According to Digital Trends the Elite will also come with a mammoth 2TB hard drive, which is capable of recording 300 hours of HD content. It will be the company’s first DVR available from retail companies that has four tuners. Owners will be able to record four different programs at the same time as watching previously recorded content.

It also be the first TiVo unit to have THX certification, and offers access to a number of content providers. These include the likes of Amazon Instant Video, Blockbuster, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Pandora. The unit’s built-in browser allows users to search for content across all of its resources at the same time. Searching for a certain program users will be provided with links to the network broadcast, as well as availability on Hulu.

At the moment there is no news if the Elite will support video on demand from cable providers. The Elite will come with an HDMI port, as well as composite and component outputs. There are also analog and digital audio outputs along with two USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet port, cable card slot, and an eSATA port for extra storage.

The box does have its draw backs though as it won’t work with satellite boxes, terrestrial HD antennas, and analog cable sources. TiVo have had to ask the FCC for a waiver because it hasn’t installed any analog tuners. When it is released it will sell for $500 with TiVo service fees costing from $20 per month or $500 for a lifetime.

Do you like the look of the new TiVo?

These types of set top boxes have become extremely popular in recent times with around 160 million of them in the US alone, according to Elisabeth Rosenthal of The New York Times. Many people now have the more advanced DVR set top boxes in their homes which use around 40% more power than the standard set top box.

A recent study has discovered that having a HD DVR and a HD cable box uses around 446 kilowatt hours in a year. This is about 10% more than a 21 cubic-foot refrigerator; this is because they are normally running 24 hours a day with their hard drives constantly whirring away.

The study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that the boxes used $3 billion in electricity each year in the US. A big proportion of this power around 66% is wasted as some of the shows recorded are not even watched. The state of Maryland doesn’t use that much power in twelve months.

Critics say that the problem is down to the way the units are designed and can easily be fixed without much cost. It is also the way cable networks work in the US, and even though fixes are available they are not being used.

European markets have similar devices but automatically go into standby mode after not being used for a while. This cuts down power consumption by half, and can also be put into deep sleep which can further reduce consumption by 95% compared to when the unit is switched on.

Pace who are based in the UK supply boxes to American cable providers don’t use power saving options. This is because US providers worry that customers won’t want to wait for the time it takes to restart the system after it has been shut down. Boxes in Europe which are low energy units come back to life in one or two minutes.

Currently set top boxes have Energy Star standards which are set by The Environmental Protection Agency, and these standards are set to be higher by 2013. Many of the boxes which meet the current standards don’t have an automatic sleep or standby mode. They are also not designed to be turned off completely as it takes time to reboot and connect with the cable or satellite network.

The problem can cost the average US household more than $10 per month if they have many devices, but the cost of electricity can be a lot less in the US compared to Europe. In the future it could depend on the service provider if they want their boxes to automatically go into standby mode, or if owners can adjust settings themselves.

Trouble is providers currently do system updates and maintenance overnight, so having a box which is always on is more convenient for them. Many consumers won’t be too worried that their DVR uses more power as it provides great convenience compared to the days of the video recorder. Does the amount of electricity your DVR uses worry you?

The remote is not only better for searching, it has been improved in all areas such as easier set-up, and a better design all round. Jason Chen from Gizmodo informs us that the new remote works with the entire TiVo range, including Premiere XL.

The design is very different, yes it is slightly thicker to house the slid-out QWERTY keyboard, but it is only two-thirds the original size. Anyone who hates the current TiVo remote will become an instant fan of this new model, but it is not without its issues.

The first problem is that it can suffer from interference via the Bluetooth dongle, Chen found that by using the USB extension cable provided and placing the dongle where it is in sight of the remote will work much better. The other issue is the price, $90 just seems too much to pay for a remote like this.

Is the TiVo Slide Remote worth $90 of your money?