The TiVo tv recorder in it’s new incarnation, the TiVo Premiere – could be the device that finally sends internet streaming into the mainstream. All previous attempts to get internet tv on your big screen have been too complicated, unreliable, hard work, dissapointing etc. But now this new device that marries tv and internet so well from a single set-top box with built in broadband connection, and a full keyboard included within the remote control could finally nail it.

The great thing about TiVo is that everyone is familiar with it, but on the new TiVo you get internet options. When browsing the guide showing channels and content you can do all the things your used to, such as recording, add a series link etc. But now there is a new “discovery bar” on the top of the screen, letting users do some amazing things like watching previous episodes of the show, view extra content like character profiles, watch behind the scenes documentaries.

Of course all this extra stuff is coming from the internet, but most viewers wont ever realise because its such a seamless transition. “Broadband and broadcast are integrated,” is how Tom Rogers, the company’s chief executive, describes the feature during the launch, “and the user doesn’t need to know how. This is the next revolution in television.”

Imagine that your looking for house doctor, just typed in house from the remote into the search box and it will find a ll episodes yet to be screened plus links to all previous episodes of the show. So you can from that search watch every previous episode, some will be free and some may need paying for. But its all there in front of you, with no effort on your part.

If you want to drill down further, then you can view the cast list, highlight an actor and the screen displays what else the actor has starred in, documentaries, interviews etc. You could from that simple search end up watching something totally different from your searching. You can bookmark anything of interest and return to it at a later date, you can browse the internet from TiVo as well if you want to go hunting further into the web.

There are also plans to have apps and widgets onboard including music, games, weather apps and social networking features. The TiVo Premiere will come installed in one of two set-top boxes with 320GB or 1TB of memory — the latter big enough to store around 250 hours of high-definition telly.

After many false dawns, you kind of get the impression that 2010 is when the internet will infiltrate the entire entertainment system. And the people that down like computers or find them complicated wont matter, because they will not even realise that its there.

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2. TiVo Post $10.2 Million Loss For Fourth Quarter
3. TiVo Comes To The UK Thanks To Virgin Media
4. New TiVo DVR For TV Recording That Includes The Internet