We really haven’t heard much of anything since the TiVo-Nero partnership to develop TiVo software for the PC was announced last November, so it is nice to get some confirmation that things are still moving forward. This confirmation comes via an ITBusiness.ca article on Nero, due to their new Canadian-born Nero Americas president, Richard Carriere. Nero is focused on expanding their products to embrace what they’re calling ‘liquid media’ - content on any device, anywhere, at anytime. And part of that focus includes the TiVo software:

One use-case being carved-out centres around the television. Nero has partnered with TiVo, developers of the popular set-top boxes for recording digital television tailored to personal preferences, and the two companies are working to develop a software solution that brings the Nero engine and the TiVo usability to the PC.

“You’ll have all the power, performance and flexibility of a PC, the strength of the Nero engine, and the TiVo user experience,” said Carriere.

In essence, the digital cable feed could be connected into the PC which could be used as a personal video recorder (PVR), eliminating the need for a TiVo box. Programming could be watched on the PC, or a cable connected back to the TV to watch it there.

“If you look at what’s available from HP or Microsoft today you can do it, but it’s not a very easy user experience,” said Carriere.

The details on the solution, which is expected to launch within the next year, are still being developed, but Carriere says it may open new opportunities for partners in the digital home integration space.

Interesting that they say “the digital cable feed could be connected into the PC”, that would imply that the software will work with CableCARD tuners. I’d rather expect it would. I’m a little disappointed by the “launch within the next year”, since this was announced last November it has already been six months since the announcement. I was hoping that we might see it released in time for the holiday shopping season this year, but I’m feeling more like sometime in 2009 at this point. Of course, we don’t know how complex the development work is - if it is a whole-cloth creation, or a port of one of the existing code bases such as the standalone OS or the cable OCAP/tru2way OS.

As I said at the time of the announcement, I’m still iffy on the PC-based software in general. Media Center PCs haven’t lit the world on fire, and it is a crowded market with established players. Breaking into that market is hard for new comers, as ReplayTV, Meedio/Yahoo, and others have discovered. But TiVo has their strong brand working for them, and Nero is an established player as well. So I’ll be very interested in seeing how it does when it hits the market.

When I first saw the press release, and this statement “today announced that they have entered into an agreement to further enable the connected digital home by integrating TiVo’s television user experience with Nero’s next generation of PC software”, I figured it was something like integrating TiVoToGo into Nero’s software, along the same lines as Roxio. But I was surprised as I continued reading:

Under the agreement, Nero will develop a software solution that will bring TiVo features to the personal computer. Capitalizing on the growing PC TV tuner market, it will answer the consumer demand for a trusted PC-based DVR experience for use with the estimated 50.8 million PC TV tuners that will be sold worldwide by 2011, according to In-Stat research report published in April 2007.

“This agreement provides TiVo with an opportunity to deliver its interface and differentiated feature set globally via the PC, enabling TiVo to use all avenues of mass distribution – from consumer electronics, to cable and satellite boxes and soon, the PC,” said Tom Rogers, President and CEO, TiVo. “We are thrilled to work with Nero, a highly successful leader in software solutions for the PC who has the ability to develop a state-of-the-art program centered on the TiVo platform that will bring the same personalized entertainment experience to domestic and international consumers on their personal computers.”

With little fanfare TiVo just announced that, with Nero, they’re going to be releasing PC-based DVR software that provides the TiVo experience.

That’s big news, the TiVo experience has always been tied to dedicated hardware. But I have mixed feelings on this, as the PC-based DVR market is very competitive and it is already dominated by products such as BeyondTV and the 800-pound gorilla that is MS Media Center. I’ve commented in the past how I expect ReplayTV’s PC-based software to crash and burn in the face of the competition, and that seems to be just what is happening.

On the other hand, TiVo has a couple of advantages. First, and foremost, is their brand recognition. ReplayTV never made it out of niche branding, while TiVo has saturated popular culture. So they will definitely have brand recognition. Second, TiVo isn’t doing this alone. Nero is an established player in the international PC video software market, best known for their DVD burning software, and they have the expertise to develop and distribute the software.

Since TiVo is sharing the risks with Nero, I think the downside is small here. And it should help spread the TiVo user base into new markets. I do hope TiVo does the right thing and makes the PC software inter-operable with standalone TiVo hardware - so you’d be able to do TTG/MRV between the PC and the TiVo, etc. This is one of the things ReplayTV got dead wrong - their PC software has nothing in common with their existing hardware platform, and there is no compatibility between them. So there is no synergy for existing users to try the PC software. The only commonality is really the brand name.

If the software truly does provide the TiVo experience on a PC, and it is priced right, TiVo has a good chance at grabbing some of the growing PC DVR software market.