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TiVo Series 3 Lite pics and specs revealed

engadget.com — Falling right in line with the news TiVo CEO Tom Rogers hinted at back in March, the struggling company is readying the highly anticipated HD Series 3 "Lite,which will target a much wider range of consumer with a price point of around $299 All in all, a pretty attractive package when you don't have a lot of cash to burn.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 18, 2007

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  • meetthescott, on 10/11/2007, -3/+36I like my TiVo like I like my women: black, mostly plastic, and no more than $299.
  • CornMonkey, on 10/11/2007, -5/+36Bring back Lifetime Subscription and I'll gladly pick up that Series3 Lite.
  • arwalke, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12This is still far from official, but still good news. Now if only TiVo service didn't cost $17/month...
  • Gerz1219, on 10/11/2007, -3/+11Yes, it would be just like giving away free money -- considering that you've already bought the equipment and all the "service" does is track your viewing habits, deliver ads, and provide electronic program guide data which *every* competitor (cable companies, MythTV, Windows MCE) gives away for free. The Lifetime Subscription was worth the $200 premium just to have Tivo's interface, but when they try to charge $17 a month to use equipment I own, they've lost a customer.
  • dree, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10Hopefully it's like ~$250 @ online retailers at launch and then ~$200 for Christmas.
  • tedtropy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7TiVo is all about that beautiful, streamlined, and just plan logical interface. Anyone that's used one can attest to how great an experience it it versus some of the freebie DVRs out there. Don't even get me started on the godawful Scientific Atlantis DVR Time Warner had me stuck with for awhile...
  • rufo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7There is a three-year subscription offer at about $8/month ($299).

    TiVo ain't the cheapest thing in the world, but it is awful nice...
  • therippa, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7I can record non-OTA broadcasts in HD, does Vista support cablecard yet?
  • YuriSakazaki, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6I really wish I could use a TiVo on DirecTV. I recently got a DirecTV HDVR and the thing is a piece of crap.
  • philipl411, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6What makes Tivo worth owning? The remote. I can scroll thru menus without having to look at the button, the remote is designed well.
  • rufo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5They've been enabled for a while - check www.tivocommunity.com. It just involves blessing the drive with a TiVo boot disc or entering a special code when the TiVo starts.
  • rufo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+51) Yes - you just need to get two CableCARDs from your cable provider, which are usually about $2/3 a month.
    2) Yes - grab an internal hard drive and a copy of the TiVo bless disc and you can do it with any HD you like. Check www.tivocommunity.com or just search google for "upgrade tivo" for directions.

    Once you go TiVo, it's really, really hard to go back... the interface, scheduling (including online scheduling!) and management features kick the snot out of almost every DVR out there. I spent too much money on a regular Series3 and a Lifetime transfer, but I absolutely, positively could not stand TW's SA8300 for more than about 5 minutes.
  • hansonc, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4they have to by law. They'll probably disable anything you'd actually want to use on the cablecard such as on demand and PPV though
  • jstohler, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Then you don't value your money. $17 for a single DVD is too much, and $17/month subscription is too much.
  • jstohler, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5Damn skippy. I'm not paying a monthly fee.
  • arwalke, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Many local cable companies still charge way too much for lackluster DVRs. TiVo is special because of the interface it offers; much like the iPod/iPhone, in that the product isn't really technologically novel, but offers a superior user experience.
  • arwalke, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Well considering all they are really doing is beaming Electronic Programming Guide data to your device (that's available for far less than $17/month elsewhere)...the price is a bit high, especially when considered over the life of the device (probably about 3 years). Cable companies are able to offer DVR service (albeit on boxes with awful interfaces) for $4 or $5/month, so TiVo should be able to do for $10/month (which they did for several years), especially when you own the equipment.
  • arwalke, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Unfortunately, a multi-year subscription is the only way to lower the cost to an acceptable level. They really just need to bring back lifetime subscriptions (that if I remember were $300 originally).
  • OandA, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Its still as ugly as the prototype.
  • bloodguard, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4If they have a deal where I get the Series 3 Lite and can transfer my Lifetime subscription from my Series 2 for ~$300.00 I might buy one.
  • gweedo767, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Easy solution, leave cable. I know I will get dugg down for this but so be it. Dish offers you more channels, better quality, more HD, better hardware and all at a lower price.
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4I'll gladly buy one when they enable external SATA ports.
  • birdsoft, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2That would be great, except most of us are still on cable...
  • arwalke, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2AppleTV doesn't offer HD, let alone DVR capabilities. Still quite different markets for the two devices.
  • rufo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Meh. If you have a TiVo, what the hell do you care about On Demand?

