TiVo Mini Launches for $99, Extends Whole-Home Viewing Experience

tivomini

TiVo has launched the TiVo Mini, a new companion box to the Premiere 4 and Premiere XLD4 DVRs. The TiVo Mini will allow users to stream TiVo content and online services in any room in the house by connecting it either via Ethernet or MoCA(coaxial) cable, to any of the two DVRs enabling you to watch live TV, online content or recorded video.

The TiVo Mini will act like a client for the larger DVRs letting users access live TV and online services like YouTube and Hulu Plus right on the DVR itself. In addition, you will also be able to access apps and music services like Pandora, Spotify, Picasa and Photobucket. Gaming apps like Wordsmith will also be accessible.

The TiVo Mini will be available for $99.99 and comes at a monthly subscription fee of $5.99. An initial 12-month subscription commitment will be required in addition to the Premiere 4 and Premiere XL4 subscription fees. A lifetime service of $249 is also available for the TiVo Mini.

With competitive devices like the Roku 3 offering more content and increased functionality with no additional fees, the Tivo Mini might make it a hard sell. It could also be a turn off when you consider that it will require a wired connection, otherwise it just won’t work with the other Tivo DVRs in the house. However, the Tivo Mini is a nice fit for the bedroom if you need to pull content from the main Tivo downstairs.