The SCTE cable industry show, having hit full swing in Denver, has revealed another EchoStar attempt at wooing the cable industry with a Slingbox-enabled DVR (aka “SlingLoaded”). Like the units I photographed at The Cable Show back in April, this model appears to be a tru2way CableCARD device. However, the SCTE edition features a brand new enclosure — and lacks a model number on the bezel (such as T2200S). So it’s hard to say if this is the same tech, repackaged. Regardless, I can’t imagine many US cable operators would risk alienating the content industry by directly offering placeshifting capabilities without licensing deals in place, as we see with On Demand and TV Anywhere initiatives. However, fear of litigation has never seemed to be a deterrent for EchoStar and DISH Network, who’ll be pushing forward with the satellite SlingLoaded DVR (ViP 922) later this year.
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