GCI of Alaska has joined a growing mix of mid-sized MSOs to deploy the eBOX, a hybrid QAM/IP box from Evolution Digital that’s being used to help operators make the transition to IP.

GCI is rolling out a version of eBOX powered by TiVo’s software and user interface. That falls in line with GCI’s current rollout of TiVo-made hardware as well as set-tops and gateways that have ported the TiVo experience, including the Pace (now Arris)-made XG1. Evolution also offers a version of eBOX that runs the eGUIDE, a UI that’s based on Fan TV, a platform that is also offered by TiVo following its recent merger with Rovi.

RELATED: GCI Rolls Out Pace Gateway With TiVo On Board

Evolution Digital noted that GCI will offer eBOX in “select service regions.”  GCI ended Q3 with 108,900 basic video subs, with 54,400 of them on a digital video tier.

Like other MSOs running the TiVo platform, GCI has been pairing its traditional pay TV offering with integrated access to OTT services such as Netflix and Hulu.

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Other operators that are deploying eBOX include WideOpenWest, which has a cloud DVR on its roadmap that will utilize the new device, as well as Mediacom Communications, Advanced Cable Communications and operators that are part of the National Cable Television Cooperative.

RELATED: WideOpenWest Rolls Hybrid ‘eBOX’

Set-top box functionality continues to get virtualized into smart TVs, specialized streaming players and mobile devices, but deployments of the boxes themselves continue on.

Case in point—Colorado-based Evolution Digital, a company that primarily caters to tier 2/3 MVPDs, said it has reached a milestone with 12 million digital set-tops shipped.

Evolution, which is helping its partners transition to IP with a mix of hybrid devices and an IP video platform, comes about eight years after its inception. The product mix includes standard- and high-definition digital transport adapters (DTAs), and the recently rebranded “eBOX” QAM/IP hybrid.

Though Evolution ships boxes to mid-sized providers such as WideOpenWest, Buckeye Broadband, Midco, Blue Ridge Communications and Metrocast, and has a deal with the National Cable Television Cooperative, it also counts larger MSOs, such as Comcast, Cox Communications, Cable & Wireless, and Mediacom Communications, among its customers.

RELATED: WideOpenWest Paves IP Video Path with Evolution’s ‘eVUE-TV’ Platform

“Building upon our success on the hardware side, we are now shifting our focus to deploying integrated software-based solutions like eVUE-TV, our IP video platform for delivering a complete end-to-end IP video solution. As a disruptor in the cable industry, we will continue to deliver cost effective, integrated solutions that meet the needs of the Tier 2 marketplace around the world,” Evolution Digital CEO Chris Egan said, in a statement. 

Evolution Digital, the Colorado-based company focused on independent MVPDs, has unveiled “eBOX” as the new brand of a QAM/IP hybrid box that is underpinned by TiVo’s software, and user interface and search capabilities.

The device, which supports live TV, VOD and over-the-top video and apps on one platform, was introduced last July, along with a deployment deal with WideOpenWest. In February, Evolution Digital announced a deal that enables it to offer the platform to members of the National Cable Television  Cooperative, a group that puts together programming and tech deals for many of the nation’s tier 2/3 MSOs.

Evolution said eBOX trials are also underway with “several tier 2 operators” that it expects to announce in the coming months.

“The rebranding of our IP Hybrid Set-Top Box reflects both the evolution of the company, as well as its vision for the future,” Brent Smith, president and chief technology officer of Evolution Digital, said in a statement. “Over the past year, eBOX has been recognized as the leading device that delivers a compelling entertainment experience for consumers. And by combining linear cable channels and the prominent OTT services with universal search, a unified guide and one HDMI connection into the TV, eBOX gives the consumer seamless search and discovery functionality to easily find their favorite content.”

In February, Evolution Digital introduced eVUE-TV, a soup-to-nuts platform to help MSOs deliver VOD and TV on a unified platform that will have access to a new UI. It runs off of the company’s central content distribution hub in Chicago or  can be distributed through the operator’s content delivery network.