TheCableShow2010
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ADB set-back box squeezes a DVR on SDHC card behind your HDTV
The space and weight requirements to fit a tru2way cable box behind an LCD or plasma HDTV would seem to rule out DVR functions, but ADB showed off a second generation set-back box that does just that. Dubbed Phantom, it can hold an SDHC card with programs either recorded elsewhere, or it can record directly to the card itself. Light Reading mentions there's also MoCA support to stream from standard DVRs, so while it's unlikely you'd have a memory card big enough to hold all the HDTV programs we watch, whether you're old school sneakernetting or going multiroom it can be your hidden HD DVR. The ADB-4820C it designed for Sony HDTVs that we saw at CES 2009 never appeared, but the company said at The Cable Show the Phantom could be available by late this year or early 2011, with potential targets in the hotel industry or direct retail sales.
Panasonic shows its stuff at The Cable Show including a remote user interface
Panasonic always goes all out for The Cable Show, more so than most of the big consumer electronics companies and this year is no different. Obviously there were a few 3DTVs and tru2way set-top boxes for service providers, but what's new is its JavaScript based Remote User Interface (RUI) technology called AJAX-CE (Asynchronous JavaScript + XML CE). Now we're big fans of remote user interfaces and the promises they bring, but with DLNA having one protocol, the RVU Alliance having another, we wonder if anyone really needs a third. Panasonic is hoping that service providers choose theirs, but with most cable operators raving about DLNA's and DirecTV and FiOS showing lots of love for RVU, we're not sure who's left looking. Full release after the jump.
Comcast Xfinity iPad remote app changes channels and invites friends to watch RHONY
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts just hit the stage at The Cable Show and displayed the company's prototype iPad app, the Xfinity Remote. At least so far it doesn't appear to let you stream television programs directly to Apple's media consumption device, but it does let you turn it into a TV guide browser and remote for your set-top box that outpaces even its already released iPhone prog. They pulled in G4's Kevin Pereira for the quick video demo (embedded after the break) highlighting not only the remote DVR scheduling but also a social feature that lets you invite friends to watch live TV with you -- as long as they have Comcast, and the app, and an iPad. Of course, the innovation we'd like to see is a new UI for our cable boxes like the one shown on the iPad... or the one we saw a few years ago. So far the reaction to Facebook and Twitter chat on the screen via widgets has been mild at best, but social tie-ins to another screen could be just what our Real Housewives of New York viewing parties need.
