DVR Lives on After UltimateTV

Digital video recording (DVR) will be a core feature of Microsoft’s reference design for Media Center (formerly known as Freestyle) PCs. DVR, which allows users to record and play back TV programs from a hard drive, is also being considered for a successor to the Xbox gaming console. Microsoft’s continuing interest in DVR could increase demand for large hard drives and TV tuner cards, and might eventually impact the TV industry by making it easy for users to bypass advertising. It also means that competitors such as TiVo and ReplayTV will continue to face competition from Microsoft, despite lackluster sales of the company’s first DVR product, UltimateTV.

DVR to Drive Freestyle Sales

In Jan. 2002, Microsoft announced the Freestyle PC, a reference design for an entertainment-oriented PC that will be built by OEM partners, including Hewlett-Packard, NEC, and Samsung. Early information about Freestyle focused primarily on two features: remote-control hardware designed by Microsoft and Philips Electronics; and a new user interface, provided via an updated version of Windows XP, that makes it easier to use a PC with a standard-size monitor and remote control from 10 feet away.