The Moxi Summer update brings the Moxi Mate, SDV support and more

All the Moxi owners out there should be happy to learn that Digeo intends to keep its promise by continually releasing updates to Moxi HD DVR on a regular basis. The latest Summer update should hit your Moxi in the next few days and brings some of the more anticipated features -- no still no TiVoToGo like functionality -- like the grid guide pictured above, support for the Moxi Mate and Switched Digital Video (SDV).

First up is SDV support, but while adding the ability to tune channels delivered via SDV is appreciated, it really falls under the "about time" category. Next is the new Moxi Mate, which holds more promise but just because it starts shipping tomorrow for $399, doesn't mean it will deliver. As it stands now, the Mate requires that you bring your own network connection to your second TV -- so no MoCA support like FiOS and other cable operator DVRs work -- and it doesn't completely replace the STB in your bedroom because it doesn't do Live TV and you can't schedule recordings with it. You can at least pick up where you left off watching a record without transfering it first, but the included remote can't control your TV's channel or input, so you're going to need a universal remote or you're going to make life in the bedroom as complicated as some living rooms. Our last gripe about the Mate (yes there's more) is the fact that Digeo only recommends running one Mate at a time with a hard limit of three concurrent streams. The good news though is that existing Moxi HD DVR customers can pick up a Mate for $199, and there're even package deals and payment plans to lesson the blow. The breath of fresh air coming with this update is the fact that up to 6TB of external storage is now supported and DLNA support is improved with added codec and containers like H.264 in MKV files -- although obviously MKV can support all kinds of codecs that may or may not also be supported.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 4th 2009 3:03PM]

And the the last substantial update for Tivo was when? At least the Moxi guys are making an effort to improve their platform. This is the second major update since they released their DVR.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 4th 2009 5:13PM]

TiVo's last major update was in December, 2008:

* MPEG-4 and VC-1 support
* Netflix SD/HD streaming

The last major update before that was July, 2008:

* Play or Delete all programs in a folder with a single click (play and delete buttons)
* Browse the Guide while watching recordings
* Jump 24 hours forward or backward in the Guide (replay and skip buttons)
* Jump 1.5 hours forward or backward in the Guide (> buttons)
* Find a Station in the Guide
* Toggle Closed Captioning On and Off without going into menus
* Review Thumb Ratings
* Support for YouTube (H.264)

TiVo has not said what, if any, new features are coming this year besides support for On Demand. This fall, TiVo plans an update to support On Demand with select cable operators that use SeaChange. SeaChange is the largest supplier VOD equipment and software; their customers include Cox, Comcast, FiOS, and RCN.

RCN was the first cable company to announce that the TivoHD would support On Demand with its systems:

http://investor.rcn.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=401063
http://www.rcn.com/j/tivo?bid=banner--all--TiVo--2009-08-03--TiVo

On Demand support obviously doesn't do anything for OTA users, but it is something cable customers have wanted for awhile.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 5th 2009 6:03AM]

And keep in mind that Digeo is playing catch-up - TiVo has a lot of features yet to come on the Moxi (if they do come). So it is natural that they need to crank out some updates.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 5th 2009 5:03PM]

I love the news on this site but the quality of writing is so poor! Not a real big fan of syntax and proper comma usage, are we?