It has taken more than two years, but the benefits of a deal struck in July 2009 between Best Buy and TiVo are finally being realized. The retailer on Monday debuted two HDTVs carrying its in-house Insignia branding, both featuring the TiVo user interface.

Consumers will not be charged a monthly fee, as the interface is the only similarity with the company's set-top boxes: the TVs do not have DVR capability. Best Buy initially will offer the sets in 32 and 42-inch sizes, it said.

Putting TiVo on Best Buy's TVs seems more aimed at bringing third-party services onto its televisions, similar to what other manufacturers are already doing. At launch the TVs will support content from Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, and Napster among others. It will also have connectivity with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Insignia HDTVs will support the Chumby content network, a software platform that allows users to build applications to deliver "always on" Internet content to supported devices.

Best Buy says that its research showed that consumers were looking for a connected television that was easy to use. "We've heard from customers that Smart TVs can be intimidating, and we've put 110% of our energy into making the powerful features of the Insignia Connected TV easy to enjoy," the company's exclusive brands chief Patrick McGinnis said in a statement.

For TiVo, the arrangement with Best Buy is something completely new. Whereas the company has built its business for just about all its life on its own hardware and subscription revenues, it now appears ready to turn to licensing. Such a move could be smart as consumers increasingly look for convergence in home entertainment.

Best Buy's TVs are currently available for order from the company's website, and showed limited availability in stores as of Monday. No announcement was made on when the company planned for a wider in-store rollout, if at all.