TiVo is enticing cord-cutters with a new offer, launching a 1 TB Roamio OTA DVR with lifetime service rather than monthly fees.
More specifically, the new TiVo Roamio OTA ditches the $14.99 monthly subscription fee, but customers will have to shell out $399.99 upfront for that lifetime service.
Aside from boasting double the storage capacity of its predecessor, the new TiVo Roamio OTA DVR also sports an improved user interface. Otherwise, it's pretty similar to the previous iteration.
The TiVO OTA DVR allows cord-cutters to pull HD content by plugging any OTA antenna via coaxial cable. Users can record free broadcast channels such as CBS, ABC, Fox, NBC, Univision and PBS and can record up to 150 hours of HD programming and up to four shows at once. The TiVO box can also stream video from online streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, and it makes it easy to manage content by placing everything into one single watch list. The gadget can connect to the Internet either via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
On the software side, highlights include SkipMode, which allows users to skip over the commercials of recorded shows, and QuickMode, which can boost playback speed by 30 percent with pitch-corrected audio.
"The TiVo Roamio OTA 1TB is in a class of its own," says Ira Bahr, Chief Marketing and Retail Sales Officer at TiVo. "It delivers the unparalleled TiVo DVR experience, as well as an intuitive integration between free over-the-air HD channels and major streaming services. No other device brings everything you watch together into one single, easy-to-use interface."
The mandatory $14.99 monthly subscription fee was considered among the drawbacks of owning a TiVo OTA DVR, but the new scheme may now appeal to more cord-cutters. Up until now, TiVo only offered lifetime service with the Roamio OTA as part of limited-time promotions.
As exciting as the new offer sounds, however, it's still worth pointing out that TiVo Roamio lacks some of the most popular streaming services, including Showtime, HBO Now, Sling TV, and PlayStation Vue.
The new TiVo OTA DVR with 1 TB of storage will go on sale on May 2 through TiVo's own website as well as Amazon and Best Buy.
