Continuing to straddle the line in the video industry while responding to new competition in the consumer networked DVR market, TiVo has announced a new retail version of its Bolt DVR targeted directly to cord cutters.

The Bolt OTA for Antenna delivers four tuners and a one terabyte hard drive capable of recording 150 hours of HD programming. The 4K capable box includes TiVo’s popular user experience, as well as access to popular OTT services, and retails for $250. TiVo is cutting its monthly DVR service charge for the Bolt OTA from $14.99 a month to $6.99 a month. There as also a $250 lifetime service fee option.

Related: Amazon Rolls Out Network DVR ‘Fire TV Recast’

TiVo has targeted the cord cutter market for some time with its Roamio OTA DVR. But it hasn’t offered an OTA retail version of the Bolt since it introduced the set-top product to the cable TV service provider market four years ago. But giving the retail market the same tools as it offers to service providers does not put TiVo’s two product lines in conflict, the company insisted.

“For several years TiVo has offered a product targeting cord cutters with the Roamio OTA DVR. The new Bolt OTA for antenna is an upgrade aimed at this market,” said Ted Malone, VP of consumer products and services for TiVo. “TiVo also offers a six-tuner version of the Bolt Vox designed specifically for digital cable customers. With the rapidly changing media and entertainment landscape, cable operators recognize that they face a range of competition--over-the-top providers, virtual MPVD operators (Playstation Vue, YouTube TV, Sling TV), among others – offering cord cutter options, which are more disruptive than TiVo’s Bolt OTA.

TiVo is extending availability of its premium DVR to the retail over-the-air market just after Amazon debuted its own network DVR, the Fire TV Recast, which sells for $230 and includes no service fee. 

Even as its merger with Rovi nears the finish line, TiVo appears to be pushing ahead with its plans to create new retail products that aren’t traditional DVRs. 

Pointing to documents that recently passed through the Federal Communications Commission, ZatzNotFunny notes that TiVo is working on a new product seemingly tailored or cord-cutters called “Mantis” that is described as a “network DVR” that’s capable of receiving over-the-air TV signals and transcoding them before shuttling them along to another device for viewing using a wireless or wired connection. Mantis appears to be “headless” in the sense that it does not support a direct video output. 

“It looks like TiVo's version of a Tablo to me,” tech blogger Dave Zatz surmises in a blog post about Mantis. “There is a USB port, so I assume that is where you plug in a hard drive for storage. So they are basically going head-to-head against the Channel Master DVR+ with their Roamio OTA and then head-to-head against Tablo with this thing.” 

He also suggests that TiVo could likewise be developing client apps for connected TV platforms such as Roku, Apple TV and  Amazon’s Fire TV. 

We’ve asked TiVo for additional comment about Mantis, but Ira Bahr, the company’s chief marketing officer, shed some light TiVo’s future product roadmap last month in a post to the TiVo Community Forum that indicates a bigger reveal set for the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show: 

“In order to grow, we definitely want to break the trajectory of traditional DVR. We do expect to announce something around CES in January though I don't think we're going to try to compete with the streamers directly. Most likely, the announcement will be in the form of a public beta -- which I have no doubt we will ask TCF members to participate in.”

Update: TiVo is not commenting on Mantis. 

Bahr also noted that TiVo will be making an at the CEDIA event on September 15, when asked if the company had plans to launch a "Pro" version of the 4K-capable TiVo Bolt that might come equipped with more tuners and storage. 

In February, before the Rovi merger was announced, TiVo restructured under a plan that emphasized MVPD partnerships and less so on retail. At the time, Naveen Chopra, TiVo’s interim CEO, noted that the company would apply resources toward new classes of products “that go beyond the traditional DVR.” 

Mantis would seem to fit the bill in that regard. 

Meanwhile, Rovi has stressed that retail will remain an “important channel” for the company following its acquisition of TiVo. 

TiVo has been testing a network/cloud DVR with several operators, including with Virgin Media, for a while but it doesn’t appear that anyone’s ready to take the plunge just yet. 

“It’s not something that many operators are prepared to move forward with quickly as it relates to their core set-top service,” TiVo president and CEO Tom Rogers said ahead of the company’s Q3 call. TiVo showed off a prototype of its network DVR at the 2014 CES.

“It’s really less about us and our ability to provide it and more about when their readiness will be there, which has a lot of hardware implications for them, as well as content rights implications for them,” he said, noting that “we’ve trialed it, and it works.”

Those legal and storage implications are particularly acute in the U.S., where network and cloud DVR offerings must make individual recordings, versus a more efficient model in which a copy could be shared by multiple subs. It’s the approach that Comcast and Cablevision Systems are using for their respective cloud DVR and “remote-storage” DVR products.

For now, Rogers said there’s more interest among TiVo’s partners on approaches that enable viewers to access and sideload recorded shows via mobile apps and devices, something that TiVo already does, and a capability that Verizon FiOS is starting to introduce on its Quantum TV platform.

