Motorola outs 'brainy' 3D TV set-top boxes

Moto prepares itself for the 3D onslaught
Moto prepares itself for the 3D onslaught

Motorola has dipped its toes into 3D waters with the introduction of its DCX line of set-top boxes.

The set-tops are primed for 3D content and have been made idiot-proof, doing away with the nuisance of manually switching between 2D and 3D using a remote.

Motorola is claiming that a nifty bit of software processing brings "an exceptional and seamless 3D TV experience in their home".

Cutting through the press release speak, this means that the set-top will automatically reformat on-screen text and graphics to suit the 3D signal and also make sure that whichever EPG you use will be 3D-friendly.

Straightforward solution

The DCX range also includes the automatic detection of the 3D format used and readies your TV to display the feed correctly.

And the boxes will also support 3D TV over both MPEG4 and MPEG2 audio and visual compression formats.

With 3D TVs still in their infancy in the UK, it's unsure how much a problem switching between 2D and 3D signals will be for consumers. With this in mind, the DCX set-top box could be a 'fix' for something that's pretty minor.

Motorola believes it's latched on to something big, though, announcing that: "The development of this 3D software enhancement gives our service provider customers a straightforward solution for deploying high-quality 3D TV services today using their existing video delivery infrastructure.

"By focusing on the customer's viewing experience Motorola has taken 3D TV to the next level and helped our industry to bring the experience of 3D from the theatre into the living-room."

The 3D TV-enabled set-tops are being shown off at this week's NAB Show in Las Vegas, with no word if the sets will be making their way to the UK.

Via HDTV Magazine

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.