An IP-based set-top box built for Comcast by South Korean manufacturer Humax -- evidently designed to function as a client to the MSO’s Xfinity X1 multituner gateway from Pace -- has passed certification tests required by the Federal Communications Commission.
Comcast declined to provide additional information about the set-top or launch plans. News of the FCC’s authorization of the Humax set-top, which includes "Xfinity" logos, was posted Tuesday by Wireless Goodness.
The Humax device, identified as model XI3-H in documents filed with the FCC, includes recording functionality and comes with an Xfinity-branded remote (pictured, right). The recording feature may work in conjunction with the gateway from Pace, to let the IP set-top record and play back programming using the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) specification.
Pace also is developing an IP set-top, which is likewise dubbed the XI3, Light Reading reported last month.
Humax's XI3-H provides coaxial and HDMI outputs, as well as coax, Ethernet and HDMI inputs. It also includes a USB port, which is for “connecting the Wi-Fi dongle,” according to the user manual posted on the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology website.
Comcast launched the X1 service at the 2012 Cable Show in May. The service is delivered with a six-tuner HD DVR gateway manufactured by Pace. X1 has a Web-like user interface that provides unified search across TV listings, DVR recordings and VOD, as well as built-for-TV apps for social networking, music, radio, sports, traffic and weather.
To date, Comcast has introduced X1 in Boston, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga., with other markets including Philadelphia and Chicago on deck.
