Several new Apple patent applications recently published online suggest that the company may be working on adding DVR features to the Apple TV in a current or future model. The filings and associated images, originally submitted in October 2006, describe a system of menus, some contextual to video being shown on-screen, for the navigation and selection of TV shows for both live viewing and future recording.
One section in particular describes a method for loading programming data — up to one month’s worth — onto a portable device, such as an iPod, for mobile selection of future recordings. These selections would then be synched back to the recorder when the device is returned to the vicinity of the recorder, or placed in an attached docking station.
Several of the illustrations show a Mac OS Dock-like menu system for navigation while a program is on the screen, while others show an expanded vertical menu on one side, while the program (or preview) is displayed in an angled video area, not unlike some current Apple TV menus, and also similar to the multiple video chat implementation from the company’s iChat application. While these patents are in no means an indication that Apple intends to release a device with DVR capabilities in the near future, they do show that the company has done extensive research and design in the area.
