New TiVo HD is full of surprises
Ok, so you don't get the fancy glowing remote, but you do get HDMI output, cable-in, antenna-in, and an e-SATA connection that TiVo says they'll enable by the end of the year. The device is being marketed as the "TiVo HD", although it says "Series 3" on the back of the box.
The TiVo Lovers Blog has a great review of the new TiVo including a ton of photos of the guts of the new machine. Obviously these guys have no fear of violating their warranty. They write:
This is not a simple re-spin of the original S3 or just the same design with some components removed or replaced by lower cost chips - this is an all new design. The motherboard is completely new, and all of the major chips have changed.
Some secrets they uncovered include traces on the motherboard for A/V inputs. The case even had holes for them drilled in the metal but they're covered up by the label on the back. TiVo Lovers writes:
Personally, I suspect that as they ramp up production of this model and work out any production kinks, this platform will replace the S2DT. It appears that this platform is fully capable of completely replacing the S2DT, and even the original S3, simplifying TiVo’s production lines. Perhaps that’s the leaked TCD653080 model? A unit with an 80GB drive and A/V input, to replace the low-end S2DT? Definitely something to keep an eye on.
Another surprise -- a 3rd SATA header on board:
It is not currently populated, but it looks like the platform was designed to handle three SATA connections. The internal drive, the eSATA port - and a third. There is plenty of room for a second drive mounted across the front of the unit, next to the existing drive. Perhaps they’re planning ahead for higher capacity units? Maybe a SATA optical drive? (Though there is no opening in the current sheet metal for one.) Certainly it isn’t there just for laughs.
The new TiVo HD uses ATI Theater 314 and Philips/NXT SAA7138CHL demodulator chips. They feed into a dedicated encoding/transcoding chip from ViXS. The main processor is a Broadcom BCM7401. According to the manufacturer, this puppy combines:
- high-definition AVC/MPEG-2/VC-1 video decoder with H.264/AVC main and high profile to level 4.1,
- advanced audio processor supporting AAC LC, AAC LC+SBR level 2 and AAC+ level 2
- 2D graphics processing,
- high-quality video scaling and motion adaptive deinterlacing,
- six video DACs,
- stereo high-fidelity audio DACs,
- a MIPS32/MIPS16e™ class CPU,
- a data transport processor,
- and a peripheral control unit providing a variety of set-top box control functions
That's a far cry from the Z80 I used to play with in my old TRS-80. Did you know that the TI-83/84 has a Z80 in it? I just had to buy one for back-to-school supplies. eBay is your friend ($37 vs. $99 new at Staples). But I digress...
The TiVo HD adds a new display mode when compared to the regular Series 3 called "Hybrid": it converts 1080p and 1080i to 1080i, 720p stays 720p, and 480p and 480i are converted to 480p. I wonder what they'll use that for?
On the down side, the TiVo HD *only* supports the $60 TiVo branded WiFi adapter. The S2DT and regular S3 support a smattering of other adapters but it was always hit-or-miss as to whether or not a random adapter would be supported (I had to return one myself before I found an older Linksys unit that worked). They probably made the change to cut down on support costs, but one wonders why they didn't just build the WiFi adapter into the box? Perhaps they're planning on using this machine for a long time, and want to make sure it supports future wireless options (remember when the Series 2 came out we didn't have 802.11g, let alone 801.11n). And, like the regular Series 3, they *still* don't support room-to-room transfers on this machine. Grrr.
Which reminds me, was anyone else disappointed by the new TiVo Mobile service? My first thought was "Cool, now I can record and playback shows on my phone!" (just pretend my phone has the bandwidth -- it doesn't because I'm stuck in GPRS-land). However it just turned out to be a way to set up recordings for your DVD back home. What a let down.
In any case, the new Tivo HD, or TiVo Series 3 "Lite", or whatever you want to call it, looks like a winner. I'm seriously thinking of replacing a Humax unit I have upstairs with the new box. The only thing stopping me (besides the wrath of my "chief financial officer") is the lack of network transfers to my other TiVo (which has a lifetime service contract, nyah). Once that's working, I'll *finally* be able to get some decent HD programming on my 70" Sony (OTA sucks big time where I live and I refused to get one of those crappy Time Warner DVRs). Hmm... wonder if it will be ready by Christmas?