There’s always a few hidden gems that turn up at CES. And 2017 is no exception, with HD Guru uncovering an unannounced TiVo Philips partnership. The initiative seemingly confirms TiVo’s intent to diversify their retail hardware business, with Philips preparing a line of over-the-air TiVo-powered personal video recorders (PVR). The mash-up is also notable given the companies* history, having launched the very first TiVo together way back in 1999.
The two-tuner prototype on display was a pretty nondescript black set-top, appearing to reuse an existing enclosure at this phase of development. Marketing imagery at the show indicates the DVRs will feature a “built-in EPG powered by TiVo for an intuitive program navigation, selection, and recording experience.” Further, the integrated wireless networking of at least one model will provide “smooth streaming of live or recorded video on your home network” — unlike most existing, native TiVo experiences, which also facilitate out-of-home streaming to iPads and the like.
The interface, as pictured in the booth, looks nothing like the current or upcoming TiVo UI. It’s not clear to me if the Roku-esque presentation is merely a placeholder, if TiVo is creating something new for partners, or if Philips is merely relying on TiVo-tech underpinnings and the Rovi guide. In any event, the cord cutting market could certainly benefit from additional players in this space and Philips appears to have been seeking retailer feedback at the show as they march towards a September release.
On the other end of the spectrum, TiVo is also forging ahead with relatively new partner Arris on a pair of 4K UHD DVRs they intend to make available to cable partners.
The ARRIS DCX905 is an IP Video Gateway (next-gen, set-top technology). It is a high-definition set-top with multiple 1 GHz tuners that support both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC services. The all-digital DCX905 includes the latest audio and video output interfaces, including HDMI, Award-winning Dolby Digital Plus audio and Dolby Volume Leveling. With the included MoCA home networking, the DCX905 provides the flexibility to serve as a multimedia client for accessing content from other compatible devices in the home. An embedded DOCSIS 2.0+ cable modem provides support for DSG and downstream channel bonding,
It is capable of presenting encrypted SD and HD video content through HDMI™ 2.0 and Analog Composite (SD content only), digital audio is presented through HDMI™ and Optical SPDIF, and analog audio is presented through baseband 3.5mm connector. It has a removable hard-drive for DVR capability, SD card slot, and single USB2.0 port for external peripherals. Wireless interface includes RF4CE with embedded antennas.
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*So Philips branding is somewhat complex these days... from LinkedIn:
P&F USA, Inc. located at Alpharetta, GA is a subsidiary of Funai Electric Co., LTD and is the exclusive licensee for Philips consumer televisions and home video products in North America.
Philips partial intent at the show seemed to be gauging retailer interest - that would probably drive how many models and what many features make the cut. And they really need those retail partnerships to drive awareness and sales.
The pictured Arris box is the DCX900, from a friend below, while the latest FCC filing is the DCX905. Primary difference appears to be the integrated DOCSIS modem in the newer model.
This would be more compelling if they hadn't totally destroyed the reliability of the guide data with the switch. After all these months I still have a handful of channels that only show "To Be Announced" 24/7. New episodes of shows don't record sometimes because the TiVo think it's an old episode, and old episodes record thinking it's new. For the first time in the 16~ years I had had a TiVo I am doing more than just casually looking to switch to something else.
I had a couple of station listing problems like that. If you haven't tried calling support I would do so. They had me go through some sort of reset procedure that I didn't think would do anything but it actually worked.