TiVo: Virgin Media to deploy the 'World's Most Advanced Cable Set-Top Box'

While the waiting continues for Digital Cable customers who wish to get their hands on Virgin's TiVo box, TiVo themselves unleashed a press release at the CES about the World's Most Advanced Cable Set-Top Box, in part thanks to the 10mb dedicated broadband connection which will play a key part in streaming internet content to the home:

This deployment marks the first time a cable provider anywhere in the world has offered its customers an advanced cable solution encompassing linear TV, on-demand content and web-based video with a dedicated broadband connection, rather than having to share bandwidth with other content. As a result Virgin Media customers using the TiVo powered set-top box can enjoy the ultimate television entertainment experience through the award winning TiVo user interface to seamlessly search across all the content sources provided by the UK's number one cable operator.

Cindy Rose, Executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, had some words to add:

After laying all the necessary groundwork to bring the exciting TiVo experience to our customers in record time, we are thrilled to have begun rolling out our next-generation entertainment platform. TiVo has implemented a complex solution, which stitches together the full breadth of Virgin Media's content assets and created a television user interface which is second to none. We are the only UK company to provide a true entertainment discovery experience and offer the ultimate digital lifestyle for our customers.

Joshua Danovitz, VP & General Manager, International, TiVo Inc, wasn't short on words either:

There is a lot of discussion in the cable industry about the need to provide internet content to the living room. Unlike current offerings which provide 'best efforts' delivery of Internet video, Virgin Media has redefined the term 'over the top' by providing dedicated bandwidth for these services within the cable video plant and by unifying the consumption experience for end users. As a result of Virgin Media's groundbreaking approach, subscribers with a TiVo powered set-top box will have access to the best TiVo technology and features at their fingertips enabling all kinds of interactive content to be searched, discovered, and delivered in a truly elegant way.

I can't wait for my TiVo to be delivered, in any way.