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TiVo's newest DVR spotted in living room
Somewhere in the suburbs of New York City, a TiVo Series 3 DVR sits, quietly recording dual streams of quality high-def Cablevision programming. Or so we can gather from photos posted by HDBeat, a high-definition gadget blog, which shows a Series 3 underneath a Cablevision-branded set-top box. Last month, Zatz Not Funny reported that TiVo was notifying retailers and cable companies that its Series 3 boxes were hitting some retail markets.

What's so great about the Series 3? For starters, it can record high-definition TV. It also takes a fancy new CableCard, which obviates the need for a cable set-top box to decrypt digital cable programming. (You still need a set-top box for interactive features, like video on demand, however.) CableCards have proved controversial, however -- Time Warner Cable in Raleigh, North Carolina, first told a user that it wouldn't support CableCards, and then rapidly backpedaled, according to TiVoBlog.

Even if you can get the cable company to support CableCards, you're still going to face an arduous installation process. HDBeat's tipster told the blog it took three visits by a cable technician and four different cards before they got it to work.

Is a dual-tuner HD TiVo worth the bother? Post a comment and let us know what you think.
Posted by Owen Thomas 10:23 AM 5 Comments comment | Add a Comment

I would say so. I have a Series 2 with the IR cables attached to my cable box. A couple times a week at least, the cable box fails to receive the signal properly and the wrong channel is recorded. If I can get a cable card put directly into my TiVo, it's a huge win for me, even if it involves some initial hassle. I don't have HD, but if I ever get it I would want to watch my recorded shows in HD- that equipment is too expensive not to take advantage of with every show possible.
Posted By Bill- Grapevine, TX : 1:26 PM  

Why would you bother when you can already get a Dual Tuner HDDVR supplied by the calbe company for free (not to mention the price is half the cost of TiVO)!! I haven't used "TiVo" but I have to think that most people simply care that the DVR works and is fairly easy to use which I find the Comcast version to be all of the above. Also just what I want another box by my TV to go along w/ the DVD Player, Cable Box, Xbox 360, etc.
Posted By D, Seattle, WA : 1:41 PM  

Yes

Will Tivo support IPTV?
Posted By Josh, Shawnee OK : 10:07 PM  

Is a dual-tuner HD TiVo worth the bother? Why don't you ask the consumers who have been enjoying dual-tuner standard DirecTiVo DVRs for the past four years? The resounding answer to your question will be Yes, Definitely! I personally have a Hughes SD-DVR40 DirecTiVo unit (which I upgraded myself to 200Gb), and have had a dual-tuner DirecTV DVR product ever since UltimateTV was released in 2000. The ability to record one program while watching another--or record two programs simultaneously, and watch one off the "Now Playing" list--is most definitely worth whatever trouble one must go through to ensure its operation.
Posted By Gregory Pius, Lake Worth, Florida : 10:42 PM  

Dual HD-TIVO is the best thing to ever reach TV. I'm not sure about the Series 3 - but i've had the Series two for nearly two years and me and my kids (who are 4 and 5 and know how to work the thing like magic) would never use anything else.
Posted By Zach - CT : 12:53 PM  

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