Elsewhere in TiVo-land, the company is about to extend two features found on its new Bolt DVR – QuickMode and SkipMode – to its last-gen Roamio DVR family.

Per this TiVo Roamio holiday sale page, QuickMode and  SkipMode are slated for release on TiVo Roamio DVRs on Dec. 10.  

QuickMode enables playback at 1.3 times real time with pitch-corrected audio. However, SkipMode, a feature that lets users skip commercial breaks in recorded shows with the click of a button on almost two dozen channels, will initially be offered on Roamio products in the San Francisco/Bay Area and Chicago markets.

Altice Group turned a few heads this week with claims that it could squeeze $900 million in synergies from its proposed $17.7 million acquisition of Cablevision Systems.

While deep cost-cutting is expected to play a big part in helping Altice reach that goal, the company could face major challenges harmonizing the technical operations of  Cablevision and its other U.S. cable pursuit – Suddenlink Communications.

While Cablevision and Suddenlink operate residential services on similar HFC networks, their product game plans differ greatly. It’s too early to say whether Altice will pick winners and losers from each camp or look to adopt technologies and platforms it’s using today in Europe.

However, Altice chairman Patrick Drahi did shed some light on how the company might improve technical operations when he spoke Thursday (September 17) at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia conference in New York. The plan for Cablevision’s relatively dense network involves pushing fiber deeper and eliminating the electrified amplifiers required between the home and the fiber node (Comcast, per Light Reading, has been utilizing this sort of “N+0” architecture in markets it is deploying its fiber-based Gigabit Pro residential 2 Gigabit per second broadband service).

“We need to push the fiber and get rid of the amplifiers,” Drahi said, suggesting that the cost of running the Cablevision network should be about half the cost of running Altice’s network in France. “It is a little more expensive for your capex. But it is for a short period of time because you eliminate your electricity bill. The good thing is when you do that you don’t have any more amplifiers and you don’t have to pay to maintain the amplifiers. The whole cycle of expense decreases just by the simple measure, which is to push further the fiber.”

By product category, here are some of the big differences between Cablevision and Suddenlink’s tech-driven product strategies.

Video boxes/platform

Suddenlink: Next-gen approach driven by TiVo boxes and TiVo-powered devices equipped with broadband connections, CableCARD security, and integration with Netflix and other apps.

Cablevision: Boxes from Samsung and others that run a new form of downloadable security platform that relies on tech from Cisco/NDS.

Network DVR

Suddenlink: None

Cablevision: MultiRoom DVR service lets subs record up to 15 shows at once.

Home security/automation

Suddenlink: Offers service based on the Alarm.com platform.

Cablevision: None.

WiFi Network:

Suddenlink:  Limited largely to support in in-home devices.

Cablevision: More than 1 million quasi-public hotspots through deployment in home-side routers and in business and public locations. Part of Cable WiFi roaming alliance with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks.

Wireless Voice Service:

Suddenlink: None

Cablevision: Launched Freewheel, a WiFi-only offering, in February.

Broadband Speeds

Suddenlink: As a component of its Project GigaSpeed project, the operator recently began to roll out a 1 Gigabit per second residential tier in select markets that leans on a new DOCSIS 3.0-powered device from Hitron Technologies Americas.

Cablevision: Its top residential cable modem tier tops out at 101 Megabits per second.

Broadband Usage Policies

Suddenlink: Has rolled out a monthly data plan whereby customers can purchase buckets of additional data for $10 if they exceed their monthly allotment.

Cablevision: Residential broadband service is uncapped and unlimited.

-Multichannel News Senior Finance Editor Mike Farrell contributed to this report. 

Philo is nowhere near the size of Comcast, but the scrappy startup has managed to stay a step ahead when it comes to notching IP-powered, multiscreen on-campus video deals with universities and colleges.

Heading into the new school year, Philo said it has added 15 new schools to the mix, extending its total past 40. Those joining the mix include Clemson University, University of Houston, University of North Carolina Asheville, University or South Florida, University of Texas El Paso, University of Utah, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Washington State University (see below for the full list of Philo-powered universities).

Philo’s announcement comes on the heels of one from Comcast, which said that it now has 27 schools signed on for Xfinity On Campus, its IP-based multiscreen offering tailored for college students.

Philo’s platform delivers live TV and network DVR services, and access to TV Everywhere services such as HBO Go, to students over the school’s on-campus network, and supports several platforms, including Web browsers, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones, Roku players, and the Apple TV (via AirPlay).

Philo noted that it has launched a redesign of its Roku app (pictured) that will feature enhanced search and DVR functionality. It has also spruced up its Web, iOS and Android apps to allow for improved search, and a new home page that shows recent DVR recordings, shows that are trending on campus, upcoming popular shows.

San Francisco-based Philo (formerly known as Tivli) was founded in 2010, and secured a $10 million “B” round earlier this year led by New Enterprise Associates. It’s led by CEO Andrew McCollum, who was a founding member of the Facebook team.

