After all the pre-announcements, speculation, and leaks, TiVo’s finally official in Australia. The DVB-T (over-the-air) TiVo will be available July 29th for $699 (AUD):

Under a mutually exclusive agreement, Seven has created the digital platform to enable TiVo’s digital video recorder and service, including the award-winning TiVo user interface. All free-to-air television networks’ digital channels in Australia will be available on TiVo? DVRs. TiVo DVRs will be sold through the Harvey Norman owned complexes

I can’t say I know much, or even anything, about the Australian economy and their consumer electronics habits but at the equivalent of $664 US dollars, I don’t see Seven and TiVo gaining much traction down under - even by forgoing the monthly service fee. I’d expect steep price cuts before the holidays…