TiVo launches in Canada, but without HD

While TiVo is pushing new high-definition models in the United States, the company has gone up north to sell its standard-definition DVRs, with an 80GB Series2 TiVo now available in Canada.

Canadians who have desired to fast-forward through commercials and pause live TV can pick up a TiVo at Best Buy, The Brick, London Drug or Future Shop for $199 CAD. This does not include TiVo serivce, which runs $12.95 per month, although is cheaper when prepaid annually.

The Canadian Series2 won't dispense maple syrup, but it does include dual tuners and features TiVo's standard SeasonPass, WishList, Online Scheduling, TiVoToGo and Multi-Room viewing features. 80 hours worth of standard definition content can be recorded to the device.

TiVo says it has received overwhelming demand from Canada and the expansion up north was a natural progression of the company's business into international markets. The company's previous international foray into England, however, was largely a bust and TiVo service is no longer sold there.

Missing from TiVo's Canadian launch is high-definition support; TiVo HD is now the company's flagship model in the United States. This is largely due to the CableCARD standard the set-top boxes employ, which is not used by any Canadian cable companies. European video providers also use a different standard called DVB, further hindering TiVo's ability to expand overseas.

Still, the company is bullish about its potential in Canada, and those who previously brought US versions into the country will surely be pleased since the Zap2It television data they relied on previously is no longer offered.

For the time being, TiVo is not being sold in Quebec, ostensibly due to the DVR only being available in English.