Comcast Corporation, Samsung Electronics, and Ucentric Systems have announced plans for a joint field trial of Multi-TV DVR (Digital Video Recording), which extends DVR capabilities to TVs throughout the home.

An official release informs that Samsung's digital set top boxes will incorporate Ucentric's DVR and home media networking software to deliver a host of new services, including a Multi-TV DVR solution. This trial is scheduled to begin later this year with a limited number of Comcast customers in the Philadelphia area.

Digital set-tops from Samsung, integrated with Ucentric's Multi-TV DVR solution will provide Comcast's trial participants digital recording capabilities as well as a full programming lineup on multiple TVs throughout the home. TV viewers will be able to conveniently select and control individual video recordings from a single in-home recording library shared among multiple television sets. Also, with a common recording library among TVs, consumers can conveniently pause a programme in one room and pick it up at exactly the same scene on a TV in another room.

In addition to enabling DVR capabilities throughout the home, the Ucentric software provides MSOs the ability to offer additional feature-rich services to the TVs, including a music jukebox, photo album, and other potential revenue generating services.

The release states that Samsung's advanced digital set-top boxes powered by Ucentric software store content and deliver DVR and other digital entertainment services to multiple TVs in the home using IP-based 'thin' network media clients. Ucentric software enables the sharing of hard drives, tuners and other resources among connected TVs, providing network operators the ability to offer DVR and other multimedia services to multiple TVs in the home at lower capital costs.

The Multi-TV DVR solution from Ucentric and Samsung being field-tested with Comcast customers is a cost-effective, leading-edge, in-home client/server implementation. It holds the promise of delivering a whole-house video and multimedia solution for network operators as they provide DVR and all digital TV services throughout the home. Multi-TV DVR also represents the lead application for driving the proliferation of a wide variety of retail consumer devices throughout the home.

Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable networks, and in the provision of electronic commerce and programming content. Comcast Cable is the largest cable company in the US, serving approximately 21.3 million cable subscribers.

Ucentric Systems claims to be the leading provider of home media networking software and applications for media centers, media gateways, personal video recorders and multi-TV PVR devices. The company's patented software technology enables the fully digital distribution of broadcast-quality video over low-cost, in-home networks.