Over 4 years in the making, Netflix digital video has finally found its way to TiVo!
The process probably hasn’t played out exactly the way TiVo and Netflix anticipated when they initially inked a development agreement in 2004… In fact, the struggle to find content and move this project forward drove Netflix CEO Reed Hastings to declare there’s “no work going on,” “no content,” and “no point” in 2005. Fast forward a few years and it’s pretty clear that the landscape has drastically shifted. Content is everywhere and Netflix intends to serve as many platforms as possible: “We want to be integrated on every Internet-connected device, game system, high-definition DVD player and dedicated Internet set-top box.”
Any day now, Netflix on TiVo will head into beta. What you see above is a rendering provided by TiVo illustrating the potential experience, and doesn’t represent the final UI. However, the new functionality is expected to be delivered to Series 3 and TiVo HD units quite soon – before the holidays. Why no Series 2 support you ask? The S2 chipset isn’t capable of handling the VC-1 encoded Netflix video, which also happens to be protected by Microsoft DRM. While I’ve got no insider info on this specific point, I’m hoping this new codec support and digital rights management platform paves the way for high definition TiVo video services from Amazon, CinemaNow, Jaman, and of course Netflix.
Press release follows: