Beginning this month, Belgian operator Telenet is set to test its new 4k set-top box, which they call TV-box, with 20,000 customers.
The operator has invited Telenet customers to test the new box, which features cloud-PVR rather than a local hard disk. Recordings will automatically be erased after 60 days, unless the viewer wants to keep the recording, which is possible up to five years.
Customers can select their favourite channels and keep them in a preferred order. The smaller STB does not show a numerical display with the current time and channel number. Also, there is no more on-screen webmail, and people can no longer access locally stored videos and photos using DLNA.
Apart from the regular linear channels and on-demand services, the TV-box allows direct access to Netflix and Youtube. For radio listening, a separate screen is now active which offers direct access to all radio stations. Until now, people had to switch channels between the radio channels.
At a press conference earlier this summer, Telenet CEO John Porter said the new STB would also support voice control, but the current consumer information from Telenet does not (yet) give this in formation.
In a related development, Dutch Media Distillery announced that it will bring artificial intelligence to Belgian TV homes as it looks to improve the television viewing experience for users of digital video recorders and replay services.
The company signed an agreement with the operator that will roll out the Media Distillery technology in phases across over 100 television channels between now and the end of the year.
