Capacity for storing recorded TV shows for viewing later has become a differentiation point for many pay-TV providers and standalone set-top box providers, especially with many families having different queues for different members.  VBox Communications has announced an unusual approach to DVR capacity: its TV gateways now support whole-house recording of live TV to a Windows network shared folder or Network Attached Storage (NAS).

This new capability gives users expanded storage for content that can then be easily viewed from any device on the home network.

"The VBox TV Gateway (News - Alert) is the only device on the market with this type of recording capability," noted Amir Aharonovich, vice president of marketing for VBox Communications. "Network recording will allow families to record TV content to the same centralized location where their other data, including music, files and photos, is stored, resulting in more flexibility, larger storage space, fewer storage devices in the house and reduced power consumption."

VBox launched its line of TV gateways in February 2014, at Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) in Barcelona. The device receives broadcast live TV from subscription terrestrial, cable and satellite sources, converts the signal to IP at the consumer's home, and streams it across the home network to any connected device, alongside (over the top) OTT content.

The network storage feature allows users to schedule future recordings, or record live TV directly to a Windows network shared folder on a PC ,or to NAS devices on the home network. The TV gateway streams recorded programs from either the PC's shared folder or NAS device to any UPnP supported application or device such as VLC, XMBC, Chrome and Firefox Web browsers, as well as the VBox free applications, on all supported devices on the home network, such as smartphones, tablets, computers and media streamers connected to TVs.

For users who already have a VBox TV Gateway, setting up the network storage feature requires the latest software update. All new devices already have the network storage feature available and will continue to support storage on USB flash drives and USB Hard Disc Drives (HDD).