New Apple Patent Reveals Upcoming Apple TV Set Could Have DVR Capabilities

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Apple is expected to revolutionize television with a set of its own later this year, and while we’re all expecting the device to feature Siri, there’s very little else we know about it. But according to a relatively new Apple patent, credited to Steve Jobs, it may also feature digital video recording capabilities that allow you to save your favorite shows for viewing at a later date.

The patent is part of a series published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this week, and discovered by Patently Apple. It details a feature for recording episodic TV broadcasts that has never made its way into the Apple TV, but could make its debut in Apple’s upcoming television set.

Patently Apple reports:

The patent goes on to state that the menu items, could, for example, “correspond to television shows that have either been recorded from a broadcast or purchased from a content provider. Recording broadcast TV shows isn’t an option available today on Apple TV, so it’s interesting to see that this option was listed in this 2006 Apple TV patent which also credits Steve Jobs as one of the inventors.

The patent also mentions the “Apple TV working with a cable network” — another feature we’re yet to see from the Cupertino company’s set-top box, that could be part of the television.

The patent was first filed back in 2006 and is credited to Apple’s co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, in addition to Rainer Brodersen, Rachel Goldeen, Jeffrey Ma, and Mihnea Pacuraiu.

But this isn’t the first indication that the Apple television will offer DVR capabilities. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal revealed Apple has met with executives from several major studios to discuss its set, which would reportedly “integrate DVR storage and iCloud.”

[via 9to5Mac]

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