--Will Sell Moxi Boxes in Retail, License Tech to CE Manufacturers
At CES in Las Vegas earlier this month, Paul Allen-owned interactive TV products and services company, Digeo, announced what it termed a "new corporate strategy," which, among other things, will see it selling its flagship Moxi digital media recorder in retail later this year (until now, it has only offered the product through cable operators), and licensing the technology that drives the box to consumer electronics manufacturers for incorporation into media centers, TV's and other devices. (Note: the Moxi platform allows end-users to store, access and manage a variety of entertainment content through a single, unified menu. The platform is notable for its interface, which won Emmy awards in 2004 and 2005, and which replaces the standard "spreadsheet" EPG interface with a so-called "cross-hairs" configuration, consisting of two intersecting animated lines at right angles to each other: customers use the left and right arrow keys on their remote control to scroll through a series of customizable categories--dubbed "filters" by the company--on the horizontal line: e.g. HDTV, sports, news, movies, photos, games, MP3 Jukebox, etc.; they then use the remote's up and down arrow keys to scroll through the sub-listings of the currently highlighted category, which appear as a vertical line intersecting the line of categories. Digeo has secured a number of patents for the technology; though it is also defending a patent-infringement lawsuit that was filed against it last fall by Gemstar-TV Guide--see [itvt] Issue 7.00 Part 1.) "As Digeo's executive team mapped emerging forces in the market against the positive consumer feedback we consistently hear about Moxi, we realized that Digeo should extend the reach of its vision for a truly great high-definition television experience," Digeo CEO, Mike Fidler, said in a prepared statement. "In the past, we have offered the Moxi technology to people exclusively through our cable operator partners. The proliferation of HD devices and programming, the growing abundance of digital content, and the increasingly sophisticated expectations of consumers make this a perfect time to offer Moxi more broadly."
In a press release issued during CES, Digeo outlined the three key elements of its new strategic direction: "Creating a new line of Moxi-branded products that will be sold directly to consumers through consumer-electronics retailers; licensing Moxi technology to third-party companies as the user interface, application, portal and/or services to drive their products; [and] broaden[ing] the ecosystem of service and content partners to enhance the Moxi experience and improve the platform's attractiveness and value to consumers." According to Digeo, its new strategic direction has been occasioned by a "number of changes in the cable industry," including the growing proliferation of HD devices and programming; and the fact that the FCC's mandate to decouple embedded security from cable set-top boxes and equipment goes into effect July 1st, thus facilitating a retail model for the set-top industry. However, the company says that it will continue to provide its own Moxi-based set-tops to its cable operator customers, which between them have installed the platform in approximately 400,000 US households.
Digeo also used CES to preview two new prototype Moxi-based HD digital media recorders that will be sold at retail outlets. Both boxes incorporate the Moxi interface, an integrated CD/DVD player, and features that allow users to watch, record and play HD programming and stream content from their PC's, and that support Web scheduling. One of the boxes, dubbed the Moxi Multi-Room HD DMR, will provide multi-room HD recording and playback with an integrated multistream CableCARD (M-Card). The other, dubbed the Moxi Home Cinema Edition HD DMR, is a Linux-based system based on the recently launched AMD LIVE! Home Cinema reference design, which includes advanced audio features, and which, as its name implies, is targeted at home theater enthusiasts. Digeo says that it plans to make the two new boxes available in retail in the second half of the year.
Originally Published: January 31, 2007 in [itvt] Issue 7.16 Part 1
Click: http://www.itvt.com to subscribe to our free email newsletter, which contains all the news stories you see on this Web site, and additional breaking news and scoops, in-depth features, interviews, screenshots, videos, and other exclusive content you will not find anywhere else.
[itvt]'s
Registration is now open:
http://www.thetvoftomorrowshow.com
March 13-14, 2007
San Francisco, CA
