TiVo's New HD XL DVR Could Save Your Marriage
TiVo this week announced the launch of it’s new DVR player that offers more recording capacity than any other TiVo model.
The TiVo HD XL comes with 1 TB of space, enough for 150 hours of HD recording in comparison to the 20 hours of recorded programming users get out of the 160 GB TiVo HD. Aside from the huge increase of space, the XL is pretty much identical to the older TiVo HD, save for a few minor differences that most people would not even notice.
The release of the monster TiVo comes at a time when DVRs are becoming increasingly popular. According to Ars Technica, a survey of over 1,000 people from the U.S., UK, Italy and Australia showed that the DVR has quietly crept up the list of essential devices in the home. DVRs ranked third (surpassed by washing machines and microwaves) on people’s list of essential devices in the home in the U.S., UK and Australia. Those surveyed ranked DVRs second only to their cell phone and above MP3 players and consoles.
Statistics and numbers aside, one of the more, er, interesting (and perhaps worrying?) discoveries was that 79 percent of the Americans surveyed said the DVR improved their relationship with their significant other. Similar results were true of the other countries with the Britons surveyed scoring the lowest at 62 percent. Apparently the married population of Britain don’t argue over television all that much.
A lot of people seem to think $600 is a pretty substantial pricetag for the TiVo HD XL (compared to $300 for TiVo HD), we’d be inclined to say that twice the price for that much extra space is good value. Really good value, and if it’s going to help your marriage, we’d say buy two.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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I have 2 TiVos and I really like the machines but I do not know where they come up with their pricing on higher capacity versions. There certainly is not a $300 difference between a 160GB drive and a 1 TB drive. I would think they could source the TB drives for under $125 each. The 160GB drives have to cost them at least $25 each so I am seeing maybe a $100 cost difference. I could see them marking that up a bit but three times?!? I really wish they would just open up and sell the software and the remote individually so we could use our own hardware. Maybe raid up a bunch of inexpensive 320Gb drives....... add in a Blueray burner, stick in a 10/100/1000 network card..... yeah.Reply
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velo116 As a TiVo owner I was originally excited to hear the news, but for such a large jump in price, I don't know if it's worth the extra money. I can keep my existing TiVo HD and add on the 500gb external drive from WD for $170. Then again, I'm sure this is aimed at new customers rather than existing customers.Reply -
TwoDigital Can you still use the old TiVo "bless" program and put in whatever replacement primary drive you want? With 1Tb drives being relatively cheap, stick with the original HD box and put in your own 1Tb drive... especially if it's quicker or more quiet than what ships in the new TiVo.Reply