Set-top box is not dead, says Arris

The set-top box “isn’t dead” but will continue to evolve into a home networking environment, according to Steve McCaffrey, Arris’ senior vice-president of EMEA.

Speaking at the Arris-Motorola’s Video Leadership Forum event in Berlin, McCaffrey said that though Motorola Home’s vision has never changed, though it previously “got a little bit confused” as its customers “didn’t know whether we were competitors or vendors in many ways.”

Outlining Motorola Home and Arris’ aims post-Arris takeover, McCaffrey, who was previously vice-president at Motorola, said: “Our vision, particularly with the set top is there needs to be an aggregation point within the home. Today the aggregation point, supported by a video service provider happens to be a set-top box, but I think in time to come it will develop into some form of gateway and then into some form of home control point. The set-top box isn’t dead, it’s actually evolving to continue to be that control point within the home, but very much expanding into a home networking type environment. That measurement is very much smartened up now inside our new Arris organisation.”

He added that under Arris, the Motorola Home brand would be phased out in the next 12 months.