The *Official* TiVo Premiere Thread

[gweempose]

Since we now have at least six or seven different threads on the subject, I though we needed a place to start fresh. This thread should be used for hard facts, and discussion of those facts once the information has been made public. Not much time left now. Very exciting! :)

[MediaLivingRoom]

What are the specs?

[BlackBetty]

I vote for removal of this thread.

[ScottUrman]

Patience, patience...

[jmill]

there is a plenty of information in other threads already. We understand that you want to feel "cool" by starting the thread, but there is no need to duplicate info in 100 places.

[daveak]

This thread should be placed in the TiVo Premier Forum.

[gweempose]

... there is no need to duplicate info in 100 places.That's precisely why I started this thread.

[MickeS]

This thread was started too early. :)

[mchief]

Did Tivo specify what year this announcement was coming in???

[Luckyp79]

6:00PM EST is the start time. It looks like maybe 7pm est we should know some stuff. According to one of the blogs.

[ScratchFury]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10462438-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

[orangeboy]

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20100302/TiVoQwertyRemote_small_610x322.jpg

I really like that thing :)

And the A B C D buttons.

[adessmith]

Remote is freakin awesome!

[ScottUrman]

I *hate* having the live picture streaming from the corner. Sure hope there's a way of turning that off...

[Turtleboy]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10462438-1.html

[ScottUrman]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/dnptivo-premiere-and-premiere-xl-usher-in-a-brand-new-interface/

[MickeS]

I love that remote.

I wonder if they have finally gotten Rhapsody to work... :rolleyes:

[MickeS]

The remote is a Bluetooth remote - I wonder if it will work with a PC?

[jjberger2134]

TiVo finally caved on the Free Space Indicator. Personally, I never saw much of a need for it, but over the years that feature had to be one of the most asked for features, especially from newbies.

[innocentfreak]

One thing is I hope you can filter the search not to show things like Amazon since I already remove my PPV channels.

[gweempose]

That bluetooth remote is really slick! I'm also happy to see Pandora integration. Overall, these new boxes seem more evoltionary than revolutionary, but they are definitely a big step forward, in my opinion.

[ScottUrman]

One more blog post: http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2010-03/the-tivo-premiere-is-here/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ZatzNotFunny+%28Zatz+Not+Funny!%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

[smak]

Anybody catch a release date?

-smak-

[TWinbrook46636]

Still only dual-tuner and no built-in wifi. Only difference between the Premiere and Premiere XL is once again hard drive space and THX certification. Lame.

:down::down::down:

[aindik]

Anybody catch a release date?

-smak-

"April" was as specific as they got.

[WhiskeyTango]

Anybody catch a release date?

-smak-

I think I saw April 27 somewhere.

[jjberger2134]

Anybody catch a release date?

-smak-

Press Release said Early April

[jasonpot]

Does this thing use cablecards?

[davezatz]

Anybody catch a release date?

Early next month. I believe pre-orders will begin online tomorrow.

[Peter Miller]

Does this thing use cablecards?

Yes

[oosik77]

Pandora integration. I will be enjoying that one.

[Peter Redmer]

Moved to the new TiVo Premiere forum :)

[daveak]

Moved to the new TiVo Premiere forum :)

Good Idea. ;)

[innocentfreak]

Early next month. I believe pre-orders will begin online tomorrow.

You figure out where we are asking questions yet?

I am definitely curious on transfer times compared to TiVo HD. Whether the new chip can handle streaming or if TiVo even bothered to try it. Can you turn the live tv window off in the menus.

[cogx]

yawn

*yawn* Darn ya, you made me yawn... no wait, it was this new model.

[xboard07]

Any word if it streams or does it still do stupid transfers from Tivo Desktop?

[convergent]

Hmmm... still no way to stream so I can't do MRV with TWC... dang it. I was hoping they would have solved that one by now. I love the new UI... looks like they have added some nice stuff without killing the goodness of the old. The remote looks really nice, but I have two Harmony Ones. With a remote this nice, I wish they would make it programmable like a Harmony remote so you could have it control everything.

[bschuler2007]

Ok, so 1 ad will appear in top bar.. but is that an ad I see in the screen caps of the My Shows listings?

[innocentfreak]

According to the live blog, Tivo.com will be taking orders tomorrow with retail in April.

I wonder if TiVo.com has them in stock then.

[MapleLeaf]

The following from Dave Zatz's blog may make it more appealing for some lifetime subscribers to pick up a Premiere:

Additionally, TiVo’s got some nice upgrade offers for existing Lifetime subscribers. Which do not involve transferring service. Keep your existing unit subbed and get Lifetime on a new unit for 50% off ($200). Have Lifetime and want a monthly plan, instead? Take 20% off the Premiere hardware.

[gweempose]

Has it been officially confirmed that Amazon or other e-tailers will not carry these?

[TWinbrook46636]

What's with the "Cable Video ON DEMAND" graphic in this picture?

http://www.engadget.com/photos/tivo-premiere-ui-gallery/#2760473

[innocentfreak]

It is probably just a shot of the Comcast interface since they do make a comcast model.

[Scyber]

What's with the "Cable Video ON DEMAND" graphic in this picture?

http://www.engadget.com/photos/tivo-premiere-ui-gallery/#2760473

The engadget live blog mentions a partnership with RCN cable. RCN will be rolling out to all of RCNs markets in q2.

[bmgoodman]

OK, at first blush, I said, "Bluetooth, cool!" And THEN I wondered about my Logitech Harmony remote, which is IR. I can only assume that will still work?

Then I wonder about the 512 MB of flash memory, and I wonder if that means the OS will stay even if swapping out the hard drive?

Then I'm wondering, if only a little, is this ALL there is? I'm NOT trying to rain on the parade, but.... You know what, I'll just keep it to myself for now. Let's see what is discovered as this thing gets rolled out.

[jmpage2]

What a massive let down.

Very modest hardware improvement. No additional tuner slots. No built in capability to EVER do Tru-2-Way or any other kind of direct integration for things like on-demand.

Absolutely no revamp of the subscriber model, no improved multi-room capabilities, no stream/direct-transfer, NOTHING that fits into the modern wired home.

Even the software is a yawn. Pandora? Wow. THIS is what you've been working on for two years?

Great job TiVo. :rolleyes:

My expectations weren't even that high and they were still dashed by this lackluster announcement.

[kpepling]

What a massive let down.

Very modest hardware improvement. No additional tuner slots. No built in capability to EVER do Tru-2-Way or any other kind of direct integration for things like on-demand.

