Look,
Moblin and MIDs and
USB 3.0 are all well and good, but the real highlight of IDF is hiding in plain sight: it's Intel's
CE 3100 Media Processor-based
Tru2way DVR server, which has three digital cable tuners that can be streamed over a regular gigabit Ethernet or
MoCA to any number of clients, ranging from other 3100-based set-top boxes to DLNA devices like laptops and even the PS3. It's seriously cool -- the clients all see the server's tuners as their own, so the experience is seamless, and since it all runs on the Tru2way stack, it doesn't matter what kind of client you plug in -- the three clients on the show floor were running interfaces from Intel, Comcast (Rovi), and Digeo. Of course, since it's a DVR, you can actually add more clients than tuners and have them play back recorded content while your other boxes use the tuners -- Intel was demoing XBMC on a Sony laptop connecting over DLNA and streaming a recorded program while a PS3 nearby ran a photo slideshow, all while the three cable clients streamed uncompressed HD video from the tuners. Intel says a number of cable companies are interested in deploying this stuff and that we should see things on the market in the next year -- we honestly can't wait. Check a video after the break.
posted Sep 23rd 2009 7:14PM
please be cheap
Yep, agreed, I would definitely consider purchasing this if the price was reasonable.
This isn't something you'll be able to BUY, you'll rent it from your cable company.
Make it happen!
This is definitely cool, i kinda want this to be like SlingBox Pro, but not suck. Hopefully there'll be an app to stream it to your desktop and Iphone :0
Want it.
I have a central media server serving my HTPCs. I can watch non-DRM'd TV, Blu Ray rips, etc. to any on my 3 HTPCs. I love it. If Intel can make it easier for non-technical folk to have the same experience I do at a reasonable price, that is a good thing. Unfortunately, they have to work with the Cable Cos - I wish Intel all the luck in the world as they will need it.
This. But with XBMC running the Aeon skin at every client.
"...we honestly can't wait..."
Seems to be the daily mantra.
Is there anything you guys can wait for?
I can wait for your next comment. Please, take your time. No hurry.
So if it is anything like The Comcast Tivo .. Um it will never happen on Comcast
If you watch the video you will see a Comcast logo on the bottom left.
Too bad I already switched to Windows Media Center on Windows 7 running with 2 ATI Digital Cable Cards. 2011? FUCK YOU!
I second that!
this looks awesome, i just wish they come out with an 8 tuner version (i think that 8 tuners is the limit for a single M-Card). That way you can watch live TV in 4 rooms with each room having 2 tuners available. This thing better have at least a 1 TB drive and expansion via eSATA and/or USB 2.0.........
Although, I'm sure they'd charge something ridiculous for an 8 tuner version......
This sounds like a cool idea but something that the industry would never allow. Open and free access to cable tuners? I will believe it when I see it.
Agree completely. To be excited about this you have to think stuff like this doesn't exist already. Sorry, but both Motorola and Scientific Atlanta have "whole home DVRs" that will talk over MoCA to simpler STBs (theirs of course) that cable companies could ALREADY be installing. Why aren't they?
Well, first of course what motivates them to do this? They LIKE putting Cable boxes/cards in each room next to each TV. They get incremental revenue (rental fees) from each one. The stuff they have already is cheaper and brings in more revenue. Sure, its nice that some customers might want this if they knew it existed, but that's not really important to them.
The only reason this happens is with competition. AT&T offers something like this. If there were AT&T and/or Verizon competition to the embedded cable companies in the US then maybe.
Understand here I'm speaking only about the US market. I'm sure this stuff will show up elsewhere, which is probably what the guy means when he says "cable providers are interested".
I hope they don't use that button in the final product:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=708-1316-ND
It's $26!!!
It costs you $26, but it costs them $0.50.
Looks like Linux Support is coming... I wonder if it'll stay open source..
nothing new...have had this setup with SageTV for about 6 years now, with wifi and comskip i have been watching commercial free tv anywhere in my house, plus all my movies
Dude, any second now everything on your cable coming into your house except basic will be encrypted, and there won't be much for you to record (legally) anymore. If you're on cable of course. OTA and you're fine. Satellite, well you better get a Hauppauge.
Considering the pile of BS MSFT had to put up with from CableLabs about DRMing everytihng up the ass, how is it that these guys can stream to XBMC in the clear?
Or can it only stream CopyFreely flagged content. What happens when it's HBO or PPV?
Wow. SageTV has had digital cable support for six years? Impressive.
Too bad Sage is a UI trainwreck that only a total tech nerd could love.
So, do they push down the user interface from the MSO as with OCAP? If so, be prepared fo MAJOR SUCK.
I'd say that's a big UNCLEAR.
Engadget (Nilay) talks about tru2way as if it was synonymous with DLNA. When of course it isn't. It sounds like the apps you see running on the cable boxes are tru2way apps (e.g. OCAP).
If they want to do SDV support (and without it, you can't sell it to Time Warner), they need to have tru2way since otherwise you can't get the switched channels with just a cable card. According to the deal struck with Tivo (for the never to be seen Series 4) you wouldn't have to invoke a GUI from your cable system just to change the channel. But you WOULD have to for VOD. Whether you can watch cable VOD on these other boxes is unclear, especially the non-tru2way boxes like the PS3 or the laptop. I would assume the answer is NO.
And yes, I would assume this stuff is encrypted all to hell. However, as soon as it ends up on a PC it'll be cracked wide open very quickly anyway.
By the time this hits the market, won't cable be dead? How long before everything is IP? The cable companies will hate that, but with Hulu, Netflix, HD sports packages from the various leagues, etc. being offered over the internet, I really can't imagine paying a cable bill three years from now.
...except...
The cable companies have an ace up their collective sleeve: in most locales, the coax that the cable company ran to your house 30 years ago still has WAAAAAY more available digital bandwidth than the measly little strand of copper the telco put in. Once they are able to completely drop that nasty old analog signal, they'll have pipes to most homes that will be second only to fibre.
I work for a small telco. We bought the local cable company two years ago, and we're doing everything we possibly can to migrate our DSL users to cable internet short of bursting into their homes and holding guns to their heads.
I just wish SKY would do something like this in the UK!!
Yup, the Skybox is "graced" with what is likely the worst firmware ever coded. Seriously, no more than 20 favourite channels? Is the thing running on 640k of RAM? Plus, the UI is hideous to say the least.
I've been waiting for this to happen for around 10 years (basically since I first got digital satellite); While I know WMC can do this, it requires having a dedicated media center (not a bad thing per se, but it requires constant patching/maintenance and is likely to consume more power than a CE box like that) AND doesn't play nicely with non MS boxes.
Shame I live in Europe (unless they have a DVB-S version in the pipeline I won't get to use this tech any time soon).
Also, I wonder how much functionality will be left by the time this hits the market: do you really see cable companies allowing *gasp* any software/hardware device to touch their oh-so-precious streams (can't have content going around the customer's LAN unencrypted, what about OMG PIRACY)? Not fighting tooth and nail to keep gouging people for multiple tuners for different rooms and TVs?
Shame, really, another amazing piece of tech that will be borked by the content providers/distributors.
My house is already full of cables. Don't see why I would need a dedicated device to take care of that.
Let's see...my Verizon FIOS tech tells me that I need to rent a seperate box for each TV. Will this thing make that situation change?
Right now, Comcast/Verizon want $15 per box for the old garbage cable box I've been using for 5 years. That is why I only have one and will continue on one until they drop that price a bit. I'm not even hopeful that this will help do that.
I can only hope there will be some way to stream from the "server" to Windows Media Center without some gawd-awful hack.