Hooking up the system was a snap, although the cable box and VCR had to be removed first.
The Slingbox is an affordable alternative to springing for another cable box and a perfect match for many DVRs.
Xbox One has the BluRay drive (at last) and at least the tantalizing prospect of being your cable box, too.
Customers could buy a cheap digital video camera, plug it into their cable box, and engage in videoconferences using their TV.
For instance, though the MX has its own TV tuner, it can't change the channels of a satellite dish or cable box.
Microsoft has just brought the eventual death of the cable box closer.
FORBES: Microsoft Grabs The Remote From Apple With Xbox Upgrade
The old cable box decrypts its set of data and discards the Passage bits, while a Passage-enabled box decrypts only the Passage-encoded video.
Digital cable service usually costs more than analog service because it generally requires subscribers to pay a monthly fee for a digital cable box.
If you want to record The Sopranos, you have to set the cable box to HBO and tell the MX when to start and stop.
Imagine downloading a software upgrade for your cable box from the Internet or upgrading your printer with a mouse click (for more on PLDs click here).
Rather than continue to fight a losing battle to replace the cable box, the company refocused on making it iPod-simple to watch shows across all of its devices.
Nintendo TVii intends to streamline the experience further, casting aside your cable box remote for built-in channel guides and DVR programming (coffee table's starting to look pretty sparse, eh?).
ENGADGET: Nintendo's Wii U tablet controller and the death of your TV's remote control
You may have not noticed, but your cable box at home has a Firewire port on it, designed to serve up content to other devices in your home.
ENGADGET: FCC clarifies set-top box IP interface requirement and extends deadline to 2014
With the Wireless 5x2 HD Matrix, businesses can eliminate the need for a second Blu-ray, cable box, game console or VCR and help streamline costs and space for equipment.
ENGADGET: IOGEAR unveils uncompressed 1080p wireless streaming matrix switcher
The Z-Base systems can be programmed to respond to most remote controls, so a TV remote...or cable box remote...or satellite receiver remote...can control volume, mute, power and input functions.
ENGADGET: ZVOX intros three new Z-Base models, lowers the pricing soundbar
At first I hooked up the cable box to the new TV via component video cables and the new DVD player via HDMI (with optical out to the sound system).
Digital video recorders--the cable industry's answer to TiVo (nasdaq: TIVO - news - people )--allow users to record programs on a hard drive inside the cable box, as well as to pause or rewind live TV.
Unlike Time Warner Cable, which is offering an app that provides access to a limited array of live cable channels, Cablevision's app provides its customers with access to all the programming they receive on their TV through their cable box, including ESPN.
All three perform the same basic function -- they let you stream TV from your cable box (digital or analog), satellite receiver, or DVR to a computer or mobile device -- it's just that each is aimed at different segments of the market.
ENGADGET: Slingbox PRO, Slingbox AV, and Slingbox Tuner get official
Since its founding, TiVo has evolved into the ultimate single-solution media center by combining its patented DVR technologies and universal cable box capabilities with the ability to aggregate, search and deliver millions of pieces of broadband, cable and broadcast content directly to the television.
ENGADGET: AOL HD connected TV app is now AOL On for Samsung, Roku and Sony; TiVo coming soon
Since its founding, TiVo has evolved into the ultimate single solution media center by combining its patented DVR technologies and universal cable box capabilities with the ability to aggregate, search, and deliver millions of pieces of broadband, cable, and broadcast content directly to the television.
ENGADGET: DirecTiVo now available nationwide, please try to contain your excitement
The FCC let it be known last week in a Memorandum Opinion and Order that a single standard wasn't actually required, as long as the IP interface on the cable box used an industry standard -- the Commission did bless the DLNA Premium Video Profile as a suitable example.
ENGADGET: FCC clarifies set-top box IP interface requirement and extends deadline to 2014
Besides meaning you have one less ugly component to deal with, getting rid of the cable box also usually means better picture quality and you don't have pay rental fees for your box any more (though we have faith that the cable companies will eventually find a way to charge seven bucks a month for CableCard rentals).
Here's the scoop: CableCard is literally a card that you pop into the back of your TV set so that you can get rid of your digital cable box and plug that coax directly into your digital TV (it's sort of like how you can use analog cable on a cable-ready analog TV without a cable box).
Covering his bets, he'd even like to sell chipsets to cable-box makers themselves.
Hedging his bets, he'd like to sell chipsets to the cable-box makers themselves.
In this particular context, TiVo is being treated as a cable company box supplier, although we're not sure how this will apply to its retail devices.
ENGADGET: FCC clarifies set-top box IP interface requirement and extends deadline to 2014
Kevin Hause, who tracks interactive business for IDC, thinks that it is too soon to say whether Sun will be able to dominate the cable set-top box market, as cable operators are hedging their bets on various operating systems.
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