TWICE magazine today ran an article based on their discussions with Digeo at the recent CEDIA show. Digeo is apparently still planning to launch their new Moxi DMRs before the holidays this year, despite the dearth of solid information on the products.

Digeo is readying the launch of its Moxi digital media receivers (DMR) for what is expected to be a pre-holiday launch through select retailers across the country.

Really, nothing substantial has been revealed since the products were shown at CES back in January. If anything, the TWICE article makes it sound like Digeo has scaled back their launch plans:

Digeo will be looking to partner with A/V retailers that offer “an assisted selling environment in order to communicate all of the capabilities the product delivers,” [Michael Fidler, Digeo CEO] said.

“We have very modest goals for the product,” said Fidler. “We think it is establishing a new category. We know that TiVo has been out there with their product starting that, and this is a great new opportunity for retailers, who really haven’t participated in the cable industry at all, until the availability of a national umbrella [CableCARD] that allows this product to be sold in any retailer in the country [or] to any operator in the country.”

Digeo will look to build the Moxi brand mostly through online vehicles, Fidler said, although details of the launch campaign will be disclosed later.

Digeo will also supply a more basic box to be sold through retailers, Fidler said.

That sounds a lot more low-key than when I talked to them at CES. “Select retailers” and “mostly through online vehicles” - that doesn’t sound like they’re going to be widely available. The bit about partnering with retailers who do ‘assisted selling’ makes it sound like they’re going to be positioning this as more of a high-end boutique solution than something you’d see in the shelf in Best Buy. And while they’re happy to announce home control integration from 4HomeMedia they’re still not talking about basic features such as hard drive size or pricing. A year ago when the product was announced the price was set at “around $1000″ shipping in “fall 2007″ - they’ll certainly have to come in substantially below that to have decent sales in today’s market with the sub-$300 TiVo HD, or it really will be a small volume boutique item.

This bit makes me wonder:

All of Moxi’s retail-focused boxes will include a CableCARD slot that will accept multi-stream CableCARDs supplied by local operators.

Does that mean that the units will only have a single M-Card slot and will not be able to utilize two S-Cards, as the TiVo HD and Series3 can? Currently M-Card availability is still very spotty - my local Charter Digital outlet reports that they don’t have them at all yet, for example. Digeo could run into issues with M-Card availability in the near term if this is the case. Though, in the longer term, not having the second slot would decrease the component costs slightly.

I still think that, of all the vendors, Digeo has the best chance of competing with TiVo at retail based on their interface design and feature set. But they need to get a product on the market, at a competitive price, or it is all moot. I’d be happy to run a Moxi unit side-by-side with my Series3 to see how they compare.

While Digeo still claims their new Moxi boxes will hit the market later this year, they’re still not telling us much about them. While they’ve been showing them at various shows, they really haven’t said anything new since CES in January. I’d expect them to want to have the boxes out in time for the holiday shopping season if they still plan to have them out this year - and that really means this month or next. But if they’re close to launch, you’d think they’d be doing more to promote them and talk about details. But EngadgetHD caught the Digeo both at CEDIA, and it doesn’t look like Digeo has anything new to say yet. In fact, those boxes look like the same empty mock-ups I saw at CES. Come on Digeo, give us something new and specific, I’m starting to wonder if they’re really shipping this year.

Not that there is no news out of Digeo - just that it isn’t very meaningful. First, Digeo and Monster announced that they’re going to “explore joint product development opportunities”.

Digeo®, Inc., makers of the Emmy®-award winning Moxi® digital media recorder (DMR), and Monster, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end cables, accessories and power conditioning products, today announced their efforts to explore joint product development opportunities to take advantage of the growing proliferation of IP-connected entertainment options and advance the simplicity and quality of premium entertainment experiences in the home.

Yes, that’s as vague and meaningless as it sounds. They’re talking to each other - like any other million pair of companies you could name. From the press release: “The companies are not announcing any specific collaborative products at this time.” So they issued a press release to announce that the two companies are discussing the possibility of working together. Wow. That’s meta-vaporware. I know I can be a cynic, but I really don’t take it as a good sign when a company feels the need to issue press releases about this kind of garbage.

On top of that, if they do work together, Monster is involved, which means it’ll be overpriced no matter what it may be. (As should be obvious, I’m not a fan of Monster Cable, specifically their pricing.)

Moving on to something with a little more meat, Digeo also announced a deal with 4HomeMedia to bring home control software to the Moxi platform. Digeo is licensing 4HomeMedia’s ControlPoint software and integrating it into the Moxi Menu interface so that you can control devices in your home from your sofa via the Moxi remote. Of course, the prerequisite is that you have a home automation system in place. As part of this effort, Digeo also joined the Z-Wave Alliance, a home control industry group.

