Qplay from TiVo founders
February 26, 2014
The founders of TiVo are shifting their focus from broadcast TV to broadband Internet with a new device designed to make it easier for people to find and manage video.
The sequel gets underway this week in the US with the release of the Qplay, a $49 set-top-box that sorts and streams video clips from all over the Internet.
The Qplay is controlled through an app that can be installed on an iPad or iPhone to select video separated into categories, or “Qs.” All content is stored in remote data centres so the line-up remains in sync even when a user switches from watching on a TV screen to viewing on an iPad or another device.
“If you look at the state of Internet video today, it’s a mess,” commented former TiVo CEO Mike Ramsay. “It used to be you had 500 channels on TV and nothing to watch. Now it seems like you have 500 apps on your tablet and you go from one app to the next as you search for something to watch.”
The Qplay aims to become a vital video hub by offering its users a constantly changing mix of clips from dozens of websites. The device, does this by working with an app that asks users for access to their accounts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Qplay then compiles all the video featured in links posted within their user feeds on Facebook and Twitter, as well as designated channels on YouTube. Those clips are then sorted into “Qs,” such as news or extreme sports. Qplay users can also create their own specialty channels.