Tivo Australian release details, pricing emerge

Posted Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 8:22 pm by Jason Cartwright |

Due for it Australian release later this month, Australia will be the first market Tivo has entered and not featured monthly subscription fees. The set-top DVR can be purchased outright for AU $699 at Harvey Norman initially (July 15th is tipped to be the date), then other retailers in the following months.

The Australian Tivo is expected to ship with dual HD tuners to allow for recording of 2 channels simultaneously, HDMI, a 250 GB hard drive (plus a eSata port to rig up extra storage). The Tivo will also feature an Ethernet port to enable network content streaming and updates to the in-built program guide.

Without the on-going revenue stream, consumers will naturally pay more for the up-front cost of the device. For what Tivo offers, I think the price tag is a little steep and will place it firmly into the TV enthusiast category. Had they offered Tivo for around $200-$300, it would appeal to everyday consumers, and could have seen a place in most Australian homes.

Tivo Australia

More @ CNET

http://spinningwebs.com.au/ SWM

I'm glad they don't seem to be planing a monthly subscription fee, thus I would be willing to pay a higher up-front cost for this DVR unit but I think I'll wait and see the price from other retailers as Harvey Norman are hardly the place for bargain prices. I wonder if Costco Melbourne will have them! lol

I think they could have offered two versions, this unit could have been the high-end which costs more, they could have had a cheaper version perhaps with only one HD tuner?

I'm guessing Tivo/Seven Network will implement other data services for their on-going revenue stream such as movie hire etc. via the Ethernet port.

It's a shame it doesn't have WiFi as I think many people wont have Ethernet cables close enough to the television or have opted to use a WiFi network at home allowing them to keep their Cable/ADSL/phone line and transmitter at the opposite end of their homes. On the other hand, one of my computers has a HD Tuner card and when I use a WiFi dongle with it they sometimes appear to have issues working together so maybe WiFi attached to such a device would cause problems.

I'm fairly disappointed with the 250 GB hard drive, I'd expect minimum 500 GB or even 1 TB, but I'd guess they did this so they can release a new version in 12 months which will have more hard drive space and additional features!?

I wonder if they have different colours, as this looks fairly ugly.

Tivo Australian release details, pricing emerge

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