MVPD Network Termination Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) In-Home Distribution Cable Coax & RFoG Optical Network Termination (ONT) DVR & Non-DVR set-tops, DTA and Cloud Based systems IPTV Set tops Cable RF & MoCA Wi-Fi Satellite Out Door Unit (ODU) – Satellite Dish Low noise block (LNB ) Multiswitch (RF switching unit) Genie Server (DVR) & Genie Mini clients Hopper (DVR) & Joey clients 802.11 & MoCA MoCA Wi-Fi Telco VDSL Modem or Gateway B/GPON Optical Network Termination (ONT) DVR & Non-DVR IPTV 802.11 Cable RF & MoCA Wi-Fi Google Fiber TV GPON Optical Network Termination (ONT) Network Box, Storage Box, TV Box 802.11 & MoCA Table - Diversity of MVPD Customer Premise Equipment Cable networks are typically terminated at the house at the point of entry with coax cabling. In some instances cable networks use RF over Glass (RFoG), an analog RF fiber to the premise technology. The RFoG Optical Network Termination (ONT) converts the optical RF to an electrical RF signal over coax permitting the use of traditional cable QAM based CPE. Cable systems make use of both DVR and set-top boxes that receive broadcast signals and use MoCA technology to link them together for a whole home DVR solution. Satellite networks terminate in Out Door Units (ODU) satellite dishes. Low Noise Block down-converters shift the satellite signals to a frequency band that can be switched by a Multiswitch unit and distributed via coax cables to the various satellite CPE. Satellite systems make use of both DVR and non-DVR set-tops and use both MoCA and 802.11 Wi-Fi for distribution in the home for a whole home DVR solution. The satellite MVPDs also have client software available in some LG, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba TVs that allow them to access services through their home network either using RVU or Virtual Joey technology.
Slingbox The Slingbox is a TV placeshifting device that allows users to watch their live TV or DVR content anywhere via an IP connection. It is able to connect to virtually any MVPD’s STB. Connections are only 1-1, meaning a single session per Slingbox. Please refer to for more information. Mediaroom In order for a third party to implement the Mediaroom features, they need to license the Mediaroom platform. The following provides a high level overview of the two key features: ICC: instant channel change is achieved by a combination of TCP and UDP IP traffic for a specific channel and detailed implementation of ICC is confidential. RUDP: Resilient UDP is another technology used by Microsoft to provide reliability. This is also a proprietary Microsoft technology. OTT Services Some OTT services have different applications on different platforms. Table 5 describes the operation of each application for the discovery and reception of content on a sample set of OTT services. This table is not intended to be comprehensive or a survey of all current OTT services. Discovery Reception Content Type Content source Business model(s) Ad support Amazon In-app and platform search and browse Streaming and Download Long Form TV and Film 3rd party (studio) and 1st party Rent, Sale, and subscription Content promo only Netflix In-app and platform search and browse Streaming Long Form TV and Film 3rd party (studio) and 1st party Subscription No Hulu In-app and platform search and browse Streaming Long Form TV and Film 3rd party (studio), regional exclusive, and 1st party (always) and subscription Yes YouTube In-app and platform search and browse Streaming Originally Short Form, now unlimited Largely 3rd party sourced (user submission) with some 1st party content Ad supported and (pending) subscription Yes SlingTV In-app and platform search and browse Streaming Live Programming Broadcaster/channel Subscription with optional add-ons, VOD, and C3 In-band with live content
DRM capability MVPD Provided Home Media Server (Content Server on Home Network) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, plus guide data provided via Yes, for serving client devices Yes Yes for various cable systems, No for current satellite delivered services Yes (custom custom API) Home Video Gateway from MVPD, Residential Gateways (RG) Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes (Some) Yes Yes (Some) Yes No No Digital Transport Adapter (DTA) Yes No Yes Not currently Yes Not currently No No Not currently No No Retail Whole Home DVR Ecosystem (TiVo) Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes, for VOD and OTT Yes N/A Yes
