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Grande pushing impressive new TiVo box
Grande Communications, which serves areas including parts of Austin, parts of Dallas, San Marcos, Midland/Odessa, Corpus Christi and Waco, is dangling a tempting treat for TV fans who sign up with the service.
The company is offering a TiVo Premiere DVR capable of recording about 48 hours of HD programming for about an additional $3 a month for existing customers. Depending on the bundle customers opt for (they start at $69.99 a month for TV and Internet service and go up to $129 for TV, Internet and phone). Customers who don’t already have a DVR would pay an additional $12.95 a month. There’s no up-front cost for the box (typically, TiVo customers buy the box on their own and add it to their existing cable set-up) and some of the bundles for new service include the box and premiere service in the cost of the monthly “Double play” or “Triple play” package.
TiVo’s been around a long time and those of us who’ve used it and no longer have it have fond memories of the service. I purchased a DirecTV TiVo box ages ago until it was no longer supported by the satellite service. A new DirecTV TiVo box has just been introduced, but it apparently has some major limitations and lacks many of the connectivity features found in the TiVo Premiere. (This is me with a sad face.)
Grande’s version of TiVo lacks Netflix, Hulu and Blockbuster streaming, but it does include Pandora, Amazon video on demand and Live365.com in addition to Grande’s own video-on-demand programming, which is integrated into the TiVo software.
In fact, that’s one of the major selling points: searches for content on the Grande TiVo Premiere bring up not only regular cable programs, but web videos and VOD as well.
It includes TiVo features like remote recording (setting programs to record from a cell phone or website). It can export programs to an iPad, PC, Mac, iPhone or Sony PSP and makes suggestions based on your viewing habits, as TiVos have from the dawn of (DVR) time.
It’s impossible to judge what early glitches or quirks the box might have long-term, but in a 20-minute demo at Grande’s East Austin offices, it was clear that the TiVo box has sleek, beautiful menus and responded quickly to searches and recording requests. A “Discovery Bar” at the top of the main menu gives you a visual set of recommendations.
For those of us who either can’t get a proper restriction-free TiVo (if you’re on satellite) or who balk at buying a box and then paying $20 a month for TiVo’s service (on top of regular cable service), this deal might be enough to make a TiVo admirer jealous.
The company says it’s gotten strong response to the TiVo offer for the month that it’s been offered so far and that it sees the TiVo Premiere as a way to draw customers to its bundled offerings.
Is it enough to tempt you? TV lovers, let us know what you think in the comments.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Austin, Internet, TV
Comments
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By DougUp
December 23, 2011 9:40 PM | Link to this
We have had 3 different TiVos since the very first one and just 2 weeks ago we switched to the Grande Premiere box. Why? One word, hyphenated: On-Demand. Seriously this is a great box. We wouldn't have upgraded to a premiere box from our series 3 otherwise. One more big thing? It's cut our grande bill a lot due to these specials! Love grande and won't move where we can't have it!
By Wowsa
December 22, 2011 10:20 AM | Link to this
*Bloop, Bloop, Bloop*