TiVo’s new streaming dongle, the Stream 4K, has finally launched and it arrives with deep integration with Dish Network’s Sling TV streaming service.
The device, which TiVo announced in January at CES, carries an introductory price of $49.99, comes with a smaller version of TiVo’s “peanut” voice remote and supports Dolby Atmos sound and Dolby Vision HDR. It also promises to provide a unified experience for searching, discovering and accessing content from live television, streaming services and recordings. The device provides access to the Google Play Store and says it will offer “seamless integration” with third-party streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
“At a time when viewers are streaming more than ever across a sea of platforms, TiVo Stream 4K integrates that content with recommendation and search features to make it easier to find, watch and enjoy the best news, entertainment and sports from today’s most popular services,” said Dave Shull, president and CEO at TiVo, in a statement. “After an incredibly positive reception from media and the wider industry at CES, we are delivering on our promise to launch TiVo Stream 4K, which is symbolic of our company’s transformation from a well-loved DVR provider to a pioneer in the streaming market.”
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The Stream 4K is launching with Dish Network’s Sling TV as its preferred live TV and cloud DVR provider. Sling TV content listings will be surfaced via TiVo’s universal search through the user interface or voice remote. People who buy the Stream 4K will also get a seven-day free trial to Sling TV.
The Stream 4K is jumping into a streaming device market that has been largely dominated by Roku and Amazon Fire TV. The TiVo Stream 4K is competitively priced with similar offerings from Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Google Chromecast, and less expensive than Apple TV, but the price could eventually jump up to $70, which is the suggested retail price.
The Stream 4K will also highlight TiVo+, the company’s free, ad-supported streaming service that launched last year. Earlier this week, TiVo announced a new partnership with Pluto TV. The company will both integrate Pluto’s linear streaming channels and VOD assets in the TiVo+ app and it will make the Pluto app available for direct access.