TiVo Stops Selling DVRs, Exiting the Hardware Business After 26 Years

[SRW1000]

From Variety:
The TiVo box, which sat at the cutting edge of television’s early 2000s time-shifting viewer revolution, is no more. The company confirmed to Variety that it officially got out of the hardware business on Oct. 1, when it stopped selling its physical DVR products. That means the TiVo hardware and accessories, which still had been sold both online and through agents until this fall, is officially off the market.

“TiVo no longer manufactures hardware, and our remaining inventory is now depleted, though we will continue to offer support for the products going forward,” the company told Variety. “We are very proud of the TiVo DVR legacy, and the great experience TiVo has always provided lives on in our TiVo OS for Connected Televisions, which is available on televisions from Sharp in the US and multiple brands throughout Europe.”

The fact that TiVo will still offer support for these now obsolete boxes probably come as somewhat of a relief for users who bought “lifetime plans” for the service.

TiVo’s most recent digital video recorder, dubbed “TiVo Edge,” was unveiled in October 2019. That device included 4K Dolby Vision HDR video playback capabilities with Dolby Atmos sound, and could be used to both record live TV and access a range of streaming apps. Versions included one for cable users (with six tuners and a 2TB hard drive) and cord cutters (with four tuners and a 2TB hard drive).

The TiVo Edge was the seventh generation TiVo DVR, and was manufactured by Arris. The original Series 1 TiVo, launched in March 1999, was manufactured by Philips.

TV industry execs were initially concerned about the commercial-zapping capabilities of the then-nascent TiVo technology: “We’re in trouble, and we shouldn’t ignore the fact that it’s right around the corner,” then-Fox Entertainment prexy Gail Berman said at a 2003 Hollywood Radio & TV Society luncheon about the threat of DVRs. “This business is going to change, and it’s up to us to figure out how to do it.”

Ultimately, networks embraced TiVo and its rival DVRs as they saw how the devices actually helped increase regular series viewing. The Television Academy even awarded TiVo an Interactive TV Emmy in 2006 for “seamlessly connecting consumers to the digital entertainment they want, where and when they want it.”

But as cable operators began incorporating DVRs into their own set top boxes, TiVo struggled to sell its devices in the consumer market. It focused more of its efforts on licensing TiVo-branded software and tech to cable operators and other third-party devices. Later, the streaming revolution changed the way people consumed TV — as audiences turned to cloud-based on-demand options rather than recording and storing their own libraries.

The end of the TiVo Edge had been on the horizon for a while: TiVo stopped selling the antenna (“cord cutter”) version of the device on its website in February 2024. According to users, that was followed by the TiVo Mini LUX and the TiVo Stream 4K, until the last product — the TiVo Edge DVR for cable — ended its sales at the end of September.

The website Cord Cutters News was the first to note last week that TiVo’s official website had taken down references to its hardware DVR products, including the TiVo Edge. The website noted how streaming changed the game, while cable companies focused more on proprietary cloud DVRs — and then “regulatory changes, including the phased-out support for CableCARD technology—essential for TiVo’s cable compatibility—further squeezed the viability of consumer hardware.”

TiVo’s website now gears users to two options: A pitch for smart TVs that license TiVo technology, and one for its DTS AutoStage video service for autos.
This comes as quite a surprise, although I guess it shouldn't have been.  This is a sad day.

It's almost 10 years ago to the day that we got ours for just $299.  I upgraded the hard drive, and it's worked flawlessly ever since. 

With people looking to save money on entertainment, this was a valuable option for those of us with antennas.  I guess there's just not that much demand for regular old network TV these days, even if they player could be used as a media streamer.

[David Vaughn]

I've been a TiVo user for 20+ years and had the pleasure of reviewing virtually every HD player they released. While not a perfect box, it sure as hell beat what Comcast/Xfinity ever offered (without the exorbitant monthly fee). It turns out that the hard drive in my Edge died when I was out of town for a couple of weeks with the birth of my grand daughter and I have a new hard drive arriving today (I went cheap and just bought a 1 TB one off of Amazon versus waiting to get a 2TB one from China or overpaying for a drive from Weaknees). Sadly with the Edge, you need a special screw driver to get into it and it has a 2.5" drive, which are much harder to get versus the larger 3.5" ones. 

Hopefully the repair goes well, but I'm really nervous about getting Comcast to pair my old cablecard with the Edge. When you replace the hard drive, you have to pair it again and they've stopped supporting cablecards as well. It's only a matter of time until the boxes will no longer work. I did a test of Google TV while I was away and while I found that it worked decent enough, I didn't like that I had to wait for a football game to finish before watching it out of market. With the TiVo, I could watch it "live" as long as I was recording it at home. 

Sadly, Tivo is going the way of the VCR

[bmoney]

never had TiVo.  but its still an end of an era

[David Vaughn]

Good news...my repair worked like a charm. Activating the cable card took two attempts, but ultimately it ended up working out great using Comcast's cable card activation site (Activate Cable Card)

Here's a link to the 1TB hard drive in case someone needs one:  Amazon Link

The repair takes about 15 minutes and the hardest part is getting the case apart. You need a special screwdriver (link) and and this kit had the tools to make opening up the Edge a breeze (well worth the $9.99 and it can be used for other projects). WeaKnees charges $149.99 for the hard drive and "kit" and the total cost including tax from Amazon was just under $55. TiVo formats the drive, so all you need to do is open the case and replace the hard drive that's in there, then close it up and plug the TiVo in. No formatting necessary. I'm hoping to get a few more years out of my Edge, Bolt, and Mini Vox (my emergency box if one goes out), but I know at some point they are going the way of the Dodo bird. 

