Apple to license TiVo DVR technology for iTV?

Posted December 7, 2006 at 04:29 AM by Doug Berger

Section: Apple, Audio, Home Audio, Gadgets / Other, Household, Miscellaneous, Peripherals, Online Music/Video

Last fall when Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced plans to launch iTV by Q1 2007, it wasn’t very clear what direction they would go with it.  Would they simply use it as a wireless set-top-box that streams content from your iTunes collection to your TV?  Would they wire it to your cable and have their own TiVo-like DVR unit?  If the past is any predictor of the future, everything that’s hit the streets so far is a RUMOR… and that’s it.  Products are rumors until they’re announced, and that’s what this one is.  Matt over at PVRBlog is reporting on a “Wild rumor“ that hit his inbox recently.

Apple will be licensing TiVo patented technology for iTV. Also, the name iTV has changed to Mac Media Capsule

Yeah… that’s what I thought.  This one goes down as one of the most unlikely scenerios to be included in Steve’s announcement at Macworld 2007.  Let’s be honest here.  If Apple was going to make a DVR, they would want to OWN the technology as well as sell it.  They would have their good old friends at Hon Hai Precision (AKA Foxconn) whip them up the unit from scratch.

Apple is smart enough to realize a streaming set-top-box will not appeal to the mass market.  If they’re only targeting Apple fanboys, then this would be the product they would release.  However, like I said… they’re smarter than that.

Read [PVRBlog] Via [SeekingAlpha]