TiVo adds Web, music, movies with Premiere
TiVo subscribers will be able to pull Internet content, music and movies onto their televisions more easily with new devices the digital-video recorder company announced Tuesday.
Called TiVo Premiere, the boxes boast Web-connected capabilities similar to what rival manufacturers, such as Boxee and Roku, have unveiled. TiVo hopes the devices will help the pioneering DVR company shore up a slipping subscriber base by catching up with how digital-era consumers increasingly seek out entertainment.
"It has never been this easy to get all of your entertainment in one place, on the big screen, in HD, right at your fingertips," TiVo President and CEO Tom Rogers said.
The new boxes, which will be available in early April, will combine access to digital cable television, movies, videos on the Web and music, including a planned app from Pandora online radio.
The TiVo Premiere, which will sell for $299, will have 320 gigabytes of storage and record up to 45 hours of high-definition programming or 400 hours of standard-definition fare.
The TiVo Premiere XL, retailing at $499, will have a terabyte of storage and will be capable of recording up to 150 hours in HD or 1,350 hours of standard-definition.
A new search function will let users browse for shows from premium cable channels and offer a new interface for broadband sources like Netflix, Blockbuster On Demand and Amazon, according to a release from TiVo.
"It's the one box that can give you access to almost anything you want, whenever you want it," Rogers said. "We've taken millions of pieces of content and organized it for you in a way that makes so much sense, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it."
The news release by TiVo took a cue from the "Lord of the Rings" franchise, calling the Premiere "the one box to rule them all."
The Tivo Premiere remote will feature a slide-out keyboard.