Amazon seems to be ever looking to expand its businesses. Just yesterday we reported on the potential Amazon has for acquiring Landmark Theaters, and today its rumored that Amazon is working on a device that has the ability to record live TV, letting users play content back on phones and other devices at a later time.
This rumored device will take on the likes of TiVo, and would potentially give the company a run for its money. Amazon, who produces its some of its own Prime content, could really benefit from this function.
Codename “Frank” internally, this new device would be physical storage that would connect to Fire TV devices in the same way that Amazon’s Echo speakers work with the company’s streaming devices.
More and more Americans are dumping regular cable TV and going for over-the-air alternatives or streaming services. You’d be able to watch recorded live TV on your smartphone, which is great for watching the game or the latest television show while on-the-road.
It is possible, however, that this device could be canceled or delayed, Bloomberg reported.
Fire TV currently has the ability to stream live content via the Amazon Channels service from HBO and similar channels. You can only use Channels to watch live TV, and nothing recorded, however.
This could really light a fire under TiVo and other home DVR services, as Amazon could really push its Frank DVR to Prime members, offering lower prices or benefits to those who subscribe to the company’s monthly (or yearly) service.
Alongside this, Amazon plans to update its Fire TV Stick with newer software. Amazon looks to be in the process of seeing out adding its Fire TV software onto more TVs made by other companies, similar to how it launched the Fire TV Edition in partnership with Best Buy and Toshiba recently.
The Fire TV devices are one of Amazon’s best-selling products, and the Frank DVR could only help shoot Amazon into another realm when it comes to this.
TiVo’s shares fell as much as 10% in afternoon trading in New York, Bloomberg reported, signaling that Amazon could be poised to take over this sector of technology as well.
What do you think? Does Amazon need to enter the DVR realm? This could prove beneficial as Amazon gets more engrained with TV companies, making it just a quick and easy upgrade to add OTA DVR to your system home theater.
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