McCollum said computers/browsers are Philo’s most widely used platform, noting that 20% to 30% of students only bring a TV to campus. However, Roku users tend to consume the most video, he said.

Though a lot of schools still rely on more traditional bulk TV deals, he said a growing number of schools are making the leap and writing RFPs, including some that are "calling out the Philo service by name." 

Here’s the full list of Philo partner schools:

-Auburn University

-Brown University

-Bucknell University

-Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo

-Clemson University

-CSU Monterey Bay

-CSU Sacramento

-DePaul University

-Duke University

-Elon University

-Fordham University

-Fort Hays State University

-Harvard University

-Jackson College

-Lawrence Technological University

-Lubbock Christian University

-Marshall University

-Miami University of Ohio

-Mount St. Mary's University

-North Carolina Central University

-Pepperdine University

-Rice University

-Roanoke College

-Sacred Heart University

-Sheridan College

-Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

-Stanford University

-SUNY University at Stony Brook

-Texas A&M University

-Trinity University

-UNC Asheville

-University of Alabama

-University of Houston

-University of Michigan

-University of South Florida

-University of Texas El Paso

-University of Utah

-University of Washington

-Virginia Commonwealth

-Washington State University

-Wesleyan University

-William Paterson University of New Jersey

Philo, a startup that has developed an IP-delivered multiscreen video platform tailored for college campuses, said it has landed a $10 million “B” round as it looks to pursue “new market opportunities” and move the company’s headquarters to San Francisco.

Philo, originally headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., said the latest round was led by New Enterprise Associates, the lead investor of its “A” round, with participation from CBC New Media Group, HBO, Rho Ventures, XFUND, and Andrew McCollum, the Facebook co-founder who was appointed CEO of Philo in November 2014.

Philo (formerly known as Tivli and founded in 2010) has raised about $18.8 million so far, a figure that includes a $6.3 million A round that included HBO and Mark Cuban’s Radical Investments, a more recent $2.5 million “recommitment” from members of its investment team, and some early seed funding.

Philo’s platform, which shares similarities with Comcast’s recently launched Xfinity On Campus service and Cox Communications’ Campus Connect offering, is deployed on dozens of campuses across the country, including Harvard, Yale, University of Alabama, Sacramento State, Shippensburg University, and the University of Washington. In addition to serving up live video delivered via campus partner networks, Philo also supports authenticated  TV Everywhere services such as HBO Go and has developed a network DVR platform.

Philo said the fresh funds will enable it to “expand upon its innovative product vision,” and pursue new operational and strategic initiatives, including the relocation of the company’s headquarters to San Francisco.  

“Philo is changing our expectations for television,” McCollum said in a statement. “We’re questioning every aspect of the viewing experience and asking ourselves, ‘How can we make this faster, easier, and more socially connected?’ We’re finding new answers every day that aren’t possible on any other platform and building them into Philo.” 

“There is significant growth opportunity for Philo with digital video, and more broadly the video entertainment market,” added Scott Sandell, managing general partner at NEA. “Philo’s content provider-friendly strategy stands out in the industry and is just one of the reasons we’re excited to be leading this raise.”

“I’ll see your ability to record 12 shows at once, and raise you three more,” seems to be the message Cablevision Systems is delivering to Verizon Communications following an upgrade that allows customers to record up to 15 shows at once via the cable operator’s network-based DVR. 

Cablevision’s product, branded as the “Multi-Room DVR,” previously allowed customers to record 10 shows simultaneously. The upgrades enter play about a week after Verizon launched  two new “FiOS Quantum TV” packages that feature souped-up whole-home media servers, including a Premium option that allows customers to record up to a dozen shows at once and provides 2 terabytes of storage – enough to record about 200 hours of HD video.

Cablevision’s upgrade also preempts the new level of DVR competition coming from Verizon, as the telco has so far limited the availably of FiOS Quantum TV to the Dallas, Texas, and Harrisburg, Pa., markets, but plans to extend it to all other FiOS TV markets over the next three months.

Verizon’s Quantum FiOS TV tiers, which supports 1 TB or 2 TB, still has the edge on storage. Cablevision’s network-based DVR product currently offers enough for customers to store up to 300 hours in standard-definition, and 75 hours in HD.

According to Cablevision, the upgraded capabilities were introduced Monday (April 7) and was added automatically to the service, which currently runs on digital set-top boxes (CableCARD devices are not currently compatible with Cablevision’s Multi-Room DVR).

Despite the upgraded recording capabilities, the monthly price for the MSO’s upgraded Multi-Room DVR remains at $12.95 per month. Multi-Room DVR customers also have the ability to manage the DVR at Optimum.net or the Optimum App.

Check this week’s issue of Multichannel News for a deeper look at the pay-TV industry’s recent spate of DVR one-upsmanship (subscription required).