“TiVo has been an innovation leader since its inception. It has changed the whole TV viewing experience through their innovative DVR solutions over the years. We are excited about the fact that Wipro’s multi-country compliant DVB-T stack, along with DVB-CI stack, has been adopted by TiVo for their DVR solutions.” Said Nagamani Murthy, Vice President, Mobile Consumer Electronics & Automotive Group,Wipro Technologies

Interesting how they explicitly mention ‘multi-country compliant’. Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but it has always been fairly clear that TiVo plans to attack the European market. They’ve exhibited EFIGS (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish) software at CES. They had a generic DVB-T platform on display next to the Australian box. The only really questions are when and where. I still think the UK is the logical choice for the first European market since DVB-T Freeview is popular and they already have the infrastructure in place to support the lingering UK customers from their first foray there.

There have also been hints that New Zealand will likely follow Australia once the Australian market has settled down a bit.

[Gerry Harvey] also revealed the TiVo digital recording device brought to Australia by the Seven Network had been a surprise hit.

Seven launched TiVo as a direct free-to-air counter to Foxtel’s IQ device and gave Harvey Norman exclusive rights to sell the product for the first six weeks.

Seven is supporting the TiVo with ads in high rotation during the Olympics.

“We have sold more than three times what I would have expected — and again, I think the Olympics have been a factor.

“I didn’t think TiVo would be a big seller. Sometimes you just never know.”

Selling more than three times that was expected sounds like good news to me. I’m looking forward to seeing some hard sales figures for TiVo in Australia eventually. I’ve seen various mentions in journals and blogs and the general reception from those buying them has been positive. The DVB-T platform seems to be working well, which gives some hope that TiVo will re-enter the UK market (where DVB-T is also used, commonly called Freeview) and also additional world markets where DVB-T is used.

The PlayTV will be available in Europe in September for €100, or approximately £80/$160. As previously reported, the PlayTV will have dual DVB-T tuners to enable DVR functionality on the PS3, and content can be place-shifted for remote viewing on the Sony PSP. Australia is expected to receive the PlayTV roughly a month after the European release.

Who knows if well ever see something like this in the US. Unlike most of the rest of the world, terrestrial broadcast isn’t very popular in the US. So while an ATSC version of the PlayTV would certainly be possible, I don’t think it would sell well. Sony would really need a CableCARD-enabled tuner as most of the US market uses cable, and/or a partnership with DirecTV or Dish Network. Though the PS3 is certainly capable of handling OCAP/tru2way, and the BD-J standard for Blu-ray is actually part of the same familiar as OCAP (both are based on GEM/MHP), so perhaps some work could be reused.

From Register Hardware.

While the Australian box is designed strictly for free view DVB-T content, as per the wishes of partner Seven Network, the generic platform is intended to handle DVB-T (terrestrial broadcast) and optionally DVB-S (satellite).

I was told that it may also support external set top boxes for other content. Remember those unused input ports I found when I reviewed the TiVo HD? Yep, those inputs. Both of these platforms are based directly on the TiVo HD. There are some component changes to handle the difference sources. And, obviously, CableCARD isn’t used.

Here are the boxes – click for larger versions:

But that’s not all. Clearly a platform that works in other countries is only half the battle, you also need the software to work in those countries as well. An English interface isn’t going to sell well in all countries. So what TiVo has done is re-work their software to abstract the language of the UI as resource files, making it very easy to add new languages. At CES TiVo is showing off an early version of the software which allows you to swap between English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish. This is one box and you can change the language on demand, not special software loads for each language. Expect to see this feature sooner rather than later – such as enabling TiVo to sell units at retail in Quebec. I took photos of TiVo Central in each language:

They also have a one-sheet on the DVB Reference Platform, which I’ll try to scan when I get home. For now I’ll transcribe it:

TiVo® HD DVB Reference Platform

Higher Intelligence for Your Home Entertainment System

At last, there’s a premium High-Definition product at an affordable price. Introducing the new TiVo® HD DVB Reference Platform, combining the intelligence of the TiVo service with the razor-sharp clarity of HD recording. Designed as a universal set top box to work with any DVB source, the platform also offers network connectivity delivering the best of broadcast and broadband TV, right to your living room. Get TiVo and raise your home theater I.Q.

Product Overview:

• Controls TV with Record, Pause, Rewind, and Fast-Forward in HD
• Records two HD channels at once, while watching another recorded show
• Records uo to 20 hours in HD (or 180 hours in Standard Definition)
• Designed specifically for DVB-T viewers. (DVB-S support optional)
• Video output modes include: 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i
• Sources supported: DVB-T, DVB-S (optional)
• Outputs: HDMI, SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, Digital Audio, Analog Audio
• Connectivity and Expansion: Ethernet, 2xUSB 2.0 ports, eSATA
• WiFi connectivity supported via USB adapter (sold separately)

TiVo Service Features:

• Get broadband videos, music and photos from the internet on you [sic] TV
• View videos, music and photos from your PC on your TV
• Schedule recordings online
• Take your video recordings with you on your portable media player of laptop using TiVoToGo
• Discover broadcast and broadband shows with universal Swivel Search
• Easily pre-approve what your kids watch with TiVo KidZone