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Moxi Digital's Future Convergence Box Announced
Many readers have submitted news of a new do-everything media box being hyped at CES. Fofer writes: "Steve Perlman, the founder of WebTV, is attempting to infiltrate the living room again, but this time it looks like he's on to something. Officially unveiled at CES 2002, the Moxi Media Center is a souped-up digital media server with an 80-gigabyte hard drive. It can deliver, to as many as four televisions, video recorded from a TV signal off of its integrated cable/satellite receiver, video or audio downloaded to the hard drive or from a built-in DVD/CD player. ...
Articles with more info are here(1) and here(2)." When a product is still vapor, it's pretty easy to make it buzzword-compliant, too, and this one is supposed to work with Macs and IBM-style PCs, be based on Linux, work with Firewire drives, etc. Read the linked PR stuff to find out more.
My question is, though, is, if this comes into being, will it run into the same copyright issues and whatnot that the ReplayTV 4000, with the ability to send video over ethernet is coming under fire for?
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I already have a "digital media server" that supports instant messaging, email, DVDs and CDs. It's my computer.
I read about that! It looked very interesting! :)
Supposedly you're supposed to be able to hook up all rooms in your house with one machine, for almost no money at all!
Oh, yeah and it's a gateway/router/firewall too! Pretty neat thought!
I read it on The Register last night
Any technology distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced.
Hmm, looks like it has a flash interface. Maybe it's just my system, but Flash doesn't run very well for me under Linux. I have a 900MHz CPU, but flash animations, especially games, are very, very slow. How will they overcome that?
I know I'll get modded for redundant but hey, I wonder how much it will cost. I'm guessing this will be a > $1,000 device. Butm an, if it really can do all it says, maybe it would be worth it.
*crosses fingers* DVD playback with progressive output would be nice, too.
Moderation: Put your hand inside the puppet head!
To connect multiple TV's to one cable signal, satellite signal, PVR, etc..., just use Leap Frog (there's a wireless one, too, check the website).
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Also at CES is a demo of interactive DVD set top boxes. All this convergence and integration, and this Moxi box doesn't even offer this feature. For now I think I shall keep my money for other things until the market matures... I'll let those people with more money than sense be guinnea pigs for this kind of technology.
Nokia announced their Mediaterminal last year and it just now available
Meanwhile my Mac+iPod works fine. And DVD players are, what, $150? I don't see why this is of any value.
sulli
RTFJ.
His Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is also announcing a name change, to Moxi Digital Inc. from Rearden Steel Technologies.
Looks like an Ayn Rand fan.
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
When a product is still vapor, ...
Well, according the "specs", this thing is not that hard to build. It's basically a computer with the right interface for TV and sound system.
It's still vapor right now for sure, but there's nothing in this device (according the description) that requires anything not developed yet. If you have the $ and patience, you too can build one yourself.
and they will have good luck trying.. Motorola and the 3 big cable companies are behind this. Nothing like an ant trying to sue a giant.
From the plans I have seen, TiVo and the like will become useless as your digital cable box will replace it, and you wont have to subscribe to a special service to get the listings.
What is coming is really cool, and the Ultimate TV,TiVo and others will die because of it.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I think it can sell well just as a super-DVR. We have two Tivos already, thinking about a third for another TV in another room. If this box can serve up content to four sets from a central location, it would eliminate our desire for multiple DVRs. It's not that we want to record that many programs; we just watch them in different places.
Further, since the Moxi incorporates the content management that studios lust after, it is likely to be very well received. It's easy to imagine studios providing all sorts of exclusive offerings for the Moxi to undercut interest in vanilla Tivo and Replay systems. Couple that with a new round of lawsuits from studios, and competing technologies may die on the vine. Again, Joe Six-pack won't care, may not even notice, as long as the studios don't get too greedy.
(IMO, the studios' unbridled greed is the only reason they don't already own the digital entainment market. If they would settle for 90% of the potential profit instead of shooting for 120%, most consumers would happily line up behind whatever they - the studios - supported. But I digress.)
The interesting angle will be how many companies launch competing-but-incompatible systems. Again, I could see greedy studios trying to establish their own tech instead of signing up with Moxi. If this new product family gets bogged down in yet another format war, it may become just another footnote on the road to Microsoft's domination of digital entertainment. Or, MS may preempt the whole thing by buying it (again).
This will be interesting to watch no matter how it plays out.
Dec 24, 2002 : Officially unveiled at the CES show earlier this week, the much awaited Moxi Media Center, created by former WebTV founder Steve Pearlman, will definitely not hit the shelves in time for Christmas.
"This is a huge disappointment for media lovers" declared Pearlman. "If people can't even play their own Super-8 tapes anymore, what does this mean for the future of the entertainment industry, I ask you ?". Originally scheduled to be a powerful media center capable of delivering as many as four televisions, video recorded from a TV signal off of its integrated cable/satellite receiver and video or audio downloaded to the hard drive or from a built-in DVD/CD player, pressures from the MPAA (movie picture association of America) and the RIAA (recording industry association of America) have gradually forced Moxi to reduce the scope of the Moxi Media Center to a simple Super-8 video player and vinyl disk (LP) player.
However, the MPAA still isn't satisfied with the Moxi Media Center's current feature list, and has launched an unprecedented lawsuit against Moxi. "The [MPAA] has to protect the interests of the studios, and therefore the interest of the American public" said MPAA president Jack Valenti yesterday "If we let anybody play their bootleg Super-8 videos, the world won't turn round anymore !".
Steve Pearlman is scheduled to organize an emergency meeting of Moxi's board of director : "We could conceivably turn the Moxi Media Center into a very nice looking multi-function shelf made of first-grade oak wood, that would serve video tapes and CDs on demand. The only remaining obstacle right now is to obtain the RIAA's approval for using the standard "12cm CD size"[tm], which should take no more than 6 month and should add no more than $2 on each Moxi Media Center's pricetag" said Pearlman. "As you can see, the public can count on Moxi to deliver new innovative media solutions that conform with the law".
Hmm.
From the NY Times:
Mr. Perlman takes an engineer's pride in describing the company's solution to the problem of converting the contents of compact discs into MP3 files that can be stored digitally. Moxi has designed a specialized device, which would be rented to consumers on an hourly basis, that uses powerful microprocessors to convert 100 CD's an hour and store them as digital files. He said Moxi had taken significant pains to protect the digital rights of music and video content producers. The system uses cryptography extensively to place barriers against illegal sharing of copyrighted material, the kind of trading that got the Napster music-swapping service into legal trouble.
Forget it.
sulli
RTFJ.
When geeks think something is cool, they foolishly assume everyone else will agree. Building a personal media library is a geek-born idea. Average people just want low-cost media on demand.
Science fiction always depicts instant media on demand for little or no cost; personal media libraries only exist for unique or personal content. There's no need for personal copies of centrally available media.
Smart entrepeneurs realize this fact and are working toward two things: ways to stream media over the wire, and heavy-duty centralized servers. Personal digital video recorders or in-home servers are a temporary and weak solution that really only appeals to an expert minority of consumers.
These devices will quickly become irrelevant once a reasonable media on demand solution is implemented. Building a new business around a dead-end concept is hardly a plan for success.
- "It's just a matter of opinion!" - PRIMUS