Comcast Begins to Connect to Boxee
MSO Starts Limited Offer of E-DTAs That Let Boxee Devices Access an
Encrypted Form of Comcast's Basic TV Tier
By: Jeff Baumgartner
Multichannel News
Apr 11 2013 - 3:35pm
http://www.multichannel.com/cable-operators/comcast-begins-connect-boxee/142668
Comcast has begun to make available a new type of Digital Transport
Adapter (DTA) that will feed an encrypted form of its basic digital
video tier to Boxee devices, including the startup's new Cloud DVR product.
Comcast is notifying eligible Boxee customers about the E-DTA in "select
markets" where Comcast has begun to encrypt its "B-1" tier, a
spokeswoman said. She didn't reveal those markets, but noted that
Comcast intends to phase in B-1 encryption in additional cities over the
comings months.
The new device, called an Ethernet-Digital Transport Adapter (E-DTA),
supports HD video and home networking capabilities. Its internal IP
mini server turns encrypted QAM video channels into protected IP
streams that can be shared with the Boxee device over connections
outfitted with Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) technology with
DTCP-IP content protection. It's an integrated security device, so
there's no CableCARD interface.
The E-DTA became a central figure during U.S. cable's pursuit of new
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules that now allow operators
to encrypt their basic service tiers in all-digital systems, a decision
that prevents CE devices from receiving a small subset of unencrypted
"Clear QAM" channels in basic tiers that include the major broadcast
stations. Cable argued that basic tier encryption would reduce theft
and reduce truck rolls because it would enable MSOs to activate and
deactivate services remotely in the vast majority of cases. The FCC
basic TV encryption ban was lifted on Dec. 10, 2012.
To help get it, the largest six incumbent U.S. cable MSOs (Comcast,
Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Charter Communications,
Cablevision Systems and Bright House Networks), representing about 86
percent of all U.S. cable subscribers, agreed to let IP-based retail
devices receive basic TV tiers without a CableCARD. Longer term, CE
companies will also have the ability to license that technology and
build it into their products.
Ealier on, Boxee and Comcast signed an separate agreement that focused
on the E-DTA component that's now part of the FCC rule.
Among other conditions outlined in the new rules, operators are also on
the hook to provide existing customers who take only the basic tier a
set-top or CableCARD for free for two years after encryption begins.
Customers who receive Medicaid and only take the basic tier can get that
equipment for up to two TVs without charge for five years.
Boxee VP of marketing Andrew Kippen noted in an email exchange that the
company is still finalizing details with Comcast but "you should start
to see the E-DTAs begin to appear over the next month" as Comcast begins
to notify Boxee users about the encryption process.
It was not immediately known who will supply the initial batch of E-DTAs
to Comcast. The MSO buys other types of DTAs from sources such as
Motorola Mobility, Pace, Technicolor and Evolution Digital.
Importantly, the E-DTA will enable Boxee to access Comcast's basic TV
tier while preserving the Boxee user interface. Boxee's newest product,
the $100 Cloud DVR (formerly called Boxee TV), supports a family of
apps, including Netflix, as the name suggests, a cloud-based DVR. It
can also receive free, over-the-air TV channels via a digital antenna.
The Cloud DVR service is currently available in Atlanta, Chicago,
Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Houston, and
Washington, D.C., according to the Boxee Web site. The free version
provides five hours of DVR playback a month, keeps recordings for up to
90 days, and only allows DVR playback on a TV. The premium, $9.99 per
month version offers unlimited and perpetual DVR storage, and lets users
access recordings on TVs, PCs, tablets and smartphones.
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