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  • Comcast Cisco/SA markets are finally getting the iGuide

    Comcast Cisco/SA markets are finally getting the iGuide

    Posted on May 19, 2010 | No Comments
    SaraComcast iGuide
    Although only about 25 percent of Comcast markets use Cisco/SA equipment, there's good news for the minority as Comcast is finally rolling out the iGuide to you. We're not saying we're fans of Comcast's iGuide, but if you've been using the SARA guide for the past few years we don't have to tell you that anything is an upgrade. This project has been in the works for five years and just goes to show how slow the cable set-top box upgrade process is. To make matter worse, about 60 percent of Comcast Motorola customers already have access to a more advanced A28 iGuide that isn't available to Cisco/SA boxes yet, but this older version will work with the new EBIF based interactive features we've been seeing recently. In either case, we couldn't see using either for even a day and although we're not the biggest fans of TiVo, it is easy to see why some are when you consider the competition.

    Comcast Cisco/SA markets are finally getting the iGuide originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 19 May 2010 18:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Cox ‘Plus Package’ brings advanced Trio UI, 500GB multiroom DVR and more HD channels

    Cox ‘Plus Package’ brings advanced Trio UI, 500GB multiroom DVR and more HD channels

    Posted on May 10, 2010 | No Comments
    Cox is ready to make a major leap forward in its user interface -- goodbye SARA and Passport, we won't miss you -- with the newly developed "Plus Package" rolling out in limited areas during Q2 and throughout its service area by the end of the year. For the hardware Cox is bringing a Whole Home DVR solution to bear based on a Cisco 8642 HD/DVR with 500GB (3x more than the sizes currently offered) of storage, and MoCA-connected 1642 HD receivers, which are also necessary to tune to the new HD channels on the way delivered over Switched Digital Video (SDV) in the 860-MHz band.

    The star of the show however is the new "Trio" program guide (video embedded after the break), a 16:9 interface that spaces out program info over three panes -- channels on the left, programs in the middle, details on the right. TV programs can also be sorted grid-style, by themes, HD-only or favorite channels, while VOD lists titles, box art and detailed info in the three window style. There's personalization for up to eight members of a household, as well as TiVo-style suggestions and related programming searches based on metadata. An exec told Multichannel News the new tru2way-built software started by realizing that "our guides were, in fact, broken" and this all-new approach is a step towards fixing that. Besides the TiVos and Moxis of the world, other service providers with similar setups include DirecTV, FiOS, Dish Network and U-verse and while we'd definitely like to see that middle pane expanded a bit to show more of each title, Cox could be the first cable company offering a set-top box that actually competes with any of them.

    Continue reading Cox 'Plus Package' brings advanced Trio UI, 500GB multiroom DVR and more HD channels

    Cox 'Plus Package' brings advanced Trio UI, 500GB multiroom DVR and more HD channels originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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