    And spend the money you'd spend on PPV and get a HBO/Showtime/Starz/heck, even Netflix subscription. More variety - at any one point in time I usually have about 4 high-def movies kicking around to choose from on the TiVo's HD.
  • gthiruva, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Because not everyone has DIsh. Don't get me wrong, Dish is a good service. But for those of us who don't have a southwestern sky view, cable/antenna is the only choice. I can't comment on the Dish DVR, but TiVo rocks. It's well designed, has an intutive user interface and kicks the crap out of any DVR that the cable company would want to rent to you.
  • xoineg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Great, does anyone know if it will work with RCN in NY? my RCN cable box sucks and this wouldbe a good replacement, but i don't know if RCN offer cable cards...
  • BlameCanada, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I could have sworn I read somewhere awhile ago that Comcast and TiVo had worked out a deal that would bring the TiVo software to Comcast DVRs that would also have HD and cablecard support. Is this true and does anyone know more specifics about that?
  • mrbungle1975, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It still won't support DTV so I'm SOL anyways.
  • arwalke, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I agree with that; HD DVR + NetFlix + Xbox360 HD-DVD drive is all I need. That combination offers plenty of HD content that I can watch when I want.
  • Ironman11, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1While I had a standard-def Tivo and loved it, when we got the HDTV we moved to Dish Network's ViP622 HDDVR, and I have no desire for a Tivo Series 3 now. The 622 has a huge 320gig hard drive, can record up to 3 programs at once, and has a decent UI. I don't see paying $300 +$16 a month for a Series 3 Lite when the 622 was free and is only $6 a month.
  • arwalke, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The current Series 3 TiVo doesn't support recording anything in HD except ATSC (over-the-air) and digital cable (through two CableCARDs). It would appear this will be the same. I don't know about the device being able to record SD material from DirecTV.
  • WITFITS, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I think on-demand and PPV do not function on the cablecards currently available (though don't quote me on that).
  • papaslurp, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I remember hearing something a few months back about DirecTV not supporting this device... can anyone confirm or deny?
  • bgtees, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1So how does this compare to the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD I get through Comcast? If this thing is (1) able to record two shows at once, and (2) able to be upgraded with additional storage space....I'll be buying one the day it comes out. I'm sick of paying $20ish to Comcast every month for DVR "service".
  • macboyrules, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1 You are the first person I have ever heard from that uses the words "amazing" and "Dish DVR" in the same sentence. What koolaide did they give you, and can I have some? The Dish DVR is no where near the quality of the TiVo, nor is the interface even remotely as nice, and that's even after they basically ripped-off the TiVo software to begin with. Oh, and BTW, it's still very possible that you will wake up some day soon and your Dish DVR won't work because they finally had to comply with the court order in the loss to TiVo.
  • mrgreen4242, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'll wait for $99 refurb and TiVoToGo for the Series 3... if they can get that before I switch to a dish and get a free HDDVR I'll upgrade my Series 2 DT. I really only need OTA HD, but getting ESPN/FSN HD would be nice...
  • fani, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I may get this only if you can directly copy files off of the Tivo... I'm sick of Comcast DVR and having to jump through hoops to copy files off of the DVR. ***** DRM, 5C and all that *****.
    One alternative I do is I have the Archos 604 Wifi. That thing is awesome. Simply hook it up to the DVR and you record directly on the Archos and play it back on TV.
  • AARGH2K, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It's called Tivo Home Media, check it out
  • JonMcL, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Actually you are misinformed.
    The AppleTV does offer HD (720p). Most (or all) of the content available on the iTunes store is not in HD. If you rip your own DVDs, or if you produce your own movies, the AppleTV will gladly play them back in HD.

    ..but you are right that it doesn't have DVR capabilities. Maybe someday as an add-on box, but for now TiVo and AppleTV are in different markets. I have both :)
  • ChildeRoland420, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1They should work on V2 cablecards. I'm not sure which version this supports tho, or if cable companies are shipping the cards yet.
  • AARGH2K, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This is perfect, as I am currently waiting for FIOS to show up so I can ditch DirecTV and their crappy reception in bad weather, and since at some point they will no longer support my HDTivo. Don't need THX, and I have a Harmony 880 remote so don't need the fancy remote. The smaller h/d is the only downer, especially with how cheap drives are now.
  • jordan1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1150 total channels which means they are including all the locals too. there aren't even 150 channls showing HD right now anyway.
  • Thundercat1971, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1yeah, the real difference is between the cable co motorola DVRs and the tivo. After I switched to HD cable, I managed to live with the Moto 3412 for about 3 weeks. After that I would have paid more than retail for the S3. Still a happy S3 owner after about a year.
  • Thundercat1971, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1yes, its true. It will be a feature-stripped version of the tivo software that will run on the motorola boxes. It will cost you a fee to upgrade the software to the tivo version, and there aren't any reports yet on how stable it is.
  • Boofster, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I think I'll pick one up. I wanted the $800 one as HD is best OTA or QAM and it would be great to record it.
  • arwalke, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1While I have the current setup myself with an ATSC antenna and love it, I would like the ability to record encrypted QAM channels (ESPN, ESPN2, Discovery, etc.) and right now the only way to do that is with a CableCARD DVR, like the TiVo Series 3.
  • lafty, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0TiVo is so overpriced. There should be no service fee and the box (non-lite version HD version) should be under 300. I wonder why the company is having money issues!
  • capotesan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I called to cancel my TiVo service when I got an HD DVR from the cable company. Since I'd had it for two years and they didn't want to lose my service, they asked if I would keep it for $7 a month. I said yes for some reason...and haven't used it since. But it's nice that they cut me a deal.
  • popnwave, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0as a lifetime sub of a S2 box.. i will use mine until it dies, i love the tivo interface but the monthly cost makes it less valuable to me than just renting an HD DVR from Brighthouse here in Tampa.
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