TiVo Inc. will start selling on Monday its first digital video recorder to let users record two shows at once, incorporating a feature it sorely lacked.
While many of TiVo's customers are loyal fans, some have complained in the past about how its standalone set-top boxes have only one tuner.
The limitation meant users could neither record two shows in the same programming slot nor watch one program live while recording another.
Meanwhile, TiVo's rival DVR providers, such as satellite TV operator Echostar Communications Corp. and cable operators Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc., have offered dual-tuner boxes. Even TiVo's satellite TV partner, DirecTV Group Inc., offered dual tuners in its set-top box that used TiVo's service.
TiVo's new two-tuner model, the TiVo Series2 DT DVR, will be available Monday at retail stores and at TiVo.com. It will be an 80-hour model, costing $99 after rebate. Service fees are extra and cost up to $19.95 a month.