As a geek, this is cool. It is geeky and would be a neat toy. But, putting aside the “Ooh, shiny” geek reaction for a moment, I don’t think this is a big deal. How many people have a home automation system? Right - even most geeks don’t have one. This is only going to be useful for people with not only a home automation system, but a compatible home automation system. And then only if they want a DVR, decide to go with Moxi, and want to control their home automation system from their sofa in the first place - probably dimming the lights and such for the most part. I just don’t see this boosting Moxi sales in any appreciable way - whenever they ship in the first place.

It just strikes me as weird that here we are in September, Digeo is exhibiting at CEDIA, they’ve claimed the boxes are shipping this year - but instead of announcing details on the boxes (little things like real specs, pricing, distribution plans, etc) we’re getting fluff releases like these. To paraphrase an ad from my youth - Digeo, where’s the beef?

The two press releases picked up via ZatzNotFunny.

CableLabs has approved the DTCP-IP content protection system for digital cable content, which allows the content to be moved between devices over IP networks.

Using DTCP (Digital Transmission Copy Protection)-protected secure links among consumer electronics devices, cable subscribers will be able to enjoy digital cable programming, including high-definition and VOD cable content, on consumer electronics devices and personal computers on digital home networks. The approval permits CableLabs licensees under DFAST, CHILA, and DCAS to protect pay-per-view and video-on-demand transmissions against unauthorized copying and unauthorized internet retransmission, while assuring consumers’ ability to record broadcast and subscription programming, in digital formats, for personal use.

So, you’d theoretically be able to move content from your digital cable DVR to a PC and thence to a hand held device. Or between DVRs in the home, etc. Well, that sounds a lot like TiVoToGo and TiVo’s Multi-Room Viewing, doesn’t it? TiVo has said they expect to bring TTG & MRV to the Series3 and TiVo HD later this year, and they’re digital cable devices. TiVo almost certainly was aware of this standard being worked on. I wonder if they’re implementing DTCP-IP on the Series3 platform, which is why they’ll be able to bring TTG & MRV to market. Interesting question, no?

DTCP-IP is an extension of the previous DTCP standard for protecting content on FireWire links, also known as ‘5C’ encryption. This is used on cable boxes for protecting content on the FireWire port, which is what prevents PCs from capturing some of that content. As a minor point, Digeo has been planning to use FireWire over Coax to connect Moxi units within the home, and they told me they had no plans to support Ethernet or WiFi. The reason they gave me back at CES was that FireWire was the only protocol CableLabs permitted the protected content to be transferred over. Well, that seems to have changed - I wonder if they’ll stick with the oddball FireWire over Coax solution or if they’ll embraced standard networking protocols.

Spotted via GigaOM.

OK, so I mean ZatzNotFunny has a new article on Digeo Moxi. Dave got a private briefing from Digeo during last week’s Digital Experience show in NYC. Digeo announced last September that they were planning to bring Moxi to the consumer market this fall. There doesn’t seem to be any new info compared to what I reported from CES in January, or even more recently in May.

Dave has doubts about the Moxi Home Cinema HD DMR which pretty much match my own. It is basically an (expected to be expensive) AMD Live! Media Center PC running Linux, with no CableCARD support. Considering there are multiple Windows-based Media Center PCs on the market now with CableCARD, and more coming, I don’t see why anyone with the scratch to afford a high-end media center PC would opt for one that can’t natively tune encrypted digital cable. Since most HD digital cable channels are encrypted, that rather limits the usefulness. If you’re happy with using an antenna and/or limiting your cable to analog and in-the-clear QAM, I guess it works - but how many people buying high-end gear fit that description? I suspect not many.

The Moxi Multi-Room HD DMR sounds just like what was being shown at CES. The closest comparison would be the TiVo Series3. Like the S3, this is a dual-tuner CableCARD DVR. Unlike the S3 it is cable-only, no antenna support. Dave mentions that it is designed to use M-Card, so that one CableCARD will enabled both tuners. M-Card is just rolling out now, with most areas still issuing S-Card. (For example, I’ve asked and my local Charter system doesn’t have *any* M-Cards at this time, still 100% S-Card.) If the unit really does only have one slot, and cannot use two S-Cards like the S3, I hope that cable MSOs are fully on the M-Card bandwagon by the time this rolls out. There is a good chance they will be, especially now as they need to use CableCARD in their own boxes, as of July 1st.

