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.

RELATED: GCI Adds Hulu on TiVo Platform 

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’

WideOpenWest has become the first operator to rollout the eBOX, a hybrid QAM/IP device from Evolution Digital that is powered by TiVo’s software and user interface.

WOW is starting to deploy eBOX for its new “SW!VEL” service, which integrates the operator’s live pay TV service with over-the-top apps and services. It also gives WOW a new option that can complement a whole-home DVR offering based on an Arris-based platform that also allows for the integration of OTT apps such as Netflix.

Evolution Digital introduced the eBOX and WOW’s plans for it late last year, underpinning it with TiVo’s software, UI and search capabilities. Last week, Evolution Digital announced it would also fit eBOX with eGUIDE, an interface that runs on Rovi’s Fan TV software platform (Rovi and TiVo are merging under a $1.1 billion deal announced in April.).

Evolution Digital said eBOX can be configured to support an all-IP platform, including live linear, VOD, as well as a network DVR on a unified platform.

Brent Smith, president and chief technology officer at Evolution Digital, said his company is working on a cloud DVR product that would work with its “eVUE” IP video platform, which handles the ingest, streaming and content management for linear TV, VOD, and mobile services.

WOW is the first announced MVPD to launch eBOX. Smith said some “large” tier-2 operators have the device in their labs, and that he expects the company to move ahead with a “substantial number” of deployments of eBOX in 2016.

“We are thrilled to launch SW!VEL, as well as to become the first broadband provider to offer Evolution Digital’s eBOX, as integrated with TiVo’s cross-platform search capability, to our customers,” Cash Hagen, chief technology officer at WOW, said in a statement. “Entertainment consumption is evolving, and this solution helps customers find and enjoy content no matter what platform it is hosted on.”

“We are proud to partner with Evolution Digital to bring WOW! customers a great next-generation set-top box,” said Thomas Elam, vice president and general manager, TiVo North American Service Provider Business. “The TiVo user experience is unmatched, and we are excited to expand our offerings to include Evolution’s eBOX to cater to the changing needs of operators.

“We look forward to continuing our collaborative relationship with Evolution Digital to further the tremendous successes of WOW,” added Thomas Elan, VP and GM of TiVo’s North American service provider business. 

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.

TiVo said it has inked a multi-year, strategic partnership with Buckeye CableSystem in which the MSO will lean on TiVo’s software and devices for a new multi-screen video offering.

Starting in June 2016, TiVo will become Buckeye CableSystem’s primary provider of the software, user experience and cloud services for across the operator’s service area, which includes parts of northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

Buckeye’s coming multi-screen offering will factor in TiVo-powered DVRs and thin clients, and TiVo web, mobile and tablet applications. Later, the MSO will also use a new TiVo-based non-DVR hybrid (QAM/IP) set-top box that will tie together the MSO’s linear and VOD offerings, plus over-the-top content from sources such as Hulu and YouTube, as well as TV Everywhere apps. That hybrid box, TiVo noted, will include software that will deliver traditional and broadband video without the need for a CableCARD.

Notably, the partnership is coming together as the FCC prepares to vote on a new set-top plan that would succeed the CableCARD regime and be applied to all forms of MVPDs, including cable and telco TV operators and satellite TV service providers.

The deal also extends TiVo’s reach among U.S. based independent operators, a group that includes RCN, Suddenlink, Mediacom Communications, Atlantic Broadband, Armstrong, Grande Communications, and GCI, among others. TiVo ended its fiscal Q3 with 6.46 million subs, including 5.51 million coming way of MVPD partnerships.

“We are excited about our new partnership with TiVo,” Jeff Abbas, president and general manager of Buckeye, said in a statement. “Deploying TiVo gives our customers access to both traditional and streaming content and the most advanced whole-home, multiscreen TV solution in the industry. TiVo allows Buckeye to rapidly deliver new technologies and immediately satisfy our subscribers’ increasing demand for broadband video.”

“We are proud to partner with Buckeye to provide next generation video to customers in Ohio and Michigan,” added Thomas Elam, VP and GM of TiVo's North American operator business.  “This brings Buckeye subscribers a wealth of content – both traditional cable and broadband streaming – in one, unified system. Buckeye viewers will have access to more content, and a better experience, than ever before.”