ABC News and weather information from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology will next week be streamed to Beyonwiz personal video recorders according to Digital Products Group the distributor of the popular PVR .
DPG are also looking at a variety of new content services that will be delivered to a TV screen via the Beyonwiz PVR using a combination of Ice TV EPG services and a new widget that will appear on their menu next week called Wiz TV.
The Company is also talking to several content providers including movie home delivery service providers.
The new services will take them smack up against the recently upgraded TiVo offering however the big difference is that the Beyonwiz PVR can be accessed directly from an Apple iPhone if the Ice TV EPG (electronic program guide) service has been activated on the Beyonwiz PVR.
The Ice TV software delivers a 14 day guide to all Australia free to air TV stations. The Beyonwiz allows also up to 320GB of free to air TV content to be stored including HD content. Some Beyonwiz PVR models also allow a Foxtel iQ or iQ 2 to be plugged into the PVR thus providing additional storage capability.
The TiVo media player only comes with 160GB with Seven Media set to offer a 1TB additional storage unit in 2009.
Jai Kemp the General Manager of the Digital Products Group said “As of next week we will have a variety of new content available via a Beyonwiz PVR including news and information feeds from the ABC and a full national weather service from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, as well as a host of new content over the next few months. The big difference between a TiVo offering and the Beyonwiz PVR is that a consumers gets more storage, the ability to interface with a Foxtel set top box, the Ice TV EPG service which delivers the same TV information as Freeview and the TiVo unit as well wireless built in”.
The new service will be available from next week.
