Slashdot Mirror
Moxi Functions In Charter Set-top Box Next Year
An anonymous reader writes: "Charter Communications will offer a Moxi-like
cable tv set top box with DVR / MP3 capabilities
next year.
Here it is. I like the idea of merging the set-top box with a DVR using normal cable tv or satellite. A good combination."
The reason I've not purchased a Tivo (other than the need for the stupid on-going service) is that I don't want to do MPEG->Analog->MPEG->Disk->Analog to watch my satelite feed. MPEG->Disk->Analog is a much shorter path with only a single decode involved.
Um.. the direct tivo unit records directly from the stream. There is no analog conversion involved until you watch it. Its mpeg stream to disk direct. Its also dual tuner and avaliable now.
There are some definite benefits to a combined system: digital channels can be recorded without being re-compressed, increasing quality; it's easier & more likely to be able to record more than one show at a time; it should cost less than two separate units duplicating functionality; the combined UI could be simpler to use.
There are some pretty significant drawbacks, though. As others have pointed out, these units are unlikely to have features content providers dislike -- they certainly won't have automatic commercial skipping, and may not have 30-second skip; they're not likely to have internet video sharing; they may have restrictions on how long shows can be kept, how many times they can be played, and whatkinds of shows can be recorded. The biggest problem, though, is that the end user won't own the unit -- it'll be rented from the cable company. Thus, no modifications. No HD upgrades, no tivo web, no shell hacking, nada.
This is, of course, only applicable if you use MSN email or Hotmail. I'm a Charter Pipeline subscriber, and I noticed that they recently changed their default startpage to a cobranded MSN/Charter Pipeline portal, which I'm sure is why they mention it in the TOS.