In brief, the physical installation simply involved plugging the AV cables (included) into the SlingBox and our set-top box (a Philips Freeview box, to be precise), then taping a couple of IR emitters onto the front of our set-top box, and finally hooking the SlingBox up to our router (via a couple of SlingLink ethernet wall-plug bridges as our router was too far away).
Even so, device makers are hard at work striking content deals to help them insert themselves--in the form of yet another set-top box--into your living room.
On televisions, this is achieved via a small set-top box -- a prototype of which approaches the size and noise level of a mini-fridge -- that plugs into the video source and the TV and converts the video in real-time with virtually no latency.
We do know that Microsoft has been working on IPTV stuff for years now (they already offer a set-top box-based system that's being test marketed by a handful of telcos around the world), so it wouldn't be a shock to see them try and leverage the Xbox 360 as a platform.
For remote controls and game controllers, this enables the MotionEngine to run on the controller, on a USB dongle, or directly on a TV or set-top box system-on-a-chip (SoC).
Areas of concern: Several areas have been under pressures, he says: consumer, set-top-box, public sector, switching.
Say you want to just sit right in front of your TV and use your set-top-box (STB) to play games on your TV.
FORBES: Life without a Gaming Console Brought to you by Playcast
Cable set-top box maker Scientific-Atlanta may be guilty of the most bizarre power button behavior for its digital video recorder distributed by TimeWarner Cable.
Cisco also is diversifying, acquiring companies like set-top-box maker Scientific-Atlanta.
The bottom line is that local broadcast channels are available in HD to any cable subscriber with a clear QAM tuner, whether you have a set-top-box or not.
But other big players are digging in:The set-top box makers Scientific-Atlanta and Pioneer and the satellite provider EchoStar lobbed antitrust actions against Gemstar after Yuen had hit them with patent suits.
Now, for the first time, Allen is competing directly with Gates for the same business: set-top-box software that lets cable companies offer digital video recording, video on demand and, eventually, shopping.
The sets are apparently targeting consumers who use their TV primarily for gaming or multimedia activities, or to customers who prefer to use a set-top-box to receive digital and HD content.
Hoping eventually to do to the set-top-box duopoly what it did to the videogame duopoly with its PlayStation consoles, the company announced in September 1999 that it would distribute 3 million of its new set-top boxes through Cablevision in Long Island, New York.
So, while the Xbox 360 experience still has a few unique elements that can't be matched by the brand-new Echo -- the animated transitions are still something almost no other set-top box can do -- we found the overall experience more enjoyable than what we've become accustomed to recently.
ENGADGET: Ceton Echo Windows Media Center Extender review HD
One half, Motorola Mobility, got the cellphone and cable set-top box units and ex- Qualcomm exec Sanjay Jha as CEO.
Valve, best known for the Half-Life, Left4Dead and the Steam online game store has long been known to be working on a console or set-top box that puts PC-based titles onto a TV.
Set-top box manufacturers and satellite-TV providers are fighting Gemstar to keep their own guides, and now four large U.S. cable companies are mobilizing to launch a service that will go head on with Gemstar's interactive guide.
Cable television may have 500 channels to pick from, but chances are excellent that only one of two companies makes your set-top box: Motorola or Scientific-Atlanta.
The Wall Street Journal has anonymous sources saying the company will unveil an Internet-connected set-top box that combines live, on-demand and recorded TV to compete with the likes of Apple and Google.
"Two years ago, there were grand plans to have a very expensive set-top box in which everything was converged - the telephone, the internet and the TV, " said Mickey Kalifa, UK general manager of OpenTV, which makes the software sitting inside many set-top boxes.
Wii U has to make the case to turn to it rather than a set-top box connected TV, competing games console - Xbox's extensive range of TV partners makes it a formidable competitor in this respect - and even a tablet or smartphone.
Claiming an unnamed source in the video distribution industry, the rumor suggests a plan to deliver a set-top box with DVR, rolled out on a city-by-city basis as it negotiates channel agreements.
ENGADGET: Intel rumored to launch set-top box, 'virtual cable TV service' at CES
Speaking of which, in addition to the DirecTV C31 set-top box and 2012 Samsung HDTVs, the new 2013 Samsung and Sony HDTVs -- as well as the PS3 -- can also connect directly to the HR44 (and older HR34) and deliver the entire DirecTV Genie experience.
PopBox is the first over-the-top set-top box to support the stereoscopic RealD Format for the delivery and display of high-quality 3D content.
ENGADGET: PopBox licenses RealD's side by side frame compatible 3D format
Amazon is developing two smartphones, an audio-only streaming device and a set-top box, said the people.
WSJ: Google Follows Amazon's Lead on New Shopping Site, Delivery, Other Services
The Slingbox 500 features built-in Wi-Fi and integrated IR emitters for controlling a set-top box.
ENGADGET: Sling Media officially unveils the Slingbox 350 and 500 HD
Cisco Systems yesterday denied any interest in getting rid of its set-top box business.
FORBES: Cisco: Downplays Rumors It Will Sell Set-Top Box Unit
One of the first Digital DNA products is a set- top box made by Motorola.
This would be for a full on Apple TV, rather than a set-top box.
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