Western Digital recently released an updated expander drive complete with 1TB (Terabyte) worth of storage! The device can be purchased from Amazon.com for $167.70.
Thanks to the readers of this site, I’ve been using a 500GB expander drive for quite a while now. Installation was extremely easy and it sure is nice to be able to record an overwhelming amount of HD!
Update (4/25): The winner is… Trevor. Thanks to WeaKnees for making this giveaway possible and thanks to all those who participated.
Update (4/19): This device will not work in the default RAID mode for Series 3 DVRs since the Series 3 is unable to boot from the eSATA port. That being said, you can still use this device to extend your storage if you own Series 3. Sorry for the confusion. I guess you learn something new every day….
Thanks to this commenter and Micheal Adberg (WeaKnees Co-Founder) for setting me straight about S3 support.
Have you had a chance to read my review of the WeaKnees RAID 1 expander drive? Would you like one of these drives for your Series 3 or TiVo HD DVR? Well, today may be your lucky day because, the kind folks at WeaKnees.com have agreed to giveaway one of these devices ($349 value) to a reader of this site!
If you’d like to be entered in the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post saying you are interested. I’ll randomly pick a winner within about a week. Note that this device only works with a Series 3, TiVo HD, or TiVo HD XL DVR.
Here is some additional information on the device directly from WeaKnees’ website:
500GB x 500GB External Hard Drive System
70 Hours HD or 650 Hours SD
Two drive external storage system. Automatically backs up all of your recorded programs and settings to a second hard drive. If either drive fails, you have automatic backup. Two brand new 500 GB specialized DVR hard drives in a custom-built, cool, quiet, external case with internal whisper-quiet fan. Includes installation instructions, eSATA cable and drive stand.
ZatzNotFunny was first to report that TiVo is set to launch a new Search panel which looks a lot like the rumored UI changes that we saw back in Sept. of last year. The new interface will be available in High Definition and according to the press release, TiVo plans on offering this new feature to TiVo HD and Series 3 customers starting today (Wednesday, Jan 7th)!
I’m not sure if there are other UI changes coming however, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is just the start. Let me know when/if your DVR gets this upgrade.
The following screenshots are courtesy of Dave Zatz. Additional screenshots can be found on GizmoLovers’ post.
TIVO TRANSFORMS THE TV WORLD ONCE AGAIN BY OFFERING A NEW WAY TO SEARCH & DISCOVER CONTENT
Introduction of New TiVo Search Means Channel Surfing is a Now Thing of the Past Find What You’ve Been Missing
LAS VEGAS, NV. January 7, 2009 -TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today showed the future of television, unveiling a redesigned TiVo Search feature that offers improved search results with a completely new High Definition design, all at no additional charge. TiVo Search brings users the power of choice, offering millions of pieces of content not available via cable or satellite, along with thousands of linear TV choices. Delivered via broadband, TiVo Search combines a graphics rich experience with simplicity and relevancy that makes it a truly revolutionary way to get more out of your TV.
“What Google did for the Internet, TiVo is now doing for the TV, bringing people a combination of excellent search results and innovative discovery that can’t be found anywhere else,” said Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo Inc. “TiVo has always been known as the best way to watch what you want, when you want it. Now we’re taking that to a new level, using TiVo technology to find just the right program from hundreds of channels and thousands of broadband options, all in seconds. It is clear TiVo is leading the way in providing more choice, and also leading the way in finding content quickly. TiVo Search is a new way to find what you’ve been missing.”
TiVo Search takes advantage of extra screen size afforded by high definition televisions by showing more details about a highlighted program than ever before, eliminating the need to dig down into each and every program to learn what it is about. It ensures the most important information is surfaced right up to the screen you’re already on, equaling less navigation and quick, accurate results.
