# Premiere XL vs Premiere buying decision



## TomJHansen (Nov 6, 2000)

OK - so I'm thinking about upgrading one of my S2's to the Premiere - but which one? If the XL came with the QWERTY Bluetooth remote, then I'd get that one - but since it doesn't (and that appears it will be a separate remote for any version) which one are you all considering? I know the obvious difference (320 GB vs 1TB) but I know I'll upgrade the drive anyway. If you throw out the remove (and get the QWERTY one) THX is the only thing I'm losing going with the Premiere, right? Is the XL more appealing to people because they don't want to upgrade it themselves? $200 for a bigger drive seems excessive. Anyone have an opinion?


----------



## Karnwine (Oct 16, 2005)

I had the same decision to make and went with the XL. The bigger harddrive was the main selling point although, as you added, I'm sure that upgrading the smaller one later would be no big deal(and cheaper). I just don't like messing with my Tivo while its under warranty. I did upgrade my HD unit after the warranty expired and it was a very simple process....I just don't feel like waiting this time. The THX is a nice add-on, not sure how much of a difference it really makes but it helps me feel like the extra money isn't a total waste. If you want one, I'm sure its money well spent on whichever you decide to get.


----------



## Mike-Mike (Mar 2, 2010)

I am still trying to decide, but leaning towards the XL..


----------



## AandFDakota2001 (Sep 6, 2008)

I'm having a hard time justifying the extra $200 for the Premiere XL. THX is just a certification and for you to be able to take advantage of THX certification, all your audio devices that your TiVo runs through has to have a THX certification. So for 99% of us it's no good. As far as the extra storage goes, you can buy a 1TB My DVR Expander from Amazon.com for $129 if you decide you want the added space at a later time. Hooking up a My DVR Expander doesn't void your warranty at all and if you buy it and a Premiere, you're still saving yourself $70 and getting 320 GB more hard drive space than the Premiere XL. 

Food for thought...

Justin


----------



## Mike-Mike (Mar 2, 2010)

i thought that at first, but there is like a 5 page thread on here in another forum about those things crashing, and that would suck suck suck


----------



## tomm1079 (May 10, 2005)

i personally looked at it this way.


I knew damn well i would upgrade to 1 TB as soon as i got it. I also know i might want to eventually go higher so i figured i could always get the My DVR expander and go to 2 TB. Now i figured i could use the new remote for the bedroom (since it is a glo) and the bigger drive just costs me 30 bucks extra vs going with the myDVR expander. Plus i really do not want to have to deal with upgrading (no matter how easy it is). 

So for me it makes sense. Paying a little extra for convenience.


----------



## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

I went with the XL. I am already used to my HDs having 1TB. There is no guarantee WinMFS or MFSlive will work immediately with the Premiere. Also with $40 for a 3 year extended warranty I figured it is one less hassle I have to deal with.


----------



## jsrober (Mar 8, 2010)

innocentfreak said:


> 1 Quad Tuner Win 7MC DVR.


I have three 7MC boxes. I have a clearqam tuner. Which quad tuner do you have? The rumored Ceton one?


----------



## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

No I am running dual Avermedia Duets which are dual qam/OTA tuners.


----------



## TrueTurbo (Feb 19, 2008)

More info on the THX Certification of the Premier XL from TiVos web site...



> THX certification means you'll be enjoying the gold standard in image and sound performance on your HDTV or home theater setup. Essentially, it ensures that the integrity of your high-definition content won't be compromised as you capture, store and playback HDTV programs and movies. Youll experience the crisp details, vivid colors and exceptional audio clarity that is true to the fidelity of the original broadcast source.
> 
> TiVo Premiere XL is in an elite category. Only the top 10% of sound and video products manufactured today can achieve the rigorous performance standards required for THX certification. The Premiere XL was put through extensive image and sound analysis and testing. These tests ensure the accurate recording and playback of content with the correct color, contrast, and black/white levels without softening the picture or producing digital artifacts. The end result? A sharp, precise and often breathtaking entertainment experience.
> 
> TiVo Premiere XL helps you optimize image performance and sound fidelity with an easy-to-use calibration and tutorial video. In your My Shows folder youll find the five-minute THX Optimizer video, which requires use of the THX Optimizer Blue Glasses youll find included in your Premiere XL packing box. This process helps ensure youll experience an uncompromised and truly unique HDTV experience.


