Virgin Media Previews New TiVo Connected TV Hardware
Connected TV is looking good
Virgin Media are so excited about their new connected tv hardware that they have released some screenshots to whet the viewers appetites. The company has partnered up with TiVo to create the new set-top boxwhich will be HD and 3D ready, giving viewers a massive 1TB of data storage.
In what could be the first real threat to rival Sky TV, the DVR system is said by Virgin to “blow other ‘connected TV’ products out of the water”, and have released some screenshots showing the user interface for its connected TV service. Partner, TiVo have previously launched their dvr in the UK with little success and discontinued after Sky released their Sky+ hardware.
Speaking for Virgin, executive director Cindy Rose said:- “Virgin Media’s next generation connected TV service – powered by TiVo – and combined with our superior broadband, will blow other ‘connected TV’ products out of the water. The service will appeal to anyone and everyone looking for the best of live broadcast TV, catch-up, on-demand and internet apps and services.”
The screens show a user interface that seems designed for HDTV, viewers can choose to view standard channels, access catch-up tv and tv on demand, plus watch and or record content. There is also a section for games and tv apps.
Much like a slick Google TV interface, viewers can search using predictive keyword search that shows visual previews. Users can then record a single episode or even the complete series. There are links to an episode guide and a cast list, as well as related recommendations.
Expected launch is in December with a big sales push in 2011.
Latest TV searches:
virgin tivo, virgin media tivoRelated News:
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- TiVo Comes To The UK Thanks To Virgin Media
- Virgin Media Launches New Virgin Media Player Beta
- Virgin Media Announce New VOD Content For December
- Demand Five On Virgin Media
Let’s hope this version can at last actually record a programme without cutting off the start or the end.
Despite setting the device to record 10mins before or afterwards, it still manages to cock this simple operation up and you’re left with the ending cut off or you miss the start.
So much for ‘video on demand’.
Virgin Media Engineers tell me its a major bug in current hardware.
It’s been like this for years!
seems to be a good hardware with great features: HD and 3D ready, with a massive storage of 1TB. We will see…
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