TiVo’s pushed out a press release that expands upon earlier news of a new four tuner TiVo Premiere Q and non-DVR TiVo Preview (pictured). An excerpt:
Consistent with TiVo’s mission to bring the TiVo experience to every screen in the house, these new products enable TiVo’s operator partners to provide a superior advanced television experience to non-DVR households, single DVR households, as well as multi-room DVR households. With its four tuners and support for broad range of video on demand content over IP, the TiVo Premiere Q serves as an advanced video gateway, while TiVo Preview provides the full TiVo user experience for non-DVR households and also functions as a thin client complement to those using a TiVo DVR, creating a fantastic multi-room viewing experience. Both set-top boxes support the full integration of operator services such as Video on Demand, PPV, CallerID on the TV and linear programming, plus access to broadband applications and services.
Unfortunately, for at least the moment, these products will only be available through MSOs… as the announcement goes on to say:
TiVo plans to make both new products available to its cable operator partners later this year.
Further, I reached out to TiVo this AM for clarification. Their response:
Premiere will continue as our primary retail offering. Premiere Q is digital-only, built specifically for distribution by cable operators.
So that answers the tuner question. And for the time being, those of us who prefer purchasing home entertainment gear without involving our cable provider are out of luck. However, a “primary” retail offering doesn’t necessarily preclude a “secondary” retail offering… online or via Magnolia. And I did confirm the Preview contains a CableCARD slot.
I’m preparing follow-up questions for TiVo, Inc. Get yours in below and I’ll report back with anything notable.
