Ibc2010
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Motorola announces NYXboard QWERTY remote, super capacitor-based NYXgreen
Could we be seeing the beginning of a QWERTY trend in the living room? We can only hope -- the latest to join in on the fun is Motorola, which has just introduced its new NYXboard remote at IBC 2010. Unlike the TiVo Slide, this one packs a standard TV remote on one side and a QWERTY keyboard on the other, and -- here's the real kicker -- some sensors that recognize which side is facing up and deactivate the buttons not in use, an idea we've been waiting for. What's more, Motorola says this one will be available by the end of the year, but actual availability to customers will likely depend on the cable companies providing the set-top boxes. Also unveiled at the show is the NYXgreen, a rechargeable remote powered by super capacitors that can supposedly last for two weeks after being charged by USB for just 60 seconds, plus a pair of decidedly more standard remotes that are available immediately. Head on past the break for the press release, and hit up the gallery below for a look at the whole lot. %Gallery-101893%
Sandisk, NDS showing off SSD-based 16GB DVRs
We can all agree the old cable/satellite set-top boxes could use some refreshing, but these new ones on display from SanDisk and NDS might not be what the doctor ordered. The team has combined SanDisk's latest P4 solid state drives (successors to the older pSSD drive pictured above) with NDS set-top box software to demonstrate at IBC 2010 a tiny DVR that uses less power, space and runs far cooler than any hard drive equipped box -- if you don't mind capacities of 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. The idea here is for boxes that are "DVR-like" in their features with progressive downloading and live pause. SanDisk believes they make for cost-effective alternatives to hard drive-based boxes and they may have a point, but in a world where multiroom DVRs with driveless thin clients attached and network DVRs that remove the need for local storage of any kind, it's hard to see many situations where these would fit in.
