The sixth D: All Things Digital conference (aka D6) is going on currently, and Tom Rogers was one of the speakers today. Naturally this has produced a flurry of coverage. Silicon Alley Insider has a pseudo-transcript of Rogers’ Q&A interview with Kara Swisher (see video below). CNET has some short coverage.
But the most exciting news comes via AllThingsD:
What about ease of use? TiVo wireless adapters are good, Rogers responds, acknowledging thereâ€™s nevertheless a multiset issue: You still need a second box. But weâ€™re working on a whole-home model, he adds.
That’s a almost a throwaway line, but it is great news. It sounds like they’re moving beyond Multi-Room Viewing to a true distributed system. This isn’t too surprising, as we’re seeing multi-room solutions gaining traction with providers like AT&T U-Verse and various cable MSOs. I have to wonder if this is the ‘Series4′ OCAP/tru2way box Rogers has hinted at in the past, or a different product. I do hope TiVo doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and uses established standards like DLNA. That would allow DLNA-enabled platforms (like the PS3) to access the content and not just some TiVo-mate client box.
Here’s a couple of ‘highlight reels’ of Tom Rogers’ interview at D6.