TiVo to launch multituner HD DVR in 2006?

I'm confused. First, I read over at Engadget that TiVo cancelled its press conference in favor of a streamlined "talking points" presentation that recaps some of the company's recent expanded service offerings (integration of Yahoo services and plans for PSP and iPod versions of TiVo To Go)--essentially, no big news. Then, less than four hours later, details of a swanky new TiVo Series 3 box appear, complete with photos. Engadget lists a LiveJournal blog that can also be found under the URL tivolovers.com as the source, and clicking through, the details are juicy indeed: a CableCard HD TiVo that seems to have every conceivable bell and whistle one could wish for. But as Thursday night was drawing to a close, there was no official word from TiVo on its Web site.

While the information presented (and the photos, certainly) have a ring of truth to them, it's worth looking at this news with a skeptical eye. After all, TiVo announced at CES 2005 that it was planning a dual-CableCard HD model for 2006 (scroll down to "The Standalone HD TiVo" section of this January 8, 2005 entry at PVRblog, for instance). But is this the final version of that fabled über-TiVo, or merely a possible prototype of what TiVo may be planning? I hope to get an official comment on the situation from TiVo representatives on Friday, January 7. Until then--you now know as much as I do.

Note: TiVo has subsequently commented on this rumor. Check out the full details here.

Photo credit: megazone.org