Suddenlink Flicks On Multiroom DVR With TiVo

Suddenlink Communications has activated multiroom DVR features for customers who have multiple TiVo Premiere DVRs, ahead of the MSO's planned introduction of TiVo's four-tuner multiroom DVR in 2012.

With the new feature, Suddenlink's TiVo users can now pause a recorded program in one room and resume it in another, as well as watch recordings on any TV connected to a TiVo Premiere device.

Suddenlink, which debuted the TiVo Premiere in December 2010, now offers the DVR parts of Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, California and Missouri. The Premiere provides access to live TV, Suddenlink's video-on-demand library and Web content, through integrated search and discovery features.

Generally, Suddenlink is the only multichannel TV service provider in its markets to offer TiVo Premiere, according to the MSO.

TiVo Premiere DVRs are available through Suddenlink for $16 per month, the same as the operator's standard HD DVR.

Next year, Suddenlink expects to begin offering the TiVo Premiere Q, which can store up to 75 hours of HD programming. The Premiere Q lets users record up to four shows simultaneously while watching a fifth recorded show.

Other operators that offer TiVo DVRs include Charter Communications -- which is initially offering it in its Dallas/Fort Worth market -- as well as RCN and the U.K.'s Virgin Media.

In addition, this month, DirecTV began offering a "classic" TiVo-based DVR box in 10 U.S. markets, with a wider rollout slated for early next year.