TiVo has announced a comprehensive broadband video delivery approach for both Series2 and Series3 units:
Peer-to-Peer Video Sharing
Working in partnership with One True Media, TiVo is offering a breakthrough new service feature which will provide friends and families scattered across the country with an easy way to share their home videos, by sending them directly to the television set. Rather than burning and mailing DVDs, friends and family will now be able to set-up their own private channel to send home videos directly to a TiVo subscriber’s TV set. (Available first quarter of 2007 @ $4/month for uploaders.)
Internet Video Transcoding and Transfer
TiVo subscribers who upgrade to this new PC software will be able to easily browse, transfer, and watch a vast amount of Web video, right on their TV sets, using the Emmy Award-winning TiVo service, even if the content is not originally in a format that televisions can display, by autotranscoding that video through their PCs. (Supporting Series2 units only. Available later this year for Microsoft Windows @ $25 or free upgrade to TiVo Desktop Plus.)
New TiVoCast Service Programming Partners
A fresh group of media companies, including CBS Interactive, Forbes and specialized health content, will deliver broadband programming directly to the television through TiVo’s revolutionary TiVoCast service. Launched earlier this year, the TiVoCast service delivers broadband video directly to the television sets of TiVo subscribers, turning Web video into television by bringing powerful broadband content previously available only on the PC. (Available later this year at no charge.)
Unified Video Search
TiVo unveiled “unified search,” launching next year, whereby consumers can search across broadcast, cable and broadband content sources through an approach that seamlessly integrates all video for easy access, menuing, searching, recording, and viewing. Consumers want content from many different sources and with unified search they won’t need to visit multiple devices to view that content – it can all be easily accessed in one place from the TiVo “Now Playing” list. (Available next year at no charge.)
ICM Celebrity Guru Guides
With broadband video choices, the number of TV options available became overwhelming, and celebrity talent became critical “key words” for viewers finding what they want. TiVo and ICM have teamed up to provide TiVo subscribers with TV show and film recommendations personally selected by some of the most well-known Hollywood actors and directors. These celebrity Guru Guides will offer subscribers the ability to have this content automatically recorded on their TiVo boxes. This demonstrates how TiVo continues to weave itself into the true fabric of the media industry, now providing a means by which entertainment talent can establish a direct relationship with TiVo viewers on their TV sets. (Available first half of 2007 at no charge.)
The Guru Guides, unified search, and transcoding initiatives aren’t so surprising or exciting to me — In fact, when I spoke with VP Jim Denney over the summer he alluded to using the PC for converting a variety of content for TiVo playback. However, the peer-to-peer broadcast functionality is extremely exciting, compelling stuff and I look forward to learning the dynamics. Still no full-length feature film downloads… Good thing the Xbox 360 has me covered! It the CBS TiVoCast downloads include something more than clips, say full-length shows, I’ll be interested.
(Thanks to Cassidy and Tyson for the tips!)