Nordic satellite pay-TV operator Canal Digital announced today that it has signed a deal with TiVo to bring TiVo's PVR devices available to its customers in four Nordic countries, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
TiVo's PVR solutions aren't that much different from any standard DVB-S / DVB-S2 PVR devices (which is a standardized platform where any manufacturer can build compatible set-top boxes), but the main differences between "traditional" DVB-S set-top PVRs and TiVo are the GUI and backend logic solutions -- and the fact that TiVo's devices will also integrate into video material available on the Internet. As Canal Digital already offers on-demand services online, those services will most likely become integrated into Canal Digital's TiVo solutions.
TiVo's devices in Nordic will use the standardized Conax encryption mechanism, meaning that the devices -- theoretically -- should also work with any other Conax / DVB-S compatible TV channel, but it is more than likely that at least all the advanced features are restricted to Canal Digital only.
Canal Digital didn't announce whether they'll ship the TiVo-compatible devices to its existing customers or whether the customers need to purchase the set-top box separately if they want to use TiVo-only features.
TiVo's devices in Nordic will use the standardized Conax encryption mechanism, meaning that the devices -- theoretically -- should also work with any other Conax / DVB-S compatible TV channel, but it is more than likely that at least all the advanced features are restricted to Canal Digital only.
Canal Digital didn't announce whether they'll ship the TiVo-compatible devices to its existing customers or whether the customers need to purchase the set-top box separately if they want to use TiVo-only features.
