 TiVo (thanks Mike)
• TiVo partners with Brightcove to distribute video content (thanks MegaZone)
• CompUSA is giving away a TiVo + WiFi adapter with the purchase of a laptop (thanks MegaZone)
• Tivo Ads Commercials On Demand

Back on March 28th this site and several others broke the news about TiVo releasing a dual tuner Series 2 DVR. Well, the lucky bastards over at Engadget and CNET got their hands on one before anybody else. The 80 hr. version is currently available for $254 with a prepaid one year subscription. TiVo’s own press release states the following:

“We’ve been hearing from our subscribers that they wanted a TiVo DVR that could record two shows at once,” said Jim Denney , Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo. “With the TiVo Series2 DT DVR, we’ve delivered that capability to our customers at a very affordable price.”

“We are excited to bring the new TiVo Series2 DT DVR into our stores,” said Rick Bickford, Merchandise Manager at Circuit City . “TiVo is one of our most well-loved brands and we’re confident that the feature enhancements and low price point are going to make the TiVo Series2 DT DVR a big hit.”

The TiVo Series2 DT DVR will join the existing TiVo product line, and is available in an 80-hour model priced at just $99.99, after rebate and service activation. It will also be available at tivo.com bundled with the TiVo service.

This is great news for TiVo however, I don’t think I am going to buy one simply because I am waiting on the Series 3 TiVo. In any case, this is a great DVR for somebody who simply wants to record multiple analog channels.

Update 03/31: As somebody pointed out in the comments for this post, Amazon.com has since removed these DVRs from their website. It sure does look like TiVo doesn’t want the public to know about these new DVRs just yet….

Here’s what I’ve been able to come up with on the new dual tuner TiVo. Until TiVo announces something this is all just speculation.

• Amazon.com says that the unit will be available starting: May 15, 2006.
  Now the site has “date first available as”: March 29, 2006. I don’t know what to think…

• This post on TiVo Community has a supposed picture of the new DVR (shown above). The picture hasn’t been confirmed however, the individual who posted it said that he got it “through TiVo’s distribution chain”.
• It appears as though there is going to be a 180 hr (TCD649180) and 80 hr (TCD649080) version available.

Does anybody else have any more information that they would like to share? This is all I’ve come up with thus far.

Disclaimer: Just so you know, all of the links above use my Amazon associate account…

Dave Zatz (digg link) is the first to report that TiVo is offering a new 180 hour Series 2 TiVo (TCD649180) with built-in ethernet and dual-tuners! A number of sites including Amazon(associate link) & Buy.com allow you to pre-order the device. I haven’t found information anywhere which states when the DVR will start shipping.

Amazon.com lists the following specs:

• Does not support recording from two digital cable or satellite channels at once
• Record shows from two basic cable channels, or one basic cable and one digital cable channel, at once.
• Up to 180 hours recording capacity
• Includes Ethernet and USB ports, so connecting to your home network is a snap
• Only TiVo offers exclusive features like WishList searches, Season Pass recordings, TiVoToGo transfers, plus new online services like music, photos, and more!

This is truly a dream come true for all you TiVo users who would like a TiVo with dual-tuners. I definetly didn’t expect TiVo to offer an updated version of the Series 2 TiVo. Just two days ago I put up a post saying that TiVo should release a lightweight version of the Series 3 TiVo for those users who don’t need all the features that the Series 3 TiVo will provide. Apparently this update is exactly what I was asking for….

I’m not sure that I am going to buy one because I am waiting for the Series 3 TiVo. If however, you want dual-tuners and don’t care about HD support then I would recommend going with this DVR. Amazon(associate link) & Buy.com are currently taking pre-orders for around $331.55.

Update (4:49PM): Amazon also has an 80 hour dual tuner available for $236.55 (spotted on ZatzNotFunny).

Stay tuned to this site for more news and information on the new dual-tuner TiVo. As soon as I hear more I will let everybody know…