Friday, May 18, 2018

TiVo Announcements

TiVo announced today that its newest lineup of set-top
DVRs, including Series 4 (TiVo Premiere), Series 5 (TiVo
Roamio), and Series 6 (TiVo Bolt) devices as well as the
TiVo Bolt Vox, will gain support for Amazon’s Alexa virtual
assistant by June 1. Once the new firmware arrives, TiVo
subscribers with the Alexa app or an Amazon Echo smart
speaker will be able to change channels, adjust television
and A/V receiver volume, and more, with their voice.

The new TiVo Alexa skill will recognize playback
commands such as “pause,” “play,” “fast-forward,” and
“rewind,” in addition to channel-switching shortcuts like
“Alexa, go to ABC” and “Alexa, watch NBC.” It will also
support app launching — users will be able to open Netflix
by saying “Alexa, open Netflix,” for example — and platform-
specific TiVo features such as commercial skipping and eight-
second rewind.

The new voice controls seem to at least partially
cannibalize TiVo’s voice-enabled Vox remote, which
launched alongside the TiVo Bolt Vox and Mini Vox last
fall but is sold separately for $39. Vox adds voice functionality
to the TiVo Bolt, Roamio, and Mini, including playback
controls; the ability to search for movies and television
shows across live TV, DVR, video-on-demand, and streaming
services; and quick access to recorded content. The Alexa skill
may not have as many features, but existing Amazon Echo

device owners will now be less likely to purchase the remote.

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