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!

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.

I just found a Tweet from TiVo, still claiming it’ll happen in 2011, but they still leave it to DirecTV for the details:

“We’re planning for a release later this year. When DirecTV has more info on the availability/product we’ll let all you know”

TiVo DirecTV Tweet

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.

The TiVo Premiere Elite in an Eco-friendly Box

The Premiere Elite has four tuners–it can record four shows simultaneously, while you are watching a fifth recorded show. It is built on the same Premiere XL platform, but it lacks an off-air digital tuner. Therefore, it can ONLY be used with digital cable or Verizon FiOS, and it requires a CableCARD.

The Elite has some other cool features that TiVo’s other HD DVRs lack, such as built-in support for MoCA. Without boring you with the details, MoCA permits you to run Ethernet and cable over the same incoming line, so if you are unable to run an Ethernet cable to your TiVo, but you have a router near your cable modem, then you can combine the two signals onto the one coax cable line coming into your TiVo.

We have posted the TiVo Premiere Elite specifications for the TiVo Premiere Elite and we have a comprehensive TiVo Premiere comparison chart on the website as well.

Needless to say, we’ll be working on upgrades and will update the Blog once we have news.

But TiVo does have the Product Lifetime Service option (PLS) which means that you pay once for service for your unit, and that unit gets TiVo service as long as it’s in operation. PLS costs $499 currently, or $399 if you already have a TiVo account.

Since the PLS is tied to the unit and can’t be moved, we’ve have some units here with PLS on them, for considerably less than $499. So if you’re interested in buying a TiVo DVR that won’t incur monthly service fees, see our page of TiVo DVRs with prepaid Lifetime service.

Prices start at $199.

To recap, TiVo finally allowed for Product Lifetime Service on the TiVo Premiere line of units. While the price is a bit higher than in the past, the price of the hardware is significantly lower, so the total package costs about the same, in the end. You just pay less to us for the unit, and more to TiVo for the service.

But what if you already have a unit, Premiere or otherwise? Are you able to get lifetime service on an already-subscribed plan?

The answer is, yes, you can. The pricing is the same ($499.99 for primary units, and $399.99 with the multi-service discount on other units). To do so, you must fulfill your current service commitment first, if you have one, and then lifetime takes over. So if you subscribed a TiVo Premiere at $19.99 per month with a service commitment of 12 months, you need to pay for the full 12 months, even if you haven’t used them all yet.

If you have no remaining service commitment, you can just change over to lifetime anytime.

We think lifetime service is a great deal – on primary units, it pays for itself in 25 months.