Another nail in the set-top coffin

Internet connected devices are chipping away at the need for consumers to have a set-top box in each room in which they have a TV. The latest evidence comes from Samsung and DirecTV, which have partnered to let the satellite TV provider’s customers broadcast live and pre-recorded content directly to a Samsung Smart TV.

Samsung is calling it “set-top ‘Boxless’ viewing,” which will enable operators to offer up the same user experience to the TV without the need for an additional piece of hardware connected to it. The pact was made possible in part through both companies’ participation in the RVU Alliance, a consortium formed to work on advanced remote user interface (RUI) technology. But DirecTV isn’t the only operator able to make use of Samsung’s “set-top boxless” technology — since it’s embedded the tech in all of its connected TVs, other partners could potentially deliver multi-room viewing with only a single box in the home.