Cox Communications Announces Plans for Multi-Room DVR Service

Cox Communications, the US's third-largest cable MSO, announced Monday that it plans to offer a multi-room service for its DVR customers. According to the company, the new service will allow viewing of DVR-recorded content throughout the home in both standard- and high-definition, and will be based on a device that will include a larger hard drive than the company's current DVR (the device will enable multi-room DVR by working in conjunction with non-DVR receivers located in other rooms). The service will also use Cox's next-generation guide, which was developed in collaboration with NDS and which the MSO bills as offering new personalization and search options, in addition to various interactive features. Cox says that the new multi-room DVR service will launch in "a yet-to-be-named" market later this year, with additional launches to follow. "Cox strives to continually enhance the TV experience for our customers with advanced video services that allow for more viewing flexibility and personalization," Steve Necessary, Cox's VP of video strategy and product management, said in a prepared statement. "We have been testing multi-room viewing in our labs and are confident that our customers will love the additional convenience and functionality it offers. Our advanced DVR product options, coupled with the roll-out of our new interactive program guide, will offer customers a user experience that is simple and convenient while providing unparalleled control over their video experience. Multi-room viewing will not replace the option for multiple standalone DVR units in a home. It's an addition to our product line, allowing customers the opportunity to decide which option best fits their needs."

According to Cox, its new multi-room DVR service will offer full trick-play functionality (i.e. pause, fast-forward and rewind) from any receiver in the home: communication between the DVR and the non-DVR receivers will be accomplished using MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) home-networking technology, which Cox says will allow it to transform current in-home wiring into the equivalent of an Ethernet network.

In other Cox news:
--The company announced last week that it has launched its MyPrimetime VOD service in Omaha and Santa Barbara. The service, which is offered to digital cable customers at no extra charge, features programs from such networks as ABC, NBC, Cartoon Network, FX, TBS, AMC, Sci Fi Channel and TNT the day after those programs air (note: each episode is available on the service for up to 28 days). The new launches mean that the service is now available in 10 Cox markets (the other markets where the service is available are Orange County, Calif.; New England; Kansas/Arkansas; Arizona; Macon, Georgia; Roanoke, Virginia; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Greater Louisiana). Cox says that it also plans to launch the service in San Diego next month, and in various other markets in the near future. "These recent market launches of MyPrimetime enable even more of our customers to have an opportunity to view shows they may have missed or are interested in sampling," Bob Nocera, Cox's director of marketing for new video services, said in a prepared statement. "In fact, MyPrimetime is now available to more than half of our digital cable subscribers and we look forward to offering it to all digital customers by the end of the year."
--The company recently announced that it had selected NDS as the prime integrator for its tru2way platform and that it had also tapped that company to develop a tru2way user interface/EPG and suite of interactive applications (note: for more on this, see the story published on itvt.com on April 1st).