Virgin Media Selects TiVo For Next Generation TV Platform

[HDFootyMan]

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...-72852687.html

TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), a leader in the creation of television services and advertising solutions for digital video recorders (DVRs), and Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED; LSE: VMED), the UK's leading entertainment and communications company, today announced they have entered into a strategic partnership under which TiVo will develop Virgin Media's next generation TV platform. Under the mutually exclusive agreement, TiVo will develop a converged television and broadband interactive interface to power Virgin Media's next generation, high definition set top boxes. The terms of the deal are not disclosed.

TiVo will become the exclusive provider of middleware and user interface software for Virgin Media's next generation set top boxes. Virgin Media will become the exclusive distributor of TiVo services and technology in the United Kingdom.

[BenMcr]

Oh my, certainly going to prove interesting now

[HDFootyMan]

Already drooling over all that potential TiVO goodness on Digital Cable.

[NoKnowledge]

I guess this FAQ will be changed

It's also on the Tivo site

http://www.tivo.com/abouttivo/intern...gin-media.html

[BenMcr]

So this means stuff like this http://www.tivo.com/whatistivo/anywh...cheduling.html

will be coming to VM. Cool and Funky times ahead lol

[NoKnowledge]

Just checked the UK site which was working last week, as I was on it looking up something is now leading to a virginmedia "could not find" page.

[Digital Fanatic]

Great news!

[Rankrotten]

Fantastic news as I really miss my TiVo which was light years ahead of the V+ in user interaction.

[Maggy J]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8c08d41c-d...nclick_check=1

It seems to be software rather than hardware on offer.

[BenMcr]

Link doesn't work, however it's not the first time TiVo has done that.

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlan...10/story5.html

Anyway it's the software that what makes TiVo what it is, not the hardware

---------- Post added at 08:54 ---------- Previous post was at 08:41 ----------

Oooh - just seen this posted on the Digital Spy thread (from a TiVo earnings conference call apparently)

Lastly, this deal also marks the first time Tivo will be providing the interface not just for DVR platforms but for traditional next generation set top boxes without DVR capability as well

So that's the WHOLE of VM going TiVo

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8c08d41c-d...nclick_check=1

It seems to be software rather than hardware on offer.

There's not a lot of difference between most PVR's, they all have a HDD, they all have a number of tuners, they all have a hardware decoder chip and they all have firmware. A good or bad firmware can make the difference between a great system (like TIVO) and a bad system (like cheap PVR's)

So Tivo doing the software is proabably the best thing to happen to V++

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8c08d41c-d...nclick_check=1

It seems to be software rather than hardware on offer.

The Tivo hardware has never been anything particularly special. They just use bog standard DVRs. Indeed, they don't even manufacture their own. In the UK, the DVR that was marketed as Tivo was actually a Thomson DTR 1000. In America, the hardware is sold by various companies.

What makes Tivo good is the software. I don't know what VM are planning, but the old Tivo came woth a far superior epg to anything VM currently offer. It is far more extensive (generally it has around 2 weeks worth of data, but can go up to a month) and both easier and quicker to search. There is also the matter of series links (or Season Passes in Tivo parlance). On the V+, these can be a little hit or miss. On Tivo, they are not perfect, but they are a lot more reliable. They are also easier and quicker to manage..

There's also the fact that Tivo (in the US at least) has the ability to do a lot of other things.

1) You can view your recordings on any compatible PC or Mac, or write them to DVD (although I can't see VM allowing this). You can also use the TivoToGo software to convert the video for viewing on a mobile device.
2) You can set recordings via the web (where do you think Sky got the idea from?).

It should be good, but I won't hold out much hope for the extra features. The two I've listed are do-able on the current generation of hardware, but vm seem to have a policy of implementing the least amount of features they can get away with.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

It should be good, but I won't hold out much hope for the extra features. The two I've listed are do-able on the current generation of hardware, but vm seem to have a policy of implementing the least amount of features they can get away with.

I wouldn't be too sure on that one

---------- Post added at 09:24 ---------- Previous post was at 09:22 ----------

From the press release:

TiVo will develop a converged television and broadband interactive interface to power Virgin Media's next generation, high definition set top boxes

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

I wouldn't be too sure on that one

Oh, I am not sure at all. Just going on past experience.

---------- Post added at 09:26 ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 ----------

TiVo will develop a converged television and broadband interactive interface to power Virgin Media's next generation, high definition set top

That is marketing speak. It doesn't actually say anything about the facilities. You could describe their current interface the same way...

[ShadowTD]

Well, that's brilliant. Just as I finally leave Virgin TV... However, I'd put even money on this not bearing fruit for at least 12 months, so if it's amazingly shiny (and with TiVO I'm expecting it to be!) I can come back .