“One of the best things about the new TiVo Search feature is how it works as a discovery engine, helping users find content they didn’t even know they could get,” said Jim Denney, Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo Inc. “We’ve added a new discovery bar that gives a quick guide to relevant content, and the search experience incorporates content from broadband sources like Amazon Video on Demand and YouTube. The newly tuned search engine also displays the most popular search results of the day automatically, even when typing only a single letter. Searches work not with just the first word of a title, but any word of the program, which is especially handy when looking for programs with specific search words.”
The new interface not only displays in high definition, it has a focus on finding high definition television content. TiVo search automatically recommends high definition television channels and episodes when users schedule a program to record. Additionally, users can now browse shows season by season and select any episode they want utilizing a robust episode guide. Depending on availability users may record content from cable/antenna, download it from Amazon Video on Demand, or use WishList searches to record it the next time the content is broadcast.
Seeing equals believing, and the new TiVo Search is no exception. Starting today broadband connected TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and HD XL subscribers can experience a beta version of the feature on their TiVo DVR, which can be found under Music, Photos, and Showcases. For an online preview and to provide your comments and feedback on this new search tool to TiVo visit www.tivo.com/tivosearch.
TiVo Search will be on display at the TiVo Inc Booth at the Consumer Electronics Tradeshow, Room N202 running January 8th – 11th.
As expected, TiVo has gone ahead and flipped the switch on their much anticipated Netflix partnership! Starting today, Series 3 & TiVo HD (XL) customers can now watch Netflix’s Watch Instantly content on their DVR.
I had a couple of minutes this morning to try it out and, I have to say that I’m extremely impressed. Being able to watch a movie instantly on your DVR is great. I plan on putting together a video later today but, for now, here’s the press release along with a couple of screenshots I was able to grab.
Thanks TiVo! I really do appreciate this update!
ALVISO, Calif. – December 8, 2008 — After announcing a groundbreaking partnership in October with Netflix Inc., TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced that subscribers to both Netflix and TiVo® Series3, TiVo HD, or TiVo HD XL can now access thousands of movies and TV episodes instantly streamed from Netflix directly to their TVs.
The service is being offered at no additional charge to customers who subscribe to both services. This morning subscribers can browse through an expanding library of more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes at www.netflix.com, add them to their Netflix instant Queue, and then watch them on TV with just a click of the TiVo remote. The library includes titles from every genre, with a modest selection of HD content available as well. Both standard and HD titles are expected to grow in the weeks and months ahead.
“With so much talk focusing on the economy these days, this partnership makes more sense than ever because it brings people more movies at home, offering substantially more entertainment options than cable or satellite,” said Tara Maitra, GM and Vice President of Content Services at TiVo Inc. “TiVo offers consumers everything they need from just one box. Not only great content from Netflix, but also movies from The Walt Disney Studios and Amazon, music from Rhapsody, videos from YouTube and even pictures from Picasa Web Albums and Photobucket. And that’s all in addition to TiVo’s core functionality that made us a favorite in the first place. It adds up to a one-of-a-kind value.”
“Netflix offers an unbeatable combination of convenience, selection, and value, which now extends to TiVo customers,” said Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Kilgore. This partnership is a win-win-win for Netflix, TiVo, and consumers alike.”
Movies are streamed from Netflix through TiVo DVRs via wired or wireless broadband connection and a Netflix Queue-based user interface. Members visit the Netflix Web site to add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues. Those choices will automatically be displayed on subscribers’ TVs and are available to watch instantly through the TiVo service. With the TiVo remote control users can browse their instant Queue, make selections right on the TV screen, as well as read synopses and rate movies. In addition, they have the option of pausing, fast-forwarding, rewinding and re-starting whenever they wish.
For more information on how to have movies instantly streamed from Netflix via your TiVo DVR visit www.tivo.com/netflix
Note that the quality of the video is a lot better that what’s shown in these screenshots. I use my Slingbox in order to take screenshots of my TiVo. This is what’s introducing the compression artifacts.
Both ZatzNotFunny and GizmoLovers alerted me to the fact that TiVo has started to rollout version 11 of their DVR software to both TiVo HD and Series 3 DVRs.
