CableCARD Archives - Page 14 of 30

Moxi Reborn! In Canada.

It’s good to see that Arris, a cable and broadband company, hasn’t given up on their (dirt cheap) Moxi acquisition. Thanks to Shaw Cable, our Canadian neighbors to the north can pick up the next generation Moxi HD DVR and Moxi Mate as the Shaw Gateway and Portal. Featuring a very healthy, and perhaps industry leading, HD 6 tuners! (Making its 500GB hard drive seem somewhat undersized.)

Marcus turned us on to the news and wonders:

So I called Moxi and spoke with a nice dude named David and got the same response when I speak with Tivo about upcoming products, “I dunno”. And why Canada? And do you think this will ever hit retail in the states?

Despite Moxi’s Emmy Award winning interface and functionality that was, at one point, ahead of its time, the various champions/owners never managed to get traction here in the US as a set-top provider for the likes of Charter or in retail. In fact, under Arris, the Moxi branding appears to have been abandoned. At least in terms of Shaw’s whole-home PVR solution. But, given that the new Gateway product has been engineered with support for CableCARD technology, I’d say the intention is… or was… to market this product here in the US.

TiVo Premiere To Access Xfinity On Demand

Remember the mysterious screengrab that TiVo accidentally released at the Premiere launch? Well, a year later, they’ve finally come clean. Comcast, er Xfinity, On Demand will be made available to TiVo Premiere DVRs in select markets – and San Francisco is up first. Although no specific ETA was provided beyond “early next year.” Presumably, the companies are getting it done using back channel communication methods, facilitated by SeaChange, and similar to those seen with RCN, Suddenlink, and perhaps what’s coming to Cox.

From TiVo’s press release:

Deal of the Day: TiVo Premiere XL @ $200

If you happen to be in the market for a TiVo Premiere and don’t object to a refurb unit, Woot’s got the deal for you. They’re offering the TiVo Premiere XL for $200 with service running the traditional $12.95/month. While you could pick up a new Premiere from TiVo.com for $100 @ 20/mo, over the … Read more

What’s Next For TiVo: Hulu, Streaming, Extenders

tivo-extender

While we generally shy away from rumor and speculation, TiVo’s been pretty quiet as they approach the one year anniversary of Premiere retail availability. Given our site heritage and interests, the lack of news out of Alviso can be frustrating. So we’ve whipped up a post based purely on hearsay, but one that hopefully gives some indication what TiVo is quietly working on.

Hulu
Access to Hulu Plus from TiVo DVRs was announced way back in September and expected to launch “in the coming months.” Yet we’re wrapping up month six and who knows what Hulu may look like when TiVo’s app ultimately launches. Engadget’s received word that beta testing is underway. While I can’t corroborate with 100% certainty, I’ve seen purported blurry cam video footage of the service and, at least on a cursory basis, the interface looks quite similar to Hulu’s other set-top box offerings (like Roku and PS3). If Hulu Plus is indeed in beta testing, I’d expect the TiVo app would be ready to go live in the very near future. However, in the past Hulu has dictated partner announcements and product releases. So its launch may be held until the news can be bundled. For example, we’re still awaiting Hulu Plus on the Xbox 360.

Streaming
Regulars know I’ve been disappointed in TiVo’s multi-room viewing technology. Most whole home solutions stream content room to room, whereas TiVo played it safe early on by merely copying shows on demand – given their own prior hardware limitations and home network concerns. However, we’re collectively at a better place on the technological front while we’re conversely limited by obtuse cable policies designed to prevent piracy (but actually do nothing more than inhibit valid, secure usage). According to this anonymous comment and anonymous private correspondence, TiVo may be currently testing Premiere-to-Premiere streaming. Unfortunately, older hardware won’t benefit from this solution. And while TiVo could artificially draw the line in the sand, TiVo Series3 and HD hardware truly would struggle with real time HD streaming in many network environments.

AllVid Alliance Formed; TiVo & Google On Board

The AllVid battle lines between the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) are being drawn. AllVid is a possible replacement for and enhancement of CableCARD technology being discussed by the FCC and now a group of companies from the electronics industry that have formed the “AllVid Tech Company Alliance.” … Read more

A Few FiOS TV DVR Notes (versus TiVo)

fios-gear1

As regulars know, we recently left the cable hegemony behind in favor of Verizon’s FiOS TV…. to overcome switched digital video (SDV) tuning adapter flakiness and a CCI Byte content lockdown that essentially neutered our TiVo ecosystem. And, on the technological front, we couldn’t be happier. (But I may follow up with a less glowing billing and support post, as many of you cautioned.)

We’re a three TV/DVR household, although currently only possess two televisions — one powered by a TiVo Premiere and the other powered by the Verizon FiOS DVR shown above. So the question is, what DVR will power TV #3 when the time comes?

Now that Cox Communication’s CCI Byte “guilty until proven innocent” restriction is behind me, TiVo once again provides multi-room viewing. Although my mothballed TiVo HD and Series 3 may not have the bandwidth to move content wirelessly in real time between DVRs, the way I could Premiere to Premiere. On the FiOS TV front, most of us are still running Interactive Media Guide (IMG) 1.8… which doesn’t utilize a 16:9 UI and multi-room viewing is limited to a DVR hub feeding set-tops. However, testing is underway for version 1.9 and deployment should begin in the near future. And I’m quite interested…

Ceton Reveals Tiny External CableCARD Tuner

Looks like the HDHomeRun Prime may see a little competition later this year via Ceton’s newly revealed USB CableCARD tuner. The InfiniTV 4 USB is surely the most handsome and compact external CableCARD device to date. And given my penchant for small form factor PCs, this is a more practical solution than Ceton’s PCI CableCARD tuner … Read more

Catching Up With Silicon Dust

My last stop of the day was a visit to Silicon Dust. They’re the folks behind the HDHomeRun networked dual tuner, which has had quite a run… without a refresh. And that’s about to be corrected by the HDHomeRun Dual which will beginning shipping later this month for $130. The Dual essentially provides the same … Read more