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Product Information TiVo News TiVo Upgrade WeaKnees News

weaKnees Upgrades the TiVo Premiere to 4TB!

This blog post should have written itself, but I couldn’t pick a headline.

Store 5,600 hours of TV on your TiVo Premiere!

Record 639 HOURS of high-def TV on your new TiVo Premiere!

weaKnees upgrades the TiVo Premiere to 4TB!

weaKnees produces the biggest TiVo ever, again!

About 640 HD Hours on one TiVo!

Whatever the case, if you’re reading this, you’re likely enough of a TiVo fan to know that the TiVo Premiere started shipping a little over a week ago. However, due to some changes in the way and location that data is stored on the Premiere, upgrading the box was not the same as earlier models.

Just as with the TiVoHD and TiVoHD XL, new tools had to be developed. Fortunately, we have some very talented folks behind the scenes (and a hearty, warm and huge thank you goes out to the one largely responsible!), and once again, we have an upgrade solution up and running.

We haven’t put the kits up on the site quite yet because we want to do some additional testing, but the 4TB kit consists of a 2TB inside the TiVo and a 2TB external. We expect to have 2TB internal kits available for both the Premiere and the XL, and likely will have a 1TB and 1.5TB kit to replace the 320gb in a Premiere.

And, of course, we’ll have a variety of complete units for sale soon, topping out with a 4 TB TiVo Premiere XL.

Keep watching the blog for more info. You can also subscribe to our email list to be notified when these units are ready to go!

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Product Information TiVo News WeaKnees News

TiVo Premiere & New Glo Remote Shipping Early!

Our shipment of TiVo Premiere units is heading toward Los Angeles and we will be shipping units out to all of our TiVo Premiere pre-order customers on 3/28, a day earlier than planned (thanks, TiVo!).

In addition, starting 3/26, we will be shipping the new TiVo Premiere XL Glo Remote.

This remote is similar to the Series3 Glo Remote, but has no DVR1/2 switch (used to control two DVRs independently using the same remote), but does have A, B, C & D color-coded buttons used in the new high-def TiVo Premiere user-interface.

The new Series4 Glo Remote IS backward compatible to all TiVos that use a peanut-shaped remote, but from what understand, the A, B, C & D buttons will have no functionality in the older-model TiVo DVRs.

TiVo Premiere XL Remote Control

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DirecTV Product Information WeaKnees News

SWM8 Coupon- Save $10 to get to $119, Shipped!

We’re pretty sure we’re already the lowest price anywhere on the DirecTV SWM8 multiswitch, but now we’re going even lower!

Through April 15, 2010, save an additional $10 off a SWM8. So your price is now $119, including free ground shipping. Our SWM8s ship with the PI-29 power inserter – that’s included in the price.

Use Source Code SWM10 at checkout to save $10 on your SWM8.

Come see all of our DirecTV SWM products.

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Product Information TiVo News

Current TiVo Service Plans

In light of the announcement of the TiVo Premiere, we thought this would be a good time to recap the various service plans available at TiVo!

At WeaKnees, we really recommend the lifetime service option (PLS, or Product Lifetime Service) for your TiVo DVR. At $399 for your first unit (and less for additional units – see below) this pays for itself in 31 months versus the monthly plan option at $12.95.

TiVo Service Plans

Compared to the Annual service plan, the Product Lifetime plan pays for itself in just over three years. You just have to come up with the $399 up front. But if you’re considering Lifetime, make sure you don’t pay for any monthly service first; that money would just be wasted.

Another benefit of Lifetime Service is that, since it’s tied to that box, it’s transferable. So if you decide, down the road, to upgrade to a newer TiVo, you can sell the old one with the lifetime attached. In many cases, that’s what makes the upgrade to a new box financially viable.

Next, for existing customers with TiVo DVRs, or for customers activating more than one DVR, the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth DVR on one account qualify for discounted service – called MSD or Multi Service Discount.

So instead of the pricing as above, these second-through-sixth TiVo DVRs (on the same account, at the same address) qualify for $100 off Product Lifetime Service and other discounted options:

TiVo Multi-Service Discount (MSD)

We make the same argument here that lifetime service is worthwhile, for the same reasons. Again, the lifetime option pays for itself in about 30 months, versus the monthly option.

So how do you activate your new TiVo DVR? Click over to TiVo! and choose the “Activate a TiVo box” link on the very bottom left of the homepage.

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WeaKnees News

TiVo® Launches the Series 4 TiVo Premiere

Last night at an over-the-top Applesque launch event, TiVo announced two new TiVo DVRs for cable, ATSC antenna and Verizon FiOS (but not for DIRECTV or AT&T Uverse).

TiVo is calling this one “THE ONE BOX TO RULE THEM ALL.”

The big pitch is that the Premiere “elegantly combines access to cable programming, movies, web videos, and music all in one box.”

TiVo’s goal with the Premiere is to integrate content from cable and the Internet into one user-friendly device. A brand-new HD interface (based on Adobe® Flash) will make it easier and prettier to find shows and content.

TiVo’s massive press release contains a load of features of the new interface. For example, with a mandated broadband connection (no phone modem allowed, at least not until a modem adapter is released), you can find programs from YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, or Blockbuster On Demand, plus options from the Web.

Not sure if TiVo paid KB for this one, but they boast of “Six-Degrees of Separation” using the new interface. According to TiVo, Premiere will settle debates over “where have I seen that actor before?” If you have a favorite actor, for example, you can view entire entertainment resumes and cast lists. And so on.

We haven’t yet tried it yet, but TiVo has incorporated a “30-second scan” feature, which let’s you blitz through 30-seconds in a second or two. We’ll wait to see whether the “real” 30-second skip can continues, but we’ve heard hints that it will still be there.

FINALLY, the Premiere will include an on-screen disk space meter that shows how much room is left to record and the ability to watch TV from within the Guide.

Ok, so what about capacity? What about upgrades? We fully intend to offer upgraded units once they are stable. Until then, The TiVo Premiere box has up to 45 hours of HD storage space or up to 400 hours of standard definition programming capacity. The TiVo Premiere XL box holds up to 150 hours of high-definition or up to 1350 hours of standard definition programming.

3D Glasses?! If you  look carefully, you’ll see product shots that show glasses in the XL box. Sorry, not 3D. They are “THX Optimizer Blue Glasses” (aka cheap calibration mod or Halloween costume, take your pick), that are “designed for adjusting Color and Tint settings.”

More Accessories as well: TiVo is releasing a new (more-expensive) wireless N adapter in May. Later this year, TiVo will release a QWERTY remote using Bluetooth. Also, we expect to see a phone adapter for those unable to connect to a broadband network.

For the latest and greatest info, keep reading the blog, and to pre-order a TiVo Premiere, visit our website.