New TiVo Device to be called TiVo Premiere?
I just received a TiVo HD via the “Upgrade” program today for my bedroom, and inside the box I received instructions on how to “Setup TiVo Premiere or Premiere XL.” I immediately noticed this as I’ve never seen this product name before.
I figured it was a simple re-branding until I looked to the picture on the bottom of the page for where to put the CableCard. I already own a TiVo Series 3, which takes the two cards in the back, and the TiVo HD takes two cards in the front. So I was surprised to see this picture to show a single slot on the back. That’s when I noticed that this didn’t match my TiVo HD at all, and is in fact a new un-released TiVo model called the TiVo Premiere!
I assume that it will also come in an “XL” edition, as it says “Tivo Premiere or Premiere XL.” The main differences I can see is that It features only one Cablecard slot, which is said to be for Multi-Stream Cards only. It no longer has the S-video output and phone jack. It also seems a bit shorter than than the TiVo HD is, judging by the spacing of the component video jacks. The second page also shows the TiVo software’s CableCard UI with just the single slot on the screen, which is clear this is for a device with just one CableCard slot.
I assume this was accidentally inserted into my box during the shipping process last week. From the looks of it, it just appears to be a revised Series 3/HD model aimed to lower production costs. The inclusion of a CableCard slot leads me to believe this isn’t a new Series 4 model, which is supposed to have Tru2way. Either way, I bet we’ll see an announcement at CES next month. Those wanting to take a closer look, you can download a PDF scan (~10MB) of the document to look over yourself.
You can also read the discussion I started over at Tivo Community for more ideas/insight to what this may be.Figures just my luck that TiVo releases a new unit sometime soon after I purchased a new one!
