If there were a way to improve on your TV viewing and entertainment experience then the recent news that TiVo Premiere gains Spotify would certainly be one way, which means that those who own one of these boxes and subscribe to the service will now be able to stream music direct to their TiVo Premiere boxes. Adding such a service is yet another reason why the company is able to stay one step ahead of their rivals, and we’re sure that this latest addition will be very welcome by Premiere users because it adds yet another dimensions to an already impressive service.

TiVo understand that adding Spotify to their Premiere service is a step in the right direction because they understand that their users have a thirst for entertainment, and is just another step for them to offer their customers a more complete package. Those who have the $149.99 TiVo Premiere, the $249.99 TiVo Premiere 4 and the $399.99 TiVo Premiere XL4 will all have access to Spotify digital music service on each of these devices, although they will need to keep paying $14.99 per month or lifetime fee of $499.99 in order to do so.

However, those Premium subscribers will have still pay the $9.99 per month for their Spotify Premium account as well in order to enjoy the music streaming service on their TiVo Premiere devices. It’s a simple and painless process and once the app is installed on these boxes all users need to do is sign-in with their existing TiVo account and they are ready to begin streaming.

What makes this news so great is that TiVo Premiere subscribers have been wanting Spotify on their devices for a while now, so it’s as if the company has been listening to their customer needs, but it is clear that DirecTV customers would also like the ability to enjoy Spotify on their boxes as well. Let’s just hope that TiVo and Spotify have not rushed this out because there would be nothing worse than having a great amalgamation of services only for it to be slow and have an inferior quality.

According to Cnet users will now be able to search the BBC iPlayer, and also with the new TiVo iPad app type more easily and record programs. Once the update has landed on your TiVo box searching the BBC iPlayer will be easier as well as catch-up On Demand menus.

Users will be able to record an entire series with one click from the guide, discovery bar, and program information via the Express Series Link. Recordings will now start one minute before a program is set to begin, and won’t stop until four minutes after the program is finished.

There are new parental controls that cleverly lock programs after the watershed; this will stop children from entering the PIN and watching content that isn’t suitable. Using the remote to type has got easier thanks to multi-tap text entry, which will let users to search TiVo by typing the same way as on a mobile phone.

Now there will be more red button interactive services from the likes of the BBC, ITV, and Sky Sports among others. There have been improvements to the YouTube and Music On Demand apps, with YouTube now available in HD.

Updates will take place at 2 a.m. each day this week between now and November 24th, but you won’t know when it is to happen you will just need to leave the box on standby overnight. It can take up to an hour to download and it’s best not to use the box while it’s updating.

Has your TiVo box updated yet?

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?

An article by James on Empowered News is reporting more email addresses have been stolen by hackers from the likes of Best Buy, TiVo Inc, and Walgreen Co. the companies have confirmed that customer’s personal information that they hold has been compromised.

They use a service which is run by Dallas based company Epsilon, that also supplies around 2,500 companies nationwide. In a statement they said that an investigation would be taking place, and reassured customers that the data stolen was emails and names.

The retailers concerned have said that Epsilon contacted them about the hack and said the risk was small as only email addresses had been stolen. The email addresses could be used by the hackers to contact customers to try and get more personal information from them.

Other companies affected by the hacking include Kroger Co., and financial firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPMorgan have confirmed no financial information was involved in the data theft. Best Buy has warned customers to ignore emails requesting asking for personal details that may be used in identity theft. Barclays Bank also uses Epsilon and have again warned customers about rogue emails, but stated all of their credit card information is safe.

Customers who have used Disney Destinations should also keep a watch on their inbox, as they were also caught up in the email hack according to an article by Pete Werner on DIS Unplugged.

Does this security breach concern 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?

Engadget thought that the TiVo Premiere needed a closer look, which is why they have done an extensive review. They begin by talking about the previous models – although they are smaller than ever, the all-important software lets it down.

Before you get too carried away with the TiVo Premiere, the price tag is a little steep, $299 to be exact. Engadget picks up on the fact that this model lacks Wi-Fi, so you will have to purchase a USB Wi-Fi adapter separately.

In the review it mentions the fact that the Premiere is the DVR that we all wanted over two years ago, which means that this device is two years too late. So TiVo will have to work hard on this model and offer a number of software enhancements if they ever hope of competing with the competition.

Read Engadget’s Review

TiVo still has a huge hill to climb, not only is their competition from cable companies but from game consoles also, as they now provide users with movie and TV streaming. 2009 was not a good time for TiVo, by the end of Q3 they had lost more than 314,000 subscribers, but this new service could change all that.

The new HD TiVo recorder is being called the ultimate set-top box by the company and forms part of the TiVo Premier and its sibling the TiVo Premier XL line. Both have new software and uses Adobe Flash to search for video content online. We wonder if they will follow YouTube and begin to show HTML 5 as well, which Steve Jobs is backing?

SFGate explains that the new TiVo premiere service will provide content from a number of services, such as Amazon, YouTube, Blockbuster and Netflix. Looking at that list, this could be the ultimate all-in-one TV and Movie online streaming solution.