A startup is hoping to revive the concept of cloud-based over-the-air DVR. The company, Simple.tv, announced a new product called ShowDrive that will record broadcast channels such as ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and more while storing everything in the cloud. This means the shows will be available to stream on all of a user's devices, Variety reports.
A beta version will be launched in the United Kingdom in the next few weeks, in partnership with an unnamed electronics vendor who will supply a standalone set-top box. The box will plug into the television, and, instead of just the basic DVR setup, will offer some online video apps. The price for the DVR service is set at 1 pound (about $1.55) a month for 100 hours of cloud storage, and 5 pounds a month for 1000 hours.
It's unclear what the plans are for a ShowDrive launch in the United States, so don't get too excited. Variety says that Simple.tv would like to partner with television makers to add the DVR feature directly into smart TVs. The report didn't say if Simple.tv would also offer a standalone box in the U.S.
Broadcast DVR is a trending topic right now as more and more people ditch cable. TiVo already has an over-the-air version of its DVR and next year broadcast DVR support is coming to the Xbox One. Tablo and Channel Master DVR+ both allow users to record to a hard drive. The interesting part of ShowDrive is that it takes advantage of cloud storage and makes it easy to stream on a variety of devices.