Cable Show 2011: Motorola Builds Video Gateway For Time Warner Cable

Click here for complete Cable Show 2011 coverage.

Motorola Mobility has cooked up a six-tuner IP video gateway -- with 1 Terabyte of disk storage -- for Time Warner Cable, and the vendor is also debuting a high-definition digital terminal adapter to give MSOs a cheaper way to deliver HD to customers and a secure IP video streaming solution.

The DCX3600M Video Gateway includes built-in transcoding capabilities allowing it to take a single QAM MPEG-2 channel and transcode it to MPEG-4 for delivery to mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, over a home network. It also includes a DOCSIS 3.0 modem with eight downstream and four upstream channels.

"It's truly the anchor tenant in the IP-connected home," Motorola Mobility senior director of marketing Buddy Snow said. "I think this box embodies the kinds of features we spent the last two years talking to the cable guys about."

Motorola did not disclose pricing. Snow said gateways are cost-effective options, because they reduce the cost of delivering video throughout the home, "especially when you talk about fourth, fifth and sixth outlets. You could use a PlayStation 3 as a client."

The DCX3600M can be configured as a "headless" gateway -- meaning it doesn't have a front control panel or TV video outputs -- or as a "headed" gateway that functions as a traditional set-top. The gateway supports multiroom DVR, and the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) 2.0 specification. In addition, the DCX3600M includes an eSATA port for additional storage expansion.

"The migration of our network and in-home video services to IP represents an important shift as we look to provide our consumers with the most compelling user experience possible and we are excited to collaborate with Motorola in the area of video gateways," Mike Hayashi, Time Warner Cable executive vice president of architecture, development and engineering, said in a statement. "These types of platforms will offer our customers greater flexibility when accessing our premium services."

Also Tuesday Motorola launched of its HD-DTA, a one-way, limited-function device that costs less than a conventional HD set-top box. The Motorola HD-DTA is a small, sleek set-top that can be mounted out of sight and delivers HD content to additional outlets in the house cost effectively. It includes a 1GHz, all-digital tuner, HDMI and RF outputs and a Radio Frequency for Consumer Electronics (RF4CE) remote-control interface. The RF4CE remote enables control of the HD-DTA from anywhere in the room without line of sight to the device.

"Service providers continue to look for options that deliver HD content to their customers while reducing their overall costs," Motorola Mobility vice president of Home Devices Larry Robinson said. "The Motorola HD-DTA is an ideal solution for basic subscriber households."

The Motorola HD-DTA will be available later in 2011. No pricing was announced.

Finally, Motorola announced SecureMedia Encryptonite ONE HLS+, an adaptive-streaming solution that lets service providers deliver video content securely to many devices in and beyond the home. The product uses the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS+) protocol for both linear and on-demand content distribution to all devices, while adding full digital rights management functionality through the integration of SecureMedia Encryptonite ONE solution.

Motorola said SecureMedia Encryptonite ONE HLS+ is supported by Android devices, as well as Motorola's IP and hybrid set-tops, Apple iOS and OS X, Windows, and Sony PlayStation 3. Future clients are planned for Internet-connected TVs, Blu-ray Disc players and set-tops from other manufacturers.

The company said SecureMedia Encryptonite ONE HLS+ solution is currently in trials with North American operators.