Complete Cable Show 2009 coverage from Multichannel News
Macrovision Solutions is adding multiroom-DVR capability into the next versions of Passport Echo and i-Guide, and the company also has queued up a tru2way-based version of Passport.
Multiroom DVR will be part of the Passport Echo 3.5 and i-Guide A28 interactive program guides, slated for availability in the fourth quarter. Initially the company is targeting both guides for Motorola's DCX set-tops, which include support for the Multimedia over Coaxial Alliance (MoCA) standard for home networking.
"Getting a guide in the market with tru2way is critically important," said Corey Ferengul, Macrovision's executive vice president of product management and marketing. "However, we realize that the market is not fully tru2way-enabled today, so you'll also see incremental improvements in the native installed base."
In addition, Macrovision is announcing tru2way support in its Connected Platform solution, which is aimed at consumer-electronics manufacturers.
The Passport and i-Guide multiroom DVR features will let users start and stop a show in one room and resume play in another (from a compatible set-top) and view a list of recordings from multiple locations within the home. The IPGs will be able to play up to three high-definition format shows on the network while recording two HD shows, and will allow the same recorded program to be viewed simultaneously on different set-tops.
Also set for Q4 availability is the company's tru2way-based Passport (left). That version features a partial interface redesign, with a new color scheme and 16:9 screen ratio.
The tru2way Passport will include parental controls, DVR features, and support for HD and video-on-demand. It also includes a new "View Deck" menu that provides quick access to key functions and advanced services such as VOD, DVR and search.
At Cable Show '09, Macrovision plans to show the IPG running on three different tru2way-based boxes, from Panasonic, Advanced Digital Broadcast, and Samsung Electronics, said Sharon Metz, vice president of vertical marketing for system operators North America.
Metz said Macrovision is "focused on Passport on tru2way" and said Comcast is driving the development of i-Guide on tru2way, through the GuideWorks joint venture between Macrovision and the MSO.
Meanwhile, the Connected Platform solution with tru2way support is scheduled to be available in the second quarter of 2009 in North America.
By deploying the new Connected Platform solution, according to Macrovision, set-top and TV manufacturers now have the ability to develop tru2way-ready multiroom DVR devices that can share recorded television content as well as personal and premium digital content throughout the home.
The new Connected Platform solution will support devices compliant with the DLNA, UPnP and DTCP-IP media-sharing specifications over a home data network.