----------



## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

What a load of BS. It's another $500 ethernet cable.

My Series 3 has the stupid THX logo, and I didn't get any blue glasses. It does show a THX logo at boot too (which I saw about 3 years ago when I first plugged it in.)

$200 for an $80 hard drive doesn't sound like a good deal to me. As for the glow remote, I have 3 of them and I turned off the backlight on all of them - it eats up the batteries too quickly - and who doesn't know what every button on their TiVo remote is by feel?


----------



## monkeydust (Dec 12, 2004)

The S3 came with the nice digital readout and remote. The Premier XL doesn't have the same draw that the S3 had over the HD. So, if I get one, I'll get the lower end model as I don't care about space or THX.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

My THX S3 has always been extrememly fast with the audio coming up over HDMI. almost instantly while the non THX units have always taken .5 to 1 seconds.
This is one reason why I plan on using two XL units in my main setup. In case this is also the same with the Premiere units. 
Although I'll use a Harmony remote for those boxes and use the new glow remotes with two of the other boxes.


----------



## DaveWhittle (Jul 25, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> My THX S3 has always been extrememly fast with the audio coming up over HDMI. almost instantly while the non THX units have always taken .5 to 1 seconds.
> This is one reason why I plan on using two XL units in my main setup. In case this is also the same with the Premiere units.


This is confusing me. 

As far as I can tell, the Premiere XL and non-XL boxes are identical, except the XL has:
-larger hard drive (hardware)
-THX optimizer (software)
-THX logo (both on hardware and in software?)

Yet based on aaronwt's post, it sounds like the XL model potentially does something different, either in hardware or software, than the non-XL model.

Anyone have any concrete evidence confirming or denying this?


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

DaveWhittle said:


> This is confusing me.
> 
> As far as I can tell, the Premiere XL and non-XL boxes are identical, except the XL has:
> -larger hard drive (hardware)
> ...


This is my experience with my current boxes. I have no idea if that will be the case with the Premiere boxes. Everyone just assumes that the hardware between boxes is identical, but that has never been proven.

When I get my Premieres I will certainly try the 320GB version next to teh 1TB version to see if the audio is the same way.


----------



## DaveWhittle (Jul 25, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> This is my experience with my current boxes. I have no idea if that will be the case with the Premiere boxes. Everyone just assumes that the hardware between boxes is identical, but that has never been proven.
> 
> When I get my Premieres I will certainly try the 320GB version next to teh 1TB version to see if the audio is the same way.


Sorry aaronwt... I wasn't trying to call _you_ out -- I have the same question as you and want to get to the bottom of it with facts instead of speculation.


----------



## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Arcady said:


> What a load of BS. It's another $500 ethernet cable.
> 
> My Series 3 has the stupid THX logo, and I didn't get any blue glasses. It does show a THX logo at boot too (which I saw about 3 years ago when I first plugged it in.)
> 
> $200 for an $80 hard drive doesn't sound like a good deal to me. As for the glow remote, I have 3 of them and I turned off the backlight on all of them - it eats up the batteries too quickly - and who doesn't know what every button on their TiVo remote is by feel?


The difference is a lot closer to $120 than to $200 if you are a current owner. With Fatwallet Cash and existing subscriber discounts the XL is $349 and the non-XL is $229.

A 1TB hard drive is about $80 so I'm saving a whopping $40 by not cracking the box open myself and upgrading the disk on my own. Which, by the way, we don't even know if we can do yet.


----------



## DeWitt (Jun 30, 2004)

Don't forget the Glo programmable remote. 

Just with my Tivo existing service discount the difference is about $180. That seems OK for a 1TB drive and the better programmable remote, considering the warranty. Also with the TIVO HD XL the image was configured to allow greater future storage than the HD. Not sure if this will be true of the Premeire, but $180 for the unit I really want, the better remote and of course everything in warranty doesn't seem to bad.


