TiVo Introduces Dual Tuner DVR

Responding to customer demand, TiVo on Tuesday introduced its first standalone digital video recorder with dual tuner capability. The new model will be optimized for cable households and features built-in Ethernet and a refreshed look.

The company said the first shipments would arrive at Circuit City, Best Buy, Amazon.com and its Web site on May 1. The dual-tuner model will offer 80-hours of recording time.

"We've been hearing from our subscribers that they wanted a TiVo DVR that could record two shows at once," said Jim Denney, Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo. "With the TiVo Series2 DT DVR, we've delivered that capability to our customers at a very affordable price."

The TiVo box will retail for $99.99 USD after rebate and service activation. TiVo would also give consumers the option to purchase the unit bundled with service from tivo.com, the company said.

All the standard features of the Series2 systems would be included, such as TiVoToGo transfers, the capability to schedule programs to record through the TiVo Web site, and online services provided by Yahoo and other sources.

Until Tuesday, the only dual-tuner DVR with TiVo capabilities was available through DirecTV. However, since the satellite operator began promoting its own DVR, it has stopped selling the popular units. Those wishing to obtain the box have had to turn to eBay, shelling out $100 or more.