TiVo’s Bolt, Roamio, and Premiere DVRs will soon compatible with Amazon Alexa.
TiVo said Monday that a handful of the company’s DVRs will receive a software update by June 1 that will make them work with the online retail giant’s voice-activated digital assistant.
Through the integration, TiVo owners of the Bolt, Roamio, and Premiere DVRs will be able to change television channels, adjust the volume, or skip commercials by using their voices and interacting with the Alexa app, commonly used in conjunction with Amazon’s Echo smart speakers.
A new TiVo “skill”—Amazon’s (AMZN) codeword for an Alexa App—will also let people use their voices to do feats like rewinding or fast-forwarding through a recorded program.
“With far-field voice control, life becomes more untethered for our customers,” TiVo’s (TIVO) Director of Product Management Andrew Heymann said in a statement. “They can continue to enjoy watching their favorite programming with TiVo’s cool features even when they’re preparing dinner and their hands are too dirty to use the remote, or when they’re exercising, and they don’t have access to their remote.”
Last May, satellite television provider Dish Network (DISH) said that its customers who own Hopper cable boxes or Wally satellite receivers would be able to use Alexa to switch TV channels or skip past commercials via the company’s Alexa skill.
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Rovi, a digital entertainment guides company, purchased TiVo for $1.1 billion in 2016, and changed its name to TiVo.
