Comments on: CableLabs Leaks Moxi Box News

By: hdtivo

hdtivo — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:00:47 +0000

What made this worthy of a write up?

By: Fred Mertz

Fred Mertz — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:20:47 +0000

I beta-tested the retail version, and I certainly hope for Digeo’s sake that they’ve made improvements. Clunky, slow, choppy and runs hot enough that I would keep it away from children were the words I used to describe the mess of a box I had.

By: Jeff Baumgartner

Jeff Baumgartner — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:17:24 +0000

yeah, i can see why that would leave you less than impressed…that’s quite a list of shortcomings based on your early look at it. i’m checking around as well to get some reax to it…and see if Digeo’s made any changes that might improve beyond what you witnessed. JeffB

By: cableric

cableric — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:45:36 +0000

Before I left BendBroadband I got a glimps of the new box and was underwhelmed, to say the least. The problems that I had with the box:

1. It felt cheap and “plastic-y” compared to the Mot hardware. I believe the new box is manufatured by ASUS.

2. DSG (DOCSIS Set-top Gateway) only. What this means is that the box will not function (or function to it’s full potential) if the cable plant is running legacy out of band. Default for Mot HW is 75.25MHz, but different MSO’s use different OOB’s. Until BBB activated DSG (sending OOB data to the cable modem) this meant no VOD and no PPV (in fact there was some question as to whether PPV would ever work, why they said this I don’t know).

3. The guide was SLOWER than the Motorola Moxi. This may be due to the HD GUI, new code that hadn’t been optimized, or a combination of both.

4. It didn’t do ANYTHING that the Mot box couldn’t do. Until a fully OCAP plant was put into place I felt this box was actually a step backward.

In the spirit of full disclosure I will say that some of this information is second hand, and came out after my departure. I will also say that like Mari, I now work for a STB competitor of Digeo.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:33:44 +0000

I don’t think TiVo will bother going after anyone else until the Echo case is resolved. As far as if the Moxi box violates, I don’t know. After sitting in on the appeals process here in DC, the details currently being disputed are highly technical in nature. Regardless, I don’t think TiVo would bother going after a small fry like Digeo – who may not be long for this world… a Cisco or Moto would be much more attractive. But I have no idea if or how they might infringe. Could be a non-issue. And the Echo case is unique given the earlier interactions of the two companies.

Keep in mind I’m not a patent attorney, I own two TiVo units, and I work for Sling Media.

By: Tom M

Tom M — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:31:36 +0000

I’ve given up hope on a Moxi box ever coming out. This is just getting silly.

By: Mari Silbey

Mari Silbey — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:21:05 +0000

@Richard Yes, I’m talking about a first for Digeo
@Sam I don’t know about the TiVo patent- Dave?
@lutton Either you’re a big fan of Digeo, or you have a toddler at home who watches a lot of Dora the Explorer (with her friend Diego…)

By: lutton

lutton — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:17:14 +0000

Go, Diego, Go!