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 7/15

Congrats! 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 screen

Enjoy!

-The TiVo Team

TiVo.com is offering a great deal on factory renewed TiVo HDs.  For a limited time, you can pickup a TiVoHD for as little as $179.99 (plus free shipping).  As always, all factory renewed TiVos include TiVo’s regular warranty as well as a 30 day money back guarantee.

This is the best deal I’ve ever seen on the TiVoHD so, if you’re in the market for a new DVR you might want to go ahead and take advantage of this offer….

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?

Earlier today, I finally got around to installing my Western Digital DVR Expander Drivewhich I received via the now defunct TiVo rewards program. As expected, the installation process was extremely easy. Thanks to this drive, I can now record up to 86 hours of high definition content on my TiVoHD (before I installed this drive I could only record 20 hrs.)!  I’m planning on posting a video of the installation process however, until I get the video up here’s some pictures that I took while I unboxed the drive.

I just received an email from Amazon.com letting me know about the Samsung/TiVoHD dealwhich I blogged about a couple of days ago.  At first I didn’t pay much attention to the email however, after reading through it I noticed that Amazon is offering three months of TiVo service for free along with free “White Glove Delivery” service.  This makes the deal even better then I had originally thought it was.  If only I needed another TiVoHD I would probably take advantage of this offer.  I’m currently in the market for a LCD HDTV and I’m thinking about going with either a Samsung or a Sony HDTV.  If you are interested in this offer you can head on over to Amazon’s websitewhere you can see which TVs qualify for this offer.

As someone who has shown an interest in digital video, you might like to know that through June 6 you can get a a free TiVO HD DVR and three months of free TiVo service when you purchase some of our most popular Samsung HDTVs from Amazon.com, including Wireless Plasma HDTVs that eliminate all of those connecting wires.

Use your TiVo HD DVR to record standard or high-definition programs; pause live TV; and transfer photos, music, or movies from your PC to your HDTV easily.

To top it all off, we offer FREE White-Glove Delivery on all 27-inch or larger HDTVs purchased from Amazon.com.

If you haven’t already, you might want to head on over to GizmoLovers.com and enter your name for a chance to win a TiVo HD! The contest ends today (Friday) at midnight so you better hurry….

I’ll accept entries until midnight EST Friday, May 23, 2008 - that’s two weeks from now. Entering couldn’t be simpler - just leave a comment. That’s right - all it takes is a comment, and one comment only. Take note - if you leave multiple comments you’ll be disqualified.

Thanks to David & Michael, I just went ahead and placed an order for a DVR Expander from TiVo’s dieing rewards program. After I added the DVR Expander to my cart I ended up having 6500 points to spare so, I went ahead and ordered a couple of items which I will be giving away on this site…..

Thanks again Dave and Mike. Your generosity is really appreciated!

GizmoLovers.com is hosting a contest for a TiVo HD! If you want to be entered into the contest you better hurry because the giveaway ends at midnight on April 18th. Additional rules and information can be found on GizmoLovers.com….

I finally got around to setting up my brand new TiVo HD which I received via the rewards program. I currently have it connected to a standard def TV however, I plan on getting an HDTV for the back room sometime in the near future. Here’s some pictures that I took during the unboxing process…