Broadband Connected Blu-Ray Players No Yes Some Some Some Some No Yes No No, access via MVPD /OTT app No, access via MVPD /OTT app Notebook or Laptop Computer (Apple, Windows, Linux) No Yes Yes Yes Yes, but less common usage Yes No No Yes No, access via MVPD /OTT app No, access via MVPD /OTT app, except w/Windows /OCUR All-in-One or Desktop Computer (Apple, Windows, Linux) No Yes Yes Yes Yes, but less common usage Yes No No Yes No, access via MVPD /OTT app No, access via MVPD /OTT app, except w/Windows /OCUR Gaming Consoles (PS4, Xbox) No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes (Some) No, access via MVPD /OTT app No, access via MVPD /OTT app Connected AV Receivers Yes, radio No, AV Some Some Yes Some No No No No No N/A
Internal/External Tuners (Hauppauge, Silicon Dust, Sat-IP) Yes No No Via 3rd party service Via 3rd party service90 Via 3rd party service90 Not from MVPD Guide, sourced externally via 3rd party service Via 3rd party service90 Via 3rd party service90 No Via 3rd party service90 External/External Tuners (Hauppauge, Silicon Dust, Sat-IP) Yes No No Yes; DLNA, DTCP-IP, OCUR/DRI, or custom protocols 3rd party client apps supported Via 3rd party client Not from MVPD Guide, sourced externally via 3rd party service Via 3rd party client Via 3rd party client No Via 3rd party client using DLNA or OCUR/DRI Description Supports 3rd Party Apps Supports 3rd Party Access from external device Works across MVPD Network Technologies (Cable, IPTV, Satellite) Portable across MVPDs (within Cable or within Satellite) Supports ATSC Tuner and Guide Integration Supports National EAS Universal Remote Control Support Supports Multiple Tuner Management and Conflict Resolution Supports archiving content to external storage MVPD provided Set-top Box (Some) YES (Some) YES No, MVPD Network Technology specific (Some) YES (Some) YES Yes Yes Yes, in whole home DVR Some
Digital Transport Adapter (DTA) No No No, cable specific technology Yes No Yes Yes No No Retail Whole Home DVR Ecosystem (Tivo) Yes Yes No All Cable Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Media Player Box from Retail (Roku, Apple TV, Amazon, WD) Yes Yes HDMI, local or network gateway HDMI, local or network gateway With ATSC gateway Software (and gateway) Yes. BT, WiFi, and IR support varies by device. Tuner, gateway, software specific. Variable (software and hardware specific) Media Player Sticks (USB/HDMI) Yes Yes HDMI, local or network gateway HDMI, local or network gateway With ATSC gateway Software (and gateway) Yes. BT, WiFi, and IR support varies by device. Tuner, gateway, software specific. Variable (generally not local storage, but network storage) Connected Tablet or Smart Phone with Data Plan or Wi-Fi Yes Yes HDMI, local or network gateway HDMI, local or network gateway With ATSC gateway Software (and gateway) Yes. BT, WiFi, and IR support varies by device. Tuner, gateway, software specific. Variable (local MMC/SD or network storage) Broadband Connected Blu-Ray Players Yes Yes HDMI, local or network gateway HDMI, local or network gateway With ATSC gateway Software (and gateway) Yes. BT, WiFi, and IR support varies by device. Tuner, gateway, software specific. With assistance (e.g. Plex, Kodi)
Notebook or Laptop Computer (Apple, Windows, Linux) Yes Yes HDMI, local or network gateway HDMI, local or network gateway With ATSC gateway or tuner (PCIe, USB, etc) Software (and gateway) Yes. BT, WiFi, and IR support varies by device. Tuner, gateway, software specific. Yes All-in-One or Desktop Computer (Apple, Windows, Linux) Yes Yes HDMI, local or network gateway HDMI, local or network gateway With ATSC gateway or tuner (PCIe, USB, etc) Software (and gateway) Yes. BT, WiFi, and IR support varies by device. Tuner, gateway, software specific. Yes Gaming Consoles (PS4, Xbox) Yes Yes HDMI, local or network gateway, or HDMI passthrough HDMI, local or network gateway With ATSC gateway or USB tuner Software (and gateway) Yes. BT, WiFi, and IR support varies by device. Tuner, gateway, software specific. Yes Connected AV Receivers N/A N/A HDMI HDMI N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Internal Tuners (Hauppauge, Silicon Dust, Sat-IP) requires 3rd party app90 requires 3rd party app90 Some tuners support more than one DBS/terrestrial/Cable standard Yes N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A External Tuners (Hauppauge, Silicon Dust, Sat-IP) requires a client90 requires 3rd party app or OCCUR client90 Some tuners support more than one DBS/terrestrial/Cable standard??? OCUR on Cable N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A