Comments on: Where BusinessWeek Got It Wrong

By: New Motorola IPTV Software « Connected Home 2 Go

New Motorola IPTV Software « Connected Home 2 Go — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:24:45 +0000

[...] yes, this does mean a shift from the Motorola message that “We do the hardware, not the software.” Although, it’s important to recognize that this [...]

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:42:18 +0000

The thing is, whether it’s Moto’s fault or not, their name is on the box. They should be working harder with their partners to deliver a customer experience that doesn’t suck. I have a Comcast Moto 6412 that simply cannot figure out how not to record multiple instances of the same program, gets stuck in FF or REW, often becomes sluggish in responding to inputs via the guide, often fail to record programs and, and, and, and… It’s a crappy experience for an end-user. You can call Tivo a cartoony AOL-like interface, but my DirecTivo boxes ran flawlessly, never failed to record what I asked them to and didn’t make me scream at the remote control. Fair or not, that’s the bar by which Moto is being measured.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:09:03 +0000

Mari,

Good point on the AT&T IPTV stuff. Obviously Microsoft is capable of writing stuff on those STBs. I think though that you’ll find those STBs are different, and that Microsoft actually required a lot more hardware to gets its UI working reasonably. Which as you point out, the cable MSOs have not done.

Nevertheless the fact that the cable MSOs don’t want to pay much for your hardware doesn’t change the fact that your hardware is partly responsible for the lousy performance of typical US cable UIs.

We’ll see if the Tivo on MOT stuff is any better. If it is, you’ll be truly in the clear. If it isn’t, your argument will look a little doubtful.

p.s. If you think that all those MOT head ends and Digicypher encryption systems that locked in the cable MSOs to MOT a long time ago have nothing to do with them ordering more boxes from MOT, you’re dreaming. Its not (just) that MOT makes great hardware.

By: Mari Silbey

Mari Silbey — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:13:20 +0000

Sean- Whenever possible I try to verify internal Motorola claims (you know, the kool-aid I drink) with independent sources. A recent conversation with an independent software developer confirmed for me that the set-tops are top-notch hardware. This doesn’t prove anything, but I found it a useful data point from outside the Motorola walls. Also, consider that AT&T also uses Motorola hardware and responsiveness (at least fast channel changing) there is essentially a non-issue.

It will be interesting to see how OCAP changes the cable set-top software development landscape.

By: Sean Alexander

Sean Alexander — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 23:29:36 +0000

Actually I had a similar conversation with two developers of software for the Motorola DCT-6XXX series boxes. This was about 3 years ago but both said the HW was a big factor, in the responsiveness issues I was raising. They described enough detail about command ACKs etc they were having trouble with that I was convinced. STB development isn’t easy. The Moto boxes are still a wonderful product given the limited resources that can go into the box.