Tivo today unveiled a new, lower cost high definition digital video recorder (DVR) in its quest to make HD recording a more economical option. The Tivo HD is priced at around $300 and should be available in early August, though pre-orders are being taken now.

The Tivo HD operates in a similar capacity to the older Tivo Series 3 HD Digital Media Recorder, allowing consumers to record and playback HD television programming as part of a home entertainment setup. This particular DVR allows you to record up to 20 hours of HD or up to 180 hours of standard definition content. It is compatible with digital cable, analog cable and digital antenna (ATSC), furthermore acting as a digital cable ready set-top box which works with many cable providers via its dual CableCard slots.

TiVo and Amazon.com have announced a new service that will allow TiVo Subscribers to watch Movies and TV Shows downloaded from Amazon Unbox on Their TVs.

With “Amazon Unbox on TiVo”, subscribers will have the ability to rent and purchase movies and television shows. Television shows will cost $1.99 per episode and most movies will range between $9.99 and $14.99 for purchase with movie rentals starting at $1.99. The current list of supported major studios includes CBS, Fox Entertainment Group, Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros.

Once live, subscribers will be able to activate the service on Amazon.com to establish a link between their TiVo Series2 or Series3 box. Once the service has been activated, eligible movies and television shows can be downloaded directly to the TiVo box. Downloaded content will automatically appear in the “Now Playing” list …