First, at IBC TiVo and Samsung announced that they’ll be working together on an “advanced PVR solution” — the initial implementation intended to port the TiVo experience to European Samsung DVB DVR hardware. And presumably leveraging Samsung’s existing cable and satellite relationships overseas. Assuming all goes well, the companies “may add non-PVR devices and additional platforms worldwide.” As you’ll recall, TiVo has previously indicated a foray into non-DVR television solutions with an upcoming Internet-connected Best Buy Insignia HDTV.
In the other bit of news, TiVo has joined the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA). Which comes as no surprise to me, given their previous allusions to a modernized whole home solution for partners and DirecTV’s current multiroom MoCA solution. MoCA networking is an elegant solution that’s generally transparent to the end-user, requiring no new wired or wireless networks as data is transmitted over existing coaxial cable. But don’t take it from me, here’s TiVo’s justification: “Integrating MoCA into our products will enable service providers to offer a simple home networking solution that offers unrivalled Quality of Service.” However, I doubt we’ll see MoCA embedded into retail TiVo hardware anytime soon. Fortunately, with the Premiere’s seriously beefed up network throughput, MRV could still be re-worked into a streaming versus downloading solution.