Technicolor has announced plans to develop an advanced, TiVo-ready high definition set-top box for customers that license the TiVo software.
Technicolor says it will port the TiVo software onto its DSI803 PVR hardware platform. The initial implementation will be used to support the initiative announced earlier this year between TiVo and Conax. Virgin Media and at least one other European cableco are known to have TiVo deployments slated, though it is not known if Technicolor is a part of their plans.
“As the convergence of linear television and broadband continues to take hold, operators need to deploy advanced television solutions that are cost efficient and ready for rapid deployment,” said Frederic Kurkjian, Senior VP – Satellite and Cable STB Business Unit at Technicolor. “As one of the leading set-top box provider in the world, operators were increasingly looking to Technicolor to help address this need. To manage this, we selected TiVo’s truly comprehensive solution for marrying TV and Internet content within a single, user-friendly and intuitive interface. TiVo’s vast understanding of what television viewers want, coupled with our expertise in manufacturing hardware and the platform porting work we are now doing, will be a major advantage for operators looking to leapfrog the competition.”
The new offering will feature a dual-tuner HD PVR, a minimum of 320GB hard drive capable of recording up to 45 hours of HD or 400 hours of SD programming, broadband connectivity, and a touch-sensitive front panel. The choice of casing will be largely down to the operator.
As Thomson, the manufacturer has already produced PVR units that work with NDS and OpenTV PVR solutions.
“We are thrilled to be working with the world class engineering team at Technicolor on its first preemptive PVR software integration project.” said Joshua Danovitz, vice president & general manager international, TiVo Inc. “This is a big win for pay-TV operators and broadcasters who will soon have access to integrated products that combine Technicolor’s breadth as one of the biggest and most innovative global set-top box companies and TiVo’s expertise as the world’s leading television interface.”
The announcement comes in the wake of the announcement of the Google TV platform and take-up from Intel, Logitech and Sony
