In the early 2000s, TiVo was most known for its DVR; but, in more recent years, the business has shifted its focus to streaming with the 2020 release of TiVo Stream 4K, which is built on Google’s Android TV platform. However, TiVo has now disclosed plans to enter the market for true smart TVs, competing with Google’s Android TV.
NextTV reported that Xperi, a TiVo partner firm, intends to work with an unidentified manufacturer in 2023 to produce smart TVs based on the TiVo Stream OS. The OS was created after Vewd, a Norwegian TV software business, was acquired by Xperi.
It appears that Xperi and an unidentified TV manufacturer have inked a historic contract. According to Xperi CEO John Kirchner, the producer is a top tier 2 supplier that produces several TVs under various brands.
Update 9/1: TiVo and Vestel have officially partnered to create TVs using the TiVo OS. In response to the announcement, Xperi CEO Jon Kirchner stated in an press release that he believes that close to 40% of the smart TV industry is looking for a completely autonomous platform. It sounds a lot like Google TV when TiVo says that its platform will give viewers an unbiased, content-first user experience.
Beginning in 2023, the first TVs featuring the TiVo OS will be sold by Vestel, a major European TV producer.
All of this is interesting in that these smart TVs won’t run Android TV OS, unlike the TiVo Stream 4K dongle that will be released in 2020. The Operator Tier Lite of Android TV was previously used by TiVo Stream 4K, allowing for more platform customizations. Similar to Google’s attempts with Google TV, TiVo’s experience was developed on the integration of numerous streaming platforms and services into a single hub.
Following Google’s movements with the Google TV platform, it was anticipated last year that TiVo would completely abandon the Android TV OS. However, the business has since vehemently denied this, stating that more Android-based streaming hardware is planned. It’s unclear whether these plans to give smart TVs their own OS will alter them in any way.
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