----------



## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

DeWitt said:


> Don't forget the Glo programmable remote.
> 
> Just with my Tivo existing service discount the difference is about $180. That seems OK for a 1TB drive and the better programmable remote, considering the warranty. Also with the TIVO HD XL the image was configured to allow greater future storage than the HD. Not sure if this will be true of the Premeire, but $180 for the unit I really want, the better remote and of course everything in warranty doesn't seem to bad.


I use a Harmony One. The remote that comes packaged with any electronics is pretty worthless in my experience.


----------



## DaveWhittle (Jul 25, 2002)

jmpage2 said:


> I use a Harmony One. The remote that comes packaged with any electronics is pretty worthless in my experience.


I mostly agree, but the Tivo is the exception IMO.

I have a Harmony 880, and I'll use that to turn everything on and set things up, but I'm looking forward to operating with the Tivo peanut again.


----------



## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

jmpage2 said:


> The difference is a lot closer to $120 than to $200 if you are a current owner. With Fatwallet Cash and existing subscriber discounts the XL is $349 and the non-XL is $229.
> 
> A 1TB hard drive is about $80 so I'm saving a whopping $40 by not cracking the box open myself and upgrading the disk on my own. Which, by the way, we don't even know if we can do yet.


The difference for me is $0, since I see no point in "upgrading" to a worse box. I don't care about menus; I care about watching shows. If they want me to buy a new box, then they need to put in 4 tuners.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Does any box have four tuners? I don't think you'll be buying a new box anytime soon.


----------



## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Arcady said:


> The difference for me is $0, since I see no point in "upgrading" to a worse box. I don't care about menus; I care about watching shows. If they want me to buy a new box, then they need to put in 4 tuners.


how exactly does this contribute to the topic under discussion? I am as skeptical of the series 4 upgrade as anyone but TiVo did deliver two things I have been missing, an all HD interface and a playback window in the menu. I have the money so I will give the new box a shot. Hopefully it will deliver morefeaturss over the next year.


----------



## Mike-Mike (Mar 2, 2010)

Arcady said:


> The difference for me is $0, since I see no point in "upgrading" to a worse box. I don't care about menus; I care about watching shows. If they want me to buy a new box, then they need to put in 4 tuners.


how can it be a "worse box" with upgraded hardware? and why would you post in here if this was about choosing between 2 boxes that you have no interest in


----------



## shaown (Jul 1, 2002)

All I care about really is watching shows too - Hence I am buying a Premiere.
I am not even sure I will bother to use the HDUI (maybe), but the massive speed the classic UI will get more than satisifies me. That plus better MRV speeds will be nice. I am planning to wait for a few reviews before I commit to buying. Right now, the most frustrating thing about my S3 and my TivoHD is the speed of the box during normal operations.
-Shaown


----------



## jeepguy_1980 (Mar 2, 2008)

jmpage2 said:


> The difference is a lot closer to $120 than to $200 if you are a current owner. With Fatwallet Cash and existing subscriber discounts the XL is $349 and the non-XL is $229.
> 
> A 1TB hard drive is about $80 so I'm saving a whopping $40 by not cracking the box open myself and upgrading the disk on my own. Which, by the way, we don't even know if we can do yet.


How is it $349 and $229?

For the *Premiere XL*:
My offer is $499 - $50 FWCB = *$449.00*

For the *Premiere*:
My offer is $299 - $37.50 FWCB = *$261.50*

Lifetime for either one is $199 - $7.96 FWCB = *$191.04*

I'm just asking, b/c your prices may put me over the edge.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

jeepguy_1980 said:


> How is it $349 and $229?
> 
> For the *Premiere XL*:
> My offer is $499 - $50 FWCB = *$449.00*
> ...


the initial cost is $400 for the Premiere XL and $240 for the Premiere when you have an existing lifetime unit.


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

aaronwt said:


> The initial cost is $400 for the Premiere XL and $240 for the Premiere when you have an existing *lifetime* unit.


Aren't those the prices for people upgrading units with monthly subs?


