Comcast has begun to test the XG2, a new gateway for its cloud-based X1 platform that lacks a local DVR.

Comcast isn’t commenting on XG2, where it’s being tested, nor supplying any info on what specific features and capabilities that will grace it, but the device is referenced here in a customer forum that compares and contrasts devices for X1.  The section on the XG2, labeled as a “non-DVR” for X1, cites two suppliers – Samsung and Pace, the U.K.-based set-top maker that’s being acquired by Arris – and mentions that the model is “currently limited to select trial markets.”

Some customers are also posting that they have received emails from Comcast about receiving the XG2.

Speculation about the XG2 has been swirling for months as the mysterious model passed through the FCC, and a rendering of it from Cisco Systems (Technicolor is buying Cisco’s set-top unit) also appeared on the Web (see image above).

Though Comcast is keeping a lid on XG2, a person familiar with it said it’s a “headed” gateway, meaning it will have video rendering capabilities and connect directly to a TV (versus coming “headless” gateways that will route video to other set-top clients and devices on the home network). Previous FCC documents have also shown the XG2 to be a hybrid QAM/IP device equipped with a CableCARD, along with integrated WiFi, Bluetooth and ZigBee radios.

Though the XG2 doesn’t have a local DVR, an SD card that carries the “Xfinity Instant Replay” label will likely be used to buffer video so viewers can pause, rewind and fast-forward through recently-viewed TV programming. There’s also speculation that the XG2 would be a perfect candidate for Comcast’s new Cloud DVR service. The Comcast X1 feature comparison chart also points out that the XG2 will allow for the pausing and rewinding of live TV (up to 60 minutes), will support RF-based remote controls and the new X1 voice remote, as well as all the X1 apps.

The message boards are also filled with other info and speculation on the device.

One user, “ComcastAndrew” who is listed as an “official employee,” points out that the XG2 “looks close to an Xi3 but with composite and  HDMI outputs and digital audio output.” The Xi3 is a tunerless, IP-only HD client device designed to work in tandem with the XG1 HD-DVR.

While the XG2 might be considered as another companion device, it appears to be a higher-powered gateway-class unit that has its own tuners (perhaps four, according to a comment on this DSL Reports message board), with some suggesting that it could likewise be a suitable replacement for the RGN150, an IP-capable, non-DVR set-top that does not support all of X1’s features.  It’s also possible that the XG2 could work  in tandem with Xi3 clients in a multi-room set-ups for customers who do not want a DVR.

Comcast hasn’t announced how many customers on X1, but it has been accelerating the rollout – the MSO is now deploying about 30,000 X1 boxes per day, up from previous daily run-rates of between15,000 to 20,000. Nearly one-third of Comcast’s triple-play customers are now on X1.

Instead of figuring out who is developing a next-gen hybrid gateway for Comcast’s X1 platform, it might be a helpful exercise to determine who isn’t?

Offering more evidence that Comcast could be nearing the formal introduction of the mysterious “XG2” gateway, a version from U.K.-based set-top maker Pace recently passed through the FCC for testing.

The FCC test documents, first spotted by The Donohue Report, reveal some details on a the coming hybrid (QAM/IP) gateway device (a schematic of the unit is pictured above), with tests run on two boxes – one equipped with a CableCARD module from Arris, and another with a security module from Cisco Systems.  As The Donohue Report notes, it’ll also come with integrated WiFi, Bluetooth and ZigBee radios.

Pace already makes the XG1, an HD-DVR with six tuners that currently anchors the X1 platform, as well as a new IP-only Xi3 client device that Comcast is rolling out in select markets.

It’s also the latest vendor to be tied to the XG2. A model made by Samsung surfaced at the FCC in January, and a rendering of that model made by Cisco Systems has also appeared online. 

Comcast hasn’t revealed any other detail about the XG2, though a source familar with the model said it’s a headed gateway that that doesn’t contain a local DVR, making it a logical candidate for Comcast’s new Cloud DVR. FCC documentation of Samsung's XG2 also showed the presence of an SD card with the “Xfinity Instant Replay” label that will likely be used to buffer up to 25 minutes video – enough for subscribers, for example, to pause, rewind and fast-forward through recently-viewed linear TV programming. Comcast recently started to support that functionality in its Xi3 client devices.

Samsung and Cisco, meanwhile are also among the vendors working on the  Xi4, a smaller, next-gen version of the Xi3 that, a source said, will be capable of supporting 4K video. 

Comcast confirmed that it has pushed an update to its “Xi3” client devices that enables the all-IP boxes to buffer as much as 25 minutes of live TV.

Comcast added that capability last month to currently-deployed Xi3s and will be offering it in all Xi3 models shipped to customers from here on out, an MSO spokesperson said. The Xi3, which does not support a local hard drive for DVR functionality (it can access recordings off of the primary XG1 HD-DVR and is expected to support Comcast’s new cloud DVR), buffers live TV via integrated SD (Secure Digital) memory card that carries the “Xfinity Instant Replay” label. The ability to pause live TV on the Xi3 has been high on customer wish lists, according to this thread on the Comcast X1 customer forum.

