TiVo is refreshing its Roamio digital video recorder to cater to those who don't like cords, cables and wires. It's sliced off the cord in favor of over-the-air delivery.
The box, priced at $49.99, can record up to four local TV broadcasts simultaneously and will roll out to Best Buy in mid-September. It is targeted at those who do not want pay-TV services, but still want a DVR.
"The Roamio makes sure that (cord cutters) too can get a best in class DVR experience through an antenna, including our world renowned interface and industry defining recording capability at our most affordable price point ever," said Ira Bahr, TiVo chief marketing officer.
The Roamio is not only great for those who don't want cords, but it's also a lot cheaper than the old Roamio model, which cost $200 rather than $49.99. Users who want to buy the box will, however, still have to pay for the $14.99 TiVo monthly subscription, which allows users to hook into services like Netflix, Hulu and Spotify. A year of this subscription service is required to purchase and use the box.
The refreshed model is similar to its predecessor in a number of ways. It includes a 500GB hard drive which can store up to 500 hours of SD programming or 70 hours of HD. This storage is also expandable to up to 1TB. The device also includes an Ethernet connection and 802.11n Wi-Fi.
The new model, like its predecessor, can also record up to four shows at one time. The point of the Roamio Over The Air (OTA) is to be able to deliver shows cable-free, so it makes sense that it cannot record shows from cable channels.
As of right now, the TiVo Roamio OTA will only be available in select markets, and is something of a test run for TiVo. This is because of the fact TiVo is aware of the differences in quality that people will experience due to different connections. For example, some people, depending on their location and how their antenna is set up, may get perfect NBC, but not CBS, for example.
TiVo estimates a third of the people who buy the device will use it with an antenna. TiVo is gaining in popularity, having reached 957,000 subscribers to its services in the first quarter of 2014. TiVo is set to reach a much wider audience with this device and is expected to release it in a larger production run in the future.
