Steve Perlman has a long track record as an innovator and prognosticator of digital technology and consumer electronics. The inventor and co-founder of WebTV has worked for such companies as Atari, Apple Computer, and Microsoft. His work has resulted in numerous technology patents and displayed an eagerness to develop cool new technologies for consumers. After two years of gestation, Perlman's newest venture, Moxi Digital, may produce one of the most compelling products to be seen at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
Launching today, the Moxi Media Center is a multifunction, IP-capable set-top box that promises to store, stream, and serve up just about every entertainment experience you can think of from a single, in-home server. Acting as the cerebrum of digital content for the home, the Moxi MC will play your DVDs and CDs, act as a cable or DSL router, store your digital music, and function as a PVR, all in one box. Add to this the ability to browse webpages, send instant messages, and provide video-on-demand services, and the Moxi MC could be the last set-top box you'll ever need to purchase.
The Moxi MC runs on Moxi Digital's own flavor of Linux with an interface based completely on Macromedia's Flash 5 player. Organized into searchable music, video, and advanced Web and interactive TV features, the box is surprisingly simple to control. For example, the included TiVo-like remote supports predictive keypad results (if you own a cellphone, think T9) for quicker video/audio on-demand searches and queries.
Take a peek at the back of the Moxi MC and you will begin to wonder if there is anything the player can't do. The box includes FireWire and USB ports for extended storage and portable digital media player transfers, a VGA output, optical input, a Type II PC card slot, and four TV tuner inputs for dual LNB satellite dishes. The box stores content on an upgradeable 80GB hard drive and shares it via your choice of Ethernet or wireless 802.11a networking.
But wait, there's more
As a DSL or cable router the Moxi MC provides DHCP services with firewall security connecting not just the PCs in your home but Moxi MC remote terminals as well. With these terminals, called MCxs, users can connect their second and third sets of speakers and TVs in other rooms in the house via wireless or Ethernet uplinks. These feature-limited terminals can access unused video streams from your satellite dish or cable feed, providing customized video and audio on demand to pretty much every room in the house.
TechTV Labs had a chance to take a sneak peek at an early development model of the Moxi Media Center at Moxi Digital's Palo Alto, California, offices in December. Although we were able to work with only an alpha unit, for a box that has this much going on inside it was responsive and only got confused once or twice in general usage testing.
Video playback via 802.11a was very impressive at limited distances, but we never had the opportunity to move the remote 802.11a-based MCx box and TV into another room for proper testing.
Pricing for the Moxi MC and MCx remote terminals will largely depend on cable and satellite providers and the services they want to include as a package. Although Moxi Digital would not discuss which cable or satellite providers might distribute the Moxi MC set-top box -- or specifically when the box might be available -- it did hint that we would see final units later this year.