Absolutely no revamp of the subscriber model, no improved multi-room capabilities, no stream/direct-transfer, NOTHING that fits into the modern wired home.

Even the software is a yawn. Pandora? Wow. THIS is what you've been working on for two years?

Great job TiVo. :rolleyes:

My expectations weren't even that high and they were still dashed by this lackluster announcement.

This sums it up for me too. Come September my 3 year subscription ends and I'm seriously considering getting a Moxi then. At least then I can get a 3 tuner box and nice cheap Moxi Mates for additional tvs without all the extra costs of buying and paying for subscriptions for multiple Tivos.

[lvthunder]

What a massive let down.

Very modest hardware improvement. No additional tuner slots. No built in capability to EVER do Tru-2-Way or any other kind of direct integration for things like on-demand.

Absolutely no revamp of the subscriber model, no improved multi-room capabilities, no stream/direct-transfer, NOTHING that fits into the modern wired home.

Even the software is a yawn. Pandora? Wow. THIS is what you've been working on for two years?

Great job TiVo. :rolleyes:

My expectations weren't even that high and they were still dashed by this lackluster announcement.

Hey why don't you wait until see what's actually under the hood. TiVo has been known to update the software with new features. The first Directv TiVo's only used one tuner at first. Then they turned on the second one. The S3 got Netflix added in. I think this is more then just a refreshed UI. It's probably a whole new OS.

[crowfan]

None of it is coming to the S3 or HD. Lame. :down:

[Anthony GT]

Not too impressed. Time to seriously consider Moxi.

[SnakeEyes]

Not impressed at all. Considering Moxi as well

[Turtleboy]

None of it is coming to the S3 or HD. Lame. :down:

That's the best thing about it. Backwards compatibility with outdated hardware makes new things suck.

[MickeS]

I didn't have a lot of expectations for the hardware, but I'm disappointed that there is no change in the subscription model announced. I don't think this was a letdown for me personally, though I feel like TiVo set people up for disappointment by using the "just the beginning" line in the invitation.

[MickeS]

That's the best thing about it. Backwards compatibility with outdated hardware makes new things suck.
I agree completely. I was hoping that they would do it this way, but didn't really expect it.

[aindik]

That's the best thing about it. Backwards compatibility with outdated hardware makes new things suck.

TiVoHD hardware is now one version behind current, but I don't think it's outdated.

[KenVa]

What I really want to know is will we be able to upgrade the disk in the Premiere the same way as with the THD? Also will it still have the same limitations on disk size? I would really like to put in a 2T drive if it would use all of the disk.

[Turtleboy]

TiVoHD hardware is now one version behind current, but I don't think it's outdated.

That's not the point. Maintaining backwards compatibility with older hardware bloats software code and slows it down. See e.g. Windows. There was the same complaining when the Series 2 came out, and again with the Series 3 came out.

[TiVoStephen]

I *hate* having the live picture streaming from the corner. Sure hope there's a way of turning that off...Wish granted!

[gweempose]

What I really want to know is will we be able to upgrade the disk in the Premiere the same way as with the THD?I'd be shocked if you can't. TiVo knows darn well that there is a large community of people that would be very upset if this option was taken away from them.

[TiVoStephen]

Does this thing use cablecards?Yes, or ATSC or analog cable.

[debtoine]

I'm not impressed either. Our S3s are humming along nicely, and the announcement today doesn't make me want to upgrade at all.

deb

[maharg18]

For those of you that were around back when the Series 2 first came out, you may recall that it had basically no new features that the Series 1 didn't already have. What it was was a brand new platform that allowed things like HMO/HME, Amazon on demand, wireless adapters, etc to become possible. I see this as being similar to that Series 1 - 2 transition. I'm sure more exciting new features will be added as time goes by.

[hummingbird_206]

I'll keep an eye on things, but still uses cable cards, no PPV support, and only 2 tuners are all pretty much deal busters for me. Not enough improvement over my two S3's, certainly not worth paying $300-$500 for the h/w and a few more hundred to xfer lifetime. What a bummer.:(

edit: I meant no On Demand support, not PPV (though I don't think there is PPV, but it's On Demand that I want)

[ShoutingMan]

Having spent $400+ on TivoHD's a year ago, I'm not upgrading to a new system anytime soon. But I'm envious of the reworked HD menus, in-menu playback idea, and 802.11n wireless.

Most of the other stuff, I don't really understand. I'm not sure why I want fake-IMDB in my Tivo, when the real thing is on my laptop? All the cablecard stuff is lost on me, since I'm OTA HD. But to each their own.

[kucharsk]

I guess the S3 is going to be the only TiVO with a front panel display; pity.

The new models also likely mean we'll never see several longstanding bugs fixed (sigh…) :(

[Aero 1]

brochure with specs and dimensions. looks like it includes an HDMI cable.

http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/engadget/files/tivopremiere.pdf

[innocentfreak]

Wish granted!

Nice. this was definitely a concern for me also.

Any comments about real world transfer speeds over a wired network compared to the Tivo HD?

[orangeboy]

Having spent $400+ on TivoHD's a year ago, I'm not upgrading to a new system anytime soon. But I'm envious of the reworked HD menus, in-menu playback idea, and 802.11n wireless.

Most of the other stuff, I don't really understand. I'm not sure why I want fake-IMDB in my Tivo, when the real thing is on my laptop? All the cablecard stuff is lost on me, since I'm OTA HD. But to each their own.

The search capabilities allows you to find available programs that aren't in your guide data. For example: Lost season 6 is midway through it's season, and there's a reference to an episode in Season 5. You do a search for Lost, and find all 5 prior seasons available for download at Amazon, or better, available for immediate streaming through Netflix. You click a button, and you're watching that episode that was referenced.

IMDB/TheTVDB on your laptop will tell you as synopsis of that episode (maybe), but it/they won't tell you where you can watch that episode... I'm HD OTA only too, and see further justification of dropping cable and it's high cost, by having a one-stop shop for my entertainment needs via the online content providers.

[RoyK]

Yes, or ATSC or analog cable.

Gray screens and all?

[t1voproof]

Obviously this is an improvement. Not everything I wanted to see, but nonetheless still an improvement. I feel kind of sad for the people who recently bought the HD through the last "upgrade" program.

[innocentfreak]

TiVo hands on with Video at engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/tivo-premiere-hands-on/)

[darock159]

I'm not upset about what Tivo unveiled tonight, it was right on par with what I figured, not a lot of changes from the s3's but defiantly has growth potential. I AM very curious about what changes they made under the hood. I would have liked to see wifi and bluetooth built in, but all in all though they should be able to build a very nice unit off of this similarly to how they did on the s2's.

