In Search of the Über Set-top Box
We have many holiday traditions around our house, and one of them is talking about the latest consumer electronics. So as I was sitting on my couch the other night, staring at my cable set-top box (STB) and TiVo DVR, a thought came to me – where is the next-generation STB that we’ve been hearing about for at least the past three years? You know, the über STB with HD, TiVo, networking, storage and more, the one that will be the center of home entertainment?
I’ve done a considerable amount of looking and I have yet to find it. I know about the latest TiVo boxes, Apple TV, Vudu, Microsoft’s Media Center and the numerous ways that I could build something and get close to what I desire, but there is no one, integrated product that has the features I want.
What do I want, exactly? To start, the next-gen STB has to be drop-dead gorgeous, as it will more than likely occupy a prominent place in my living room and I’ll have to look at it for some time. So I expect great design, reminiscent of the latest Apple product, with a simple-to-use user interface. It should also be compact in size — no larger than a standard STB today — and work with multiple universal remotes, such as the Harmony line made by Logitech.
I need high-definition output (1080p) with a TiVo DVR (not a clone) built in and an HD-DVD/Blu-ray player. Beyond these features (which I consider table stakes), I’d like to see the next-gen STB have at least 500GB of storage, which could be expanded through the use of a firewire or USB 2.0 disk drives, as well as slots for an SD memory card that can be used to upload files and photos. The box needs to run a Samba-like fileserver to either allow access to all of the content on these storage devices from any computer in my house or allow me to use this storage as part of my file backup system.
On the networking and connectivity front, the next-gen STB would need to function as a wireless router and switch, providing Internet connectivity, firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware and malware protection. An IEEE802.11b/g/n wireless access point and at least five separate gigabit Ethernet ports for local connections are also desired features. For video connectivity, I’d expect an HDMI interface and, at some point, support for a wireless HDMI interface.
Beyond features, the STB would, of course, need to be able to access content. Now I consume both music and video content, so this STB would have to be able to stream music, and a built-in cradle for my iPod would be a plus. As for video content, I know that most of what I watch on TV would either come from my provider’s walled garden or from shows I would request, on demand. I’d like to be able to use this next-gen STB to access content streamed via IPTV from any content provider on the Internet, but until the carriers here in the U.S. deploy enough fiber or VDSL to provide a reliable 12 megabits per second to my house (I’m imagining that I’ll want two simultaneous HD sources of content at approximately six megabits per second each), I will stick with my cable provider.
Finally, while I am a fan of on-demand and streaming Internet video, I understand that all of the content that I want to watch is not accessible yet. Call me a video quality snob, but I’m not ready to plop down on the couch and watch a small, grainy video from YouTube on my plasma screen. That being said, I expect the next-gen STB to have the proper codecs and client support for Adobe’s Flash, Microsoft’s Silverlight, Apple’s Quicktime and others for watching Internet video. Typing in URLs of Internet video with a remote control would be tiresome, so there should be a mechanism by which I can transfer a video playlist from a local computer to the STB – imagine surfing to the content you want in a browser and dragging and dropping URLs onto an icon of the STB, which then interprets them as menu choices.
OK it’s a long wish list, but it’s that time of year. Anyone care to take a stab at when I may have my next-gen STB wishes fulfilled? And from which vendor? Maybe you’ll start a new holiday tradition at your house.
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your problem sounds familiar, your wishlist however differs so much from all the wishlists out there.
for instance, tivo? USA Only. iptv has many possibilities, like hulu.com, joost.com. if it would provide an interface (open) to plug in to those kind of initiatives, me happy! i would like slingbox functionality also. itunes server capabilities – dlna/upnp compatible to make sure i can plug other stand alone players into the network using the ultimate set-top box as a source etc.
you see, that is why it does not exist, and never will. too many choices to make,
you mean something like this: http://www.vidabox.com/products_slim.php
I’d rather see a better box come from the cable companies which consolidates all the boxes they currently sell me..
http://peterdrier.com/blog/2007/12/10/cable-boxes-blow/
-Peter
wow. long list. i say good luck seeing that for at least 2 years. my guess is you’ll see something near it sooner without the wireless routing and all that.
but to add to your list i think you missed the ability to expand upon that 500gb with external usb/firewire drives. i’m right there with ya though, this is probably the #1 device i need. i’m holding off buying hdtv because this thing doesn’t exist yet.
i’m hoping slingcatcher knocks out alot of these, but the routing is not something they are talking about. it’s going to take an apple to come up with something like that i think. or cisco.
@Wimbers – To me, IPTV is a technology being deployed by the RBOCs and is different and competitive to Video delivered over the Internet (Joost, Hulu, etc.), but I get your basic point. Agreed on the SlingBox place-shifting technology, I should have thought of that feature too. On the iTunes server idea, that is what I meant by a music server. Think iTunes, Rhapsody, Real, etc.
@timheuer – close… where is this in the market and how much?
@Peter – nice post, like minds and all…
@buster – I mentioned a firewire/USB2.0 disk. That is really important to me.
Allan,
You can have it in less than 18 months if you’re willing to fund the intial round of financing. All the pieces of technology are available to build what you want and more.
@Allan – We’re definitely on similar pages. Can’t say I’d want the cable co’s mixing into some of the other areas you mentioned though. I’ve seen too many purely stupid features built into cable boxes over the years (buy a car on channel #1073, literally) to have faith in their ability to add the useful features before the ones they (wrongly) think will be profitable. (and if they are profitable, I feel a deep sorrow about the mental wellbeing of this country..)
Cablevision specifically was the worst at this.. They’d VOD anything, and try to charge for it.. and lets not forget the “games” they added which you could play with their remote control (my c64 had better games 20+ years ago)
So keep it as simple as possible is my dream. Take the guts of a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR, add a linksys b/g/n router, DD-WRT router software, the Docsis cable modem, and the VOIP box, and pile them together. Heck, I’d probably save enough electricity a month by combining them to qualify it for EnergyStar bonus points.
Vito – 18 months seems like a long time, but if we’re talking about Cisco/SA or MOT producing this box, that may make sense. Ideally, this should go to market with the blessing of the cable companies and telcos, right?