Just today, I received a message letting me know that my Series 3 and TiVo HD have received the update. Other than one menu being renamed, it doesn’t look like a lot has changed however, I suspect that this update was put in place in order to get HD DVRs ready for the much anticipated Netflix partnership.
Let me know if your DVR receives the update and if you find anything that is new….
Back in January of this year, TiVo announced their plans to discontinue the Series 3 DVR. While not surprised by this news, I was kind of left wondering how TiVo was going to accommodate for some of the features that the Series 3 has to offer.
Well, just today TiVo announced a new DVR called the TiVo HD XL. As expected, this DVR includes many of the features that were included in the Series 3 as well as a couple of new enhancements. To set it apart from the “regular” TiVo HD, the XL includes a 1TB harddrive which is capable of recording 150 hours of HD content! Just like the Series 3, the XL also includes a glo-remote as well as THX certification.
Like the Series 3, the DVR costs a considerable amount more than the “basic” TiVo HD. At the time of this writing, you can pickup the new DVR for $599.99 from either Amazon.com or directly from TiVo’s very own website.
Let me know if you end up getting the XL. I’d love to hear what you think about this new DVR. In the mean time, you might want to head on over to Dave Zatz’s website so that you can check out some of the pictures he has taken. I found it especially interesting how the internals of the XL resemble the internals of the “regular” TiVo HD.
Back in March I blogged about TiVo’s plan to offer YouTube content on your Series 3 and TiVo HD DVRs. Well, as I had expected, the 9.4 software upgrade will include YouTube support. My blogging buddy Dave Zatz was lucky enough to get his hands on the 9.4 upgrade and he has produced the following video (embedded below) showcasing the new functionality. Another cool thing about this upgrade is that the YouTube content will be H.264 encoded which means that the upgrade will enable H.264 on the Series 3 and TiVo HDs!
If you want more information you should head on over to TiVo’s press release as well as on TiVo’s website. For now all you can do is sit back and wait for your DVR to get the upgrade. I would expect that TiVo will update their priority page sometime in the near future. When they do I’ll be sure to mention it on this site.
Dave Zatz has alerted me to the fact that TiVo has started to rollout their 9.4 software update for the TiVoHD and Series 3 DVRs. According to a thread on TiVo Community, the update will include a number of new features including the ability to browse the guide while watching a previously recorded content! Along with this feature, the update also appears to include support for the much anticipated SDV dongle (more info here) as well suport for a “Network Remote Control”.
Let me know if you DVR receives this update. I’d love to hear what you think about some of the new features.
Subject: You have a new service update!
From: The TiVo Team
Date: Tue 7/15Congrats! You’ve just received the Summer 2008 TiVo Service Update for TiVo HD and Series 3 DVRs, including these new enhancements to your TiVo Experience:
*Play or Delete a Folder
Play or delete an entire folder of programs with a single button press (including kids shows, music videos ext). Highlight a folder and press PLAY to play all the shows in sequence. Pres CLEAR to delete the entire folder.*Browse the Guide Any Time
Press the GUIDE button to display the program guide over what you’re watching: live TV, a previously recorded program, or even a video download.*Jump Forward in the Guide
When the Guide is on-screen, press the ADVANCE to jump 24 hours ahead. Press INSTANT REPLAY to go back 24 hours.*Find a Station in the Guide
Now you can search for a station “call sign” within the Guide, e.g. KQED, WPIX, MSNBC. When viewing the program guide, press ENTER to bring up Guide Options, then SELECT Find by call sign.*Toggle Closed Captioning On and Off
The Closed Captioning icon in the Channel Banner now toggles closed captioning on and off.*Review Thumb Ratings
To display a list of all programs that you have rated, select Find Programs, then TiVo Suggestions. Press ENTER to bring up the Review Thumbs screenEnjoy!
