Today's Show:
Motorola Tuning Adapter MTR700

If you are a Tivo lover and have your Series 3 box so that you can watch and record HD from your cable company, you may be wondering what will happen to your service when your cable company rolls out Switched Digital service. We have great news for you! Your Tivo Series 3 will be compatible with the new format. You will need an adapter to make it work however.

Before we get into the adapter, here is a quick description of the Switched Digital cable service. SDV is a method distributing digital cable Television. Switched video only sends the digital video that is required by a neighborhood. The current method sends all the channels through the cable regardless whether the channel is being watched. A cable box is required to watch TV on a cable system that uses Switched Digital Video.

The Motorola Tuning Adapter (MTR700) is a device that goes between your Tivo Series 3 cable cards and the incoming cable from the wall. The purpose of the device is to allow you to continue enjoying your cable service as though nothing happened. Ben Drawbaugh of Engadget HD spent some time with the device and reports that there is no difference in the functionality of the Tivo box using SDV. Cisco showed a static display of their STA1520 tuning adapter. The unit was larger than the Motorola MTR700.

The Motorola box will be available to cable companies in July. The Cisco implementaion will be available in Q3. No word on what cable companies will charge for use of the box.

More Mobile Digital Media

A few weeks ago on Show 272 we discussed the emerging mobile TV standard of the Open Mobile Video Coalition. At that time we discussed how the standard was just being deployed. We received an email from Glenn, host of "The ZA Show" asking us to talk about a format that is already deployed called MediaFlo.

MediaFlo is a technology that enables mobile television with a global open standard for broadcasting multimedia. MediaFlo is the platform invented specifically to bring broadcast quality video to mobile efficiently and cost effectively.

Programming Lineup

The FLO TV service offers a lineup of entertainment, news, sports and kids’ programming from national networks including CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN, FOX, MTV, NBC and Nickelodeon. Shows include:

• MSNBC Hardball
• Fox Report
• NBC Nightly News
• iCarly
• And tons more

Channel Guide

The system has an on-screen programming guide that allows users to flip from one channel to the next.

How do you get it?

The FLOTV service is currently available through Verizon Wireless VCAST Mobile TV and AT&T Mobile TV in the US. The service ranges from $10 to $30 a month depending on the package. The service area is quite small.

Dedicated Multicast Network

MediaFLO USA multicasts the FLO TV™ service through the 716-722 MHz spectrum, UHF Channel 55, enabling the nearly instant, seamless delivery of TV-quality content to subscribers simultaneously. The FLO TV service does not utilize the wireless carrier’s existing 3G networks for transmitting programming content, thereby preventing any degradation to existing voice and data services.

Links:

• AT&T MobileTV
• Verizon V-Cast