The biggest difference compared to the S3 is that the Moxi is designed to support viewing from multiple rooms via a ‘Moxi Mate’ client box. Digeo is using a FireWire-over-coax system to connect Moxi Mate units to the main unit using the existing cable runs. This is fine if you have cable linking the different locations, but not so great if your don’t. And this is intended to be the only method of linking the locations - no Ethernet or WiFi. Still, if you have the cabling, it is a nice system. You can access pretty much anything on the primary Moxi from the Moxi Mate.

The other key difference is that the Moxi has a built-in CD/DVD drive. It can be used as your DVD player - no word on if it does upscaling and such, so you don’t need another box. It can also play CDs, and it will rip CDs to the internal drive for later playback, including via the Moxi Mate. Personally I’d never use that, I rip all my music on my PC in iTunes and store it there - I wouldn’t want music using up my DVR’s drive capacity. And if it is still like it was shown at CES, the settings are fixed - there is no way to adjust the bit rate, rip to other formats (like AAC), etc. Fortunately the Moxi also streams music and photos from PCs on the network, similar to TiVo’s functionality. The Moxi has an Ethernet port, but no support for WiFi. For WiFi it looks like you’ll need an external WiFi bridge, or something like a WiFi gaming adapter.

The built-in CD/DVD capability could be nice, it it certainly adds cost to the unit. I really wonder if it is worth it. Most homes already have at least one DVD player, often more than one. And there are very cheap, yet good, DVD players available that do full upscaling. Considering it is built into a high-end, HD DVR, it had better be a very good DVD player with all the bells and whistles. Of course, the market most likely to spend top dollar on an HD DVR is the same market most likely to buy Blu-ray or HD DVD. I think Digeo might be better off leaving out the CD/DVD capability and bringing the price down instead. Unlike TiVo’s past DVD systems, the Moxi is just a player, not a burner. So you can’t transfer recordings to DVD.

Dave has a number of screen shots in his post, which look pretty much the same as I saw at CES in January, maybe refreshed a little. Some people prefer Moxi’s UI look and feel as being more ‘clean’ than TiVo, and I can see that. TiVo’s UI does feel a little dated, it hasn’t really changed since 1999. It still works, but I did rather like the changes in the OCAP software TiVo was showing at CES. It still felt like TiVo, but more modern. It would be nice to see that refresh applied to the standalone boxes too.

If Digeo delivers on their promises, I think the Moxi boxes will be fairly decent technologically. But I’m still not sure they can carve out a significant niche in the market at this point, especially if the rumored prices (around $1,000) are true. Even with a $800 MSRP, and an effective $600 street price, the TiVo Series3 is felt to be too expensive. Back at CES, Digeo said they would sell the box with no subscription. That would certainly make a high price a better value. $1,000 for a box with nothing more to buy is more attractive than $1,000 plus a subscription fee.

But one thing TiVo and ReplayTV showed the world is that people balk at high up-front prices. The market preferred lower purchase pricing with service fees. When ReplayTV tried to sell ‘all-in-one’ and TiVo offered a monthly option, TiVo ate their lunch - even though a TiVo with lifetime cost the same as a ReplayTV, which included lifetime. And, later, when TiVo tested lower hardware pricing with the option for a higher monthly fee, more people opted for the bundles than the higher up-front costs with a lower monthly fee. So relying on a higher up-front fee has some risks. And Digeo also said that additional features would be sold a la carte, so they’ll have some ability to generate additional revenue.

Also, TiVo has a new, lower-priced HD box due this fall. And the pricing on the current S3 is generally expected to drop when the new box is launched. So Digeo will be up against a couple of TiVo models with lower price points - is the Moxi Mate and a CD/DVD drive enough to justify a higher price? What if TiVo gets MRV and TTG working on the S3?

It should be interesting. I hope Digeo starts talking about details soon - pricing, service plans, hard drive capacity, etc. I think they need to have this out in September at the latest, to catch the holiday shopping season. That’s not that far off now.

I’d be happy to get a Moxi and set it up alongside my S3 and use them both, to see how they really stack up. I have long said that I felt Moxi was the best potential competition for TiVo, especially after ReplayTV imploded. But I suspect I’m not high on Digeo’s reviewer list.

BetaNews has a report on Digeo’s presence at the Digital Experience show this week. But it doesn’t look like they had anything new to say, at least from what BetaNews reported. It looks like basically the same stuff I reported on back at CES in January and later in May. Moxi’s interface is decent, but I just wasn’t that impressed by what I saw, especially the PC-style box.

It is really going to come down to what the final specifications and features are, and what the pricing ends up being. They’re going to be up against not just TiVo - who will likely have their lower-cost HD box out by the the time the Moxi units street - but also the cable and satellite DVRs. And probably TiVo’s cable software.

