Wii U TVii to support TiVo in January, hoping to support other DVRs

A roundtable of key figures on the Wii U's TVii feature say that TiVo support is coming in January, and it hopes to add support for other DVRs in the future as well.

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The Wii U TVii functionality launched today, delivering most (but not all) of the features that it announced on-stage when it was announced in September. One notable exclusion is the lack of the DVR service TiVo, or any DVR service at all. But TiVo is set to come in January, and Nintendo hopes to get others on-board as well.

In a Reggie Asks interview akin to the regular Iwata Asks, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime talked to the heads of the TVii feature about what was prioritized and what's still waiting for future implementation.

"As we look at [cable, DVR, and video streaming], linear TV or traditional cable and satellite represent 98 percent of video viewing. So you begin there," said network business director Zach Fountain. "This is a critical part of Nintendo TVii and a part that other platforms normally don't support. For DVR, we've previously mentioned TiVo. TiVo will be coming on board in January. And for the video applications, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video will be supported at launch, with Netflix expected to be available in early 2013."

That doesn't do you much good if you don't happen to use a TiVo. But Brad Pelo, CEO of the company i.TV that partnered with Nintendo for the TVii service, says that "In the future, of course, we hope to add support for other DVRs."

The team also revealed that the TV Tag feature, which lets users leave social network comments on a timeline that follows the show, isn't extended to every show you can watch. Instead, it will only be available to the top 100 shows in the market, along with professional and NCAA football and basketball. Sorry, extremely obscure TV show fans.

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  • reply
    December 20, 2012 5:30 PM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Wii U TVii to support TiVo in January, hoping to support other DVRs.

    A roundtable of key figures on the Wii U's TVii feature say that TiVo support is coming in January, and it hopes to add support for other DVRs in the future as well.

    • reply
      December 20, 2012 5:46 PM

      So it can record TV? It would be awesome if the other consoles add dvr functionality, TWC is charging me $10/month for an unbelievably shitty dvr.

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        December 20, 2012 5:58 PM

        Seriously happy witht the Dish Hopper thingy. Cheaper than cable too.

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        December 20, 2012 6:02 PM

        with the addition of an external hard drive presumably

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          December 20, 2012 6:12 PM

          It's pretty amazing that my TWC cable box is still exactly as shitty today as it was 6 years ago. The only updates they have made are randomly changing categories for on demand.

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        December 20, 2012 6:35 PM

        [deleted]

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          December 21, 2012 8:34 AM

          And what's it going to do when it ties in? I have two TiVos and I kinda don't understand this. Your TiVo at your TV, your Wii U is at your TV, what are you going to do with the TiVo via the Wii U that you can't do with the TiVo? Get notified that your favourite show is recording while you are playing Epic Mickey 2?

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            December 21, 2012 9:07 AM

            The Wii U hopes to ultimately tie in all your various services (Hulu, Netflix) along with a program guide for your cable or whatever and your DVR - all available directly into the tablet controller, which also has IR and can control other devices.

            So basically it wants to be an all-in-one controller for your media consumption. It's not there in the current form, though it's a good start.

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