Motorola Tuning Adapter MTR700
If you are a Tivo lover and have your Series 3 box so
that you can watch and record HD from your cable company, you may be
wondering what will happen to your service when your cable company
rolls out Switched Digital service. We have great news for you! Your
Tivo Series 3 will be compatible with the new format. You will need an
adapter to make it work however.
Before we get into the adapter, here
is a quick description of the Switched Digital cable service. SDV is a
method distributing digital cable Television. Switched video only sends
the digital video that is required by a neighborhood. The current
method sends all the channels through the cable regardless whether the
channel is being watched. A cable box is required to watch TV on a
cable system that uses Switched Digital Video.
The Motorola Tuning Adapter (MTR700) is a device that goes between your
Tivo Series 3 cable cards and the incoming cable from the wall. The
purpose of the device is to allow you to continue enjoying your cable
service as though nothing happened. Ben Drawbaugh of Engadget HD spent some time with the device and reports that there is no difference
in the functionality of the Tivo box using SDV. Cisco showed a static
display of their STA1520 tuning adapter. The unit was larger than the
Motorola MTR700.
The Motorola box will be available to cable companies in July. The
Cisco implementaion will be available in Q3. No word on what cable
companies will charge for use of the box.
More Mobile Digital Media
A few weeks ago on
Show 272
we discussed the emerging mobile TV standard of the Open Mobile Video
Coalition. At that time we discussed how the standard was just being
deployed. We received an email from Glenn, host of “
The ZA Show ” asking us to talk about a format that is already deployed called
MediaFlo.
MediaFlo
is a technology that enables mobile television with a global open
standard for broadcasting multimedia. MediaFlo is the platform invented
specifically to bring broadcast quality video to mobile efficiently and
cost effectively.
Programming Lineup
The FLO TV service offers a lineup of entertainment, news, sports and
kids’ programming from national networks including CBS, Comedy Central,
ESPN, FOX, MTV, NBC and Nickelodeon. Shows include:
- MSNBC Hardball
- Fox Report
- NBC Nightly News
- iCarly
- And tons more
Many shows are simulcast with network television.
Channel Guide
The system has an on-screen programming guide that allows users to flip from one channel to the next.
How do you get it?
The
FLOTV service is currently available through Verizon Wireless VCAST
Mobile TV and AT&T Mobile TV in the US. The service ranges from $10
to $30 a month depending on the package. The service area is quite
small.
Dedicated Multicast Network
MediaFLO
USA multicasts the FLO TV™ service through the 716-722 MHz spectrum,
UHF Channel 55, enabling the nearly instant, seamless delivery of
TV-quality content to subscribers simultaneously. The FLO TV service
does not utilize the wireless carrier’s existing 3G networks for
transmitting programming content, thereby preventing any degradation to
existing voice and data services.
Links:
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