TiVo owners who've wanted to record any more than two shows at a time or use more recent technology like MoCA have had to look towards the wallet-busting Premiere XL4, at least if they didn't happen to rely on a cable provider bundling the Premiere Q. Thankfully, TiVo has told Zatz Not Funny that a more affordable Premiere 4 option is on the way. The new DVR will still require QAM digital cable or FiOS TV for its tuners to sing, but its 500GB of space will likely lead to a significant price cut versus the 2TB-touting XL4 -- if also a whole lot of deleted old shows. MoCA, an eSATA port and a single CableCARD slot will carry over, so there's few other penalties in store for those who pass on the XL4 flagship. We don't have any official word on the launch strategy so far, although one loose-lipped rep has floated the rumor of a release within the next one to two months at $250 price tag. If true, the Premiere 4 will go a long way towards satisfying TV junkies who are more concerned about catching every show in a crowded prime time slot (and a lower cost) than digging through months-old archives.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

TiVo Premiere 4 confirmed early, promises a 4-tuner DVR for the masses originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.