Comcast is using this week’s CEDIA show in Dallas to debut a rack-mounted X1 box that is tailored for home theater installers.
“The new, sleek box delivers all of the features of the X1 platform, but in a device designed to fit easily into standard home theater racks,” Neal Roberts, senior manager, special operations at Comcast, said in this blog post.
Curious to know what it looks like? We are too, and have requested Comcast to pass along some pics of the new device.
Update: A photo of the rack-mounted X1 device has been added to this story.
As part of its efforts to make X1 “the centerpiece of any home theater system,” the MSO is also demonstrating two new features for the new boxes that are expected to launch early next year:
-IP Control: Comcast said it will make it easier for home theater users and installers to seamlessly operate X1 over both standard and customized universal remote controls.
-Dolby Atmos Integration: Comcast noted that Atmos “delivers rich, detailed and clear sound that can be precisely placed and moved anywhere in three-dimensional space, including overhead.” Comcast said it’s poised to become the first MVPD to offer this next-gen sound experience.
Roberts said all three home theater-facing developments come out of the MSO’s Custom Xfinity Integration (CXI) program, which was created in 2012 to serve the custom home integrator community.
The program “also serves as a clearinghouse and central contact point for home integration companies to access tools and support that was previously not available to them,” he explained. “This allows the integrators to set up and adjust Comcast Services and ensures a smooth installation experience on the behalf of our joint customer.”
TiVo took aim at the high-end A/V market with last year's launch of the TiVo Mega, a rack-mounted device that sports 24 terabytes of storage (but doesn't seem to appear on the TiVo web site).
