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DirecTV takes its TiVo HD box nationwide, but will its users care?

More than three years in the making, DirecTV users can once again get the TiVo experience.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
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Joshua Goldman
DirecTV

TiVo and DirecTV's on-again, off-again, really off-again, kinda on-again relationship is now completely back on again.

After a 10-city rollout in December of a new TiVo HD box to DirecTV customers, the satellite TV provider is making the box available nationwide.

The TiVo HD box mainly gives users access to TiVo's excellent interface and features such as WishList Searches so you can automatically record programming based on things like an actor's name, sports team, or personal interests, and TiVo's Swivel Search will find shows across TV and DirecTV Cinema.

The box itself is capable of recording up to 100 hours of HD or 400 hours of SD programming and has two tuners for recording two shows at once while watching a third recorded program. Everything's controlled with a standard TiVo peanut remote, too.

If you're not sure how the TiVo box features compare with DirecTV's other receivers, here's how they all measure up.

But my question is, is this too little, too late? DirecTV and TiVo reestablished their partnership in September 2008 and promised a new DVR in 2009. Waiting this long for anything has a way of making people very bitter and angry. How bad is the DirecTV DVR experience and is it enough for you to forgive and forget and pay $5 more a month?