CES 2008: Motorola Rolling Out MPEG-4 Set-Tops
All-Digital DCX Series Compatible with Switched Digital Video, OpenCable
By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/7/2008 8:49:00 AM
Las Vegas -- Motorola is introducing new digital-cable set-tops that use the MPEG-4 advanced compression scheme.
The all-digital DCX series, which also supports MPEG-2 compression, includes a dual-tuner HD digital-video-recorder model, the DCX3400; a single-tuner HD set-top, the DCX3200; and a single-tuner, standard-definition set-top, the DCX100, which is capable of receiving an HD signal and converting it to an SD output, making it compatible with legacy analog TV sets that can’t show HD pictures.
The DCX set-tops are capable of receiving switched-digital-video transmissions and include 1-gigahertz tuners to allow for cable operators to expand their network bandwidth to support additional channels.
They are compliant with the OpenCable Application Platform software standard and have built-in support for MoCA (Multimedia Over Coax Alliance) networking to allow for multiroom DVR use.
Besides Dolby Digital audio, they will also support the MP3 and Windows Media Audio formats.
The DCX product line is scheduled for deployment in the third quarter of 2008.
Motorola will also introduce a portable media player, the Motorola Mobile TV DVBH-compatible DH01 device, which is capable of receiving DVB-H standard mobile-TV signals and also recording and storing video as a portable DVR. The device will show video at 25-frames-per-second quality on a 4.3-inch screen, and will be able to record up to 90 minutes of TV programming on a 256-megabyte Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard card.
It also features a five-minute memory buffer allowing viewers to pause live TV.
The company said the product will be commercially available this month, but it didn’t disclose wireless or retail partners that might be selling it.
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