TiVo Debuts Device to Customize TV Viewing

TiVo Inc. will make its personal TV service available nationwide for the first time today through a set-top box manufactured by Philips Consumer Electronics.

The highly anticipated service, which allows viewers to save programs for later viewing and to pause, fast forward and rewind live TV, is expected by some analysts to change the way people watch TV.

Consumers can program the box to save their favorite shows. A hard drive in the box also remembers a viewer’s preferences and will fill up the remaining time on the drive with shows it thinks the viewer would enjoy. The box dials into TiVo’s broadcast center nightly through a phone line and downloads programming guides and other information.

The box will be sold through both companies’ Web sites and a toll-free number. The system, known as the Philips Personal TV Receiver, will be available in a 14-hour version for $499 and a 30-hour version for $999, said Clifton Foo, director of marketing at Philips.

Consumers are also required to pay a fee for the service, which runs $9.99 a month, $99.95 a year, or $199 for a lifetime subscription. The receiver is compatible with cable and satellite TV systems. It does not act as a cable decoder box.

TiVo’s main competitor, Replay Networks Inc., sells its service and hardware through its Web site. Both companies expect to have set-top boxes featuring their service available at major consumer electronics retailers this summer.