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TiVo XL with a 1TB hard drive

TiVo has just announced a new model with a hard drive with a 1Terabyte (TB) in recording capacity.

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It may not be the most popular PVR around but the TiVo has just announced a new model with a hard drive that leaves its original device a long way behind.

The new TiVo XL will offer a 1Terabyte (TB) in recording capacity, dwarfing the
hard drive of the original 320GB (upgraded from 160GB).

This provides customers up to 350 hours of SD (Standard Definition), or 150 hours of HD (High Definition) of free-to-air TV programs. It will retail at $699 when it goes on sale from December 12th.

By comparison Foxtel’s iQ2 currently has a 320GB Hard Drive.

Hybrid TV’s TiVo has struggled to gain traction in Australia, with early criticism about its ad-skipping function being disabled and staff cutbacks.

26 Responses

  1. I got a $50 HD STB at the start of the year, hooked up an external drive and it works great, biggest plus is I can upgrade the HDD any time to just about any size, I can also hook it strait up to my computer and playback anything I’ve recorded.

    The only upside to TiVO that I can see is the smart recording where it records what I might want, but in my case the 1Tb could be full in a few weeks LOL

  2. So…still the old TiVo with a bigger hard disk included?

    The new TiVo in the US has four tuners, but unless I read incorrectly, no longer supports FTA TV. It’s for cable only. Not helpful in an Australian market.

    Pity that we don’t actually have TiVo supporting the product in Australia. Instead, it’s “Hybrid TV” – a company that has no control over the real core of TiVo, just the ability to localise the old system for our market.

  3. I agree with Savvy…

    I can record on any old usb thumb drive or external hard drive I want. Then I can watch/edit what I’ve recorded on my computer and it only cost me $59 about a year ago (and it’s HD).

    If Tivo had been launched about ten years ago I would have been all of it, though.

  4. Re Tivo service: I’ve had a Tivo for 2 years, well this is the second. The first one would just reboot randomly and with a 10 minute reboot time it was very frustrating!
    It took over 3 months and dozens of 30 minute phone calls to their ‘service department’. I use this term losely as I unfortunately discovered that consists of a call centre person asking scripted questions. Every time I called they would ask all of the questions again from the start.
    That is all they have in Australia as I couldn’t talk to a tech.
    They time and time again said it was my antenna and made me get it professionally checked at at cost of $180 before they finally replaced the Tivo. The TIVO is OK but their back up service is very very poor. When it dies next time I definately won’t get another one.

  6. My partner and I agree that out TiVO is the best electrical appliance we’ve ever bought. We’ve got the external 1TB drive attached to it and it is sooooooooo full of programming that I don’t think we’ll ever get around to watching it all…

  7. TiVo is, and always has been, over-priced. You can get the same specs and functionality for around *half* the price. Seriously. Plus they lock you into to their even more expensive external hardware where, with most others, you can just plug in any external 1TB drive which will set you back $70 or less if you shop around.

  8. Seeing some of the TiVo 320GB specials out there, then adding the WD 1TB TiVo expander drive (which is more expensive than most other 1TB drives) – this is still cheaper than the new 1TB TiVo. Also the Australian TiVo is still an outdated model. I hope that Hybrid TV (7) bring the newer models to Australia one day.

  10. Why doesnt everyone just go out and buy those $60 set top boxes and connect an external hard drive. I’ve already filled a 1TB and I’ve got a 2TB hooked up to it now

  11. Add to that the recording of wrong channels which TIVO has a tendancy to do from time to time such as recording channel 62 instead of 72. Has been very frustrating, I wouldn’t recommend it.

  13. I’ve tried various different PVRs around the globe, having lived in the UK, US & Australia… and I’ve always reverted to Tivo. It’s simple, functional and reliable (and you generally can’t blame the device for not picking up late changes by broadcasters). I’d also rather support an enterprising, service-oriented company like Tivo, than have a PVR from any of the Murdoch-related companies. Or the badly-designed, totally unreliable T-Box from Telstra.

  14. You can buy a Sorny with Dual Tuners and a 1TB HDD for $399 , Tivo to me is outdated and overpriced , better still buy a Topfield Masterpiece and record 4 channels at once.

  15. Not really a new model though. It’s just the old model with a larger drive.
    As Ken said, they actually do have a new model in the US: the Elite. With 2 TB and 4 tuners, it’s $500US but they charge a whopping $20 monthly fee just for the guide data.

    The model sold here in Australia is actually Tivo’s 2006 model. In technology terms that’s ancient.

  16. They have to fix a lot of other problems before I’d ever consider another Tivo. Frequent EPG inaccuracies, schedules skipped for no valid reason, inability to override schedules that are going to be skipped… The list goes on.

    They’re fine for very basic use and for those with very low expectations. Anyone else should be looking at a real PVR, such as Topfield (can’t beat that Auto-Scheduler TAP) or Beyonwiz. (both of which have shipped with larger drives for quite some time now)

  18. I think the TiVo is a fantastic device. It really is set and forget. Got one for my Mum (80 years old) and after 1 week of learning, she has no issues with it. The previous one was always a problem for her. I do wish Hybrid would bring out the Elite here. 4 Tuners would be awesome in the ‘new world’ of multiple FTA channels. Fingers crossed.

  19. Foxtel has sent out email to some customers with a special pre-launch offer to upgrade to a 1 TB IQHD for $200 – it said the launch date was November.

    It allows slightly less hours (140 hours HD) for recording because it stores on demand programming on the disc.

  20. Great! Buying the Tivo WD expander drive was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made as it meant I didn’t have to worry about running out of space. Good news that the same capacity will now be inbuilt.

  21. i thought there were articles which said its was the no 1 selling PVR in Australia?

    who really needs that much space anyway? plus there’s an extendable 1tb hard drive you can buy for it

  22. And Foxtel have announced that it will launch a 1tb version of its foxtel iq2 in November as well:

    We know you’re always among the first to experience Foxtel’s latest products, so that’s why we want to tell you about an exciting new product before it actually launches. The iQHD 1TB box has all the great features of iQHD but with 4 x the current personal recording space. That means you’ll be able to watch:
    Up to 140 hours of HD programs (currently up to 30), or
    Up to 370 hours of SD programs (currently up to 90)

    With so much extra recording space, it’s even easier to fit your favourite programs around your lifestyle, or build a bigger playlist of first class viewing.
    The iQHD 1TB launches in November so be one of the first on the waiting list for this amazing product. To upgrade, for a one-off fee of $200*, simply fill out the online form by Monday 7 November. We will then send the iQHD 1TB directly to your door

  23. The thing I hate about tivo is that you cant attach any external device like a usb stick to offload content. You have to buy a special tivo external device that costs a fortune. Also you cant see how much room you have left on the hard drive. Think I’ve only got a 160 gig one. Otherwise I cant do without my tivo.

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