US Cable Support > Comcast Cable TV > [STB] Cisco thinking of getting out of the set-top box business?

reply to telcodad

Re: [STB] Cisco thinking of getting out of the set-top box busin

Financial analysts have been questioning Cisco’s commitment to CPE for some time. Meanwhile, since Google’s acquisition of Motorola for its patent portfolio, questions have been swirling about whether Google intends to keep Motorola’s cable equipment operation.

That so many executives formerly with Cisco/SA have banded to establish a competitor in the same product space will ensure that those questions continue to be asked.

iNovo Broadband has announced little about its operations beyond its product portfolio, though [former Cisco exec Benny] Hsu's title [VP of manufacturing partners] implies that iNovo will be following the common business model of designing products but farming out their construction to contract manufacturers.

The company's products include cable modems and gateways, cable DTAs and set-tops, satellite set-tops, and IPTV set-tops.

An item on the Light Reading Cable site today with the latest news on iNovo Broadband:

iNovo Starts Its Run at Cisco & Motorola
By Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading Cable - September 14, 2012
»www.lightreading.com/document.as···lr_cable

In this recent blog item on the Multichannel News site, it says that Cisco sees standalone set-top boxes disappearing within about 10 years, but until then, they will remain a key piece of business for them:

Cisco's De Beer: Set-Tops Will Die in a Decade
By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News - September 19, 2012
»www.multichannel.com/blogs/bit-r···e-decade

reply to telcodad
From this article on the CED Magazine site today, it certainly does look like Cisco intends to continue to do STB business in the future with Comcast:

Cisco signs on for Comcast RDK
By Mike Robuck, CED Magazine - October 5, 2012
»www.cedmagazine.com/news/2012/10···cast-rdk

reply to telcodad

reply to telcodad
An article on the Light Reading Cable site today about all the STB vendors that have now licensed Comcast's Reference Design Kit (RDK):

Cisco, Humax & Technicolor Join Comcast's Crew
By Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading Cable - October 10, 2012
»www.lightreading.com/document.as···lr_cable

Well, I thought this was strange, as Pace has already provided some of the main X1 platform boxes to Comcast, as the article says: "Comcast said Pace was instrumental in developing the RDK by helping the service provider launch its XG1 multi-tuner video gateway in support of the X1 service."

However, I guess there are a few more specs in the RDK that Pace may have to formally obtain a license for.

Pace licenses RDK set-top design kit from Comcast
By Dan O'Shea, FierceCable - October 17, 2012
»www.fiercecable.com/story/pace-l···12-10-17

OK, now Intel has officially joined the Comcast RDK club:

Intel Licenses Reference Design Kit from Comcast to Speed Development and Deployment of Set-Top Box Solutions
First Silicon Deployment Uses Intel Puma and Intel Atom Processor CE4200
Intel Press Release - October 24, 2012
»newsroom.intel.com/community/int···olutions

reply to telcodad
Thank's, Cisco/SA are very good boxes compared to motorola

They both suck compared to almost anything else.

They should just let Apple build the set top boxes. I can't believe how smooth the interface runs on the iPhone 5 with the Apple A6 CPU.

Maybe they should use more powerful ARM processors in cable boxes?

It is not the hardware, the problem is the software.

True because Passport runs real smooth and quick even on an older SA2200/3200.

I wonder why not much thought has been put into optimizing the software and hardware together? Just look how smooth the new iPhone and Android phones are. They fit in the palm of our hands and they just process graphics and applications flawlessly compared to a cable box.

What's up with that?

I think Comcast is so far behind in developing the guide software that Comcast is just trying to get caught up. The S26 guide for SA/Cisco STBs deployment has been put on hold for almost 2 months to fix bugs. This guide is just a legacy guide for older SA/Cisco STBs to catch up to the A28 Guide for Motorola STBs. The A30 Guide for Motorola STBs is being deployed because the X1 Guide for Motorola STBs is taking so long. The On-Screen Guide 2.0 is a bridge guide in the Cisco RNG 200N to provide AnyRoom DVR functionality for some SA/Cisco STB markets because the X1 Guide for SA/Cisco STBs is taking so long.

The current S25 Guide for SA/Cisco STBs doesn't even provide PIP (Picture-In-Picture) which the previous SARA Guide had for years. I think Passport even had PIP.

The X1 guide has missing features such as no skip by day feature and doesn't take advantage of all 6 tuners in the Pace X1 Gateway. Also, it doesn't currently provide AnyRoom DVR functionality.
--
SA 8300 HD DVRs with Patched S25 Guide
Links:
'S25 Guide Blog' 'Schedule' 'Info' 'Patch Thread'

I think they should of just skipped A30 and did that new look widescreen Guide 2.0 that they showed at CES back in 2008. It looks pretty nice. That should be the standard guide, with X1 as the DVR.

comcast is so backwards it isn't funny. A30 doesn't do anything BUT it will take 5 YEARS for us to get x1 or on-screen 3.0. By that time those won't even be new anymore.
The nation's largest cable operator just disgusts me and makes me sick.

*shrug* so get a Tivo, or a Win7 Media Center PC. I've seen used Tivo HDs for as cheap as $250 on fleabay with a lifetime sub, so it's not like it costs a ton of money. And they will pay for themselves within a couple of years vs. renting.

You don't have to put up with their nonsense, so there's no point in whining about it.

reply to telcodad
On the Light Reading Cable site yesterday:

Could An Arris-Motorola Marriage Work?
By Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading Cable - November 8, 2012
»www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?bl···lr_cable

reply to Russ
A recent article on the CED Magazine site on the current (poor) experience of searching for what to watch using today's Guide UIs:

Navigation guides yet to take flight
The process of finding what you want to watch on TV continues to be cumbersome.
By Brian Santo, CED Magazine - November 21, 2012
»www.cedmagazine.com/articles/201···e-flight

reply to cypherstream
I wonder what release of Guide software includes this new "self-destruct" feature?

Comcast buys woman TV after cable box exploded
By Michael Finney, KGO-TV News, San Francisco - November 26, 2012
»abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sectio···=8898788