Remember TiVo? In the days before the cord went down, the company's DVRs were ubiquitous, so much so that the phrase "TiVo it" was used interchangeably to refer to recording a TV show. Now the company is reeling back as the third-party smart interface alternative to Google, Amazon and Roku on major 4K TVs, with the first TiVo-powered TVs coming in mid-2023 in Europe and the US.
This information comes from streaming trade publication Next TV, which, directly quoting Jon Kirchner, CEO of TiVo parent Xperi, also announced that the company's TiVo Stream platform would appear on the sets of a "level provider 2 leader manufacturing multiple televisions under multiple brands.”
Making TiVo Stream a widely available smart TV interface option pits the company against Google, Amazon and Roku, all of which have been regularly tapped by Tier 2 TV brands to run their respective Google and Android TV operating systems, Fire TV and Roku TV. platforms
It also launches TiVo into a crowded smart TV environment: Beyond current options from Google, Amazon and Roku, TVs from LG, Samsung, Hisense, Vizio, Panasonic and Philips come with their own proprietary smart interface. However, none of these are particularly distinguished and some can be downright irritating. For example, Samsung TV owners must create a user account online to do something as simple as add an app to their Tizen smart interface or adjust its layout.
Compared to the proprietary interfaces offered by major TV brands, Google TV and Roku in particular have a clean look and are easy to customize and find content, including using voice control. Google, of course, requires the same account login for actions to take place, but Chrome/Gmail accounts are common, so most people already live in the Google ecosystem.
Tivo doesn't exactly come as a stranger to the world of broadcast TV. The company's TiVo Stream 4K, a $40 Android TV streaming box, has been around for several years and still sells TiVo Edge DVRs with cable TV and antenna connections that also provide built-in streaming from apps like Netflix. , Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Vudu, YouTube, etc.
But the Stream 4K has been overshadowed by other cheap streaming devices from Roku and Amazon, while the Edge is under threat from a 2020 FCC ruling that says cable companies are no longer required to provide CableCards, which use the Edge DVR to tune in and record TV shows. Given the fragile nature of its hardware business, it makes sense that the company is looking at other options, such as smart TV integration, to generate revenue.
Does TiVo have what it takes to be a smart TV player?
Between the existing Roku and Google-based offerings, the third-party smart TV ecosystem was already crowded, and the most recent introduction of Amazon's Fire TV into that mix makes it seem like there are now more than enough options that consumers can afford. TV manufacturers can resort if they want. I don't want to create a proprietary platform.
Now let's throw TiVo into this maelstrom of smart TVs. To its credit, the company already has a deal in the works, so TiVo-powered smart TVs are on the way in 2023, whether anyone likes them or not. Its hardware business may have experienced a downturn with the advent of the cord cut, but the TiVo brand still enjoys strong recognition among consumers, even though people are now much more likely to watch "TiVo" on streaming that you schedule using a DVR.
As a former TiVo user for many years before cutting the cord myself, I was a fan of the TiVo interface and the remote used to control the company's box. I also remember that its search features were infinitely better than what was available on the DVR provided by my cable TV service. Given TiVo's tradition of superior ease of use, the qualities that set it apart in the age of cable TV and fading DVR are likely to carry over to today's smart TV and streaming.
It's important to note at this point that the new TiVo we're talking about coming to smart TVs won't have any DVR-like capabilities. In the words of Xperi CEO Kirchner, again quoted on Next TV, the next TiVo TVs will be for "people looking for a TiVo-powered OEM brand experience, not looking for a TiVo-powered TV."
Even so, apps like YouTube TV, fubo TV, Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV and others offer cloud-based DVR features that allow subscribers to record and store live TV channels online for further broadcasting, in some cases at no additional cost. . . Such TiVo-like functionality could eventually be integrated into a "TiVo-powered brand experience," though there are no current plans for that to happen.
If so, we'd bring our old TiVo back to the TiVo stuff, but this time without the bulky external set-top box.