[orangeboy]

Gray screens and all?

Only for you, Roy!

[hummingbird_206]

I guess the S3 is going to be the only TiVO with a front panel display; pity.

The new models also likely mean we'll never see several longstanding bugs fixed (sigh…) :(

Yikes, I didn't notice no front display. I love the OLED on my S3's!

[MickeS]

The future of bug fixes for existing models does indeed look bleak when a new model is released. There's at least one bug on my Series 2 that I assume will never be fixed. I bet this means some for Series 3 will not be taken care of either.

[billyecho]

Not a true two-way device so no cable TV video on demand & no multi-room viewing solution for TWC subscribers.

Why clutter now playing with a bunch of listings that are unwatchable without a robust broadband connection that is not available (in many area)?

[BigJimOutlaw]

Gray screens and all?

Tivo listened carefully to its customers. Now you can select the tuner glitch color of your choice! gray, black, green... :)

[orangeboy]

Why clutter now playing with a bunch of listings that are unwatchable without a robust broadband connection that is not available (in many area)?

That's probably the first legitimate critique I've read tonight. Everything else it seems has been related to unfulfilled expectations, "Why didn't they include <this>?" or "Why didn't TiVo do <that>?".

I don't know, but maybe those listings won't be included if it doesn't detect a broadband connection?

[nrc]

Not a true two-way device so no cable TV video on demand & no multi-room viewing solution for TWC subscribers.

Why clutter now playing with a bunch of listings that are unwatchable without a robust broadband connection that is not available (in many area)?

I would guess that the stuff that's unavailable doesn't show up. But something like 85% of TiVo HD users are network connected. Download services work with almost any broadband connection. They just require more patience.

[mattack]

None of it is coming to the S3 or HD. Lame. :down:

Was this specifically stated?

I at least want the free space indicator!!!

[Stormspace]

TiVo finally caved on the Free Space Indicator. Personally, I never saw much of a need for it, but over the years that feature had to be one of the most asked for features, especially from newbies.

It's ridiculous that one wasn't included before now. How easy is it to shut up so many people, especially when that's the first thing they look for. :rolleyes:

[randyny]

I will be getting one as I need a second one anyway. I was thinking about going with a windows media center but keep going back to how utterly stable these tivo's are. Granted it may not be revolutionary, especially since that special tivo search with HD screen was somewhere in the series 3 menu. But the UI speed sucked and I never used it because of that. I can only hope that the cpu will be able to quickly display any screen I choose without a several second delay. Make it more usable by making it incredibly responsive and I am sold.

I will say too that I was a holdout for a long time as far as extra features go. For instance, it took me until last month to finally try Netflix, and I am already hooked. What a great experience. I think the iphone showed us that content is king, more so than hardware alone. Youtube was a nice addition to the series 3 but because it was difficult and horribly unresponsive when searching/navigating I only used it very sparingly. I'd like to use it more and hopefully the series 4 will allow that.

[innocentfreak]

It's ridiculous that one wasn't included before now. How easy is it to shut up so many people, especially when that's the first thing they look for. :rolleyes:

I just hope there is a way to turn it off.

[Johnwashere]

I loved the tivo search beta look and im glad the whole UI is like this now. I also like the preview in the top corneer of the screen. and the qwerty keyboard is sweet. I wonder what the tivo guide looks like (will it cover the up what im watching like current tivos). Will we still need our (cable providers) Tuning Adapter? I was hoping these would be build in but I think these have to programed and provided by local cable companies if im not mistaken? I think Il buy one. If tivo offers some freebies with the preorders tomorrow, Il def. preorder from them.

[jmpage2]

I loved the tivo search beta look and im glad the whole UI is like this now. I also like the preview in the top corneer of the screen. and the qwerty keyboard is sweet. I wonder what the tivo guide looks like (will it cover the up what im watching like current tivos). Will we still need our (cable providers) Tuning Adapter? I was hoping these would be build in but I think these have to programed and provided by local cable companies if im not mistaken? I think Il buy one. If tivo offers some freebies with the preorders tomorrow, Il def. preorder from them.

You will still need a tuning adapter. This TiVo does nothing to fix that problem.

Apparently everyone will have to wait for Series-5 to address those issues.

[MickeS]

I just hope there is a way to turn it off.

There's thankfully a way to turn off live TV during menus apparently, maybe there's a way to turn this off too.

[matt@thehickmans]

Will we be able to access videos such as those on www.ted.com/ or http://academicearth.org/?

The future will belong to html5 not Flash. Investing this heavily in Flash might not be to TiVo's advantage.

What is the Hard Drive OEM? Will TiVo still be married to its RAID 0 design? Will existing HD expanders still work? Has the HD capacity limit increased?

Will TiVo have access to anything other than the Tribune data? E.g., IMDB? (for information about shows, actors, etc -- not scheduling info)

Will there be any improvements in real time programming updates. E.g. football games goes over by 20 minutes, that info is available to the TiVo and it makes adjustments?

[wmcbrine]

Will we be able to access videos such as those on www.ted.com/ or http://academicearth.org/?You can do that now. TED talks are under Video on Demand > Free VOD and Web Videos. (I don't know about the other one.)

[moyekj]

TiVo hands on with Video at engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/tivo-premiere-hands-on/) Wow, that's thoroughly embarrassingly slow, even for the "My Shows" listing. Ridiculous it's so slow. No sooner is there a hardware upgrade there is a corresponding software upgrade to tax it beyond it's means... I sure hope that the speed of the real release will blow away what was depicted in the demo. As it looks in the demo it's as slow as the "TiVo Search Beta" HME version we have on the Series 3 hardware...
At least TTG/MRV should be lighting fast compared to series 3 if nothing else.

[matt@thehickmans]

You can do that now. TED talks are under Video on Demand > Free VOD and Web Videos. (I don't know about the other one.)

Good to know. I couldn't get academicearth.org - which is what I really want, so I didn't even try for TED.

[TWinbrook46636]

Wow, that's thoroughly embarrassingly slow, even for the "My Shows" listing. Ridiculous it's so slow. No sooner is there a hardware upgrade there is a corresponding software upgrade to tax it beyond it's means... I sure hope that the speed of the real release will blow away what was depicted in the demo. As it looks in the demo it's as slow as the "TiVo Search Beta" HME version we have on the Series 3 hardware...




Just watched it. Wow. That really does look just as slow as the Beta TiVo Search. :eek:

[Kablemodem]

It's ridiculous that one wasn't included before now. How easy is it to shut up so many people, especially when that's the first thing they look for. :rolleyes:

Because TiVo is designed to always be 100% full.

[MickeS]

Because TiVo is designed to always be 100% full.

I wonder if the FSI will exclude Suggestions from the calculation.

[Kablemodem]

It would have to.

[wmcbrine]

Was this specifically stated?So far the statement comes only from Dave Zatz, AFAIK.

I don't think PiP will be coming to the S3/HD. Beyond that, I've yet to see anything in the new UI that they couldn't do, in principle. But they say it uses Flash, and the S3/HD don't have that.

[lrhorer]

I love that remote.

I wonder if they have finally gotten Rhapsody to work... :rolleyes:

It's OK, I suppose. The A, B, C, and D buttons are I take it programmable. That's nice. It's BlueTooth, so if it can get downloads from a PC it would be even nicer. A keyboard (of any sort, really, but that one especially) is useless in the extreme. How would one purport to be able to type anything with one hand in the dark? Besides, I don't think I could possibly press less than four buttons at once.

As for Rhapsody, I tried it for a while on my PC. I dumped it with extreme prejudice.

[davezatz]

So far the statement comes only from Dave Zatz, AFAIK.

I don't think PiP will be coming to the S3/HD. Beyond that, I've yet to see anything in the new UI that they couldn't do, in principle. But they say it uses Flash, and the S3/HD don't have that.

I think CrunchGear confirmed as well. But, based on the reaction, maybe they'll figure something out. ;)

[heySkippy]

I don't see anything here to make me want to replace our TiVo HD boxes.

And not bringing interface improvements to the S3/HD line is very lame.

[crowfan]

It's especially lame because these are HD boxes we're talking about (the S3 and the HD). They should have had this interface a long time ago. Now that it's here, they won't even get it? I understand drawing a line in the sand, but to me it's nuts to leave these boxes behind when they are HD boxes as well, and the new interface is HD. S3/HD boxes should have had it all along.

[mvnuenen]

You will still need a tuning adapter. This TiVo does nothing to fix that problem.


Darn darn darn... That Time Warner SDV adapter is the biggest eye sore in my entertainment center... Being able to get rid of it would have been reason enough for me to upgrade...

[erwos]

The lack of good 1080p upscaling of recorded TV content pretty much killed it for me. The Series 3 interface is archaic and slow, but I'm not spending $300 to get a new interface and some slightly better streaming resolutions.

The fact that they couldn't add a VFD to the $500 SKU is also rather galling. I'm thinking it's time to start investigating other solutions...

[TivoFan247]

This might be a stupid question but does anyone think the remote will be backwards compatible with the Series 3 *hopes hopes* It takes too long to search for things currently.

[erwos]

This might be a stupid question but does anyone think the remote will be backwards compatible with the Series 3 *hopes hopes* It takes too long to search for things currently.
The remote is running off Bluetooth... so probably not.

[crowfan]

The new QWERTY remote requires a dongle to function, even with the Premiere. So I would imagine that it should work with the Series 3/THD.

[classicsat]

My opinions and responses:

It is 512MB DDR2 RAM. I would suppose any non-mechanical non-volatile storage is just enough to do a system test and boot the drive (with the requisite anti-hack checks). User internal HDD expansion is likely not any easier.

The underlying function probably hasn't changed, it is still a dual tuner ATSC/QAM/Cablecard box (it is not clear to me if analog is gone), just the UI and necessary hardware to run it, and of course reduction to one cablecard slot and elimination of the dial-up modem and S-video.

I wouldn't rule interactive cable out with these models, but I wouldn't count on it either. The Seachange thing with RCN might be a fix for that, and if TiVo et al get there way, it chould happen everywhere on the "Premiere".

On the remote:
I don't think the A/B/C/D buttons are user programmable as such, but they could be on certian menues. On ineractive apps, they would be extra function keys.

On the Qwerty remote:
It made me think that possibly the Premier has bluetooth built in. If I can buy one USB dongle in a case, delivered for under $10, I don't think it should be that expensive to build in.

[crowfan]

Why would the QWERTY remote require a dongle on the Premiere if Bluetooth is built in?

[MichaelK]

Why would the QWERTY remote require a dongle on the Premiere if Bluetooth is built in?

likely because premiere <> have bluetooth built in.

[crowfan]

That's my point. :)

[TivoFan247]

Just chatted with Tivo rep on website, they have no release date for the qwerty remote and she couldn't tell me if it would be compatible with the Series 3 :(

[Qwijib0]

The more I think about it-- the series 4 could have been revolutionary.

Imagine if netflix (or another all-you-can-eat provider) offered up an entire content library - it would be an entirely different experience. Say you just started recording show X but its now in season 3. From the NPL being able to see the whole back catalog, and just start watching as if you had recorded them? That's revolutionary. No longer are tuner conflicts (or cable package subscriptions really) a prime concern-- just look up the show and start watching. It's like a boxee or xbmc box connected to a server with every show, ever. With the internet speed I've got, netflix HD looks as good as broadcast HD so a series 4 with that kind of back catalog support would be much more compelling.

The more I think about it, this may have been what they were going for-- but they didn't plan on content providers being so stingy still. I don't know why, with the series 4 and a full back catalog, everybody wins:

Tivo: Still paying the monthly subscription.
CableCo: Still subscribed to _some_ level of service + internet.
Netflix: at least 9/mo, if not more.
Content Owners: Double dipping, cable and netflix revenues. The added bonus of competing with free-- if the above scenario occured I'd certainly stop looking for TV from other sources.

And when they finished the series 4, but the streamable content was still minimal, they waited, and waited-- then said screw it, people will pay for a $300 Flash platform.

But I doubt it.

[davezatz]

Why would the QWERTY remote require a dongle on the Premiere if Bluetooth is built in?

Bluetooth isn't built in, it's added via the dongle that ships with the QWERTY remote. CNET believes it will also work on the S3/HD platform.

I'm mostly bummed we're still copying, versus streaming. And there are no extenders. Not yet anyway. We shall see.

[slowbiscuit]

IMO you can't have extenders without live TV streaming, so don't count on it until Tivo finally chooses to do MRV the right way. And what happened to coop scheduling across multiple Tivos? What year is this, anyway?

[lvthunder]

Qwijib0,

That's basically what the S4 does. How is it TiVo's fault if their partners don't have a big enough library. It's not like they can just rip the discs and start streaming. We'll get the content when the content owners decide we can get them and right now they are saying not so fast.

