Sppuuuhsh! That's the sound of media marketers and broadcasters collectively spitting out their coffee in unison, all because TiVo has just released a product it says will enable consumers to "give commercials the finger."
The TiVo Bolt is a DVR that is all about speed. The SkipMode feature gives consumers the ability to completely bypass commercials planted in recorded content.
While the Bolt may be a metaphorical middle finger, there might have been a bit of handshaking going on because SkipMode won't work on all recorded content.
As witnessed in the blackballing of Dish's Hopper and its ability to "AutoHop" over commercials, it is clear that broadcasters can still move mountains in the industry.
Although TiVo doesn't need broadcasters to the degree that Dish does, it still needs their content and partnership.
Elsewhere in the Bolt is QuickMode, which looks for lulls in programming and allows viewers to speed on ahead to the good stuff. There's also support for 4K programming, a first for a DVR.
TiVo has also rethought the form factor of its DVRs with the Bolt. The bent box, smaller than TiVo's past flagships, employs a design the company calls "transcendent."
"The TiVo Bolt captures the essence of TiVo in its simplicity, high usability, and the bold experience the device delivers, which led to its natural flow design that embodies all the same characteristics," said TiVo. "The idea of making a statement while reducing complexity was the fundamental motivation for the TiVo Bolt's form factor."
The TiVo Bolt is available now. The 500GB model is priced at $299, while the price of the 1TB version is set at $399.
Later on this fall, TiVo will bolster its set-top boxes with a massive update. The fall update will add new features to TiVo's iOS app, including the ability create a custom "What to Watch" menu.
The update will also give TiVo users the ability to pass around links via social networks. The company is also streamlining its OnePass media menu.
