TiVo finally in Canada
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
TiVo services have been available to American consumers for years making TV watching that much easier. To the envy of their northern neighbours who up until now have had to suffice with “standard” PVRs that don’t tell you what shows you’re watching and won’t program themselves. Well, that’s a thing of the past.
TiVo just launched in Canada making “PVR-for-dummies” available to all of North America. It wouln’t be too much of a stretch to assume the belated launch of this extremely popular product in Canada comes as an answer to the enormous popularity of the proprietary cable box/PVR sets sold by Bell ExpressVu and Shaw Cable.
It’s also safe to assume that the product that has become a term in itself (made popular by the likes of Oprah and Letterman who both say “just TiVo it” meaning “just record it on your PVR”) will soon invade the livingroom of your neighbour and probably youself as well.
The service cost breaks down as follows:
- 1 year plan: $12.95 / month or $129 ($10.75 / month) if prepaid
- 2 year plan:Â $249 / year ($10.38 / month) prepaid
- 3 year plan: @299 / year ($8.31 / month) prepaid
On top of this comes the cost of the actual device which surprisingly is not available in any stores or even from the TiVo site as of yet. Canada.com quotes these prices from the States:
TiVo units capable of recording 40 hours of TV programming sell for about $299 US. But because of the company’s promotions they can often be found for less than $100. The company also has units capable of recording 80 and 300 hours, with prices ranging up to $350.
I have zero experience with TiVo having “suffered” with a normal PVR for years but I assure you: A PVR - no matter what the brand - is a good investment. Not only does it save you a lot of time but it lets you manage your time better. And you’d be surprised how much of a relief it is to have two weeks worth of Dora the Explorer backed up when your niece comes over for a visit.
