• by Wayne Friedman , October 24, 2017

In a new digital world of voice-controlled, media-assistance devices, TiVo is releasing two new DVR units both with voice control  -- which can control TV commercial viewing.

TiVo Bolt Vox and TiVo Mini Vox enable viewers to use their voice to search for programs across live TV, DVR, video-on-demand and online streaming services.

The new TiVo unit also includes built-in personalized recommendations and intelligent predictions.

The voice-controlled feature provides a TV commercial avoidance function for recorded programs. TiVo says that when watching programs from broadcast and cable networks, viewers can say “skip it” to jump over entire commercial breaks.

Unlike many other TV platforms, TiVo says, users can refine “their voice searches in a natural way.” For example, they can simply say “show me movies with Tom Cruise,” then refine that by saying “only the comedies” or “the one where he says, ‘Show me the money.’”

Other new features include QuickView, which allows viewers to see shows playing on different built-in tuners. TiVo’s new SmartBar is a personalized prediction feature influenced by prior viewing behavior.

The TiVo Bolt Vox is priced starting at $199.99 for the 500GB model and the TiVo Mini Vox is available for $179.99.