Tivo Announces New ‘Tivo Premiere’ Device

Back in 1999, a little company out of San Francisco invented and released a device that would allow TV watchers to freeze live television, as well as set their favorite shows to record–not on a VHS tape or DVD, but on a built in hard drive. Since that day, the idea of the Digital Video Recorder has become as globally common in the household as the coffee maker or dishwasher.

In the time following Tivo’s invention, many incarnations have been born to accommodate the growing popularity of YouTube, HD upgrades, and digital downloads of movies from Netflix or Amazon. Now, over a decade later, the company is ready to jump start the world into the upcoming digital era of media.

The new box, dubbed “Tivo Premiere”, will incorporate feature films, internet videos, music, and more web-based content to the Tivo subscribers, along with their regular TV-watching abilities. The big deal? This box will also be the first set-top device that can run Adobe Flash programming, allowing other third-party developers to create applications for the system. From THR:

Unveiled Tuesday at a party in New York, the $300 Premiere can store 400 hours of standard-definition programming and 45 hours of HD. A Premiere XL box at $500 can store 1,350 hours of standard definition and 150 hours of HD programming.

TiVo Premiere also includes a button that “scans” through 30 seconds in about one second, once considered controversial because Hollywood executives feared it would make ad-skipping even more commonplace than it already is among DVR users.

While things like the web-based music and videos aren’t new to any owners of the HD Tivo line, the company has recently struck up a deal with Pandora, an internet based radio station creator, and FrameChannel, a service that allows users to upload personal photos, check stocks, traffic, weather, and sports scores.

This all-in-one media device will be available soon globally, and is expected to be a leader in web savvy media devices, shunning things like Blu-Ray players, internet ready TV’s, and gaming consoles. Check out more info on Tivo Premiere at Tivo.com now.