Apple has inked a deal that points to a follow up to the new Apple TV packing support for live shows and DVR functions. Is the future of Apple’s most prominent hobby a little more serious or is the Cupertino crew after other tech entirely? Read on for our reading of the signs…
Apple has agreed a multi-year licensing deal with Rovi, a firm offering metadata and media recognition software, DRM services and interactive program guides for set top boxes. Apple already uses its own FairPlay DRM for TV shows and films nabbed through iTunes (and is moving to a rental only model for the new Apple TV).
It doesn’t seem likely that Apple has teamed up with Rovi for its DRM smarts, opening up the potential that it’s after the program guide and show syncing technology. Rovi touts a method for syncing shows on multiple devices, allowing customers to watch and share content on TV and their mobiles – sounds like a good combo for the iPhone and Apple TV.
Bringing full DVR functions to a future Apple TV could also catapult it out of the hobby category. At the All Things D conference earlier this year, Steve Jobs said the only way to beat cable providers is “to go back to square one, tear up the set top box, redesign it from scratch with a consistent UI across all these different functions.”
Baking Rovi’s tech into Apple TV could do just that but it’s worth being skeptical – we saw rumours of Apple packing TiVo technology into the current model to no avail.
The new Apple TV hasn’t actually hit the shelves yet and we’re already speculating about the next incarnation. Do you think Apple should take the plunge and add live shows and DVR skills to its streaming box? Is it the move it needs to make to head off the threat from Google TV?
Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (via Apple Insider)
