We suppose it’s safe to assume the TiVo Premiere Elite soft launch, with limited retail inventory, was a success. As the company has not only decided to wisely simplify branding across the Premiere DVR line, they’re also reintroducing the “Elite” as the “XL4” in full color packaging (versus their original brown box). The new boxes are expected to roll out at Best Buy beginning on Sunday. And, as a refresher, the TiVo Premiere lineup includes three models of varying recording capacities and tuner count:
It’s also worth noting that while the Premiere and Premiere XL can tune over-the-air programming via antenna, in addition to digital cable, the TiVo Premiere XL4 is only suitable for cable (and FiOS) subscribers.
As an owner of the original Premiere, I’ve been contemplating a hard drive upgrade. But it may make sense to take this opportunity, given the recent price cut, to simply replace my unit with the more capacious, four tuner Premiere XL4. Especially with retail extenders expected later this year (not to mention a Netflix app update is just weeks away).
