set-top box

We're constantly hearing that seamless integration of television and broadband video is fast approaching, but nobody's gotten it right yet. That hasn't stopped new companies from jumping into the mix.

Enter Sezmi, the latest start-up hoping to capture the market: on Thursday, the venture-backed company unveiled a piece of hardware that it claims will be able to handle broadcast and cable TV, as well as streaming and downloaded Internet video content.

Currently in testing, Sezmi has already inked partnerships with a number of broadcasters, content companies, and broadband service providers. The ambitious company hopes to start putting … Read more

Trips to the video rental store may be a thing of the past sooner than thought.

Netflix and Blockbuster are already offering DVD rental service by mail. Amazon.com, Microsoft's Xbox Live, and Netflix deliver movies directly to the PC. TiVo, Vudu, and Apple TV--not to mention cable and satellite companies--are doing the same for TV sets. Local independent stores notwithstanding, the only major brick-and-mortar options left for renting discs are Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery, which is close to bankruptcy, and Blockbuster.

But The Hollywood Reporter says Blockbuster may be giving customers more reasons not to visit its stores. … Read more

As strange as it may seem, the portable hard drive has continued making a play for the runway with designs ranging from leather to real gold. What makes it even more curious is that these boxes aren't usually put on a pedestal for all to see. So it makes sense, in an odd way, that a TV set-top box would try to make a bold fashion statement of its own--it is, after all, usually kept in a more conspicuous place.

Enter Sky HD, the HDTV service of the United Kingdom's BSkyB network, which is offering an entire line … Read more

After hitting a veritable grand slam with its sale for $380 million Monday, Sling Media is back at the plate already, hoping to connect for another hit with its next Slingbox.

Still buzzing from the news of its acquisition by EchoStar, the Foster City, Calif., company is expected to release a new model of its place-shifting gadget on Thursday. This version will be called the Slingbox Solo, and its features and price fall right between the high-end Slingbox Pro and low-end Slingbox A/V, both released exactly one year ago. (Sling also confirmed that it will not be refreshing the … Read more

At long last, it looks like Apple TV is available for purchase. The Apple Web site on Tuesday morning listed the set-top box as available for shipment in three to five business days.

Calls to New York- and San Francisco-area Apple stores confirmed that the box, which is meant to deliver content between a TV and a PC, is so far only available online. A San Francisco Apple store employee said they expect to have Apple TV "any day now."

First announced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in September under the name iTV, CEO Steve Jobs formally unveiled the device … Read more

The moment many have long awaited has arrived: Comcast cable customers can get TiVo on the cable company's own DVR set-top boxes.

TiVo is now available as a software download, which means no new piece of hardware for current customers and no waiting around for hours on a technician.

It's the first time TiVo's been available on non-TiVo hardware. Motorola says its DCT6412 set-top box is one such model. Technical trials began in December 2006, and market trials will begin this spring, the companies said. What they're not saying is how much the service will cost. … Read more

Motorola's Follow Me TV feature for its DVR set-top boxes lets users choose which TV to watch a recorded TV show on.

Instead of keeping content stored on only that TV, Follow Me TV lets users bring TV with them from room to room. Any recorded show is aggregated and made available on any TV on the network. In addition to TV programs, music and photos can also follow to any TV, and the content can also be sent to portable devices.

Or, as Motorola CEO Ed Zander demonstrated for the audience here at CES 2007, you can pause … Read more

My mother would hate the way I just shove the tangle of wires behind my TV. It's the analog equivalent of sweeping dust under the rug.

The people at Tzero Technologies haven't met my mom (so far as I know), but they apparently understand her concerns. So they just moved a step closer to making good on their promise of wireless high-definition home entertainment.

The ultra wideband (UWB) chipset maker announced today that Siemens will be the first to incorporate Tzero's chips in its Ultra Wideband Multimedia Home Router. Tzero says the router, which will distribute Ethernet … Read more

Motorola announced to the world that it had shipped its kajillionth set-top box. OK, that's an exaggeration--it's actually 50 million. But any excuse for a party, right?

To commemorate the self-congratulatory occasion, the company treated us all to a fascinating history of the set-top box. I'll paraphrase: Way back in 1996 (the modern equivalent of the Iron Age), Motorola capitalized on this newfangled thing called "digital cable." With its advent, companies could do things like send "program guides" and "shows on-demand." (Cue the French horns.) In its prescience, Motorola put out &… Read more