TiVo DVRs

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Main article: TiVo

TiVo corporation designed a number of digital video recorders which have been produced and sold by a number of other companies. All of the units listed here use the TiVo operating system software and require the TiVo service.

TiVo units have been manufactured by various OEMs, including Philips, Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba, and Humax, which license the software from TiVo Inc. To date, there have been three "series" of TiVo units produced, with the third series having been released on September 12, 2006.

Series Type Maker Model Capacity Notes
Hours GB
Series1 Standalone Philips HDR110 14 14
HDR112 14 14
HDR212 20 22
HDR310 30 2x14
HDR312 30 2x14
HDR31201
HDR31202
HDR31203
HDR31204		 30 30
HDR612 60 2x30
Sony SVR2000 30 30
Thomson PVR10UK 40 2x20 UK-only
DirecTV Philips DSR6000 35 40
Sony Sat-T60 35 40
Hughes GXCEBOT 35 40
Series2 Standalone TiVo/AT&T TCD130040 40 40 USB 1.1
TCD230040 40 40
TiVo TCD230040 40 40
TCD240040 40 40
TCD24004A 40 40
TCD540040 40 40
TCD140060 60 60 USB 1.1
TCD240080 80 80
TCD24008A 80 80
TCD540080 80 80
TCD240140 140 120
TCD540140 140 120
TCD649080 80 80 Dual-tuner
TCD649180 180 160 Dual-tuner
Pioneer DVR-810H 80 80 DVD Recorder
DVR-57H 120 120 DVD Recorder
Toshiba SD-H400 80 80 DVD Player
RS-TX20 120 120 DVD Recorder
RS-TX60 160 160 DVD Recorder
Humax T800 80 80
T2500 300 250
DRT400 40 40 DVD Recorder
DRT800 80 80 DVD Recorder
Sony SVR3000 80 80
DirecTV Hughes HDVR2 35 40
HDVR3 35 40
SD-DVR40 35 40
SD-DVR80 70 80
SD-DVR120 100 120
Philips DSR7000 35 40
DSR704 35 40
DSR708 70 80
RCA DVR39 35 40
DVR40 35 40
DVR80 70 80
Samsung S4040R 35 40
S4120R 100 120
DirecTV R10 70 80
HR10-250 200 250 High definition
Series3 Standalone TiVo TCD648250B 300 250 Dual-tuner
High definition
THX-certified

[edit] Series1

The (retronym) Series1 was the original TiVo digital video recorder.

Series1 TiVo systems are based on PowerPC processors connected to MPEG-2 encoder/decoder chips and IDE/ATA hard drives. Series1 TiVo units used one or two drives of 13–60 GB. Although not supported by TiVo or equipment manufacturers, larger drives can be added.

[edit] Series1 Standalone

All standalone TiVo systems have coax/RF-in and an internal cable-ready tuner, as well as analog video input—composite/RCA and S-Video—for use with an external cable box or satellite receiver. The TiVo unit can use a serial cable or IR blasters to control the external receiver. They have coax/RF, composite/RCA, and S-Video output, and the DVD systems also have component out. Audio is RCA stereo, and the DVD systems also have digital optical out.

[edit] Series1 DirecTV

Some TiVo systems are integrated with DirecTV receivers. These "DirecTiVo" recorders record the incoming satellite MPEG-2 digital stream directly to hard disk without conversion. Because of this and the fact that they have two tuners, DirecTiVos are able to record two programs at once. In addition, the lack of digital conversion allows recorded video to be of the same quality as live video. DirecTiVos have no MPEG encoder chip, and can only record DirecTV streams.

[edit] Series2

Front view of a Series2 TCD540040 Tivo unit
Front view of a Series2 TCD540040 Tivo unit
Back view of a Series2 TCD540040 Tivo unit
Back view of a Series2 TCD540040 Tivo unit

The Series2 was a complete redesign of the TiVo hardware. It includes USB ports (for Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters), a new CPU, and more RAM. The availability of network connectivity has spread to the software side, where new features like TiVoToGo and Home Media Engine applications are now supported.

Series2 TiVo systems are based on MIPS processors connected to MPEG-2 encoder/decoder chips and high-capacity IDE/ATA hard drives. Current Series2 units have drives of 40–250GB in size. Although not supported by TiVo or equipment manufacturers, larger drives can be added.

[edit] Series2 Standalone

All standalone TiVo systems have coax/RF-in and an internal cable-ready tuner, as well as analog video input—composite/RCA and S-Video—for use with an external cable box or satellite receiver. The TiVo unit can use a serial cable or IR blasters to control the external receiver. They have coax/RF, composite/RCA, and S-Video output, and the DVD systems also have component out. Audio is RCA stereo, and the DVD systems also have digital optical out. The Series2 systems also have USB ports, currently used only to support network (wired Ethernet and WiFi) adapters. The early Series2 units, models starting with 110/130/140, have USB1.1 hardware, while all other systems have USB2.0.

Some models manufactured by Toshiba, Pioneer, and Humax, under license from TiVo, contain DVD-R/RW drives. The models can transfer recordings from the built-in hard drive to DVD Video compliant disc, playable in most modern DVD systems. The video encoding on these models was modified to match the DVD standard so transferring to DVD does not require transcoding.

  • CPU:
  • RAM:
    • 1xx/2xx/5xx-series: 32 MB of 133 MHz 16-bit DDR
    • 6xx-series: 64 MB of 133 MHz 16-bit DDR
  • MPEG Encoder

[edit] Series2 DirecTV

Some TiVo systems are integrated with DirecTV receivers. These "DirecTiVo" recorders record the incoming satellite MPEG-2 digital stream directly to hard disk without conversion. Because of this and the fact that they have two tuners, DirecTiVos are able to record two programs at once. In addition, the lack of digital conversion allows recorded video to be of the same quality as live video. DirecTiVos have no MPEG encoder chip, and can only record DirecTV streams. However, DirecTV has disabled the networking capabilities on their systems, meaning DirecTiVo does not offer such features as multi-room viewing or TiVoToGo. Only the standalone systems can be networked without additional unsupported hacking.

The latest DirecTiVo units (HR10-250) can also record HDTV to a 250GB hard drive, both from the DirecTV stream and over-the-air via a standard UHF- or VHF-capable antenna. They have four tuners (two DirecTV and two ATSC over-the-air) and, like the original DirecTiVo, can record two programs at once; further, the program guide is integrated between over-the-air and DirecTV so that all programs can be recorded and viewed in the same manner.

On July 8, 2006, DirecTV announced an upgrade to version 6.3 of the TiVo software for the HR10-250, the first major upgrade since this unit was released.[4] This upgrade includes features such as program grouping (folders), a much faster on-screen guide, and new sorting features.

[edit] Series3

The Series3 TiVo was officially unveiled at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show [5], and was released to the public on September 12, 2006.

The Series3 DVR features support for high-definition broadcasts and has two tuners, each of which can receive NTSC, ATSC, and analog or digital cable. Encrypted digital cable can be received using CableCARDs. Because of the dual tuners, it can record from two sources simultaneously. For example, over-the-air broadcast programming and cable programming can be recorded at the same time. However, recording from two cable channels may require the use of multiple CableCARDs, or a single multistream CableCARD. If only one CableCARD is inserted into the unit, only one tuner is active and only one source can be recorded.

HDMI, component, S-video, and composite output are available. The Series 3 is also the first DVR to feature THX-certified audio and video.

The Series 3 can store up to 300 hours of non-HD video, or 32 hours of HD video, using its 250 GB hard drive. Like the Series 2 TiVos, storage can be increased by replacement of the hard drive -- something that can be done professionally, but is usually done by users familiar with how to perform PC drive replacement. An external SATA port, which would enable further storage, is currently disabled by the TiVo software.

The retail price is $799.99 USD [6] and is available on TiVo's website as well as electronics retailers nationwide. A monthly subscription fee must also be paid to utilize its features, although the product lifetime service may be activated on new units with a product lifetime gift card. It can also be transferred from a unit that already has lifetime service for a fee of $199.

  • CPU: Broadcom BCM7038
  • RAM: 128 MB for general CPU use- more for the encoders

[edit] See also

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