# TiVo Mega: The Granddaddy of Them All



## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) were first introduced during 1999 at the Consumer Electronics Show, a time in which VHS tapes and printed television guides ruled the home video recording world. Now, over a decade later, we find ourselves in an era of set-top DVR boxes, navigable screen menus, and convenient options (like season passes) that have practically simplified recording shows to a few clicks of a remote. The DVR has been a game changer on so many fronts, all of them for the better (unless you’re an advertiser).









_The TiVo Mega boasts 24 Terabytes of storage._​
One of the weak points of DVR technology has been hard drive space (which directly dictates how many shows a user can store). Manufacturers have certainly addressed this issue by increasing drive sizes and improving user storage management software, but some folks apparently need more -- as in: _a lot_ more. Today, TiVo acknowledged that need by announcing one whopper of a DVR (by far the largest it has produced to date). TiVo Mega, as its called, houses a 24 Terabyte drive capable of storing 26,000 hours of standard definition programing. In the HD world, it’s capable of recording 4,000 hours of Hi-Def shows (equivalent to 166 days of HD viewing), meaning you could park yourself on your couch for just over 23 weeks of constant playback; big-time television junkies need not search for space any longer.

"Size matters. People hate being forced to delete cool stuff from their DVR before they want to or finding a TV show they had recorded is now gone. Now, with TiVo Mega they can always know their show or movie is still there to watch later," said Ira Bahr, CMO at TiVo. "TiVo Mega offers more than twelve times the storage of any cable or satellite DVR.”

TiVo Mega is designed to be mounted on a rack, which could be a stumbling block for users looking for a tabletop solution. It houses six tuners, allowing for six shows to be recorded at the same time, and drives that are swappable. Not surprisingly, it comes multi-room capable, allowing it to serve as a whole home system. Also, owners can stream live and recorded television to smartphones and tablets with onboard stream transcoding. 

The unit will be officially unveiled this week at CEDIA EXPO 2014 in Denver, Colorado (Booth #570). TiVo says it will be ready for distribution early next year for approximately $5,000 USD (which includes the unit and lifetime services). That’s a hefty price, but one that storage nuts will likely be willing to pay.

_Image: TiVo_


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Apparently I'm not watching enough TV... :blink:


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Just imagine having two of these in your home...:bigsmile:


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## jaguar717 (Sep 8, 2014)

26,000 hours of SD, 4000 hours of HD, so maybe 1000 hours of 4k/UHD? All that resolution will turn "excessive" into "adequate" pretty quickly.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

True...don't stop there, though. How about 250 hours of 8K?onder:


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## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

I have a feeling anyone willing to spend $5K on this thing will not have a problem rack mounting it. 

With that much storage it would be nice if you could also use it has a media server for your own ripped movies.


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

typ44q said:


> I have a feeling anyone willing to spend $5K on this thing will not have a problem rack mounting it.
> 
> With that much storage it would be nice if you could also use it has a media server for your own ripped movies.


Totally agree on both accounts.


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## dschlic1 (Mar 15, 2013)

I have a hard time watching the 20 hours recorded on my DVR right now!


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

I have a hard time watching even 20 minutes of anything on TV these days. Sporting events (not commentary) are about the only thing I can tolerate. And Top Gear UK.


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## reef_paddy (Dec 29, 2013)

Seagate just came out with 8Tb on a single 3.5" drive, times 10 drives (with RAID5) giving you a potential 72Tb of storage capacity, or 750hours of 8K TV :rofl:. Provided TiVo come out and support this new drive size.


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## swspiers (Aug 22, 2014)

I have absolutely no need for this, whatsoever.

But I really want it!


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## AU26 (Apr 12, 2014)

Sounds much more intended for professional rather than private use. Don't think I would need one soon.
Cheers from Australia


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