-The TiVo Team
TiVo has gone ahead and extended the $200 Series 3 rebate (PDF). This offer is good until August 30th, 2008. Thanks to this rebate, you can now pickup a Series 3 for $392.45
If the Series 3 rebate doesn’t have you interested you might want to pickup a refurbished TiVo HD for $200($249.40 brand new).
I own a TiVo HD as well as a Series 3 DVR. To be honest, I like my Series 3 better then my HD mainly because I enjoy the OLED display along with the Glo remote which comes standard with the Series 3.
What do you think about the Series 3? Would you pay an extra ~$143 to get a Series 3?
Over the past couple of days I’ve received the following feedback via this site’s “contact me” form. Rather then answer each of these questions with a personal email, I’ve decided to post my response here so that hopefully it will benefit somebody else. If you’d like to add anything to my response please feel free to leave a comment.
Chris wrote:
I like your blog, but the intellitxt ads are very annoying.
My response:
Chris, thanks for sending in this feedback. I’m sorry to hear that the Intellitxt ads are annoying you. I definitely don’t want these ads to annoy you and that is why back in Sept. of last year I installed a WordPress plugin which reduced the number of ads that “regular” TiVo blog readers see. A regular reader is somebody who has left a comment. If you’d like, you can leave a comment on this post and from that point forward (assuming you don’t delete your cookies) you should not see any of the Intellitext ads. If you don’t want to leave a comment, you could also install a Firefox addon known as AdBlock (just like you suggested). I hope my response makes your TiVoBlog reading experience that much better. In the future I may get rid of Intellitxt ads entirely.
Mai wrote:
Hi. I am new to Tivo. I stumble upon your blog as I was trying to find a way to get TiVo Desktop 2.6.1 to allow me to transfer files directly from my TiVo to my Seagate FreeAgent Pro 500GB usb hard drive. I have read through several of your blog entries and feel you are more qualified than the people at TiVO technical support to help me. I have spoken to 5 agents and they said Tivo desktop is only capable of transferring to the default “My Tivo Recordings” folder created during install. (Then why do they give the option to “change” location in the program?) I have attempted to change the folder location for my recordings but I get an error that says “The specified service does not exist as an installed service”. What does that mean? Anyways, I have a very small 30GB hard drive on my laptop with only about 7.5GB free. I can only transfer 3 hour long SD shows at a time, then transfer those shows to the FreeAgent drive before I can transfer more shows to my laptop. Is there a way I can transfer directly to the Freegate? Your assistance would be much appreciated.
My response:
Mai, is it possible that you are having a problem with 2.6.1’s certificate? The following thread on TiVoCommunity suggest that you should update TiVo Desktop’s certs. Let me know if that works…
Andrew wrote:
Hi there, love the site, but was wondering if you could help me out. looking to buy an hd tivo and with the new rebate on the series 3, i was seriously considering it. my only hesitation is that theyre not making em anymore and i would guess have a new model coming soon since that came out in 2006. do you know of any rumors about a new tivo model? a post about that might be a good idea as the series 3 is now 2 years old and the tivo hd almost a year. there may be others like me wondering if they should just wait. thanks and keep up the good work.
My response:
Andrew, I understand your concern but I don’t think I would hold off on buying a Series 3 or TiVoHD simply because you’re worried about TiVo releasing a new DVR. There has been some rumors about a Series 4 or OCAP enabled TiVo however, I haven’t heard anything in quite some time. If I were you, I would go with a TiVoHD and then purchase an expander drive if you need the extra space. Don’t forget that TiVo is always adding new features to their DVRs. For example, sometime in the near future you will be able to watch YouTube and Disney Movies on your Series 3 and TiVo HD.
Bryan wrote:
I’m running Desktop 2.6.1 and the program won’t load. It returns the error message: “Unable to begin TiVo Desktop. Element missing”. I tried re-instlling the software to no avail. Any ideas on how to fix this?
My response:
Bryan,have you taken a look at this thread on TiVoCommunity? It looks as though you could be having a problem with the registry/TiVo Desktop cache.
Powered by Twitter Tools.
