Cisco & Scientific Atlanta: HDTV to your router?

In case you hadn't heard, networking giant Cisco recently bought cable TV set-top box manufacturer Scientific Atlanta. This is big news, especially because it gives Cisco a major in when it comes to the emerging IPTV market. That alone brings many considerations for us the viewers, because so far the rollout has been somewhat slow but if they can get their end-to-end solutions going, maybe the technology will be here sooner than we think.

I'm wondering if this makes it more likely that my future cable box will network with my 802.11n router (whenever they decide on a standard). Next generation routers should have enough bandwidth to pump HDTV around the house wirelessly, and while my cable boxes now have ethernet ports on them, they don't do anything. Here's hoping that will change, what do you think about this new joining of companies?

 

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 22nd 2005 10:31AM]

I can't comment on Cisco, but when I heard that Scientific Atlanta was on the block, I thought for sure, Motorola would be the name I'd hear in the end! Purchasing SFA, would have guaranteed Motorola the top spot for years to come in the world of cable boxes.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 22nd 2005 11:14AM]

I'm glad someone finally bought Scientific Atlanta. Their products were ok but a pain to get info from as they "only deal with cable companies". Cisco makes some great products and I would be glad to have them in my equipment rack. I would imagine if Cisco designed a box from the ground up it would be worlds faster and more efficient than the current selection from SA.