I still think Digeo/Moxi made a big mistake years ago when they pulled back from a consumer launch and decided to focus solely on licensing to cable MSOs, and effort which was largely a failure. With only roughly 420,000 users in about 100 markets after a few years, it can’t really be considered much of a success. And one of their partners is Comcast, who later turned to TiVo for their future needs. I think they could’ve been a contender at the time, along with TiVo and ReplayTV, but I’m not sure they can carve out a niche in the current market environment.

As recently as November, 2006 Intel was opposed to the licensing terms for OCAP (the OpenCable Application Platform) and they opposed requiring consumer electronics (CE) vendors to support OCAP in general for two-way cable services. Well, things change, and apparently Intel is more comfortable with it now as they’ve signed a licensing agreement with Cable Television Laboratories (aka CableLabs). The license will allow Intel to incorporate OCAP support into their system-on-a-chip processors aimed at the CE market.

Kircos added that Intel’s agreement with CableLabs on OpenCable concerns only the chip family for CE devices it plans to introduce in 2008, “not a PC play per se, nor for our Core or Pentium processors at this point.”

I actually think this is more an issue of Intel being a large corporation with their fingers in several pies than a real reversal. Intel would still like to see a two-way standard that allows CE devices to access two-way cable services (SDV, VOD, etc) without the hefty overhead of supporting OCAP. However, at the same time, there is a market for chips that are going into the new generation of cable set top box and other devices which *will* support OCAP, and Intel wasn’t willing to cede the market to the competition over OCAP.

In another development, Microsoft and CableLabs have extended their partnership with a formal collaborative effort to develop ways for two-way cable services to function on PCs. It isn’t clear if this means embedding OCAP in Windows or developing an alternative system. I’d be a bit shocked if it is the former. OCAP is Java-based - and MS has a deep hatred for Java. The primary reason MS backs HD DVD over Blu-ray is that HD DVD uses iHD (developed my Microsoft and Toshiba) for interactive features while Blu-ray uses BD-Java - which is itself derived from the same MHP/GEM standards that OCAP was derived from, and hence related in a way. I just don’t see Microsoft grinning and paying for a Java license to embed Java in every copy of Windows MCE, not after the past acrimony over their JVM, etc. But I suppose stranger things have happened.

OCAP is running far behind schedule. It was originally anticipated to be widely deployed by the end of 2006, now the cable industry is claiming it will be widely deployed by the end of 2008. Delays in getting the OCAP infrastructure in place had cascaded to a number of delays, including delays in getting TiVo’s new OCAP-based software out for Comcast and Cox.

The majority of the CE industry has shunned OpenCable mainly due to the OCAP requirement. Adding support for OCAP increases the costs and complexity of their products and, at the same time, impacts their software design as features utilizing OCAP will run cable software and not the CE vendor’s own UI. This doesn’t sit well with the industry.

There have been some notable exceptions. Panasonic, LG, and Samsung have all licensed OCAP and are producing OCAP-compliant devices. It isn’t too surprising, as these companies product cable products for other countries. Until now, the US market was dominated by Motorola and Scientific Atlanta, and it was nearly impossible for a 3rd party to break in. Cable companies used Motorola head-end systems with Motorola STBs, or SA with SA. Now with CableCARD and OCAP, it is easier for 3rd parties to enter the market. Panasonic and Samsung are already making cable boxes for US Cable MSOs, utilizing CableCARD. Samsung is testing OCAP televisions with Time Warner.

If you’re making a cable STB, then OCAP isn’t a big issue. That’s the way the industry is going and Motorola and SA are supporting OCAP on their products, so competitors will do the same. OCAP is based on the MHP/GEM standards used in STBs around the world, so supporting OCAP isn’t a big leap for vendors already making STBs in other countries.

If you’re making high-end TVs it isn’t so bad either. The cost can be absorbed, and since the TV didn’t really have much in the way of interactivity and advanced features, there isn’t a conflict between OCAP and the CE vendors own software and UI. So LG and Samsung testing the waters for OCAP TVs isn’t a big surprise.

However, if you produce more advanced products, like TiVo or Digeo, then yielding control to OCAP is a big deal. And cost is an issue for most CE products, with the cost of supporting OCAP being non-negligible - both in the added hardware and in the required licenses. Which is why CE vendors really want a simple, basic way to handle two-way features without all of the baggage of OCAP. OCAP is pretty hefty, and a lot more than is needed to handle simple tasks like SDV or ordering VOD.

There could possibly be some progress on this front this week, as the FCC is holding an open meeting in Portland, ME to discuss the issue, amongst other agenda items.