[crowfan]

My question was directed at classicsat, who was wondering if Bluetooth would be built in.

[flaminiom]

I'm interested, but not sure. I mean, Tivo so valuable to our lifestyles it's money well spent.

Anyone know if the Ethernet is 10/100 or 10/100/1000?

Anyone know if the supported video formats changed? Like can it play .mkv?

It seems to have a lot of potential with apps and web content.

I can see why no SDV since that all seems a mess, so adding a modem would just add cost which you may never utilize. It would be nice though if Tivo provided a clear path for SDV for purchase confidence, but who knows.. S5 box may be out before SDV comes to my area.

Would have liked to have a third tuner, even if just for OTA to intelligently record three channels at once provided one is OTA.

I'll be interested to see how easy independent content producers can get on there. Right now it's not bad w/ RSS browsing, but I see interesting possibilities with the new contextual search.

[WhiskeyTango]

If I understand correctly, Tivo is selling NOTHING right now. They are out of the S3's and are no longer selling them and the S4's don't ship until some time in April.

[Raj]

Darn darn darn... That Time Warner SDV adapter is the biggest eye sore in my entertainment center...

Get a long cable and hide it behind the cabinet.

[Raj]

Anyone know if the Ethernet is 10/100

10/100

Anyone know if the supported video formats changed? Like can it play .mkv?

You can already do this with streambaby or pytivo.

[k2ue]

I'm interested, but not sure. I mean, Tivo so valuable to our lifestyles it's money well spent.

Anyone know if the Ethernet is 10/100 or 10/100/1000?

Anyone know if the supported video formats changed? Like can it play .mkv?

It seems to have a lot of potential with apps and web content.

I can see why no SDV since that all seems a mess, so adding a modem would just add cost which you may never utilize. It would be nice though if Tivo provided a clear path for SDV for purchase confidence, but who knows.. S5 box may be out before SDV comes to my area.

Would have liked to have a third tuner, even if just for OTA to intelligently record three channels at once provided one is OTA.

I'll be interested to see how easy independent content producers can get on there. Right now it's not bad w/ RSS browsing, but I see interesting possibilities with the new contextual search.

The Ethernet is reported to be 100Mbs, which is fine, since no disk drive (or broadband service) can stream faster. If you have a 1Gbs backbone, then your switch will turn the <100Mbs stream from the TiVo into small bursts of 1Gbs traffic, leaving you plenty of BW for other similtaneous activites, no different that if the Premiere supported 1Gbs directly. It really only matters if a device is capable of streaming faster than its interface, which is not the case here, since the HD is the limiting device -- the 300Mbs rate is only possible for bursts from the cache, not steady video from the platters.

[aindik]

That's not the point.

But it is what you said. :)

Maintaining backwards compatibility with older hardware bloats software code and slows it down. See e.g. Windows. There was the same complaining when the Series 2 came out, and again with the Series 3 came out.

I'm not remembering what Series 2 owners wanted from the feature set of the Series 3 when it first came out that a) the Series 2 hardware could handle and b) the Series 2 didn't eventually get.

Is this UI so rich that the TiVoHD can't handle it?

I'm also wondering what becomes of the "TiVo Search" beta that we were using on the S3. Is it frozen in beta forever?

I'm also wondering if there's a way on the new box to show me an alphatetical list of shows in a given category (say, movies) that are in the guide data available to be recorded (as opposed to downloaded or streamed), like the 10 year old interface can do. TiVo Search Beta can't do that. I can't scroll from movies whose titles start with A right down to movies whose titles start with B. I need to back out of the search and search for B. I'm wondering if the new UI can.

[Qwijib0]

Qwijib0,

That's basically what the S4 does. How is it TiVo's fault if their partners don't have a big enough library. It's not like they can just rip the discs and start streaming. We'll get the content when the content owners decide we can get them and right now they are saying not so fast.

And that's sort of my point-- tivo should never have banked on content being out there. Its clear that they didn't have the necessary assurances that the content would be there and now they're stuck selling a box that accesses a library that will be there "someday".

"someday" being march 2 would have been a big announcement. Instead "someday" is something you'll wait for after shelling out $300.

[tivogurl]

To those of you who noticed how slow the interface is, that shouldn't have been surprising. Flash is an absolute dog on every platform but Windows. Makes me wonder if Microsoft pays Adobe not to fix it. TiVo must have suffered a collective bout of insanity when they decided to run a Flash interface on Linux. I guarantee it won't get better, because TiVo stupidly gave control of their UI to Adobe, who shows zero interest in making Flash work on Linux or OSX despite thousands of complaints.

Where's the auto-migration tool? The very first thing TiVo should have done once its units had built-in ethernet is write a migration tool that copies Season Passes, Wishlists, channel settings, and any other user-settable option from the old unit to the new. I see no evidence the Premiere has such a feature.

Charging me $200 for an $80 hard disk upgrade? Sorry TiVo, not interested.

[rlcarr]

TTiVo must have suffered a collective bout of insanity when they decided to run a Flash interface on Linux. I guarantee it won't get better, because TiVo stupidly gave control of their UI to Adobe, who shows zero interest in making Flash work on Linux or OSX despite thousands of complaints

The Flash is being run in hardware -- there's a flash accelerator built into the SoC the Premiere is using.

[Cainebj]

Does this thing use cablecards?

Yes

I won't be happy until TiVo comes out with a unit that does NOT require cablecards.

Something wrong with your TiVo?
Is it your TiVo, or is it your cablecards?
Who can tell?

[MichaelK]

...
I'm also wondering if there's a way on the new box to show me an alphatetical list of shows in a given category (say, movies) that are in the guide data available to be recorded (as opposed to downloaded or streamed), like the 10 year old interface can do. TiVo Search Beta can't do that. I can't scroll from movies whose titles start with A right down to movies whose titles start with B. I need to back out of the search and search for B. I'm wondering if the new UI can.


not sure if the new UI does it, but the FAQ on tivo's website says the old SD UI is still on the box as an option (and apparently is currently required for guru guides or kidzone)

[aindik]

The difference in price between a 320 GB drive and a 1 TB drive in today's market looks like something like $30. I'm wondering what the point is of even having two models. Why not just make the 1 TB model and sell it to everyone?

I guess the idea is to mark up hard drives.

[MichaelK]

...
"someday" being march 2 would have been a big announcement. Instead "someday" is something you'll wait for after shelling out $300.


i agree it's not there now, and i dont know what the big hype was about.

