Got a THR22 already? We can upgrade it!

We know that not many of the new DirecTV HD TiVo DVRs are out there yet, but we’re already getting upgrade requests. So it’s official! We’ve got upgrade options. We can get up to 2 TB in your unit, for up to 300 hours of HD.

See our DirecTV TiVo THR22 Upgrade page.

We’re still in the testing procedures here, but we expect to have upgrades for these units in the new year.

Here’s a screenshot of a 2 Terabyte THR22:

More information as we have it . . .

This week, the TiVo Premiere Elite debuts. This is TiVo’s latest DVR, with four digital tuners, all capable of recording simultaneously. This is the first TiVo DVR ever that can record more than two channels at once.

We’ve been fielding a lot of questions about this new unit. Here are the answers.

What services will work with the Premiere Elite?

The TiVo Premiere Elite works with digital cable, including Verizon FiOS. That means pretty much any traditional cable company in the US is compatible with the TiVo Premiere Elite, including Comcast, Cox, TimeWarner, BrightHouse, etc.

Incompatible services include satellite TV (DirecTV and Dish) and AT&T’s U-Verse.

Will the Premiere Elite work with ATSC/OTA antenna, like the other Premieres?

No. The Elite ONLY works with digital cable – not analog cable, and not antenna. The other two TiVo Series4 models (TiVo Premiere and TiVo Premiere XL) will both work with digital antenna broadcasts and analog cable broadcasts. There is no way to add these capabilities to the Elite.

How do I get a CableCARD that can support four channels at once?

Any Multistream CableCARD can decode four channels at once in the Premiere Elite. In fact, Multistream cards are capable of decoding six streams at once; so far, no DVR can support more than four.

Older TiVo DVRs may have single-stream cards in them. A single-stream card will work in these units, but, of course, that means only one show can be recorded at a time.

Can I move my CableCARD from my other DVR to the Premiere Elite?

Generally, yes, you can move the card, but you’ll have to contact your cable company after doing so to have them re-provision the card for the new hardware. There may be some exceptions with certain cable providers.

Can I get TiVo Product Lifetime Service for the Elite?

Yes, lifetime service is available for the Elite. The price is currently $499.99 for new TiVo customers, or, if you have an account with an active unit at TiVo.com, you can get a $100 discount on lifetime service, so your cost would be $399.99.

Can I just move Lifetime Service to the Premiere from my other TiVo DVR?

No. TiVo will not allow Product Lifetime Service to be moved from one unit to another. However, if you have a unit with lifetime service, you do get a discount on subscribing another unit to lifetime service. See the entry above.

We previously wrote about TiVo DVRs having problems dialing in – specifically getting “call interrupted” errors.

Then we wrote to say that TiVo had alerted us that they had fixed the problem.

Well, unfortunately, I’m back to say, that doesn’t seem to be the case, at least for all users. Plenty of our customers are still seeing these dial-in problems. So if you are also, you’re not alone.

TiVo is on the case, but feel free to email us more info on your situation if you’d like, and if you include your 15 digit TiVo Service Number (TSN), we’ll pass it on to TiVo while this problem persists.

If you’ve got a Series1 TiVo (Sony SVR-2000 and Philips HDR series) and you’re getting a lot of “call interrupted,” you’re not alone.

We’ve been getting a LOT of inquiries via email and phone from people having this problem. We’re pretty sure it’s not a problem in the TiVos themselves, but rather at TiVo HQ. There are just too many reports for this to be a coincidence.

Over at TiVoCommunity, there’s a whole thread on the issue full of people experiencing these problems.

So, while we’d love to sell you a replacement hard drive or an external modem, we really think the best move is to sit tight and see if TiVo sorts this one out.

UPDATE: Looks like this does NOT just affect Series1 TiVos. I’ve been corrected by several people here at WeaKnees that this is happening with Series2, HD, and even Premiere units, not just with phone lines, but also with network connections.

TiVo! Help!