Sky Glass and Sky Stream face threat from free TV rival with a neat, hidden trick

One of the main announcements made during Thomson's launch event in Vienna today is that a range of TVs powered by TiVo are on their way.

They won't be the first devices to bring the TiVo Smart TV platform back to the UK and Europe (Bush and Panasonic are among the manufacturers to beat them to the punch), while Virgin Media still includes TiVo tech in its cable boxes, but T3 has learned a few things that make their summer arrival all the more special.

First, the range encompasses LED models from 24 to 65-inches, so represents a major push for the service (and Thomson itself). And also, with TiVo on board, the series will offer something that competitors like Sky Glass, Google TV, Roku and Fire TV sets cannot.

Unlike conventional Smart TV software that offers numerous installed apps for multiple services, the TiVo platform is entirely cloud based. That means streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ are entirely delivered over the internet – including the menus and user experience.

No apps are installed on the TV itself, and not only does that save on storage space, the different services are not reliant on the processing power of the set's hardware. So, even if Netflix, for example, adds more power-hungry features down the line, your existing TV will likely still run it without issues or slowdown.

The app is stored and operated from TiVo's servers, not the TV, and can therefore be updated and improved at source.

It also means that new apps and services will immediately become available to you without needing to download them. And based on my demo during the Thomson event, the end user shouldn't notice any difference – you still sign in and use a service as per usual.

As puck would have it

And that's not all. While the Thomson TVs (plus models from other manufacturers) are direct rivals to the likes of Sky Glass, TiVo told T3 that it also plans to introduce a puck-like streaming device in the future.

As with Sky Stream, that will present the opportunity to add the experience to any existing TV. And as it integrates Freely in the UK, that'll mean you'll get a streaming box experience, with live TV channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5, plus access to many other live FAST channels, without paying an additional monthly fee.

Paid services, such as Netflix and Prime Video, will still require subscriptions, of course, but you won't need to cough up extra fees for the initial offering – nor will you need an antenna or satellite dish, just a decent internet connection.

It's not known yet how much the TiVo box itself might cost, nor which partners could adopt it, but the concept seems almost too good to be true.

We'll let you know when we find out more about the device – as these are still early days. In the meantime, the Thomson TVs powered by TiVo should arrive in the UK and select regions in Europe around August time.