But in my humble opinion it's much better to have the hardware deployed and ready to flip a switch then get stuck behind the curve.

remember the beatings here on tivo that the S3 took too long to come out for HD? In conference calls after the S3 was out, even the Tivo mucky mucks admitted they didn't realize how quick HD would become big and so they were behind the ball.

The new hardware isn't tons more than the old. So they can start selling it now. It really has very little in features other than the UI that the S3 series wont have so there's no reason for all those people to be pissed at the moment. But if/when the content people wake up and smell the coffee tivo will have some boxes deployed and can 'light' it up pretty quick.

[MichaelK]

The difference in price between a 320 GB drive and a 1 TB drive in today's market looks like something like $30. I'm wondering what the point is of even having two models. Why not just make the 1 TB model and sell it to everyone?

I guess the idea is to mark up hard drives.

i guess the normal unit is break even or even a loss leader to the service. But they want to make profit on the XL.

Considering they didn't include bluetooth or 802.11n radios sort of seems to indicate every penny counted to get the price point to 299 where they thing they can sell it (or more likely to the 'magic' 199 where they expect to be in 6-12 months)

[MichaelK]

I won't be happy until TiVo comes out with a unit that does NOT require cablecards.

Something wrong with your TiVo?
Is it your TiVo, or is it your cablecards?
Who can tell?


true- but you better write your congress fools or the FCC as there's no option for tivo at the moment well except built a box that only works with antenna's and maybe a handfull of basic cable channels on the major providers.

[crowfan]

Apparently there is a significant cost in getting the box THX certified. That's part of the reason the THD XL was so much more than the THD, and I believe it's the same for the Premiere.

[flaminiom]

I won't be happy until TiVo comes out with a unit that does NOT require cablecards.

Something wrong with your TiVo?
Is it your TiVo, or is it your cablecards?
Who can tell?


That would be awesome. It would also be awesome if the cable companies better supported CableCards.

Neither, unfortunately, have anything to do with Tivo. As bad as it is, CableCards are a standard and Tivo ships a product using that standard. The fact the rest of the industry is clueless at best, willfully obstructive at worst, isn't on Tivo.

[jmpage2]

The Flash is being run in hardware -- there's a flash accelerator built into the SoC the Premiere is using.

I guess I would need to see more information about this "flash on a chip" solution you are referring to.

Still skeptical about how reliable it will be. Flash is buggy as hell and is also frequently the doorway for hacks and exploits on Windows.

Hopefully owners of these new boxes aren't treated to crashes and other behavior as a result of moving off of Linux, which is a rock.

[classicsat]

I'm not remembering what Series 2 owners wanted from the feature set of the Series 3 when it first came out that a) the Series 2 hardware could handle and b) the Series 2 didn't eventually get.


IIRC, it was some much coveted NPL enhancements that never made it to the Series 2.

[MickeS]

I guess I would need to see more information about this "flash on a chip" solution you are referring to.

Still skeptical about how reliable it will be. Flash is buggy as hell and is also frequently the doorway for hacks and exploits on Windows.

Hopefully owners of these new boxes aren't treated to crashes and other behavior as a result of moving off of Linux, which is a rock.

Well, the OS is still Linux, I assume... Flash is just used for the UI. No?

[aindik]

IIRC, it was some much coveted NPL enhancements that never made it to the Series 2.

Which ones? The only difference between the NPL on Series 2 and my TiVoHD is the presence of the Netflix item and the HD Recordings folder.

[flaminiom]

10/100
You can already do this with streambaby or pytivo.

I'm in the market for a media tank. If it could play and not transcode via stream, that would be cool. If it actually handled lossless audio codecs, that would be awesome, but I wouldn't even dream of that.

The Ethernet is reported to be 100Mbs, which is fine, since no disk drive (or broadband service) can stream faster. If you have a 1Gbs backbone, then your switch will turn the <100Mbs stream from the TiVo into small bursts of 1Gbs traffic, leaving you plenty of BW for other similtaneous activites, no different that if the Premiere supported 1Gbs directly. It really only matters if a device is capable of streaming faster than its interface, which is not the case here, since the HD is the limiting device -- the 300Mbs rate is only possible for bursts from the cache, not steady video from the platters.

100 Mb is only about 12 MB/sec. Gb definitely makes a big difference transferring between machines with just standard HDD. Like I said, obviously not for streaming.

[ADent]

None of it is coming to the S3 or HD. Lame.

Was this specifically stated?

I at least want the free space indicator!!!

Yeah, and I want groups (aka folders) for my S1. Don't be surprised if the S3 doesn't get the feature.

[bhinners]

I finally got fed up with the $90 per month DTV subscription. Plus, I've been unhappy with DTV since they moved to MPEG4 compression and I lost most of the HD channels on my beloved Hughes Tivo HDVR2. So just last month I canceled my DTV subscription and built a Home Theatre PC.

Well, now I find myself greatly missing my Tivo software. It doesn't matter whether I use Windows Media Center, Boxee or Hulu, these things are all poorly designed and buggy. In fact, I've found them surprisingly poor. I always thought the Tivo usability and software design were good, but now that I'm a little more familiar with the state of the art elsewhere, I have to conclude that the Tivo interface nears perfection, at least comparatively.

But, I've also concluded that I can get enough of the content I want for free through a combination Over The Air HD reception and the internet. Yes, I miss the occasional Good Eats episode, but I can buy the cookbook. I miss Doctor Who, but I can get it from BBC online if I just lag by one season. I'll miss Flight of the Conchords if they ever do another season, but I can get that through Netflix. I can already get more sports from ESPN360 than I was getting on DTV anyway. Most of the other stuff I watch comes in HD over the air.

Ideally, the new Series 4 would be the solution to all my problems: the free content delivery of the HTPC with the software and usability of the Tivo. Nirvana!

But the Guide, Season Passes and all the other software will need to work with my OTA HD channels. Any idea if this will work? If so, I'm ready to order one now and demote the HTPC.

[aindik]

But the Guide, Season Passes and all the other software will need to work with my OTA HD channels. Any idea if this will work? If so, I'm ready to order one now and demote the HTPC.

The TivoHD works fully with OTA HD, and all indications are that the Premiere does, too.

Problem is that some of the other stuff you use, like ESPN360, BBC.com, etc., Hulu, etc., won't work with the TiVo Premiere.

[TivoFan247]

That would be awesome. It would also be awesome if the cable companies better supported CableCards.

Neither, unfortunately, have anything to do with Tivo. As bad as it is, CableCards are a standard and Tivo ships a product using that standard. The fact the rest of the industry is clueless at best, willfully obstructive at worst, isn't on Tivo.


