News - Updated Below
DIRECTV/TiVo HD DVR: Coming
Thursday
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (December 6,
2011) -- DIRECTV may launch the
much-anticipated new TiVo HD DVR this Thursday, the same day the
satcaster is expected to start selling a new version of a
company-branded HD DVR.
Update: In a press statement, TiVo has
confirmed that the HD DVR will be released tomorrow
According to a poster at the DIRECTV.com message board, the new
TiVo HD DVR will be launched in 10 markets on Thursday: Chicago,
Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix,,
Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
The poster refers to herself as val;_installs but does not offer
any other identification. Still, it's unlikely that DIRECTV
would permit the post to stay up if there was not some truth to
it. Plus, as noted by CNET.com, "Val_installs" has a DIRECTV
logo next to her name, a sign that she is a DIRECTV employee.
TiVo CEO Tom Rogers said last month that he expected that
DIRECTV would launch the new set-top in select markets in early
December.
"They
(DIRECTV) will be
initiating their launch in a number of major select markets in
December and then early next year, roll out the product
nationally,"
Rogers told Wall Street analysts in an investors call following
release of the company's third quarter financial report.
The poster says the new TiVo HD DVR, model THR22-100, will be
offered as an option to both new and current customers and that
a national rollout for all markets is still "being evaluated."
She also says the TiVo HD DVR will carry a $5 per month TiVo
service fee, which will be in addition to the $10 per month HD
access fee and $7 per month DVR service fee th at DIRECTV
charges for HD DVRs. (Update: TiVo's
statement says the set-top will also cost $199.)
DIRECTV and TiVo partnered to offer a TiVo DVR to the
satcaster's subscribers almost 10 years ago. But the partnership
collapsed in 2005, which has led to a sharp decline in TiVo
subscription numbers. In 2008, the companies said they were
reuniting to launch a new HD DVR, but it has been delayed until
now for unspecified reasons.
If the message board post is true, the TiVo launch may come the
same day that DIRECTV
will launch a new 5-tuner
DIRECTV-branded HD DVR that can also store up to 200 hours of HD
programming. The community message board, SatelliteGuys.us, says
it was tipped off by DIRECTV resellers that the product will be
released on Thursday.
The DIRECTV HD DVR, model HR34, is expected to enable viewers to
watch any show in any room with one DVR. According to
SatelliteGuys, the $99 set-top (after a $300 rebate) will also:
* Include a total of 800 hours of storage, including 200 hours
of high-def programming;
* Enable viewers to watch two shows at once without having to
change channels;
* Record and delete shows on every HD DVR in the house;
* And provide DIRECTV 'Whole Home' DVR service in four different
rooms.
The post at DIRECTV's Forum says the TiVo/DIRECTV HD DVR will
not be compatible with DIRECTV's Whole Home service. It will
also not have Picture In Picture, TV Apps, Game Search, 3D
programming or be compatible with DIRECTV's iPad app.
The post does not say how many hours of HD programming the TiVo
set-top will store, or how many shows you can record at the same
time.
Update: Multichannel News
writes that TiVo has issued a statement saying its DIRECTV HD
DVR will store up to 100 hours of HD programming but will not
have any Broadband features.
