One of the criticisms of the locally branded version of the TiVo service has been the relatively small amount of onboard storage for programs, with the promise that an external SATA drive was in the works.
Good to see someone was listening. Announced today, the Western Digital MyDVR Expander will retail for $299 -- around $100 more than the street price of a generally similar WD MyBook with the same capacity.
While the SATA port on the TiVo is a standard port, other SATA connected drives won't be detected by the TiVo and therefore won't store programming.
The release of the drive also comes as TiVo starts hyping up its Blockbuster-branded Movies on Demand service. Current TiVo users have a small promotional link to the Movies on Demand service, which is promising over 100 library titles "soon" at between 1-2GB each, with the option to schedule downloading in off-peak periods to comply with ISP quotas, as well as a promotion coinciding with the new Freeview promotion that offers $50 off the purchase price of the system as well as a donation of $10 to four charities.