This from Peter at oztivo:

I received some info about the NZ launch.

“The TiVo media device will launch in NZ with at least a 160GB hard-drive which will hold approximately 120 hours of standard definition or 40 hours of high definition recordings.”

So at least we know you won’t be getting a smaller hard drive , but it does hint at the possibility of a bigger one…

“Recommended Retail Prices (RRP) Price (including GST)
TiVo Media Device $899.00
Wireless Adaptor $89.00
Home Network Package $129.00

Telecom will, at launch in November, be selling a bundle of the TiVo media device and the wireless adaptor for $920 including gst.

Telecom will also offer a deferred payment option of 24 monthly payments of $30 plus an upfront initial payment of $200 (incl GST) which can be placed on your Telecom phone bill. This payment option will only be available to Telecom Broadband customers.”

Most of this was known, except I don’t recall anyone mentioning the price for HNP which is $129. Bought separately here it is A$199, which makes it a relative bargain in NZ. Though you can buy it for $100 if bundled with a TiVo when buying from TiVo (not retailer).

Peter.

Welcome to the New Zealand TiVo central help site.

It’s coming New Zealand …

Get ready with TiVo Central, and the New Zealand TiVo community .. discover more here!

Telecom won’t spell out its deal with the new television device TiVo.

But it says consumers considering buying the $899 device and attracted by the free broadband offer – a key part of its appeal – need not worry it will be wound back.

It was announced last week Telecom had exclusive reselling rights for retailing TiVo, although with a new marketing campaign pending several aspects are still unclear.

“We’d look like complete muppets to put this into the marketplace when we are still looking at it,” said Telecom broadband general manager Ralph Brayham. “For all the things you can criticise us for we are an incredibly conservative company when it comes to disenfranchising customers.”

Telecom has about 60 per cent of the broadband market and the free TiVo downloads will be a marketing drawcard to increase its share.

Brayham – who oversaw the discontinued online shopping mall ferrit.co.nz – said Telecom had made a long-term commitment to the advanced TiVo technology.

But he says that under legal contracts with TiVo he cannot say if there is a time limit for the free broadband offer or a review process.

As well as interactivity between TV sets and the internet, the generous free broadband is a key part of TiVo’s appeal.

TiVo provides digital video recorder technology like MySky or MyFreeview, but will earn revenue from unspecified pay per view movies and TV shows and yet-to-be-revealed advertising-funded content.

But Telecom will not take a share of that income.

TiVo is one-third owned by TVNZ and two-thirds by the Australian Seven networks.

It has a relationship with Yahoo!Xtra, which is controlled by Telecom and Seven Network.

Brayham acknowledged that consumers making an $899 investment in TiVo were owed more detail about the marketingoffer.

But he said that in the telecommunications sector offers were seldom downgraded.

“Value keeps increasing in this space – consumers are offered more for less.”

TiVo could be greeted with optimism and not cynicism, he said.

“We are not gong to take it away. Television is the key part of a value-added services strategy.”

But he was not ruling out changes.

“In our terms and conditions we are always going to have the right to change our mind.”

TiVo was offering an attractive offer compared with competitors.

The details of that – such as TiVo exclusive programming and pricing for pay per view movies – had not yet been confirmed.

“We are not asking consumers to make decisions now or in the first week of November.”

IN THE AIR

* TiVo is launching in early November.
* Telecom will take an unspecified share of the $899 cost for a set top box and offer its customers free broadband for downloads of movies and unspecified free advertising-funded content.
* It will take no share of TiVo’s income from pay per view movies so income will dry up while it has an ongoing cost for free broadband for TiVo content.
* Telecom says it owes consumers more details of the TiVo offer before they pay $899 for a set top box.
* It would not disfranchise customers, though would not rule out changes.

VNZ and TiVo announced today that Telecom is their exclusive broadband partner for the service.

Launching in November this year, TiVo has expanded from being a digital video recording device to offering movies and TV programmes to rent, according to Robbee Minicola, CEO of official licensee Hybrid TV.

Programmes and movies will be in full 1080p high-definition video, Minicola says.

Customers are expected to buy a TiVo box outright at $899 for the standard model, or $920 for a device with wireless capabilities that lets you share content on home PCs. Telecom customers also get an option with a $200 down payment and monthly instalments of $30 over two years, on their phone bills.

No subscription services apply to the TiVO service that features TVNZ digital Freeview free-to-air material and Prime Television.

The TiVo boxes can be purchased over the internet at Telecom’s website, or in Telecom Retail shops and can be ordered via the phone. Only Telecom broadband customers get the full service with broadband-delivered pay-per-view content and future services, Minicola says. Non-Telecom broadband customers have access to the fourteen-day electronic programming guide and the TiVo recording features, as well as free-to-air Freeview channels, but not the pay-per-view content. She adds that overseas TiVo boxes won’t work in New Zealand as they’re not digital terrestrial transmission (DTT) compatible.

At the launch, TiVo’s pay-per-view content will be rentals only, Minicola says. Later on, TiVo is looking to supply rent-to-own content as well. Non free-to-air content, as supplied by TVNZ, will have digital rights management according to Minicola, and can’t be shared.

For the pay-to-view content delivered over the internet, Minicola promises there won’t be any interruptions or buffering pauses while people watch. She estimates that at 1.5Mbit/s speed, the first ten minutes of a programme or movie will take three to five minutes to download before viewers can watch. After that, there won’t be any pauses, Minicola says.

Customers can programme their TiVo devices over the internet, Minicola says. This includes mobile phones that are internet-capable. Users will need a Telecom Yahoo-Xtra account, however.

Telecom Retail CEO Alan Gourdie says the TiVo service won’t cost its broadband customers anything above their usual monthly service costs. Data traffic for the TiVo service will be zero-rated by Telecom and won’t count towards customers’ monthly caps, Gourdie says.

Rick Ellis, CEO of TVNZ, which last year took an $8 million stake in Hybrid TV, says the state broadcaster is looking to make money out of the TiVo service through advertising.

Ellis also says TVNZ expects to profit from its share of Hybrid TV becoming more valuable, as the TiVo service uptake grows.