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TiVo Premiere announced its fourth-generation DVR with much fanfare at a March 2 media event in Manhattan–at the top of Rockefeller Center, to be specific. Media invitations to the event included the teaser: “The DVR was just the beginning.” What TiVo delivered was…an incremental update of its existing product. If you look beyond the slick new enclosure, the biggest improvements were an improved interface (using, for the first time, Flash-enhanced HD graphics and the full range of the wide-screen real estate); an enhanced search system (it simultaneously searches TV listings and Web-based video sources); and the addition of Pandora’s music service.

It’s just the Series3 with a fancier paint job: Yes, we assume the TiVo Premiere is running a much beefier processor than the one found in the three-year-old TiVo HD.  Still, take away the fancy new interface and the (hopefully) quicker search functions, and there are not a lot of new features. The older TiVo HD already has Amazon, Netflix, Blockbuster, and Rhapsody, and it’ll be getting the Pandora update via a future firmware update as well.

My TV and Blu-ray player can already do most of this: TiVo touts its integrated online media support as a big value-add, but the big attractions–Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and Pandora–are widely available in Blu-ray players and TVs from a variety of manufacturers (LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Vizio), some for as little as $200. Some of these models also include DLNA network streaming and integrated Wi-Fi (see below).

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With TiVo, you will never miss your favorite shows, even when they are on at the same time! The 80-hr TiVo Series2 Dual Tuner DVR lets you control live TV with pause, rewind and instant replay. Plus with TiVo, you get more than any other DVR. Search for shows by title, actor, genre, or keyword. Schedule shows last minute from the web. Even choose from 1000s of movies to download from the Internet. Select from monthly, prepaid or lifetime service plans starting at just $8.31 per month for 3-year plan. including an ever-expanding list of HD local stations throughout the country. With that in mind, does the old HD TiVo still deserve your consideration? Yes, it’s on-screen interface is a lot slower than most of the newer DVRs, and it can’t receive local HD channels–aside from the stock New York and L.A. ones, you’ll need to attach an over-the-air antennas to receive and record your locals. But if you can live with those caveats and you’re a die-hard devotee of the TiVo interface, the DirecTV HD TiVo remains an acceptable option. HD TiVo has the USB ports to handle the necessary networking features, but given the chilly relations between TiVo and DirecTV of late–the satcaster has announced plans to launch its own.

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