That feature, which lets Xi3 users rewind, fast-forward and pause recently viewed live TV programming, will apparently also grace a new “XG2” gateway that’s under development, and possibly on the Xi4, a smaller, next-gen version of the Xi3. A Samsung-made XG2 and a Cisco-made Xi4  recently passed through the FCC.

Comcast started to deploy the Xi3 in select markets last fall, noting then that the plan was to make the product “widely available across our footprint” in the first or second quarter of 2015.

The HDMI-connected Xi3 is designed to be a more elegant, non-DVR companion to the primary X1 HD-DVR, able to support the full slate of X1 apps. By comparison, Comcast’s initial batch of non-DVRs (the Pace and Samsung RNG150N) that work in tandem with the X1 HD-DVR and support the MSO's new cloud-based user interface, do not let users pause and rewind live TV. Those RNG-class boxes also support only a subset of X1 apps. This page compares and contrasts the current lineup of equipment, including set-tops and remotes, for X1. 

Comcast has deployed more than 5 million X1 boxes so far. 

Marking another step forward for a next-gen device for Comcast’s X1 platform, an iteration of the mysterious “XG2” box spec’d out by Comcast has passed through the FCC.

This one,  made by Samsung, comes a few months after a rendering of it from Cisco Systems made an appearance online.

First spotted by The Donohue Report, the Samsung device, referred to as the Xfinity XG2v2-S, looks about the same as the Cisco rendering. But within the same test on the Samsung product, Donohue also found an image of a 4 Gigabyte flash memory card from SanDisk (see image above), though there’s no explanation on how it will be used. You can poke around the report here. 

But considering how the memory card is being labeled ("Xfinity Instant Replay"), there’s a distinct possibility that it could be used as a way to buffer a limited amount of programming (15 to 30 minutes with some headroom, perhaps?), giving viewers a way to rewind and fast-forward through recently viewed TV programming. Or it might also be used as a vessel to transfer digital media to and from the device.

Comcast isn’t commenting on the capabilities of the XG2, but a source familiar with it said that the Cisco model that appeared is a headed gateway that won’t contain a local DVR, making it a logical candidate for Comcast’s new Cloud DVR.  

And the idea of using an SD card in a non-DVR cable box goes back a ways.

In 2010, Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) showed a tru2way “set-back” box targeted at retail that also lacked a local DVR, but did come equipped with a slot to hold a standard SD High Capacity card for a limited amount of video storage. At the time, ADB referred to it as “DVR-Lite,” noting that it could be used for some limited trick-play functions on live TV.

As for other capabilities, I expect the XG2 to be capable of supporting native 4K video. Comcast offers a limited 4K streaming library to new Samsung Ultra HD sets, and has expressed that it will eventually enable 4K on a new class of boxes for the X1. I am trying to find out if it’s another hybrid QAM/IP device, or if this one will be IP-only. However, the innards of the XG2 show that it does contain a CableCARD. 

And while we’re talking about what’s on the X1 roadmap, a source did tell me that the Xi4, a new IP-only client box that also showed its face at the FCC recently, will indeed be 4K-capable.

So, the XG2 and Xi4 – a match made in next-gen video heaven? We’ll see. 

Comcast is developing a next-generation of the XG1, the HD-DVR/gateway that currently anchors its X1 video and apps platform.

An image of the new device, dubbed the XG2 and apparently under development by Cisco Systems, recently popped up on the DSL Reports message board, but offered little else in terms of what features will grace the new model.

A Comcast spokesperson confirmed that the image is a rendering of a future iteration of the XG1 gateway, but declined to detail the technical specs or when Comcast expected to make it available.

A person familiar with the initiative said that iteration shown on line is a headed gateway that won’t feature internal DVR storage, making it a likely candidate for Comcast’s new Cloud DVR, or perhaps attached storage. Comcast has previously said future X1 device models would support HEVC/H.265 compression that can decode native 4K/Ultra HD signals.

The XG2, an apparent successor to the XG1, a device that Comcast currently sources from Pace and Arris, will likely be used in tandem with the Xi3, a new IP-only HD client device that Comcast has begun to deploy in select markets ahead of an anticipated wider rollout during the first half of 2015.

Comcast, which has experienced a recent string of technical hiccups around X1, has deployed more than 5 million X1 boxes so far. Comcast, meanwhile, has attributed X1 to reduced churn rates and higher VOD usage rates when compared to its legacy video platform.

While X1 appears to be helping Comcast slow its rate of video subscriber losses, Colin Dixon, founder and chief analyst at nScreenMedia, noted in this blog post that Comcast must expand and accelerate X1 deployments if the MSO is to reverse those losses. Using various data from Comcast, Digitalsmiths and other sources, he also estimated that the revenue impact of not having X1 in every video home in 2014 is close to $500 million, or 9% of video revenue.