Seriously....we think we have a problem with our cable card and instead of just going to Comcast, getting a new card from them, installing ourselves and then calling in with the new information they have to SCHEDULE someone to come to our house. We're not idiots, we can do it ourselves. *sigh*

[tivogurl]

Seriously....we think we have a problem with our cable card and instead of just going to Comcast, getting a new card from them, installing ourselves and then calling in with the new information they have to SCHEDULE someone to come to our house.
In Houston Comcast will charge you $10 for the install, but you do it yourself.

[TivoFan247]

In Houston Comcast will charge you $10 for the install, but you do it yourself.

thieves!!!

[bhinners]

The TivoHD works fully with OTA HD, and all indications are that the Premiere does, too.

Problem is that some of the other stuff you use, like ESPN360, BBC.com, etc., Hulu, etc., won't work with the TiVo Premiere.


Bummer. So you can get to sites like YouTube, but you can't navigate directly to a web page on your own?

What does this quote from the Tivo website mean:

Find free web videos for virtually every interest under the sun and watch them on your TV. From astronomy and politics to woodworking and yoga, it's easy to find free videos that match your particular area of interest. You can even subscribe for regular updates (RSS feeds), which you'll find waiting for you in your "My Shows" folder.

Is that all just referring to YouTube?

[aindik]

Bummer. So you can get to sites like YouTube, but you can't navigate directly to a web page on your own?

You don't actually go to youtube.com. You use the youtube app on your TiVo to search for and play videos that are on youtube.

What does this quote from the Tivo website mean:



Is that all just referring to YouTube?

Youtube and video podcasts.

[Enrique]

TiVo’s CEO on Fox Business to talk about the new Tivo Premiere:

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/03/tivos-ceo-goes-on-fox-business-to-talk-about-the-new-premiere/

[DaveWhittle]

I pre-ordered the Premiere (non-XL) today, but am curious about the THX certification of the XL model.

Is there really anything different between models except hard-drive and remote? :confused:

[tlwizard]

I pre-ordered the Premiere (non-XL) today, but am curious about the THX certification of the XL model.

Is there really anything different between models except hard-drive and remote? :confused:From what I can tell, the certification is applied to the top 10% of equipment.

So it seems to me that the XL and the normal are cut from the same cloth. You get no added audio or video bonuses, just the certification. On top of that, larger hard drive and better remote (which many might replace anyways with the bluetooth one?)

To me the only thing worthwhile is the hard drive. Does it void your warranty to replace the hard drive with a larger one? Or what are my options there (outside of an eSata extension)?

[flaminiom]

You don't actually go to youtube.com. You use the youtube app on your TiVo to search for and play videos that are on youtube.



Youtube and video podcasts.

Tivo currently pulls in video content via RSS feeds in their categories directory. With the Flash platform, they may perhaps allow a sort of app/channel store like we're seeing with Boxee and Roku. At least, they should.

[Mike-Mike]

this is from the official press release:

THX®certified, ensuring optimal audio and video reproduction and enables seamless integration with other THX components

TiVo Premiere XL box is the first HD product to feature THX® Optimizer™, a video calibration tool that lets users fine tune color, black levels and other settings to improve picture quality. Hailed by critics for its ease-of-use, the exclusive THX Optimizer for TiVo Premiere XL box is found in the My Shows menu of the TiVo service. A pair of THX Optimizer Blue Glasses, designed for adjusting Color and Tint settings, is included with the owner's manual.

[Stormspace]

It would have to.

I agree.

[jmpage2]

I pre-ordered the Premiere (non-XL) today, but am curious about the THX certification of the XL model.

Is there really anything different between models except hard-drive and remote? :confused:

It looks like there will be one software difference between the boxes, as someone mentioned the THX certified box will include the optimizer that looks like it will be able to make in-box adjustments of the picture possible.

This is really handle for someone like myself who has their TV professionally calibrated to the single input coming in from the audio/video receiver (and using the blu-ray player as a calibration source), as now I can separately adjust the picture from the TiVo without having to recalibrate my TV for it.

[gweempose]

This is from the official press release:

THX®certified, ensuring optimal audio and video reproduction and enables seamless integration with other THX components ...What a bunch of PR bulls**t! Even if the thing does have better audio and video than the standard Premeire box (which I highly doubt), how would this equate to "seamless integration with other THX components"? It never ceases to amaze me how the PR people like to spin their rhetoric.

[lvthunder]

What a bunch of PR bulls**t! Even if the thing does have better audio and video than the standard Premeire box (which I highly doubt), how would this equate to "seamless integration with other THX components"? It never ceases to amaze me how the PR people like to spin their rhetoric.

It has the ability in software to alter the signal coming out of the TiVo so you can match it to the output of your other components.

[Jonathan_S]

This is really handle for someone like myself who has their TV professionally calibrated to the single input coming in from the audio/video receiver (and using the blu-ray player as a calibration source), as now I can separately adjust the picture from the TiVo without having to recalibrate my TV for it.Did we get confirmation that the THX Optimize actually adjusts the output of the XL?

From the vauge wording I saw this might just the equivilent of a video calibration blu-ray built into the TiVo; something to help adjust the TV's settings. (Which is worthless for people who already have their TV calibrated).

[gweempose]

From the vauge wording I saw this might just the equivalent of a video calibration blu-ray built into the TiVo; something to help adjust the TV's settings ...I agree. In fact, I would be willing to bet $1,000 that it will be nothing more than some built-in test patterns. These would certainly be a nice addition, but it is a far cry from being able to tweak the actual output coming from the TiVo.

[bhinners]

Tivo currently pulls in video content via RSS feeds in their categories directory. With the Flash platform, they may perhaps allow a sort of app/channel store like we're seeing with Boxee and Roku. At least, they should.

That's a great idea. If I could get ESPN360 on my Tivo, that would be sweet. Might be nice to have a Pandora app like Boxee does. Ideally, they'd also have a little browser app I could open to find and play video from sources like cbs.com or bbc.com - or to read NYTimes while I wait for my shows to queue up so I can jump through the commercials.

Has anyone seen a statement from Tivo about the possibility of future enhancements in this direction?

[MickeS]

That's a great idea. If I could get ESPN360 on my Tivo, that would be sweet. Might be nice to have a Pandora app like Boxee does. Ideally, they'd also have a little browser app I could open to find and play video from sources like cbs.com or bbc.com - or to read NYTimes while I wait for my shows to queue up so I can jump through the commercials.

