TiVo believes it can play a central role in your smart home setup.
TiVo unveiled plans at CES 2018 this week to integrate smart home technology into its products. In future updates, the company plans to make TiVo DVR and streaming boxes and software smarter by allowing them to interact with other smart home devices. This could help ensure your television viewing experience adapts alongside the new tech.
(Image credit: TiVo)
"Receive a text message if your kids try to unlock parental controls," a TiVo representative said in a statement, which listed the ways its new technology could prove useful. "Automatically pause TV when someone rings your smart doorbell. Turn the TV on to ESPN when you get home from work."
The company went on to say that pre-programmed applets will identify when your show is on a commercial break, then skip past the ads without ever requiring your input. TiVo also said that the smart home applets will be available in a catalog, from which you can choose the features that you want to incorporate into your setup. You can also create your own.
TiVo, of course, is battling a changing market that has de-emphasized traditional home entertainment, like watching broadcast television. Instead, an increasing number of people are "cutting the cord," and moving to streaming services that ditch commercials, and provide opportunities to binge-watch a variety of content.
The company believes that by combining the home-entertainment experience with smart home technology, it can be more relevant in the living room. And in the examples it provides, TiVo suggests viable methods for finding its way in the changing market.
"By focusing our philosophy of innovation on the future of smart home, we’re creating a more pleasant, easy-to-use viewing experience that offers the convenience of interconnectivity with all your smart devices," the company said in a statement. "Integrating TiVo into this ecosystem is about to make the ultimate entertainment experience even more … ultimate."
TiVo plans to reveal more details on its broader smart home integration plans in the coming months.
Don Reisinger is CEO and founder of D2 Tech Agency. A communications strategist, consultant, and copywriter, Don has also written for many leading technology and business publications including CNET, Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, Forbes, Computerworld, Digital Trends, TechCrunch and Slashgear. He has also written for Tom's Guide for many years, contributing hundreds of articles on everything from phones to games to streaming and smart home.
Dropping the channel guide feed from $15 per month per DVR to one fee of $10 per month per household would help keep subscribers and likely add many more. I do like my Tivo and the integration with Netflix. I only keep it because pairing a DVR with three Roamio units is cheaper than renting DVR boxes from Comcast.
Eventually live streaming will kill off my use for a DVR. If it becomes price competitive. As it stands an internet only plan with unlimited data plus a live streaming service would cost more.
I could care less about the smart home stuff. It's all a bunch of fluff. To me a smart home is one that can clean all my floors, stairs, laundry and dishes, cook my meals, put away the groceries and mow the lawn. We're a long way from anything practical or does a good job. Turning lights on, adjusting the temperature or changing TV channels by voice is little more than a novelty.
