TiVo

How much would you pay to record and store more than three years of TV programming? If you answered $5,000, TiVo has a DVR it would like to sell you.

The TiVo Mega is basically a rack-mountable server case with a TiVo emblem on front, but at least it's an attractive case with an anodized precision-machined bezel. It houses 10 hot-swappable hard drives (RAID 5) totaling 24TB of storage space. TiVo says that's enough to hold 26,000 hours of standard-def shows or 4,000 hours of HD.

TiVo claims that's more than 12 times the storage of any cable or satellite DVR. With that capacity, you can store season after season of a favorite show or keep an entire movie catalog to summon up at your command. Using TiVo's Desktop Plus software for Windows, you'd be able to transfer compatible video from your computer to the Mega as well.

The rest of the package is pretty much identical to TiVo's Roamio Pro , which stores a measly 450 hours of HD programming by comparison. You get six tuners to simultaneously record from or share with TiVo Minis scattered around your house. It also has streaming capabilities built in, so you can view live and recorded TV on smartphones and tablets anywhere. And you'll have direct access to streaming services including Netflix, Hulu Plus, and YouTube, with cross-platform search.

The jack pack is the same as you'll find on the Roamio Pro, too: Ethernet, coax with MoCA support for multi-room networking, optical audio, component video, composite video with stereo audio, HDMI, two USB 2.0 ports, eSATA, and a CableCard slot. The Mega supports digital cable and Verizon FiOS only, so it won't do OTA and satellite, or Google Fiber and AT&T U-verse.

You do, however, get TiVo's Slide Pro RF remote with backlit keys and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and not just the standard TiVo peanut.

TiVo plans to have the Mega available to buy sometime in the first quarter of 2015. Its $5,000 price tag isn't yet set in stone, but that's what TiVo currently expects it to be around, and hey, at least it includes lifetime service.