Has anyone seen a statement from Tivo about the possibility of future enhancements in this direction?

Yes. That is their hope, that they can have apps developed for this platform in a more efficient and to developers attractive manner than their previous HME effort.

Whether 3rd party developers will bite this time remains to be seen.

[lvthunder]

or to read NYTimes while I wait for my shows to queue up so I can jump through the commercials.

Do you really want to read a newspaper on your TV screen? I don't think that would be a good experience at all.

[bhinners]

Do you really want to read a newspaper on your TV screen? I don't think that would be a good experience at all.

Well, I don't think it would replace my primary platform, but it's a convenient and satisfying diversion when my DVD finishes at 10:45 and I'm waiting to watch the local news starting at 11:00.

[MichaelK]

For those of you that were around back when the Series 2 first came out, you may recall that it had basically no new features that the Series 1 didn't already have. What it was was a brand new platform that allowed things like HMO/HME, Amazon on demand, wireless adapters, etc to become possible. I see this as being similar to that Series 1 - 2 transition. I'm sure more exciting new features will be added as time goes by.

in general I agree.

the difference was the way they lunched this and the S2 was vastly different.

this they hyped somewhat. The S2 was alive and in the wild for i beleive several months before they even HINTED that going forward it would get new stuff.

I think maybe they should have done the same with the premiere- soft lunach with the same oold software and then when they have an actual new feature to talk about make a fuss.

[Jonathan_S]

I agree. In fact, I would be willing to bet $1,000 that it will be nothing more than some built-in test patterns. These would certainly be a nice addition, but it is a far cry from being able to tweak the actual output coming from the TiVo.Looks like you're correct. The intro to the TiVo Premiere XL's manual (from the TiVo's website, here (http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1600/c/105/r_id/100041)) describes the feature as follows:
Optimize THX Your TiVo Premiere XL includes a video in the My Shows or Now Playing list that helps you optimize THX sound and video. If your TV screen exceeds 50", THX recommends playing the THX Optimizer.

[flaminiom]

Anyone know what will be involved in moving a Comcast cablecard from a TivoHD to a Premiere? Can you just swap the cards or do you have to relive the pain of a truck roll?

[gweempose]

Anyone know what will be involved in moving a Comcast cablecard from a TivoHD to a Premiere? Can you just swap the cards or do you have to relive the pain of a truck roll?Anytime you move a CableCARD from one device to another, it has to be re-paired. Since you already have the card in hand, I don't see why a truck roll would be necessary. In theory, all it should require is a quick phone call. That being said, Comcast has a tendency to do lots of unnecessary and completely illogical things. :D

[aaronwt]

Anytime you move a CableCARD from one device to another, it has to be re-paired. Since you already have the card in hand, I don't see why a truck roll would be necessary. In theory, all it should require is a quick phone call. That being said, Comcast has a tendency to do lots of unnecessary and completely illogical things. :D

They will typically require a truck roll. Although that is one advantage with FiOS. They don't pair the cable cards to the box so i can move my cable cards between any of my TiVos with no problems.

[aindik]

Also note that the Premiere only has one slot. So, if you want two tuners, you need to get an M-Card.

[flaminiom]

That's a bummer that I'll have to re-pair. I've got the local escalation number somewhere from the first time, so hopefully it won't be too bad.

Like most I was hoping for a third tuner, so right now I'm weighing my options of buying a Premier, transfer the MCard and keep service on the TivoHD. I was going to just connect OTA on it, and that will be our overflow tuner. Cable channels repeat everything all week anyway... the only time we really want a third tuner is for network stuff.

Also, we'll have a Tivo in the other room for the treadmill, provided what we want to watch from cable can be copied over.

The kick in the pants is I didn't realize they increased the rates for second Tivos. Back in the day I had my S1 and S2 for $7 each. If I could get a similar sweetheart deal I'd be all over that, but it sounds like I'll have drop the THD service to get Tivo to even talk about a deal. Not sure my plan is worth $10 more per month to me.

[tivogurl]

I'm worried the dog-slow UI is going to kill the launch of this product.

1) There are no Linux drivers for the Broadcom video decoders
2) Flash hardware acceleration on Linux is incomplete and buggy
3) The Adobe engineer working on Linux whines about OpenGL

All this tells me two things: there's no way the TiVo Premiere ships in April with hardware acceleration turned on, and Adobe is going to be very, very late shipping OGL-based hardware acceleration for Flash, if they ever ship it at all (given Adobe's historically quarter-assed support for anything other than Windows). With the poor CPU performance of the Premiere, the UI is going to be glacially slow. Buyers will suffer poorly-designed UIs, but they will not suffer slow UIs.

[TrueTurbo]

..."dog-slow UI"... "poor CPU performance of the Premiere"... "the UI is going to be glacially slow"

Where are you getting all this drivel from!?

[CuriousMark]

Which ones? The only difference between the NPL on Series 2 and my TiVoHD is the presence of the Netflix item and the HD Recordings folder.
You have folder play, that is one feature that I covet for my S2.

[wmcbrine]

1) There are no Linux drivers for the Broadcom video decoders
2) Flash hardware acceleration on Linux is incomplete and buggy
3) The Adobe engineer working on Linux whines about OpenGLThese are irrelevant to TiVo. It doesn't use OpenGL, and the hardware acceleration you're talking about is for standard X-based video, which is nothing like what a TiVo uses. Flash as a browser plugin under Linux has more in common with Flash as a browser plugin under Windows than it has with what the TiVo does. The use of Linux is basically incidental; a TiVo is not comparable to a conventional Linux desktop.

[PhiTauBill]

Anything more concrete than early April?

[jmpage2]

A self purported insider has reported that they will be available at Best Buy on the 28th of March.

[i2k]

Anytime you move a CableCARD from one device to another, it has to be re-paired. Since you already have the card in hand, I don't see why a truck roll would be necessary. In theory, all it should require is a quick phone call. That being said, Comcast has a tendency to do lots of unnecessary and completely illogical things. :D

Incorrect, this works fine moving cards around between multiple boxes with Verizon FIOS. Even for CP channels.

[i2k]

Also note that the Premiere only has one slot. So, if you want two tuners, you need to get an M-Card.

Shouldn't be an issue from most providers?

[jmpage2]

Shouldn't be an issue from most providers?

It won't be an issue since M Cards are all that have been around for the past couple of years.

However, many people will be upgrading Series-3 and Tivo-HD units that might have non-M cards already installed. In such cases they will need to do a truck roll for a new card if they want to tune more than one channel on their TiVo Premiere.