We do still have a long list of people in line for these units, but we think we’ll get a pretty good allocation, and that should cover all we have on back-order, plus any orders between now and the 30th.

Finally!

We now have in stock upgraded HR34 DirecTV Home Media Center DVRs. These units have 2 TB drives in them, for double the normal recording capacity.

If you’re looking for an HR34, please understand that our quantities are extremely limited currently. If you can add the item to your cart, we still have stock and can ship.

Order from our HR34 Home Media Center DVR page.

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.

For now, though, we’re taking pre-orders in four configurations, so you can get in line for your DIRECTV THR22 HD TiVo and we’ll ship as soon as we can.

It’s finally out, and while the waiting isn’t quite over yet, we’re doing our best to get these in stock faster than anyone, and then to ship right away.

So come and place your pre-order and reserve an early spot on the list. If you need to cancel before we ship, that’s no problem!

Here’s a screenshot of a 2 Terabyte THR22:

More information as we have it . . .

OK – we TiVo lovers will take what we can get, so this is better than nothing. Given the limited availability of this DVR and  worldwide hard drive shortages, it sure smells like a “let’s get it out in 2011″ Hail Mary.  Since authorized DIRECTV retailers won’t get the box until next year, we here at weaKnees have yet to see a physical unit.

Next up, what actually is it? Well, the THR22 is largely an HR22 DIRECTV HD DVR running different software, and shipping with a TiVo peanut remote. Unfortunately, this means the hardware is a bit behind the latest and greatest, smaller-size, faster-running, DIRECTV HD DVR HR24, but, again, beggars can’t be choosers.

And there are some trade-offs involved here. On the plus side, you get the TiVo interface (no, not the HD TiVo interface on TiVo Premiere units, but the SD interface from earlier models). You can record MPEG4 HD channels on TiVo (finally!) and you get the TiVo peanut remote, instead of the rectangular DirecTV remote (more on the remote later).

On the minus side, no Whole Home DVR (also called Multi-Room Viewing, or MRV), no NOMAD or iPad support, no 3D, and some other issues. Now, this unit is capable, hardware-wise, of these options, so there’s a chance that TiVo and DIRECTV will update the software to enable these features over time. But, given the slow pace of software development on this project thus far, we aren’t holding our breath.

Details are still coming about this new release, and we’re sure there are a lot more questions about it than we’ve answered here, but here’s one more tidbit. The peanut remote for this unit will reportedly run DIRECTV IR codes, not TiVo IR codes. That’s good and bad. Current TiVo peanut remotes (including the TiVo Slide Remote) won’t work with this new unit, as far as we understand. But this special peanut remote WILL work with other DIRECTV HD DVRs. So if you have an HR24 and you’re happy with it except for the remote, getting your hands on the new peanut might be the answer.

For us at weaKnees, of course, some of us will be getting these THR22s, partly to learn about them more fully, and partly because we’ll opt for the TiVo interface over the lost features and speed of the HR24. Also, being weaKnees, we want to know how much capacity we can cram into these units. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know how upgrades will work. But we’re on the case, and we’ll post what we know, when we know it.

Meanwhile, we’re being told we’ll have an inventory of THR22 boxes early next year, when the boxes roll out nationally. We hope to be offering upgrades sooner than that.

Stay tuned. We’ll be posting more info here in the coming weeks.

We’ve got upgrade kits for the TiVo DVRs sold there – the TCD663160 and TCD663320 units. Both use the same upgrade kits. We offer a few sizes maxing out at 2 TB for 400 HD hours of Freeview.

And we’ve got some accessories that work with these units also, including replacement remotes.

Visit our Australia and New Zealand TiVo Upgrade Kit page.

Here’s a screenshot of the 2 TB upgrade:

The coupon code is “25ELITE” and you need to enter it on our website in the “source code” area. Find this area:

These units are in stock and ready to ship!

Find the units here, at the bottom of the page:

TiVo Premiere Elite

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’ve successfully upgraded the unit to 4 TB for a total of about 640 hour of HD recording space. And these are also shipping, starting tomorrow. These units use a 2 TB internal drive, and a 2 TB external drive. Both drives are WD AV Green power models.

See our TiVo Premiere Elite models.