Moxi DVR Prices Slashed, New 3 Tuner Model

While I predicted significant Moxi HD DVR price cuts after Arris’ acquisition of Digeo, I expected to see them come as the new parent company retreated from retail. However… Not only isn’t Arris giving up on direct consumer sales, versus exclusively pitching hardware to the MSOs, they’re pushing forward with the introduction of a new … Read more

Digeo Launches Retail Moxi Mate and OS Update

It’s been a few months since the loaner Moxi HD DVR ($800, no fees, no ads) arrived and I’ve had plenty of time to evaluate TiVo’s first retail competitor in years. While Ben Drawbaugh (EngadgetHD) and I agree on many of the particulars, we come away with different conclusions. I quite like the Moxi experience. … Read more

A Non-Geek Look at Moxi’s HD DVR

I’m still getting familiar with my loaner retail Moxi HD DVR ($800, no fees). The Moxi UI is high def lusciousness and it offers some compelling features beyond requisite DVR functionality – such as the ticker, media streaming, and web browsing (!). And not an ad in sight. However… The interface does take a bit … Read more

Digeo To Unveil Moxi Payment Plans

Later this week, Digeo will unveil two interest-free Moxi HD DVR ($799, no fees) payment plans – as illustrated above. While I would have preferred to see a straight up price cut, this may may reduce the sticker shock for some and/or make the device more accessible. As this program initially rolls out, installment pricing … Read more

Moxi HD DVR, In The Flesh

Hot on the heels of Digeo’s net-centric content additions announcement, I’ve finally gotten my hands on a Moxi HD DVR ($800, no fees). I know you’ve got a lot of questions. As do I. Drop your queries in the comments and, over the next few weeks, we’ll dig into TiVo’s first legit retail competitor in … Read more

Moxi Site Redesign: All About TiVo

moxi-vs-tivo

Two months after meeting with Digeo at CES, I’ve yet to receive a Moxi HD DVR ($800) loaner. In fact, three months after initial retail availability, there hasn’t been a single review. And the AVS silence is unprecedented: “Seems pretty sad that no one on an A/V enthusiast forum like this will admit to taking a chance on this unit.” I’ve never seen a flagship product launch go down like this. Although, given Diego’s long history of under-achievement and broken promises, I shouldn’t be surprised.

Over the weekend I surfed on by the Moxi website to learn what, if anything, is going on. And discovered a redesign that spends a lot of time talking TiVo. A Moxi-TiVo comparison is quite natural given TiVo’s status as the incumbent and really the only other retail cable DVR competitor. However, Google reports over 20 pages of TiVo mentions… which seems a bit excessive. Why not stand on your own merits? Some samples:

  • The MOXI HD DVR beats TiVo in so many areas
  • TiVo tries the same thing, but fails in the effortless department
  • TiVo strikes out by putting their fuzzy, elderly menu right on top of the program you’re (trying) to watch
  • TiVo serves ads in their pause feature. Moxi’s is free.
  • Then there’s TiVo, brazenly asking you for as much as $12.95 a month for the privilege of using something you already bought

As you might expect, Digeo doesn’t point out Moxi’s (current?) video on-demand shortcomings compared to TiVo’s Amazon VOD (soon in HD) and Netflix streaming. But several of Digeo’s jabs are valid. TiVo’s aging UI still isn’t really optimized for 16:9 HDTVs and various tacked on (HME) apps employ (slow) inconsistent interfaces. I’d also appreciate the eye candy of picture-in-guide (PiG).

Of course, Digeo’s key Moxi differentiation is bundling service versus TiVo’s additional fees (monthly or pre-paid) and ad-serving. As far as the total cost of ownership (TCO), Moxi has put together a chart illustrating that Moxi is less expensive over a four year period. However, they point to the TiVo HD XL… with double Moxi’s storage and cite the MSRP versus the street price. (Currently ~$100 less for TiVo; MSRP=street for Moxi.) So, in reality, the costs are comparable for what you get over this time period. As long as Digeo remains in business to serve guide data.

Regarding the advertising, for many of us, one of TiVo’s initial value props was the ability to bypass commercials. Yet, we’re now confronted by ads all over the UI. However, Digeo’s ad-free sales pitch rings a bit hollow… as they’ve hedged their bets with this fine print found in the footer of every relevant page: “Certain current and/or future features/services provided by third parties may contain advertising.” And even the fee-less nature of the Moxi HD DVR may be finite: “Certain future services may be offered at additional cost.”

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Digeo Unveils New Moxi HD DVR

11 months after blowing up their previous destined-for-retail DVR(s), Digeo’s web site (and Amazon) have spilled the beans on the for-real model that’ll be available for sale… shortly?

Charter Ponders Life Without Moxi

We’re about half way through Q4, and have yet to see the Moxi 3012 DVR – a CableCARD box utilizing Digeo’s own hardware platform (rather than the previous Motorola STBs) and intended for MSOs. Charter was supposedly scheduled to take delivery last quarter. But given Digeo’s prior shenanigans and missed targets, this latest set back … Read more