----------



## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

aaronwt said:


> the initial cost is $400 for the Premiere XL and $240 for the Premiere when you have an existing lifetime unit.


Those prices are good for ANY current subscriber. I have a three year contract on my primary TiVo HD and a yearly second subscriber contract on my bedroom box, and both are eligible for the upgrade pricing on the new hardware.


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

jmpage2 said:


> Those prices are good for ANY current subscriber. I have a three year contract on my primary TiVo HD and a yearly second subscriber contract on my bedroom box, and both are eligible for the upgrade pricing on the new hardware.


There's two categories of current subscriber offers:

A current lifetime unit isn't eligible for the Premiere hardware discount. A lifetime unit is only eligible for a $200 lifetime discount for the new Premiere unit.

A current non-lifetime unit is only eligible for discounted Premiere hardware.


----------



## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

dswallow said:


> There's two categories of current subscriber offers:
> 
> A current lifetime unit isn't eligible for the Premiere hardware discount. A lifetime unit is only eligible for a $200 lifetime discount for the new Premiere unit.
> 
> A current non-lifetime unit is only eligible for discounted Premiere hardware.


Thanks for the clarification. In any event, because of these hardware discounts I qualify for I have taken the plunge on two Premiere boxes. I will get an XL to replace the TiVo in our main room and the non-XL for our bedroom.

If the discounts and fatwallet cash back weren't available I wouldn't have made my purchases.


----------



## jeepguy_1980 (Mar 2, 2008)

dswallow said:


> There's two categories of current subscriber offers:
> 
> A current lifetime unit isn't eligible for the Premiere hardware discount. A lifetime unit is only eligible for a $200 lifetime discount for the new Premiere unit.
> 
> A current non-lifetime unit is only eligible for discounted Premiere hardware.


That explains my offer. I guess I will have to find some discounted hardware via ebay or something. Then use my discounted lifetime subscription.


----------



## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

jeepguy_1980 said:


> I guess I will have to find some discounted hardware via eBay or something. Then use my discounted lifetime subscription.


Unfortunately, you can only get the discounted lifetime sub if you purchase the hardware through TiVo. That's why everyone is using FatWallet. It's currently the cheapest way to purchase a Premiere and still take advantage of the upgrade offer.


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

What they should have done is phrased the offers like this:

1) Save $60 off Premiere or $100 off Premiere XL

-or-

2) Save $100 off Premiere+Lifetime or $100 off Premiere XL+Lifetime


----------



## stephyt (Jan 14, 2009)

Sorry to res a dead topic but you FWers may want to read the T&C on this deal. I'm sure you've already pre-ordered though.


2.5% Cash Back on TiVo Service Plans for Upgrade Customers
$12.50 Cash Back on TiVo Premiere DVR for Upgrade Customers
$15 Cash Back on Tivo Premiere XL DVR for Upgrade Customers
4.0% Cash Back on TiVo Service Plans for New Customers
$37.50 Cash Back on TiVo Premiere DVR for New Customers
$50 Cash Back on TiVo Premiere XL DVR for New Customers
7.5% Cash Back on TiVo Accessories
7.5% Cash Back on Service Gift Cards

Only new TiVo customers will be seeing $50 cash back on the XL. The rest of us will see $15.


----------



## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

There is a thread about this. If you ordered before 3/11 the terms were the same for new customers as upgrade customers. After 3/11 they removed the upgrade cashback. Just recently they changed their terms again to offer cashback to upgraders again. They just don't get the full cashback anymore like they did previously and instead get the terms you listed.


----------



## Dr_Diablo (Nov 24, 2003)

Arcady said:


> What a load of BS. It's another $500 ethernet cable.
> 
> My Series 3 has the stupid THX logo, and I didn't get any blue glasses. It does show a THX logo at boot too (which I saw about 3 years ago when I first plugged it in.)
> 
> $200 for an $80 hard drive doesn't sound like a good deal to me. As for the glow remote, I have 3 of them and I turned off the backlight on all of them - it eats up the batteries too quickly - and who doesn't know what every button on their TiVo remote is by feel?


I recall someone said their remote caught fire from leavin the back light on


----------