[Paul Heroy]

Glad to hear your repair worked out David. I've got a couple of kits of multi-driver bits with Torx, security etc. pretty much for similar reasons.

I had a Tivo about 20 years ago for a while, between DVRs from Dish (the Dishplayer, which was one of the very first and maybe the first offered by an actual TV provider?) and DirecTV's DVR. Over the years I opened up at least 2-3 of the DirecTV DVR boxes to install a larger HD. The Tivo was a better interface but I never had cable and aside from a brief time, the satellite providers didn't really support it. I had a few friends in the "pry it from my cold dead hands" camp who I assume still have it. 

I finally gave up satellite last fall and went to YouTube TV, so I no longer have my own DVR but the "cloud" type. It was tough to bite that bullet as I had a large HD with a lot of saved recordings. But I realized, aside from a couple of things, I wasn't watching any of it and it was just part of my hoarding mentality. Ultimately, I haven't really missed it with all the streaming options available to supplement things.

I did grab an HDHomeRun tuner/DVR plus an antenna to try the OTA DVR option. But wow their interface is rough so I stopped using that too.

[SRW1000]

Good news...my repair worked like a charm. Activating the cable card took two attempts, but ultimately it ended up working out great using Comcast's cable card activation site (Activate Cable Card)

Here's a link to the 1TB hard drive in case someone needs one:  Amazon Link

The repair takes about 15 minutes and the hardest part is getting the case apart. You need a special screwdriver (link) and and this kit had the tools to make opening up the Edge a breeze (well worth the $9.99 and it can be used for other projects). WeaKnees charges $149.99 for the hard drive and "kit" and the total cost including tax from Amazon was just under $55. TiVo formats the drive, so all you need to do is open the case and replace the hard drive that's in there, then close it up and plug the TiVo in. No formatting necessary. I'm hoping to get a few more years out of my Edge, Bolt, and Mini Vox (my emergency box if one goes out), but I know at some point they are going the way of the Dodo bird.

That's great news!

The other question is how long TiVo will be supporting the guide.  Once that goes away, they won't have much value at all.

There are some other options available, including HDHomeRun, but they're not as plug and play as TiVo was.

[David Vaughn]

Glad to hear your repair worked out David. I've got a couple of kits of multi-driver bits with Torx, security etc. pretty much for similar reasons.

I had a Tivo about 20 years ago for a while, between DVRs from Dish (the Dishplayer, which was one of the very first and maybe the first offered by an actual TV provider?) and DirecTV's DVR. Over the years I opened up at least 2-3 of the DirecTV DVR boxes to install a larger HD. The Tivo was a better interface but I never had cable and aside from a brief time, the satellite providers didn't really support it. I had a few friends in the "pry it from my cold dead hands" camp who I assume still have it.

I finally gave up satellite last fall and went to YouTube TV, so I no longer have my own DVR but the "cloud" type. It was tough to bite that bullet as I had a large HD with a lot of saved recordings. But I realized, aside from a couple of things, I wasn't watching any of it and it was just part of my hoarding mentality. Ultimately, I haven't really missed it with all the streaming options available to supplement things.

I did grab an HDHomeRun tuner/DVR plus an antenna to try the OTA DVR option. But wow their interface is rough so I stopped using that too.

I did the free trial of YouTube TV and actually found it way easier to setup (took less than 5 minutes to get season passes set up and add my "favorite" channels). The one thing I didn't like was watching football games when I was "out of market" down in LA with my daughter. I couldn't watch a live game and had to wait for the game to end before I could watch it. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but I watch the game with two other people and we are all in different cities, but we text throughout the game and it makes the games more enjoyable to watch for me that way and if I'm out of town, I don't want to miss out. With TiVo, as long as it's recording, I can watch it (and actually watch it live with very little delay).

Regardless, I know I'm on borrowed time because at some point, Comcast is going to pull the plug on the cable cards and when that happens, the TiVo's will be paperweights. The good news is I've gotten more than my money's worth out of them so when that day happens, I guess I'll be jumping to YouTube TV, which is actually a lot cheaper than Xfinity (even though I'd have to get Internet through them because they are the only high speed option in my neighborhood unless I want to move to Starlink, which isn't any cheaper). 

[David Vaughn]

That's great news!

The other question is how long TiVo will be supporting the guide.  Once that goes away, they won't have much value at all.

There are some other options available, including HDHomeRun, but they're not as plug and play as TiVo was.

Supposedly, they plan on keeping the guide going because it's going to work with their OS licensing that they currently have with Sharp. I'm curious if this will be for the long term or not though. I'm not sure how they are going to generate revenue, especially in the next 60 months as they start losing TiVo subscribers when equipment starts to die. I'm shocked that there are a lot people who pay the monthly fee, which is insane given the economics of it. Then again, it boggles my mind how many people pay credit card interest and have no savings, but that's a completely different discussion